Centre for Social Science Research

GroundUp story makes the Cape Times front page

Jeremy Seekings — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:10:09 +0000

GroundUp was responsible for the lead story on the Cape Times today (21 May), exposing corruption in the Lingelethu West Traffic Station in Khayelitsha. Read the story and the accompanying editorial. GroundUp is a community journalism initiative, run by Nathan Geffen, and based on a collaboration between the CSSR at UCT and the Community Media Trust. We are looking for students interested in helping with the project.

Tax(i)ing the poor- transport and labour market outcomes in South Africa.

Dumi Hlwele — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:31:55 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 21 May, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:00

Presenter(s):

Andrew Kerr

Venue:

CSSR Seminar Room,Leslie Social Science,Room 4.29 Upper Campus.

Abstract / Description:

This paper explores the effects of the low density of South African cities on commuting times and costs, as well as labour market outcomes. Commute times for workers are much longer than OECD countries- average commute times for black South Africans are 2.5 times longer than EU commutes and twice as long as US commutes. Monetary costs are also relatively high for those that pay to commute, although a substantial fraction of workers walk to work.
Minibus taxis are the dominant mode of transport for commuters in South Africa but they are also more expensive than publicly funded or subsidised buses and trains. The recent bus driver’s strike illustrates that an alternative to government provided buses is good for commuters. However the government’s current policy seems to favour a shift towards publicly funded buses and away from minibus taxis. I discuss the pros and cons of this policy.

Food Security and the Urban Food Policy Gap

Dumi Hlwele — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:51:22 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 14 May, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:00

Presenter(s):

Jane Battersby-Lennard

Venue:

CSSR Seminar Room,Leslie Social Science,Room 4.29 Upper Campus

Abstract / Description:

The right to food and the challenge of food insecurity are being increasingly articulated in public statements of the ANC, DA, COSATU and other political players. However, while the right to food and food insecurity are gaining increased public political presence, this paper argues that the existing policy responses have significant gaps. The ‘face of food insecurity’ is increasingly urban and the food security and yet current food security policies lack an explicitly urban focus, leaving cities with no mandate to address food insecurity and the wider urban food system. The outcome of this is urban policies and by-laws that ultimately hinder access to food for low-income residents of cities. This paper presents data from the AFSUN Cape Town baseline survey to argue for the development of a specifically urban response to food insecurity.

Deserving and undeserving poor: Assessments of claims made on kin and state in Cape Town, South Africa

Dumi Hlwele — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:48:10 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 7 May, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:00

Presenter(s):

Professor Jeremy Seekings

Venue:

CSSR Seminar Room,Leslie Social Science,Room 4.29 Upper Campus.

Abstract / Description:

The distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor is fundamental to the design of most welfare states. Similarly, private individuals typically discriminate in who they do and do not support, for example supporting close kin more than distant kin. This paper examines how young South Africans distinguish between deserving and undeserving claimants on both the state and kin. Data are from survey experiments using vignettes included in the fifth wave of the Cape Area Panel Study (2009). I show that there are clear and generally intuitive hierarchies of desert with respect to both public and private welfare. I examine how these are affected by the characteristics of the respondent, and the efficacy of attempts to persuade respondents to change their minds. Finally, I examine the relationship between the perceived hierarchy of desert with respect to public welfare and the perceived hierarchy with respect to private welfare.

A History of the Surplus People: Resettlement and the Making of the Ciskei, South Africa, c.1960- 1976

Dumi Hlwele — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:08:55 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 30 April, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:00

Presenter(s):

Laura Evans

Venue:

CSSR Seminar Room,Leslie Social Science Building,4.29

Abstract / Description:

The extent of urban segregation, widespread poverty and the proliferation of shack settlements are striking images for any observer of contemporary South Africa. But beyond the country’s city spaces, which share some similarities with others in the global South, the ubiquitous and sprawling rural settlements of dislocated ‘urban’ poverty are perhaps the most sobering and defining features of the post-apartheid landscape. Sada and Ilinge, located at the northern extremity of the former Ciskei Bantustan, in the Eastern Cape, are two such places (fig. 1). Established in the early 1960s, these rural resettlement sites grew rapidly in the following two decades, as the apartheid government restricted new housing development to basic provision in the rural and impoverished Bantustans. Families and communities resident in small towns across the Cape were brutally removed, very often at gunpoint, and transported like cattle to barren, isolated and inhospitable sites where they were greeted by little more than a single tent for a family. Farm tenants were also relocated in this way. The minimal provision of prefabricated housing was blithely advertised to farm dwellers looking to escape farms for alternative accommodation, sold as a promised land of ‘milk and honey’ by officials wishing to expedite their removal from residences on white-owned farms. The rapidity of such resettlements, the mass uprooting of people with already-marginal livelihoods and the poor provision of housing and infrastructure in the new resettlement sites precipitated a major humanitarian crisis. Food rations provided were barely enough to prevent starvation. Widespread infant mortality and the ubiquitous presence of malnutrition and related diseases were reported in shocking press accounts of these areas, which quickly became known in critical discourse as the ‘dumping grounds’ of apartheid.

This presentation will lay out some of the key findings of my study of the experiences engendered by mass resettlement in the northern Ciskei in the period 1960- 1976. Social inequalities of class, gender and generation shaped a diverse range of experiences and the subjective meanings that individuals attached to their resettlement. Housing shortages, deep poverty, unemployment and widespread reliance on the wages of young migrant men were crucial dynamics in the making of power and the hegemonic projects of new Tribal Authorities in the self-governing Ciskei.

Methods workshop:Panel Analysis Using CAPS Data

Dumi Hlwele — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:40:09 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 23 April, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:00

Presenter(s):

Eduard Grebe

Venue:

CSSR Seminar room, Leslie Social Science 4.29

Abstract / Description:

The first in a new series of CSSR quantitative methods workshops focuses on panel data analysis and uses the Cape Area Panel Study to illustrate a few basic techniques.

GroundUp thrives

Jeremy Seekings — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:28:52 +0000

GroundUp - the community media project involving a collaboration between the CSSR, the Community Media Trust and social movements - is thriving. See www.groundup.org.za. In March, two CSSR students edited 'special issues' of GroundUp: Kezia Lilenstein edited a special issue on labour market issues, and Gabby Kelly eidted a special issue on social grants. Kezia's masters dissertation is on the labour market, and Gabby's is on the disability grant. In this week's issue, a third CSSR-based student, Amanda Purtell, reports on her recent trip to deep rural Mozambique, to find and reinterview two sisters who were recently deported to Mozambique by the South African Department of Home Affairs. The sisters came to Cape Town in 2004. Their father was abusive, and in 2007 they were placed in a registered care facility. Now aged 18 and 15, and despite living most of their lives in Cape Town, they have been deported. The sisters speak English, Afrikaans and Xhosa, and were unable to communicate with the Mozambican residents of their new village home. Amanda's masters dissertation examines what happens to young people in care facilities when they leave - or are evicted from - the facilities. When starting her research, she never imagined that it would lead her to rural Mozambique!

The Karoo Predator Project

Jeremy Seekings — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:28:31 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 2 April, 2013 - 13:00

Presenter(s):

Marine Drouilly

Venue:

CSSR seminar room, Leslie Social Science 4.29

Abstract / Description:

Marine Drouilly will give a presentation on the "The Karoo Predator Project - Carnivore and biodiversity research on Karoo farmlands". Marine is a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences, and is working with Beatrice Conradie, Nicoli Nattrass and other CSSR researchers on the sheep-farming industry in the Karoo, focusing on farmers' attempts to manage jackals and other predators that farmers identify as the primary challenge facing the industry. Marine has been running large numbers of wildlife cameras to monitor the diversity of wildlife in the north-east part of the district of Laingsburg.

We hope to have lunch available from about 12h30.

Implications of Social Networks for Voting Behaviour: Survey Evidence from South Africa

Dumi Hlwele — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:01:41 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 19 March, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:00

Presenter(s):

Collette Schulz Herzenberg

Venue:

Room 4.29 Leslie Social Science Building

Abstract / Description:

<P>In South Africa’s highly divided society voters live in politically homogenous social environments. As a result, many voters are likely to reside in homogenous political information networks where their partisan identities reflect widely among their personal discussants. This paper argues that political discussion within social networks plays a primary role in shaping political attitudes and vote choice. Moreover, the extent of partisan homogeneity or heterogeneity within interpersonal discussant networks has important, yet distinct implications for voting behaviour. Using the 2004 and 2009 post elections surveys the research examines distributions of politically homogenous versus heterogeneous networks in South Africa and finds that network types are fairly evenly distributed and voters are not overly embedded in either network type. The research also demonstrates the consequences of the different network types on voting behavior by showing that homogenous discussion networks tend to encourage greater participation at the polls but also less defections and far greater consistency in vote choice. The analysis also shows how momentous socio-political events at the time of a particular election can change the nature of social networks, with consequences for electoral outcomes.</P>

Assessing Demand for Green Electricity Products amongst Western

Dumi Hlwele — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:35:05 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 12 March, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:00

Presenter(s):

Chris Harrison

Venue:

Room 4.29 Leslie Social Science Building,UCT

Abstract / Description:

South Africa is currently undertaking investments in electricity generation infrastructure on an unprecedented scale. The total discounted cost of the investment scenarios outlined in the Integrated Resource Plan 2010-30 range from R700 billion to R1.2trillion. Investments on this scale must be guided by a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis procedure. Since existing markets for electricity provide no information regarding consumer preferences across generation technologies, the inclusion of several benefits relevant to the choice between rival technologies requires the use of non-market valuation techniques. Towards this end, a contingent valuation study was conducted in April-May 2012, seeking to estimate the aggregate willingness to pay for green electricity products amongst upper-middle income Western Cape households, as well as to examine the characteristics of likely adopters. The survey found nearly 80% of respondent households to have some positive WTP for green electricity, as indicated by their agreement to sign up for a premium-priced green electricity product. However, many respondents indicated low confidence in these commitments. Econometric analysis of the hypothetical market responses produced an upper-bound mean WTP estimate of R227 per upper-middle income household per month, whilst a more conservative lower-bound model produced a mean monthly WTP of R68 per UMI household. These correspond to aggregate WTP values of R105 million and R31.2 million per month respectively. Characteristics found to be statistically significant positive predictors of WTP for green electricity are: household income; awareness of, and concern related to anthropogenic climate change; positive perceptions of renewable energy technologies as sources of electricity; and solar geyser ownership. Factors found to be statistically significant negative predictors of green electricity are; respondent age; respondent education; and, positive perceptions of nuclear energy.

Controversy over clothing industry

Jeremy Seekings — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:51:50 +0000

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In an usual turn of events, the SA Clothing and Textile Workers Union (SACTWU) marched on the University of Cape Town on the first of March to protest against the continuing analysis of the crisis in the clothing sector by Nicoli Nattrass and Jeremy Seekings. Is this a reasonable example of free speech or a crude attempt at intimidation? SACTWU has regrettably declined several invitations to participate in a reasoned discussion of the issues, and has resorted to spin and misrepresentation in a series of public statements. Nicoli Nattrass and Jeremy Seekings have responded to SACTWU here and to General Secretary Andre Kriel in an Open Letter, available here.

Photo by Raymond Botha (The Monday Paper).

Read:

Profs Nattrass and Seekings's Open Letter to André Kriel (28 Feb 2013)
SACTWU Memorandum (1 March 2013)
Profs Nattrass and Seekings's Response to SACTWU (7 March 2013)

Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem): Global Standards, Local Knowledge

Eduard Grebe — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:09:05 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Friday, 8 March, 2013 - 13:00 to 14:30

Presenter(s):

Staffan I. Lindberg

Venue:

Room 4.29, Leslie Social Science Building

Abstract / Description:

This seminar will be presented by Professor Staffan I. Lindberg, Principal Investigator, V-Dem, Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, University of Gothenburg & University of Florida, Research Fellow, Quality of Government Institute, Snr Adviser, International Law and Policy Institute.

Abstract

The study of democracy and democratization lies at the center of political science and is increasingly important in economics, sociology, and history. In the post-Cold War world, democracy has also become a central foreign policy objective. Yet, there is little conclusive evidence about why some countries become and remain democratic and others do not. The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Research Program sets out to provide the first comprehensive theory of democratization, that also accounts for the multiple core principles and values in the varieties of democracy in the world today.: electoral, liberal, majoritarian, consensual, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian democracy. V-Dem also breaks down each core principle index into its constituent components, about 50 of them measured separately. Each component is comprised of several carefully chosen indicators, a total of 329 , measuring the quality of democracy across core institutions of democracies including elections, civil liberties, the judiciary, the executive, the legislature, political parties, gender, media, and civil society. The V-Dem Database will contain data on these for all countries of the world, annually from 1900 to the present including pre-independence eras. Being the first to use this unique database and by bringing together a research team consisting of leading democratization-scholars in the world, each with their unique set of expertise and area-competence, we aim to provide cutting-edge, systematic and theoretically revolutionizing examination of democratization. This research program is a collaboration between leading scholars from the Universities of Gothenburg, Lund, Stockholm, Notre Dame, Boston, Aarhus, Florida, Emory, Harvard, Berkeley, Michigan, Oslo, Case Western, Colorado, and the Catholic University of Chile, as well as scholars from 24 regional universities across the world.

Website: www.v-dem.net

Fat tales of South Africa’s income distribution

Eduard Grebe — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:15:15 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 5 March, 2013 - 13:00

Presenter(s):

Martin Wittenberg

Venue:

Room 4.29, Leslie Social Science Building

Abstract / Description:

I investigate labour earnings in the top tail (± top 12%) of the South African income distribution from 1995 to 2007, using a new harmonised data set constructed from the OHSs and LFSs (Kerr et al 2011). Nonparametric techniques suggest that the distribution is well approximated by a Pareto distribution. Surprisingly, this distribution seems to have been remarkably stable over the entire period. Parametric estimates suggest that the tail parameter is around 1.8, which suggests that the distribution is “fat tailed”. This implies that extreme outcomes are more common than with the standard “normal” distribution. I discuss some of the implications of such fat tails for the way we think about inequality.

CSSR/Afrobarometer Summer School

Jeremy Seekings — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 07:37:43 +0000

Photo by Raymond Botha ([The Monday Paper](http://www.uct.ac.za/mondaypaper/)).

Thirty young researchers from across Africa joined with UCT students in the first of the new intensive CSSR/Afrobarometer Summer Schools in January 2013. Participants took either an introductory or an advanced course in social statistics, together with courses focused on specific topics in the study of politics and policy-making in Africa. Participants were required to complete a mini research project and to present this on the final day of the School. Classes were taught by CSSR academics Profs Bob Mattes, Jeremy Seekings and Rajen Govender, and Dr Pedro Wolf, with additional help from Dr Eduard Grebe and Erica Penfold. Outside lecturers included Prof Joel Barkan, and Drs Danielle Resnick and Boniface Dulani. Participation in the School was funded by the Afrobarometer network and the UCT Vice-Chancellor's Strategic Fund.

Wage Setting in the South African Clothing Industry

Jeremy Seekings — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 12:57:44 +0000

Event type:

Seminar

Date and time:

Tuesday, 19 February, 2013 - 13:00

Presenter(s):

Nicoli Nattrass and Jeremy Seekings

Venue:

CSSR seminar room, Leslie Social Science 4.29

Abstract / Description:

Minimum wages in the South African clothing industry are set by mostly metro-based capital-intensive employers and organised labour in the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry (NBC). These wages are routinely extended by the Minister of Labour to cover all firms. Firms that do not comply with the agreement are pursued through the courts and eventually shut down by the NBC. We have argued elsewhere that this has been harmful for labour-intensive growth. In this seminar, we summarise the argument briefly and then discuss recent wage-setting agreements that seek to reduce wage pressure on firms and job losses in non-compliant firms in South Africa.

Masters scholarships in the CSSR 2013

Jeremy Seekings — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:28:38 +0000

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The Centre for Social Science Research is offering up to eleven scholarships to UCT masters students whose marks are usually above 70%, on the following projects:

Farmworkers in the Karoo
The economic and social history of farming in Laingsburg, c1940-c2000
Clothing workers in northern KwaZulu-Natal (2 scholarships)
Inter-racial attitudes at the University of Cape Town
The performance of local government councillors in Cape Town
Service delivery and protest in Cape Town
The politics of social policy-making in selected African countries (2 scholarships)
Child-raising practices among migrant families in Cape Town and Johannesburg (2 scholarships)

Scholarships are offered to either coursework masters students, whilst they are researching and writing their mini-dissertations, or to research masters students, whilst they are researching and writing their dissertations. The scholarships are worth R60,000 for coursework masters students, and R120,000 for research masters students.

Further information is included in the attached document.

Over the past ten years the CSSR has paid out about R10m in scholarships.

Debating job destruction in the clothing industry

Jeremy Seekings — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:13:06 +0000

Research by Nicoli Nattrass and Jeremy Seekings (published as CSSR WP323 as well as by the Centre for Development and Enterprise) has been making waves. This week there was extensive coverage in Business Day and the Financial Mail. Business Day has a short video on the issue, and Nicoli Nattrass's talk on Tuesday 29 January. There was extensive debate on Cape Talk, prompted by an interview with Nicoli by John Maytham (listen to the 9-minute podcast on http://www.capetalk.co.za/pages/podcast/podcasts.asp: Scroll down through the Daily Audio Highlights until you get to "Prof Nicoli Nattrass - Wage Determinations").

Job destruction!

Jeremy Seekings — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:25:37 +0000

Nicoli Nattrass spoke at a press conference in Johannesburg today on new research on job destruction in South Africa's clothing industry. This week the High Court is hearing a case brought against the Minister of Labour and the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry, by a group of employers in Newcastle, KZN, contesting the legality of aspects of South Africa's minimum wage-setting mechanisms. Also this week, writs of execution are due to be served on hundreds of factories that are not compliant with minimum wages, closing them down and putting thousands of workers out of work. A working paper on the current crisis in the clothing industry by Nicoli Nattrass and Jeremy Seekings is available through the CSSR and the Johannesburg-based Centre for Development and Enterprise.

Does the grant system incentivise women to harm their children?

Jeremy Seekings — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 06:36:06 +0000

PhD student (in Sociology and the CSSR) Gabby Kelly was quoted in an article by Rebecca Davis, published in the online Daily Maverick, debunking reports that some South African women drink whilst pregnant in order to harm their children. Sky News published a sensationalist report claiming that women are so desparate to access the more generous care dependency grant rather than the more modest child support grant.that they drink whilst pregnant in order to ensure that their children are born with foetal alcohol syndrome, a disability which may render them eligible for the care dependency grant. But the consensus among academic researchers is that there is no evidence for this. Gabby's Masters thesis entailed analysing the ways in which poor people in Blikkiesdorp - perhaps Cape Town's poorest neighbourhood, on the outskirts of Delft - perform health and disability in order to access disability grants but without attracting attention in the neighbourhood. Her PhD research shifts focus to the medical personnel and bureaucrats who serve as gatekeepers in the social grant system.

New Research on Identification, Biometrics & Social Protection

Jeremy Seekings — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 06:05:32 +0000

The CSSR has received funding for a project on the uses of new technology in cash transfer programmes. Across Africa, governments, donors and NGOs are promoting cash transfer programs as effective means of poverty alleviation. These forms of social protection are viewed as promising ways to meet human development goals and, in some cases, political or human rights in themselves. Indeed, social protection programs represent one of the more significant forms of public service delivery in Africa today, though the political ramifications of their implementation are only starting to receive sustained attention. This new research will specifically address the ways in which beneficiaries are being personally identified. In some cases, existing identification systems - such as voter registration in Lesotho - are utilized, but in others, entirely new systems are required. Increasingly, worries about accuracy and fraud have motivated the use of biometric identification - such as in South Africa where more than 10 million social grant recipients are currently being enrolled in a new biometric initiative. Kevin Donovan is the researcher on this project, and will be working with Jeremy Seekings. The funding is from the International Development Research Centre in Canada.

Three CSSR students awarded PhDs in Economics

Eduard Grebe — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:44:35 +0000

Fidelis Hove, Nicoli Nattrass, Tafara Ngwaru & Eduard Grebe. Photo by Janneke van Rooyen.

On 14 December, three CSSR students, all supervised by Prof Nicoli Nattrass, were awarded PhDs in Economics. The three students were supported financially by the CSSR and worked on various aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Fidelis Hove's thesis examined the use of HIV prevalence estimates in regression models (including evidence from Zimbabwe and on the relationship between armed conflict and HIV). Tafara Ngwaru investigated the impact of socio-economic status and other structural drivers on HIV in Southern Africa, while Eduard Grebe's thesis focused on 'civil society leadership' on AIDS in South Africa and Uganda. Eduard will rejoin the CSSR as a postdoctoral fellow in January 2013.

New book by Mike Morris launched

Jeremy Seekings — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:12:03 +0000

Mike Morris - former CSSR director, and professor in UCT's School of Economics - has a new book, coauthored with Dave Kaplan (of UCT's School of Economics) and Raphael Kaplinsky (from the Open University in the UK). One Thing Leads to Another: Promoting Industrialisation by Making the Most of the Commodity Boom in Sub-Saharan Africa examines how Africa can build on high commodity prices to industrialise. The book is based on research conducted through the research unit PRISM, which was part of the CSSR, and is now wholely located in the School of Economics at UCT. The book was launched at the Cape Town summit of the "Capturing the Gains" research programme. It can be bought from online booktores, or downloaded for free through PRISM..

CSSR research on young South Africans

Jeremy Seekings — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:48:56 +0000

The CSSR has long been active in researching the experiences of, and the challenges and opportunities facing, young people in South Africa. Jeremy Seekings, Bob Mattes, Elena Moore, Ariane De Lannoy and Pedro Wolf conducted research for the Centre for Development and Enterprise, which recently published a summary report which in turn has received some publicity in the press. Jeremy's work focused on experiences in the labour market, and especially the ways in which inequalities are reproduced between generations. Bob's research focused on young people's attitudes towards democratic citizenship. Elena considered transitions in family life, Pedro considered health-compromising behaviours, and Ariane examined schooling and education.

New working papers by students in the CSSR

Jeremy Seekings — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 10:16:06 +0000

The CSSR has just published seven Working Papers written by students in the CSSR. Amy Thom has co-authored two papers on her research into food boxes and food security. Beth Vale's three papers draw on her research into community health workers. Sam Telzak's paper examines social mobility, while Zoe Gauld's examines the possibility of replacing a purely race-targeted system with a points-based system for admissions into medical schools.

AIDS research in CSSR 2012

Jeremy Seekings — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:08:53 +0000

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CSSR researchers continue to conduct and publish research on social, economic and political aspects of HIV-AIDS and related illnesses, and to edit and contribute to online media. Publications in 2012 included one book (Nicoli Nattrass' The AIDS Conspiracy: Science Fights Back), seven articles in peer-reviewed journals, six CSSR Working Papers, and six students' theses and dissertations, as well as many shorter publications. A full list is attached.

Video: Nicoli Nattrass's Potter Talk on the unemployment challenge in South Africa

Eduard Grebe — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:57:18 +0000

Nicoli Nattrass recently gave a Potter Talk on the topic "The Unemployment Challenge in South Africa". The video is now online and can be watched below. The Potter Talks are a series of exciting and thought provoking short lectures given by prominent academics, thought leaders, innovators and students on issues affecting civil society in South Africa, organised by the David and Elaine Potter Foundation. The goal of the talks is to inspire, educate and engage.

CSSR seminar series restarts this Thursday with a seminar by Beatrice Conradie

Eduard Grebe — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:30:40 +0000

Dr Beatrice Conradie, director of the Sustainable Societies Unit, will present the first seminar of the CSSR's seminar series for the second semester. Her seminar is titled "Is lethal control of predators an effective strategy against livestock losses?: Ceres hunting club, 1979 to 1987". The seminar's abstract is given below:

Farmers the world over get emotional about predators. In South Africa an absolute war erupted around Cape Nature’s recent restriction of the lethal control options available to farmers. Farmers’ position is that they cannot afford to stop hunting predators, while Cape Nature has indicated that indiscriminate killing must be stopped for predator populations to have any chance of stabilising. In the face of these widely diverging opinions we have surprisingly little hard evidence of the effect of predator hunting on subsequent livestock losses in South Africa. This paper uses a 152-farm nine-year panel of predator hunting and livestock loss data to explore whether lethal control is effective in reducing farm-level livestock losses. Results show a positive relationship between lethal control and subsequent livestock losses which provides some support for the Cape Nature position.

Seminars start promptly at 12:45 on Thursdays in the CSSR Seminar Room (4.29, Leslie Social Science Building). Lunch will be served.

Children's Institute seminars

Jeremy Seekings — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:52:29 +0000

The UCT Children's Institute hold monthly seminars in the CSSR. On Monday 6th August, Sonja Giese from the Children's Institute will be presenting research on government funding for early childhoold development in South Africa. Seminars are at 12:45 for 1 pm. Please RSVP with Bee Williams via e-mail bee.williams@uct.ac.za for catering purposes, or for further information about CI seminars.

Spending on HIV and AIDS

Jeremy Seekings — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 11:42:46 +0000

CSSR researchers have conducted considerable cross-national research on spending on HIV and AIDS, including Matthew MacDevette's CSSR Working Papers numbers 294 and 297 (both 2011) and Nicoli Nattrass's letter (written with Greg Gonsalves) in Science (in 2010). Sarah Harper's new study of "The Fungibility of Aid Earmarked for HIV/AIDS Control Programs", published online in World Development, shows that donor funding on HIV and AIDS is generally not fungible, i.e. increased donor funding for HIV-AIDS programmes has generally not led to domestic governments in Africa and elsewhere switching their own funds to other programmes.

GroundUp community journalism initiative gaining ground

Eduard Grebe — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:52:11 +0000

The GroundUp initiative, a community journalism project in which the CSSR is a founding partner, is starting to get noticed. Its focus is on stories from South African townships, especially stories related to social justice and that are underreported in the mainstream media. It has already published a range of important stories on health, immigrants' rights (including a scoop exposing corruption at the Maitland Refugee Reception Centre) and public transport. Its recent Focus on Transport series chronicles the experiences of commuters in Cape Town and details weaknesses in Cape Town's public transport system, but also celebrates the fledgling MyCiTi service and includes an editorial on getting Cape Town's transport right. The CSSR supports GroundUp by assisting with training and mentorship of community journalists by CSSR graduate students.

Rebecca Davis writes about Groundup in The Daily Maverick:

The programme began in February, when 24 candidates took part in an intensive two-week training course. Of that group, the five most promising individuals were selected to make up the GroundUp team. They receive ongoing on-the-job training and support from UCT students from the Centre for Social Science Research, who also help out as subeditors. In April, GroundUp began to publish stories on their website.

“Our primary focus is news relating to social justice in the townships,” says Geffen. He points out that, though South Africa’s tabloids and community newspapers carry a great deal of township-based stories, they often lack focus on issues like health, gender and government performance.

Read GroundUp's stories at groundup.org.za.