The Race for Education: Class,White Tone,and Desegregated Schooling in South Africa

In the early 1990s, privileged “white” South African public schools began to admit “black” pupils. Drawing on interviews, ethnography, and archival sources related to formerly‐white schools in Durban, this article addresses two main questions: first, why did white parents so enthusiastically vote for schooling desegregation when apartheid was still in place?; and second, why, over time, did intense competition emerge between schools, and become so focused on improving sports results? In addressing these questions this study takes an historical‐geographical approach, paying particular attention to two areas of Durban: the middle‐class central Berea area and the more working‐class areas in Durban's south. This story begins in the 1950s, a period of major schooling expansion and urban segregation, tracing how a hierarchy of white schools developed in relation to the city's uneven geographies of race and class. It is this schooling hierarchy and the way it became contested in the 1990s that is key to understanding the schools' shift from “cooperative desegregation” to “aggressive competition.” More broadly, the article argues that education provides a window into key post‐apartheid tensions – namely between the deracialization of privilege, the continued dividend of whiteness, and efforts to redistribute resources to the poor. Finally, in an age of mass education, it argues that the actions of schools play an important role in shaping raced and classed divisions in society.     

Exploring Perceptions of the Food Environment Amongst Congolese,Somalis and Zimbabweans Living in Cape Town

In low and middle‐income countries, the nutrition transition to highly processed, high‐sugar diets has been extraordinarily rapid. Yet in these same settings, obesity and hunger are often experienced within a single household. As part of a broader study of cross‐border migrants’ experiences of maternal and infant nutrition in Cape Town, in this article I explore the individual and collective meanings associated with foods in a specific migrant context, as well as their connections to changing food environments in Cape Town, South Africa. While there was relative silence over food scarcity, the food environment seemed to present constraints to dietary diversity. The migrants’ views and experiences suggest the relevance of improving the accessibility and affordability of already desirable, nutrient dense foods.     

The Economic and Gender Consequences of South Africa's Home‐based Care Policy

South Africa's approach to care provision in the era of HIV/AIDS is home‐ and community‐based care, but in reality care for ill people in the home is provided on an unpaid basis, predominantly by women. But how much do they spend on this care work, in time and money? And what economic consequences does this policy have, particularly for poorer women? This article is based on findings from a study that focuses on unpaid care provision within the home for those in late‐stage HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa, and specifically on the costs of such provision. The findings show that female caregivers are bearing the bulk of the costs of care provision for ill people within the home on an unpaid basis. Home‐based care is cost‐effective for the provincial government but not for unpaid caregivers who are subsidizing the provincial economy. While hospital care for people with HIV/AIDS has been capped, home‐based care services have not been increased to a commensurate level. Unpaid caregivers and ill people within the home are largely disconnected from the health system. The analysis clearly shows that the home‐based care policy is not resulting in appropriate or sufficient support for these individuals in need and needs to be revised.     

Entering first union: the choice between cohabitation and marriage among women in Italy and Spain

While in Spain and Italy cohabitation has not acquired the same role that it has had in Northern Europe, in both of these Mediterranean countries cohabitation is no longer a marginal phenomenon. Moreover, the nature of cohabiting couples is diverse. According to the most recent FFS data, first cohabitations constitute a temporary arrangement that usually ends in the formalization of the union (marriage), and within 5 years 28.9 % of first cohabitations in Spain and 51.7 % in Italy were transformed into marriages. Within a Western context of changes in union formation patterns, the study of the choice between marriage and cohabitation as first union is of great significance. Is it possible to identify a shared pattern of union formation in Mediterranean countries like Italy and Spain? The purpose of this paper is to examine the choice between cohabitation and marriage as first union (timing, incidence and determinants) using a comparative life course approach. For the analysis of the timing and prevalence, cumulative incidence curves are calculated by birth cohorts and regions; while two semiparametric competing-risks models are estimated for the determinants of first partnership formation (one for each country), considering birth cohort, parental separation, educational attainment, employment status, age at leaving the parental home and birth of a child (the last three time-varying) as independent variables.     

The effect of guided relaxation and exercise imagery on self-reported leisure-time exercise behaviors in older adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 6-wk intervention that used guided relaxation and exercise imagery (GREI) to increase self-reported leisure-time exercise behavior among older adults. A total of 93 community-dwelling healthy older adults (age 70.38 ± 8.15 yr, 66 female) were randomly placed in either a placebo control group or an intervention group. The intervention group received instructions to listen to an audio compact disk (CD) containing a GREI program, and the placebo control group received an audio CD that contained 2 relaxation tracks and instructions to listen to music of their choice for 6 wk. Results revealed that listening to a GREI CD for 6 wk significantly increased self-reported leisure-time exercise behaviors (p = .03). Further exploration of GREI and its effects on other psychological variables related to perceived exercise behaviors may substantiate its effectiveness.     

Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse as a Life‐Long Process: Implications for Health Professionals

One of the aims of this research project was to develop a fuller understanding of the process of disclosure of child sexual abuse. Face‐to‐face in‐depth interviews were conducted with 22 men and women aged 25 to 70 years old, who had an early sexual experience at the age of 15 or under with someone of 18 or over. Narrative inquiry methodology was used and data was analysed using Rosenthal and Fischer‐Rosenthal's (2004) process of data analysis. Disclosure can be conceptualised as a complex and life‐long process, and most participants did not make a selective disclosure until adulthood. The findings extend Alaggia's (2004) model of disclosure to include the life stage and the person to whom the disclosure is being made. The main barriers to disclosure and possible gender differences are discussed. Family therapists need to manage the challenges inherent in disclosure of child sexual abuse at any age.