South African Life Research Articles

Deadly Journeys: Thabo Jijana’s Nobody’s Business, the Minibus Taxi Industry, and the Racial Politics of Mobility in Post-Apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT This article examines the politics of mobility in post-1994 South Africa by paying attention to minibus taxis, which have received little consideration from literary scholars although they are ubiquitous in contemporary South African literature. Attending to the minibus taxis that pervade post-apartheid Black writing, I contend, sheds light onto the ongoing racialization of mobility in the country. Offering a socially situated reading of Thabo Jijana’s Nobody’s Business: A Taxi Owner, a Murder, and a Secret (2014), I show that the abysmal state of public transport in present-day South Africa is emblematic of larger realities of immobility which continue to structure the lives of most Black South Africans. Motivated by the death of his father, a taxi owner who was murdered at the job, Jijana’s searing investigative memoir provides a powerful lens into the underbelly of the minibus taxi industry and the violence that drives it. As it reveals the precarity that continues to characterize not just public transport, but every-day life for the Black majority, Nobody’s Business suggests that the politics of mobility in post-apartheid South Africa cannot be understood outside the racism and anti-Blackness that define the democratic dispensation.

A Qualitative Analysis of South African Pre-service Life Sciences Teachers’ Behavioral Intentions for Integrating AI in Teaching

AbstractThis paper explores pre-service life sciences teachers’ behavioral intentions toward integrating artificial intelligence into life sciences teaching. Despite the growing influence of AI in education, there is limited understanding of the factors affecting teachers’ willingness to integrate AI into life sciences teaching. These factors could inform policy-making and educational practice for AI adoption in the life sciences teaching. The current research aimed to identify key determinants influencing teachers’ behavioral intentions to adopt AI in life sciences teaching. The research followed a qualitative approach involving semi-structured interviews with 10 purposively selected pre-service life sciences teachers in South Africa. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. The findings reveal that behavioral intentions are shaped by multiple factors within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior. Attitudes toward AI integration in life sciences education included themes such as pedagogical benefits, practical limitations, and philosophical concerns. Behavioral beliefs encompassed the advantages and disadvantages of AI adoption. Subjective norms highlighted inter-generational differences, administrative issues, stakeholder roles, and resource constraints. Normative beliefs included organizational authority, peer influence, parental concerns, and policy funding. The findings have important implications for policy and practice, highlighting the need for targeted training and resource allocation for effective AI integration in life sciences education.

Resource inadequacy as a barrier to effective curriculum implementation by life sciences teachers in South Africa

South African teachers experience challenges with the implementation of the national school curriculum – the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). In this regard, teachers may not feel empowered to effectively deal with the demands of the current educational policy. Concerns have been expressed about learners’ poor performance in schools and the school infrastructure coupled with educational capacity emerged to be a possible contributing factor. In the study reported on here we focused on the challenges experienced by South African life sciences teachers in the implementation of CAPS caused by limited resources. The context of the study was secondary schools in 1 sub-district in the Northwest province that offered life sciences (LS) in Grades 10 to 12. A qualitative research approach was followed and 10 teachers from rural public schools who taught LS in Grades 10 to 12 during the period of this study were purposefully selected. For data generation, we used audio recordings from individual and focus-group interviews. The findings indicate that teachers’ needs in terms of resources to effectively implement CAPS are often not catered for. It is recommended that adequate teaching and learning resources for effective implementation of CAPS should be provided. The Department of Education’s prioritisation of teachers’ needs will engender effective curriculum implementation.

Uncanny Times: The Case of Eugene de Kock

ABSTRACT This article focuses specifically on post-apartheid representations of Eugene de Kock, who is seen as one of the bookends to the first, more optimistic, phase of South Africa’s post-apartheid moment. The other bookend, also discussed briefly here, is Nelson Mandela, the country’s first democratically elected president. De Kock was a notorious apartheid-era assassin and commanding officer of Vlakplaas, infamously associated with the extra-judicial torture and execution of anti-apartheid freedom fighters in the 1980s. I isolate this time-frame, from Mandela to de Kock, to comment specifically on what can be seen as a distortion of temporality in South African public life – a kind of disjuncture between time and history, to use David Scott’s formulation (2). I argue that this distortion is characteristic of the post-revolutionary present, not only in South Africa, but in many other parts of the world where a struggle for freedom terminates in a neoliberal order. The figure of the prison is central to this discussion: indeed, the prison is understood as one of the privileged sites where meaning is made and contested in the imagination of a national identity. Also central to this discussion is Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela’s remarkably prescient 2003 book about her encounters with de Kock in the ‘C-Max’ section of Pretoria Central prison, A Human Being Died That Night.

Impact of the Soweto football derby on the trauma emergency department at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, a tertiary level hospital in South Africa.

The Soweto Derby is one of Africa's largest football derbies. The two rival teams, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, both originate in Soweto, a sprawling township 20km outside Johannesburg. Soweto is infamous for the high levels of violent crime and trauma, but also for Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH), with one of the world's largest trauma emergency departments (ED). Research globally, describing the impact of sports events on public health care systems is conflicting, with evidence showing both increases and decreases in spectator related trauma. This paper seeks to describe the trauma burden during the Soweto Derby and add to the research concerning trauma relating to sporting derbies in low to middle income countries. To analyze the impact of the Soweto Derby on the trauma ED at CHBAH over a 24-hour period. A retrospective comparative study at the CHBAH Trauma ED of 13 Soweto Derbies played over a 5 year period between 2015-2019, compared to the corresponding non-Soweto Derby days of the preceding year. Patients were triaged according to the South African Triage Scale and Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) principles. Data was organized into 3 time frames where the triage score and mechanism of injuries were compared: 1) 4 hours pre-match, 2) 2 hours during the match, and 3) 18 hours post-match. Thirteen Soweto Derbies and 2552 patients were included. The median age was 29 with males accounting for 73.4% of all trauma cases. Significantly more P1 patients presented during the Soweto Derby. Pre-match there were 3x less P1 patients presenting to the ED (4.7% vs 12%, p = 0.044). During the match, there was a 40% drop in males presenting to ED (5.95% vs 9.45%, p = 0.015). Post-match there was a significant increase in P1 patients treated (17.4% vs 13.5%, p = 0.021)), with the majority being young males. There was no increase in either female or paediatric visits to the ED. The Soweto Derby has a direct effect on the trauma burden at CHBAH, with more P1 patients presenting post-match. Young African males are disproportionally affected by severe trauma requiring increased health care resources in an already overburdened hospital.

Comparing the technological pedagogical content knowledge-practical proficiency of novice and experienced life sciences teachers

The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the technological pedagogical content knowledge-practical (TPACK-Practical) proficiency of novice and experienced South African life sciences teachers. A quantitative design was followed and 155 life sciences teachers participated. A 17-item questionnaire was administered to establish the TPACK-P proficiency levels of the life sciences teachers. Five TPACK-P proficiency levels were identified based on the questionnaire responses, namely: level 0 (lack of use of information communications technology [ICT]); level 1 (basic understanding of ICT use); level 2 (simple adoption of ICT use); level 3 (infusive application of ICT); and level 4 (reflective application of ICT use). The ANOVA test showed that there was no significant difference between the TPACK-P proficiency of novice and experienced teachers. Based on responses to the questionnaire, the majority of the teachers who participated in the study demonstrated level 3 proficiency. A small percentage of teachers displayed levels 1, 2, and 4 proficiencies across the groups. We conclude with a recommendation for professional development to support the teachers’ TPACK-P better. The purpose of such a professional development programme should be to instil a deeper appreciation of ICT within life sciences teachers and to capacitate them to integrate ICT during their classroom practice, ultimately conducting lessons that are more meaningful to the learners.

Beyond politics? German Jewish refugees and racism in South Africa

ABSTRACT Between 1933 and the outbreak of the Second World War, around 6,000 Jews fleeing Nazi Germany landed on South Africa’s shores, becoming the largest group of Jewish refugees on the African continent. This article by Shirli Gilbert, which is part of a larger project, explores how German Jewish refugees’ historical experiences of antisemitism informed their engagement with South African racism before and during the early years of apartheid. While a limited body of research has documented the refugees’ contributions to South African social and cultural life, as well as the close-knit communities they established upon arrival, we know very little about how the Nazi past informed their engagement with the post-war world’s quintessential racial state. Their responses to the racist policies of their country of settlement are not easily generalizable, but do reveal some distinctive patterns. Of the minority who concerned themselves with racism, few chose the route of radical political activism. Instead, they challenged the racist underpinnings of apartheid in the social and cultural spheres, as journalists, educators, social workers and intellectuals, or via legal political routes, through parliamentary opposition. Multiple factors shaped these responses, including most obviously the traumatic circumstances of the refugees’ migration, as well as gender, class and generational belonging.

A CRITICAL LEGAL PERSPECTIVE ON STATUTORY INTOXICATION – TIME TO SOBER UP?

Intoxication has been a phenomenon since time immemorial. Alcoholic beverages play a central role in South African life and culture. Millions of rands are spent annually by government on “Arrive Alive” and “Zero Tolerance” campaigns in the fight against drunken driving. The liquor industry advertises aggressively, linking its products to positive cultural symbols and social needs. The use of alcohol and drugs is, however, also associated with personal, social and legal problems. The role of alcohol and drugs in South Africa’s escalating crime rate cannot be ignored. According to Jacobs, alcohol abuse is involved in a quarter of all admissions to general hospitals in the United States of America. This is precisely the reason that government put a total ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages when the Covid pandemic hit South Africa and hospitals were flooded with Covid patients. Alcohol abuse also plays a major role in the four most common causes of death of men aged 20 to 40: suicide, accidents, murder and cirrhosis of the liver. On 9 May 2022, the World Health Organization stated that the harmful use of alcohol is a causal factor in more than 200 disease and injury conditions. A million deaths annually result from harmful use of alcohol globally, which amounts to 5,3 per cent of all deaths worldwide. It was further stated that alcohol consumption causes death and disability relatively early in life; in mortalities of persons aged 20–39 years, approximately 13,5 per cent of total deaths are attributable to alcohol. It is, therefore, alarming that people who become voluntarily drunk, to this day, still stand a chance of being acquitted in South African courts if the evidence reveals that, at the time of the act, the accused happened to fall into the grey area between “slightly drunk” and “very drunk”. This legal position was once again confirmed in the case of S v Ramdass. The decision represents yet another instance where an accused who committed alleged crimes in a state of voluntary intoxication was acquitted on both counts. South Africa’s legal position on voluntary intoxication is clearly at odds with the global and national call for stricter regulations on the public’s excessive use of alcohol, which makes a consideration of the Ramdass judgment, and the policy behind it, deserving of closer analysis.

Mzansi Magic

Mzansi Magic

South African Life Sciences teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and their influence on information communication and technology integration

Evidence suggests that learners actively construct knowledge and improve digital literacy when Information Communication and Technologies (ICTs) are used effectively. However, ICTs have not been exploited adequately in a science classroom. Early research argues that teachers’ pedagogical beliefs are potential barriers to delaying effective ICT integration in teaching and learning. In South Africa, research is silent regarding investigating Life Sciences teachers’ pedagogical beliefs translating into ICT integration. Hence, this study intended to close the knowledge gap and add to the body of knowledge. This study adopted a qualitative design to investigate three South African Life Sciences teachers pedagogical beliefs in Gauteng province. Qualitative data were collected from three Life Sciences teachers through lesson observations and semi-structured interviews. Teachers were observed teaching grade 11 Life Sciences classes. The video recordings were analyzed using the Teaching Dimension Observation Protocol (TDOP) to confirm findings from the questionnaire and establish how teachers integrate technology into teaching. Lastly, interviews were conducted to triangulate findings from lesson observations and questionnaires. The teachers integrated technology in ways that supported traditional beliefs. The results indicate the complexity of the relationship between pedagogical beliefs and ICT integration in practice. Teachers reflected on challenges in ICT integration that possibly impacted on their practices of ICT integration. They referred to a lack of learner access to smart devices and issues surrounding WiFi connectivity. In addition, teachers suggested that they needed training on innovative practices in ICT integration.

The Inclusion of Nature of Science in South African Life Sciences and Physical Sciences School Curricula

Curriculum reform worldwide has often reflected changing perspectives on the teaching and learning of science. Such perspectives underline the notion that not only the teaching of science content knowledge is relevant but also the aims and methods scientists use to further their knowledge and the social context in which science is applied. We call this the ‘cognitive-epistemic’ and ‘social institutional aspects’ of science. They form the hard core of the nature of science (NOS) concept for curriculum reform. In South Africa, after years of Apartheid, a key focus of school science curriculum reform is for importance to be given to NOS due to the potential benefits of learning and understanding of NOS for students. This study analyses cognitive-epistemic and social-institutional categories of NOS in the South African Life Sciences and Physical Sciences school curricula. A critical finding for both Life Sciences and Physical Sciences curricula was the imbalance in the NOS categories. In the curricula, there is less presence of the social-institutional categories compared to the cognitive-epistemic categories. In general, there was poor interconnectedness amongst NOS categories, with the strongest interconnectedness revealed for the cognitive-epistemic categories ‘scientific practices’ and ‘methods and methodological rules’. Implications for the design of future curricula and recommendations for future research are discussed.

South African Thoracic Society position statement on the management of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in adults: 2023.

Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung disorder that affects the lives of many South Africans. Post-tuberculosis (TB) bronchiectasis is an important complication of previous pulmonary TB and a common cause of bronchiectasis in South Africa (SA). No previous statements on the management of bronchiectasis in SA have been published. To provide a position statement that will act as a template for the management of adult patients with bronchiectasis in SA. The South African Thoracic Society appointed an editorial committee to compile a position statement on the management of adult non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis in SA. A position statement addressing the management of non-CF bronchiectasis in adults in SA was compiled. This position statement covers the epidemiology, aetiology, diagnosis, investigations and various aspects of management of adult patients with non-CF bronchiectasis in SA. Bronchiectasis has largely been a neglected lung condition, but new research has improved the outlook for patients. Collaboration between interprofessional team members in patient management is important. In SA, more research into the epidemiology of bronchiectasis, especially post-TB bronchiectasis and HIV-associated bronchiectasis, is required. The South African Thoracic Society mandated a multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers to compile a position statement on the management of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in South Africa (SA). International guidelines on the management of bronchiectasis were reviewed and used as a basis from which the current position statement was compiled. This is the first position statement on the management of adult non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis in SA. A description of the epidemiology and aetiology of bronchiectasis is provided, as well as guidance on its diagnosis and management. The position statement provides guidance on the management of bronchiectasis to healthcare providers, policymakers and regulatory authorities.

Does the Return/Refund and Retention of Lobolo Violate the Reproductive Rights of Women in South Africa?

One of the main functions of lobolo is to create a marriage relationship between the bride’s kindred and the groom’s family. Lobolo, which must be practised subject to the Constitution, still plays a significant role in the lives of many South Africans today. However, we concede that there are some instances in which lobolo has been abused to infringe women’s reproductive rights. The apprehension that lobolo may be refunded puts unnecessary pressure on women, thereby infringing and violating their right to freely decide on reproductive issues free of discrimination and pressure. The practice of lobolo is evolving, but approaches to its return or refund are not homogenous. Some families may insist that lobolo be returned while others will not. In South Africa, the solemnisation, and the legal process for terminating a customary marriage is now regulated by the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 1998 (Recognition Act). Lobolo is not explicitly mentioned as a requirement for the validity of a customary marriage. Additionally, the Act does not contemplate refunding or retention of lobolo during the termination of a customary marriage through divorce. Section 8 of the Recognition Act makes it possible for a customary marriage to be terminated by a decree of divorce, approved by a competent court, thus making it possible to dissolve a customary marriage like its civil counterpart. In this article, we interrogate whether the claim for a lobolo refund violates the reproductive rights of South African women. We use feminism as the theoretical lens through which we view and answer the question and draw some modest lessons from Eswatini and Zimbabwe, and to some limited extent, Uganda.

Life Sciences Teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge When Addressing Socioscientific Issues in The Topic Evolution

The South African life sciences curriculum envisages a teacher who negotiates through controversial issues in the topic of evolution and helps learners reconcile the content and their religious or cultural aspects. Previous studies have found that teachers are conflicted to teach evolution concepts due to socioscientific issues (SSIs) emanating from sociocultural and religious beliefs and those of their learners. Consequently, the current paper reports a study that sought to establish life sciences teachers’ topic specific pedagogical content knowledge when teaching some concepts in the topic evolution. This is against the backdrop that teachers are conflicted about teaching the theory of evolution. In a qualitative study, an open-ended questionnaire designed to assess science teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Biological socioscientific issues (PCK-BSSIs) was administered to selected 28 life sciences teachers who had taught the topic evolution for some time. The findings showed that the teaching of SSIs in evolution through debates, argumentation, and discussions, provides a platform for learner critical thinking, problem-solving and the ability to make informed decisions. Some teachers failed to realise the need for inclusion of evolution in the curriculum considering its invasive and challenging nature with regards to sociocultural and religious beliefs. Teachers therefore used textbook knowledge without engaging learners. Based on these findings, the researchers recommend that teachers be equipped with not only the pedagogical skills to address controversial issues but should also be developed in the subject matter knowledge.

Affording post-relationship rights to unmarried intimate life partners in South Africa — A comparative analysis of the legal position

Unmarried cohabitation has become an international phenomenon. A wide diversity of legislative and judicial approaches to cohabitation exist in different jurisdictions, and there are divergent views on whether to protect either the traditional family or vulnerable partners. This debate appears to be central to how to protect vulnerable parties: countries adopt either a contractual laissez-faire approach based on the protection of marriage or a default status-based legislative cohabitation regime. After analysing the international situation, we address the need for South African law to protect life partners or those in religious marriages not yet recognised by law when the relationship is terminated by death or separation. We note that in South Africa, the choice to marry or cohabit permanently is often illusory in the context of the lives of many vulnerable partners. Recent case law has highlighted the need to encourage Parliament to pass legislation to protect such relationships. The South African Law Reform Commission has produced a Discussion Paper which inter alia provides for the recognition of certain life partnerships but still excludes myriad relationships requiring protection in this country. We argue that South African family law urgently needs to draft legislation on these relationships to reflect the lives of many vulnerable South Africans.

Of Ethics, Epistemology, and Humanity

This essay offers a critical reading of Drucilla Cornell’s writings on the concept of ubuntu in South Africa, a country with which she had a deeply committed, complicated, ambivalent relationship. It explores her arguments for the contemporary relevance of this deeply rooted cultural concept—despite its appropriation and commodification at the hands of global market forces—not merely to the everyday life of Black South Africans but also for a transformative constitutionalism; a progressive jurisprudence, that is, addressed to the accomplishment of a more equal and ethical post-apartheid society. In so doing, it analyzes how Cornell, a playwright and philosopher committed to estranging the familiar, turned the skepticism of ubuntu redolent among white South African scholars and public intellectuals back on itself by rooting her argument for its continued significance in a combination of ethnographic discovery and the legal history of the present.

Current Issues in South African Group Life Insurance

Current Issues in South African Group Life Insurance

A history and forecast of the South African life tables No. E1 to No. E9

During the 20th century, government statistical departments in South Africa produced nine complete life tables for the white population group, seven complete life tables for the coloured population group, six complete life tables for the Asian population group and no complete life tables for the African population group. As of 2020, the South African Life Tables 1979/1981 for the white population group are still used in capitalising pensions in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No. 130 of 1993. Similarly, the South African Life Tables 1984/1986 for the white population group are still used extensively in damages calculations by South African actuaries. This paper provides a historical record of the nine complete life tables for the white population group and provides a forecast of those tables to 2020. The aim of the forecast is to provide an estimate for current white population mortality rates which could then serve as a non-racial mortality basis for damages claims. It also aims to complement the work of demographers in their development of new population tables based on more sophisticated demographic techniques.

The present value of human life losses associated with COVID-19 in South Africa

Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to ravage both the health and economy of South Africa. This study estimated the total present value of human life (TPVHL) losses associated with COVID-19 in South Africa. Methods The human capital approach (HCA) was used to value the 101,146 human life losses associated with COVID-19 in South Africa as of 30 May 2022 – assuming South Africa’s average life expectancy of 64.88 years and a 3% discount rate. The TPVHL was the sum of discounted values of human life (VHL) across the 17 age groups. The PVHL for each age group is the product of the sum of discounted years of life lost per person, gross domestic product per capita net of current health expenditure per person, and the number of COVID-19 deaths borne by a specific age group. During sensitivity analysis, the HCA model was reanalysed four times alternately, assuming a 5% discount rate, 10% discount rate, Africa’s highest average life expectancy of 78.76 years (Algeria females), and the world’s highest life expectancy of 88.17 years (Hong Kong females). Results The 101,146 human lives lost had a TPVHL of Int$7,566,656,063, and an average of Int$74,809 per human life lost to COVID-19. Subsequent re-calculation of the model with a 5% and 10% discount rates diminished the TPVHL by Int$1,177,446,403 (15.6%) and Int$2,997,459,371 (39.6%), respectively. Further, a reanalysis of the model with Africa’s highest average life expectancy and the world’s highest life expectancy triggered growth in the TPVHL of Int$8,846,142,813 (116.9%) and Int$15,363,165,669 (203.04%), respectively. Conclusions The average discounted value per human life lost to COVID-19 of Int$74,809 is five-fold the GDP per capita for South Africa in 2022, setting the country back a few years in terms of socio-economic development. Thus, COVID-19 continues to have a significant negative impact on the life and livelihoods of South Africans. The economic evidence complements the human rights case for increased domestic investment into health-related systems to bridge the gaps in coverage of health development-related services.

The genus Agapanthus: A review of traditional uses, pharmacological and phytochemical attributes

Agapanthus is a monocotyledonous genus native to South Africa and distribute from the Cape Peninsula to the mountainous areas south of the Limpopo River. The traditional uses of this genus against reproductive and central nervous systems disorders were conspicuous. The biological efficacy of Agapanthus has revealed its promising, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, uterotonic, anti-hypertension, and cAMP phosphodiesterase inhibition effects in addition to CNS activities. The antifungal activity of Agapanthus species was the most promising. Among all the genus species, Agapanthus africanus (L.) Hoffmanns., has the highest antimicrobial properties. A total of 28 secondary metabolites of this genus have been reported, including sterols, saponins, sapogenins, flavonoids, lignan, and lignan precursors. Saponins were the most abundant isolated phytoconstituents, and agapanthussaponin A and B showed the most promise as effective fungicidal medicines among the isolated saponins. Some species such as Agapanthus coddii Leighton and Agapanthus caulescens Spreng., still require extensive phytochemical and biological investigation. A toxicological study on this genus is also required. However, to date, there is no review of literature summarizing the traditional applications, bioactive compounds and biological activities on this genus. This encouraged us to present a review focused on its current traditional uses, phytoconstituents, pharmacological activities, and future prospects. In attempt to do this, a comprehensive review of all published literature was carried out using numerous available science-based datasets. • This is the first comprehensive review on the genus Agapanthus . • This review provides valuable information about the traditional uses, various active constituents, and biological activities of genus Agapanthus . • In South African cultural life, Agapanthus species have been used widely for immemorial time in the traditional medical systems. • Saponins and flavonoids are the major isolated bioactive metabolites, in addition to, sterols, lignan, and lignan precursor. • Agapanthus has a wide range of pharmacological properties according to numerous reports.