The Republic of Kiribati is one of the last countries to face the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Pacific. First appearing in the region in 1982, HIV/AIDS was recognized as a national concern during the late 90s. Partnering with the National AIDS Committee, research was conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods which included focus groups, surveys, personal interviews and quasi experiments. These methods were used to explore population and individual perceptions and behaviors related to HIV/AIDS. Once perceptions and behaviors were understood, HIV/AIDS was placed in a broader historical and social context. Placing the illness in these contexts, I examined how history and social environments influenced the spread of the virus. Focusing on youth, research exposed complex social structures which produced opportunities for varying levels of stigma, economic development, migration, education and modernity, all contributing to a systematic promotion and prevention of the spread of HI V/AIDS. Conclusions showed that gender roles, modernity, educational and economic opportunity, overpopulation, religious beliefs and limited resources contributed to greater amounts of high risk behaviors taken by individuals. Conversely, gender roles, religious beliefs, and modernity also assisted in the prevention of transmission. / Graduation date: 2006

Uganda has experienced the largest decline of HIV prevalence of any country in the world, from a peak of 15% in 1991 to 5% today. In cooperation with community-based and faith-based organizations, the Ugandan government has pursued an AIDS prevention strategy centered on urging people to Abstain from sex, Be faithful to one partner, or use Condoms (the so-called ABC model). It is believed that the large drop in AIDS prevalence has been due to behavior change, especially reduction of number of sexual partners among adults and abstinence and delayed sexual debut among youth. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative investigation of Ugandan adolescent's attitudes and values towards relationships and sexuality, and the ways in which their social environment sends messages and creates perceived norms which shape sexual behavior, especially the behavior of abstinence. Focus groups were conducted with youth between the ages of 13 and 16 years in the districts of Soroti and Masaka. Youth discussed reasons for having relationships, both platonic and sexual; the benefits and risks of relationships; the proper age for boys and girls to initiate sexual relationships; messages they have received regarding sexuality and perceptions of family, peer, and community norms; and values regarding ideal sexual behavior. Youth expressed that the right age to begin having sex is 18 years and above, so that sex does not interfere with education and cause other adverse consequences such as early pregnancy, family strife, and infection with HIV/AIDS. / Graduation date: 2005

This qualitative research identified constructions of masculinity among seven adolescent boys who were HIV positive, purposively sampled from the age range of 13 to 16 years and were members of a clinic-based HIV support groups. Central to this research was the critical use of the concept of ‘hegemonic masculinity’, defined as the legitmation of gendered power through masculinity ideals, embodied practices and imperatives. The framework of dialogical self theory was used for exploring the dynamics of individual and group positioning around hegemonic masculinity and this theory was compared with other approaches such as discursive theory. Using multiple research methods within a qualitative design, this research identified individual and group ideals and practices held by the adolescent boys, with a key focus on how young men maintained ‘positions’ in relation to hegemonic masculinity, be these forms of masculinity that retained complete or partial identification with hegemonic masculinity or versions of masculinity that were alternative to the hegemonic form. The study was situated at the intersection of masculinity with the experience of living with a chronic medical condition, and the relatively homogenous and small sample provided an indepth basis for understanding the instantiation of masculine identity in a situation of fairly unique challenges and complexity. A combination of semi-structured interviews, focus groups, autophotography, reflective writing, biographical drawings and biographical interviews were used to match an interpretive, inductive research process, with reflexivity and research ethics as key considerations. Interviews were carried out by the researcher and two of the support group facilitators, creating an opportunity for reflexivity around the complexities of qualitative interviewing. Multiple methods of data analysis were used to analyse and ‘dialogue’ multi-sourced verbal and visual data. Thse methods consisted of thematic analysis, an adaptation of critical narrative analysis for selected texts and content analysis of visual data. The findings suggested that there were active processes of positioning masculine identity at individual and group levels and that positions in relation to hegemonic ideals were emotionally invested. Two hegemonic versions of young masculinity were identified as sets of ideal standards and embodied practices. ‘Township young masculinity’ was a peer-approved version identified with physical invulnerability, risk-taking and an ideal of attaining ‘influence and affluence’ through exceptional performances. ‘Aspirant young masculinity’ was a future orientation towards attaining a commodity masculinity, identified with an independent provider roles and signified through visible displays of ownership both material and symbolic. Interpreting findings from dialogical self theory, it appeared that some of the boys, at some times, established a distance from hegemonic imperatives by taking personally agentive, independent I-positions. This carried the risk of impulsively reacting to hegemonic imperatives without the support of collective identities and social relationships. Some boys developed Ipositions that were contradictory to produce new and more tenable I-positions. This process appeared to be more sustainable when it was connected with a group or collective identity such as being a member of the support group or being a person living with HIV. Some of the boys maintained alternatives through ‘metapositions’ that were made available through contexts or resources which offered alternative perspectives and possibilities. Dilemmas faced included managing the hegemonic imperative of being sexually active as an HIV positive young man or prioritising health where the hegemonic standard promoted physical risk-taking. It was apparent that despite interviewer expectations, the participants did not foreground an HIV positive identity but instead defined themselves foremostly as young men. One of the solutions to these dilemmas was to modify but maintain some alignment or identification with masculinity ideals. Here, the constraints of being HIV positive meant that maintaining health was more important than conforming to masculinity ideals or a reframing of masculinity within the physical, social and symbolic barriers of having a potentially life-threatening illness. The challenge of this solution was that its sustainability relied to a large extent on the availability of safe ‘dialogical’ spaces such as the HIV support group. Some of the boys found ‘principled’ alternatives to hegemonic masculinity from community or cultural values. Some of the boys identified with hegemonic standards but had to constantly defend against the anxiety of not being able to embody these hegemonic standards. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

High rates of adolescent fertility and HIV/AIDS prevalence reflect the significant levels of unprotected adolescent sexual activity in South Africa. Although knowledge and positive attitudes towards condoms are widespread, this has not translated into consistent use of the contraceptive method. This is a worrying situation since condoms are widely being promoted as the best means of dual protection. This dissertation sought to analyse the hypothesis that certain personal characteristics, knowledge and attitudes affect actual condom use. Information and results were based on data from two waves of the Transitions Study, conducted between 2000 and 2001 . Much of the analysis contained in this work was carried out by way of frequencies and cross-tabulations. Binary logistic regression was employed to determine how various factors affected actual condom use. The results of the analysis suggested that age is highly significant in affecting behaviour and this relationship becomes more pronounced with the increase in age. Older respondents, particularly females, were less likely to have used condoms at their last sexual encounter with their most recent sexual partner. Attitudes also proved to be highly significant in determining the probability of condom use. / Thesis (M.Dev.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This study addresses the problem of sexual risk-taking among young African girls aged 16 turning 17 years of age and factors influencing these risky sexual behaviours. The main question that arises from this problem is: How do young African schoolgirls construct sexual risks in their social context? The purpose of this study therefore was to explore how young African schoolgirls construct sexual risk in the context of HIV and AIDS in one high school in the Pinetown district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The research context was one high school in the densely populated township of KwaNdengezi in Pinetown district, Durban. The study comprised of 8 female participants in the 16-17 year age groups. In order to find out which factors influence young African girls’ sexual behaviours, a qualitative research design based on socio-constructionist theory was used. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Results of this study showed that the majority of young girls were knowledgeable about HIV and AIDS; they knew how it is transmitted, and they knew that involving themselves sexually is dangerous, which is why most of them had not done so. Some girls preserved their virginity, a good way of delaying early sexual debut. The young girls also had knowledge about preventative measures. The results also indicated that factors influencing young girls’ sexual risk behaviours included, among others, partying at night, fear of their partners, culture, gender inequalities and – mostly – alcohol intake. They also revealed that there is a lack of support about sexual issues from parents, community and the Government. This study revealed that young African school girls involve themselves in risky sexual behaviours, and experience a lack of support from parents, the community and the Government – agencies which the young girls feel can be instrumental in helping them to change their sexual behaviours. From all of this it is concluded that there is a need for further research among young African girls aged 16 turning 17 years. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.

This study sets out to examine understandings of gender and sexual risks amongst young Africans in the KwaMakhutha township, in KwaZulu-Natal. Young Africans between the ages of 16 to 17 years old were interviewed to ascertain what they perceive to be risky sexual behaviour and why young people engage in such activities. The study also aimed to understand whether young people understood the negative consequences of risky behaviour. Such insight from young peoples' perspectives is very helpful in understanding what schools can do to prevent risk taking activities especially in the context of AIDS. KwaZulu-Natal is the epicentre of the AIDS pandemic in South Africa and young people between the ages of 15-24 are very vulnerable with young women facing disproportionate vulnerability. A qualitative research method was used in this study and ten in-depth interviews were conducted in one of the high schools in the KwaMakutha Township, outside Durban. The study finds that gender inequalities is central in understanding sexual risk and constructions of masculinity and femininity reproduce sexual and gender relations of power where young women remain vulnerable. Schools should take the voices of young people seriously and address gender inequalities as a key area of intervention. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Refugees are not a new phenomenon and their plight has been felt the world over. Africa continues to see large numbers of people displaced through armed conflict, producing more refugees on the worlds&rsquo / most poverty stricken continent than any other.<br /> The implications of these displacements of people dislocated from their places of habitual residence create much concern, particularly in the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Such dislocations and displacements imply separation from family and communities, including socio-economic benefits that accrue to them. There is an apparent problem of accessing health services, educational services, sources of livelihood and protection from sexual and emotional abuse. Refugee children and women are said to be the most vulnerable, although until recently adolescents in armed conflict were not considered as a<br /> special group of children requiring special attention. The main objective of this research was to investigate levels of risk for HIV among refugee adolescents in Zambia and to determine how location relates to risk. Of particular interest was the difference in risk experienced in rural and urban areas. The researcher&rsquo / s hypothesis was that refugee adolescents in rural camps of Zambia are at greater risk because they lack adequate sources of income, health, and education in comparison to urban areas. The research was located within two theoretical underpinnings namely the social cognitive theory and the AIDS Risk Reduction Model (ARRM). The theory posits that a reciprocal relationship exists between environmental contexts, personal factors and behavior. The model explains how people change behavior that reduces risk for HIV by changing perceptions on sexual activity and when they enact the knowledge obtained from HIV preventive programmes. The methodology was located within both the qualitative and quantitative research<br /> approaches. Qualitative because firstly, the research is a comparative case study and secondly, it is the first time such a study is being conducted. The researcher also made use of the quantitative through the survey and secondary HIV/AIDS statistical data.

Thesis (M.A. (Journalism and Media Studies))--Rhodes University, 2005. / "A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies" -T.p.

A quantitative, descriptive and comparative study was conducted to determine the attitudes of young people aged 15-25 years towards the “ABC” strategy in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Francistown, Botswana. Differences between two age groups and gender were determined. Structured questionnaire was used and 241 young people participated in the study. Data were analysed with SPSS version 13.0, guided by the Health Belief Model. The findings revealed that young people did not perceive the seriousness and severity of the HIV/AIDS when it came to the practice of “ABC” strategy. Young people’s cue to action was very high but their confidence to adopt and practice the “ABC” strategy were low. They had adequate knowledge of the benefits of abstinence and condoms but they perceived barriers towards the use of condom. The differences between the two age groups, 15-19 and 20-25 years and between the males and females were not statistically significant. / Public Health / M.A. (Public Health)

This study responds to the following research question: How might rural school youth engage peers using social media in a participatory cultures framework to contribute to addressing gender-based violence in their community? This question is supported by the following secondary questions: How do rural school youth understand gender-based violence in their community. how might rural school youth use social media within a participatory cultures framework to engage peers in addressing GBV How can rural school youth engage with their peers via social media to facilitate youth agency in a participatory cultures framework This qualitative study is positioned in a critical paradigm and employs a visual participatory research methodology to contribute to addressing gender-based violence in the age of HIV and AIDS. The participants in this study are five learners (3 boys and 2 girls) with five of their peers (3 boys and 2 girls) from a secondary school in rural Vulindlela in KwaZulu-Natal, purposively selected from Grade 9 classes. Digital storytelling was employed as the main visual method of data generation to express the participants’ understanding of, and solutions to, genderbased violence. The stories were used by the participants to engage their peers around the topic via social media and to enable them to reflect on their own agency. The study draws on Jenkins’ theory of participatory cultures as a heoretical framework. Thematic analysis was applied to make meaning of the findings. The findings show that rural school youth understand gender-based violence (GBV) as a complex problem. Youthful learners are able to competently apply social media to address GBV and engage their peers through social media – hifting the power to participate as agents of change.The findings have implications for youth, the school, and the community. The youth are seen as knowledgeable actors who should inform intervention programmes aimed at social change. Social media can offer an engaging environment for peer learning and support. For digital participation, the youth need to acquire digital skills at school which could be integrated throughout the curriculum, drawing on participatory cultures. In the community, youth as knowledge producers are competent in leading, guiding, and instructing community members using social media spaces as more people have access to inexpensive digital technology that allows them to participate in community intervention programmes aimed at social change. I conclude by arguing that youth can express lived realties on GBV and solutions to GBV through visual methods such as digital storytelling. Their engagement on social media such as Facebook can be viewed as intervention by assuming agency through a guided process of solving community problems collaboratively with peers through the process of participatory cultures. This democratic process strengthens agency for community benefit and highlights a new youth and peer culture where youth circulate new and self-made content aimed at social action through their continuous reflection – a shift in power as the voices and actions of youth are acknowledged.