In South Africa there are general studies that aim to understand HIV prevalence and specific surveys for target groups. However there is a gap in research that relates particularly to university students active participation in HIV/AIDS prevention messaging. This study explores the use of the Communication for Social Change (CFSC) theory with students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. The study takes the form of a survey, using researcher administered questions with 400 students at the Westville and Howard College campus to understand their perceptions of the 'Abstinence, Be faithful and Condomise' prevention strategy. Two focus groups were conducted at both campuses to further analyse the survey findings, with a particular reference to the use of dialogue to actively engage students in discussions about HIV/AIDS prevention messages. The study traces the origin of CFSC through a review of the development communication theories (which include modernization theory, dependency theory, development support communication and another development). The survey revealed that students were not supportive of programmes with a top-down flow of communication. Students at both campuses welcomed the role that dialogue could play to encourage student participation in the design of a new HIV/AIDS prevention message. Some of the findings from the survey showed that 91% of students at both campuses motivated in favour of students as active participants in HIV/AIDS communication processes. The findings from the focus group also revealed that students did not find the ABC message effective, and strongly promoted a revision of this message which should include 'accountability' and 'responsibility' as part of the HIV/AIDS prevention strategy. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

This research explores the development of community-based media for HIV/AIDS education and prevention. The theoretical framework for the research was based in semiotic, cultural studies and participatory action research perspectives and is critical of conventional approaches to communication and media production. Conceptual ideas for the media products emerged through interaction with small groups of participants utilising participatory action research and focus group methodology. A series of posters were produced and distributed within the communities studied. The research demonstrates a practicable and replicable methodology for deriving community perspectives around a range of issues and articulating these via small media products. The methodology is relevant to health education, but may also be applicable to a range of community-based initiatives that seek to facilitate social change. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1994.

Leprosy in biblical times was a stigmatised skin disease. It was not an easily recognisable skin disease because any skin disease was suspected of being leprosy . However leprosy as a skin disease could not be hidden , because it showed quite easily . People who had contracted leprosy were considered impure and unclean and were cast out of society. Today however, we have a cure for people with leprosy and it is not considered a terminal disease. However, we have indeed an incurable disease, namely AIDS. My question is, how do we consider people with AIDS today, especially women. Are they being treated as unclean, even though we cannot see the disease, or are they also the outcasts of our society today? My guess is that women are the victims today, as much as they were in biblical times, rather than the perpetrators. Women living with AIDS today is what motivated me to investigate the ancient biblical times to see how women at that time coped with an incurable disease in a society that treated them as outcasts. Thus , my study will focus on women with leprosy in ancient biblical times , but also will include a section on women with AIDS today for the sake of relevance. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

"Food security is access by all people of all times to enough food for an active, healthy life" (World Bank, 1986:1). It is thought that between 300 million and 1 billion people in the world are food insecure. This could be as much as twenty percent of the world population. A World Bank study estimated that 340 million people in developing countries did not have enough calorie intakes to prevent stunted growth, and a further 730 million did not have enough income to ensure an active working life. Many households barely subsist around a poverty line - at times above it, and at other times below. Such transitory food insecurity is common, dependent on the weather and other environmental or socioeconomic factors. In South Africa, a rising population growth has meant a rise in food insecurity for many rural households, and this may be further exacerbated by the impact of HIV/AIDS which increases occupancy and dependency ratios in households when orphaned children are taken in to be cared for. This research introduces the key concepts and indicators of food security set in the framework of rural subsistence and a high HIV infection rate in Ingwavuma, KwaZulu Natal. Four research objectives have been developed around a 'case-control' design, whereby the demographic, agricultural and socio-economic characteristics of families who have adopted AIDS orphans are compared to households who have not adopted orphans. The first objective of the study comprised an assessment of the make-up and social fabric of households in order to analyse the household head's ability to manage the family's consumption requirement. The results showed that forty six percent of households in Ingwavuma were headed by a 'mother' (single parent) figure and that the larger household occupancy ranges tended to be female headed. Furthermore, households comprising between 11 and 15 people, were female to male headed 7:1, pointing to high dependency ratios in households less likely to receive consistent income from a local and employed male household head. The second objective was to assess the level of dependency on income related purchases of food compared to the level of food production generated within the household itself. Sixty-three percent of households stated that they would not anticipate being able to obtain any work and thirty two percent felt they might be able to obtain work in the cities or with neighbours which would sustain them for one month. Only two percent of the sample anticipated being able to source income for three months, and another two percent for six months - highlighting the high level of dependency that the study area has on agriculture as opposed to income. The third aim of the study was to assess the impact that illness, death and the adoption of AIDS orphans have on the dependency ratio within a household, and its resultant impact of food security. A high level of illness and death was shown to occur in both cohorts of the sample, although deaths in the 'orphaned households' created larger numbers of household occupants and thus dependents when compared to households without orphans. Finally, three logistic regression models of food security were developed based on the main food and livelihood management indicators in the Ingwavuma community and the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on these was included in the models. The indicators could be incorporated in the development of a predictive early warning food security model for the area, similar to the work undertaken in Mozambique and Botswana where an early warning system is used to highlight expected periods of 'lean harvest' in order to ensure that the most vulnerable households are cared for. Another recommendation of the study is the development of a surveillance system for the monitorinq of the epidemiology of illness and death in the area to enable organisations to tackle the impact of the HIV epidemic. Specific research to address the targeting of 'households at risk' which include grandparent headed households and household heads who are HIV positive would also be of great benefit. Research into the development of both the formal and the informal economy, the industrial and entrepreneurial development of the area and the training of the community's untapped labour supply would also be of value to the community. Finally, research into methods to improve the agricultural base and food production skills would be enormously useful in developing the capacity of the community to provide for itself. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

This research was undertaken from an ecosystemic perspective, the aim of which was to explore and understand what perceptions Afrikaner adolescents have of the HIV & AIDS pandemic. The research was undertaken at an Afrikaans medium Secondary school in Kwa-Zulu Natal. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The HIV and AIDS pandemic that has struck worldwide has impacted not only on those whose lives it has taken but on the loved ones left behind to cope with the trauma, stigma and discrimination of the disease. HIV and AIDS presents a challenge to all, especially early adolescents whose lives, already complicated with their negotiation to adulthood, are also affected and infected by HIV and AIDS. How early adolescents cope with death is influenced by their developmental level as well as by their relationships to the deceased. Schools as secondary institutions of socialisation are charged with not only the academic development of their learners but also their physical, moral and social development as well. Schools are responsible for educating the learner in a caring school environment and educators are tasked with the added responsibility of providing pastoral care for their learners in times of distress. The inclusion of death education and policies to support learners following death becomes a necessity as the incidence of death increases. Research with regard to this study was conducted as follows:- • A literature study of available literature was done. • Qualitative research comprising the use of unstructured interviews was used to obtain data. Six participants from the class of a primary school who experienced the loss of a classmate participated in the research. Data was obtained during audio-taped interviews which were then transcribed and coded by the researcher to establish themes and categories. Conclusions were drawn from the data yielded in the research and the literature study and recommendations were made. The aim of these recommendations is to facilitate helping the Department of Education and Culture to empower educators in pastoral care and counseling who in turn will be able to assist learners in need of care. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and sexual practices of mildly mentally retarded (MMR) adolescents with regard to HIV/AIDS. The 3 main objectives, were: 1) examining what MMR adolescents know about HIV/AIDS and the sources of their knowledge. 2) examining the attitudes and behaviours of MMR adolescents in relation to HIV/AIDS. 3) examining the influence of peer norms and self efficacy factors on their attitude and behaviours in relation to HIV/AIDS. Questionnaires were personally administered to a saturation sample of 90 MMR Black adolescents drawn from one specialised educational institution in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Statistical analysis of the data revealed the following. 1) Critical gaps and erroneous beliefs regarding knowledge of HIV/AIDS, especially with regard to existence, transmission and cure. Respondents indicated a high degree of exposure to various sources of information, particularly media. 2) The majority of respondents in general did not hold prejudicial attitudes towards stigmatised groups and to infected persons. While only a small number of MMR adolescents were sexually active, the use of contraceptives was found to be extremely low. 3) Gender role prescriptions and societal constructs of immorality had a negative influence on the attitudes and behaviours of the subjects' sexual practices and preventative behaviour. Further, MMR adolescents were found to have low levels of self-efficacy in relation to issues concerning sexual negotiation and decision making, more specifically with regard to condom usage. Findings are discussed against the backdrop of the empirical literature on HIV/AIDS, developmental theory, as well as pertinent theories and models of health behaviour. Drawing on the primary conclusions of the study, a systemic body of recommendations is offered with regard to programmatic intervention within the school as a health promotion setting. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2001.

The issue of branding with regard to public health communication is the topic of this thesis. The case study investigated is that of the loveLife Lifestyle brand introduced to South Africa in 1999 by the US-based Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation. loveLife brought together the collective efforts of a consortium of NGOs concerned with adolescent reproductive health in South Africa with the primary objective of reducing the rate of new HIV infections, sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy through promoting a healthy lifestyle approach using traditional commercial marketing techniques. This study draws upon the Circuit of Culture to explore the manner in which the meaning of the loveLife lifestyle brand discourse is constructed, produced, distributed and consumed through using a semiotic approach. To achieve this the study explores the meanings represented by loveLife through examining the images and texts from the television and radio programmes, outdoor media; print publications and public relations produced by loveLife. The manner in which these meanings were produced by loveLife as articulated in various policy documents. It explores how young people aged 12-17 from different socio-economic backgrounds consume and make meaning of the loveLife brand and use these in everyday life to express meaning about themselves in their social interaction and how carcereal networks of power comprising parents, religious groups and AIDS organizations have sought to regulate the meaning and social identities that arise from the representation of the brand. The study concludes that the representation of the loveLife lifestyle brand has given rise to a brand identity that positions adolescent sexuality as something that is cool and that everyone is engaged in. This representation has been the result of a deliberate brand strategy by loveLife that has sought to encourage more open discussions between parents and youth on issues relating to sex and sexuality. The unintentional consequence arising from this representation is that in their consumption of the meanings of loveLife, loveLife's interpersonal facilities are decoded by others in the community as being spaces that encourage sexual interaction by young people. Young people who attend these facilities are by implication decoded as being sexually active. This undermines the intention of the producers of creating spaces where young people can engage and interact in a variety of recreational activities including learning about sexual and reproductive health. An additional unintentional consequence of the representation is that stakeholders who exert power over young people such as parents and religious leaders have actively sought to regulate the meaning of the brand either through using formal channels of protest such as the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa or through preventing their youth from participating in loveLife's interpersonal programme. This study proposes that the quality of media messages be measured in relation to the meanings that consumers and those that interact with them decode. This includes exploring the social identities that these meanings give rise to and manner in which these find meaning through everyday interaction and the extent to which these meanings correlate with those intended by the producers of the message. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

The focus of this study is the controversy around the photographic representation of the RIV/AIDS pandemic in Zambia (1999) by the Dutch photojournalist Geert van Kesteren. The controversy evolved around the 13th International Aids Conference in Durban (9-13 July 2000) between the photojournalist and AIDS activists, who argued that the photographs depicted their subjects - all black Zambians - in a victimising, stereotypical and racist manner. An investigation of the controversy on the issues generated forms the premise from which this research is conducted. This is intended to illuminate the nature and context of the more general soci()-documentary encounter between the observing photographer (the Western 'Same') and his/her subject (the sub-Saharan African 'Other') in terms of the politics of representation and the power involved. The study is undertaken within a broad visual anthropological framework of representing the African 'Other' from a Western perspective. The theoretical focus is on differing debates on representational processes and possible claims involved, especially by highlighting and questioning discourses of 'Othering'. Face-to-face, unstructured interviews were conducted with the key actors in the controversy and used to examine how subjectivity and institutional positionality in terms of socio-historical background, class, gender and race influence both the construction and interpretation of representation. Further, the study. addresses some of the limits of the representation of power relations and illuminates that the regime of representation is a system of knowledge production, implying issues of power and inequality. It has to be understood as a discursive site of power relationships, an arena for oppositional political discourses, of which adversary parties consider themselves responsible. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

The intentions of this research were to determine the general knowledge, transmission knowledge and prevention knowledge of AIDS prior to commencing an AIDS awareness-training programme; establish the general knowledge, transmission knowledge and prevention knowledge of AIDS after completing an AIDS awarenesstraining programme; to determine whether there is a significant difference in the subject's general knowledge, transmission knowledge and prevention knowledge of AIDS after completing an AIDS awareness-training programme and to establish whether there is a significant difference between the pre-test and retest scores in terms of general knowledge, transmission knowledge and prevention knowledge of AIDS, among the respective biographical variables. The results of the study established that all participants had some General Knowledge, Transmission Knowledge and Prevention Knowledge on AIDS. Employees who participated in the programme had improved their knowledge on AIDS after attending the training programme. The results of the study had found no significant difference between pre-test and retest score for age groups, race groups, religious groups, marital status groups and language groups. The results did however indicate some variation in pre-test scores and retest scores between the gender groups. The literature review examined AIDS from a biological perspective, a global and South African perspective and an Industrial relations perspective. The workplace issues pertaining to AIDS were discussed and responses to the AIDS crisis were highlighted. AIDS policies, training programmes and employee's assistance programmes were analysed, as options for organisations, in their fight against AIDS. A questionnaire was used to establish the general knowledge, transmission knowledge and prevention knowledge of AIDS of the 307 employees that participated in the programme. The findings in this study support the perception by companies that providing awareness training programmes will assist by increasing the knowledge of what is AIDS, how is it transmitted and how it can be prevented. This study revealed that after a training programme, employees were more knowledgeable on AIDS than before the training programme. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.