Xenophobia and crime : foreign nationals awaiting trial in a South African prison
The recent spate of crimes, allegedly committed by foreign nationals in South Africa, has prompted some South Africans to blame crime in general on foreign migrants. Drawing on annual statistical analysis of inmates within South African prisons conducted by the Department of Correctional Services, this research reflects on the increase of foreign nationals in South African Prisons since 2005. Furthermore, media reports, namely newspapers, television and radio, have alluded to the increase in the levels of xenophobia among many South Africans. In this research, interviews were conducted with prison officials and awaiting-trial foreign national prisoners at Medium A, Westville Prison, Durban, South Africa. Against the background of overcrowded prison conditions, the violence that emerges from South African society and the dearth of proper statistics, the question solicited is: Are these claims of crimes committed by foreigners in South Africa true or mere speculation? The findings of this research indicate that some foreign nationals do commit crime in contrast to the myth that most foreign nationals are offenders. The experiences of awaiting-trial foreign national detainees are documented in order to add their voices to the debate on crime, migration and xenophobia in South Africa.
HIV and AIDS in South African construction: is age nothing but a number?
Recently the South African government introduced new legislation to regulate the construction industry and, in particular, redistribute the responsibility for construction worker safety and health to include all industry participants. Consequently, the need to maintain and promote construction workers' health and working capacity has been given an increased prominence. Considering that the highest rates of new infections are reportedly occurring on the African continent, the fight against HIV and AIDS in the workplace has become an African priority. A comparative assessment is carried out on the levels of knowledge, perceptions and beliefs, and behaviours of construction workers in South Africa relative to HIV infection and AIDS. The levels of knowledge and awareness of HIV and AIDS among construction workers younger than 40 years of age (‘younger workers’) are compared with those of workers older than 40 years (‘older workers’). A regional exploratory study commenced in August 2002. Both age cohorts of construction workers generally had acceptable levels of knowledge, perceptions and attitudes on most issues relative to the disease. However, several areas are highlighted where they had deficient knowledge and attitudes or demonstrated high levels of uncertainty. Overall, younger workers had lower levels of uncertainty and deficient knowledge. There were several areas where these were common irrespective of age. These are the areas that deserve urgent employer driven interventions.
Same Same But Different - also in Europe! A New Methodological Approach in Cross-Country Analysis of Communication Structuresapplied to five EU member states
The EU still lacks a truly European public sphere. On this level, there is still a clear lack of integration between individual member states. This means that national public spheres and cultures are still of great importance for European communication and media professionals. Comparative research into the similarities and differences between different nations is therefore valuable for cross-border PR communication activities. This paper lays out the methodological foundation for such research, discussing possible approaches and difficulties associated with comparative research. The author then introduces a potential heuristic framework for comparative analysis: the International Corporate Communication Compass. This framework is applied to five case-study EU countries (Denmark, Germany, France, Poland and the UK), showing the differences and similarities in a range of different contexts that affect public communication in all its forms. The conclusion examines how the results of such studies could be used in order to compare communication identities of different countries. This can potentially help in the development of a European public identity on the long run and in a first step can led towards a better, more adapted communication structure about European citizenship. Ultimately, communication structures within the EU might become more Europeanized than they