Multiple sexual partnerships play a very significant role in the spread of HN with epidemiologists suggesting that these partnerships possibly drive the epidemic. According to epidemiological evidence, a reduction of these partnerships would have a substantial impact on the epidemic. Like most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia is facing a crippling HIV epidemic with prevalence in the 15-20 percent range. In light of this, this study explored youth perceptions of multiple sexual partnerships in the contex,t of HIV/AIDS. The main aim of the study was to provide some insight on these partnerships with the hope that this will shed some light on why these partnerships exist and what barriers and opportunities for change exist given Zambia's high HIV prevalence. The findings of this study suggest that there are several social, cultural, economic and environmental factors that influence the existence of multiple sexual partnerships among the youth. In addition, the study also shows that while young people acknowledge the benefits of faithfulness in sexual relationships, there are several barriers that prevent the youth from being faithful. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

In the next few years South Africa with be faced with immense socio-economic problems created by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, not least of which will be the impact on children and their families. Evidence from other African countries shows that the presence oflarge numbers of AIDS orphans has major implications for the societies in which they live. Reports from these countries suggest that, even in the midst of high rates of HIV/AIDS, the African extended family system is remarkably persistent. However there is also evidence"that HIV/AIDS affected children face an increased risk of poor health care, of dropping out of school, of abuse and exploitation. The majority of communities affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa are already poor, yet HIV/AIDS will place a huge strain on available resources. As the epidemic develops, an increasing number of children are likely to fall through the extended family safetynet and pressure will rise on welfare organisations to provide alternative forms of care. The welfare sector must therefore urgently find innovative ways both to support traditional forms of child care, and to develop new models of care. Welfare organisations are being faced with the challenges presented by HIV/AIDS at a time when national welfare policy is in a process of change. The White Paper for Social Welfare (Department ofWelfare, 1997), promotes a major shift of approach to welfare provision. The new approach is based on the principle wof'developmental social elfare'. This is a broad concept incorporating ideas such as 'building human capacity', 'promoting self-reliance', creating 'appropriate' services through 'community development' and the promotion ofincome generating activities. Organisations are encouraged to move away from a concentration on rehabilitative services and institutional care and to develop a preventative approach which relies more on community-based services and 'community' care. This important shift in welfare policy is being introduced within the constraints of the government's macro-economic strategy GEAR (Growth Employment and Redistribution). GEAR aims to create jobs and to link growth to redistribution. This is to be achieved through a tight monetary policy in which reduction of the budget deficit and 'fiscal restraint' are major emphases. Spending on welfare, along with the rest ofthe public sector is thus constrained within tight budgets. This thesis looks at a changing welfare policy in relation to the development of strategies to support children affected by HIV/AIDs. It explores themes contained in the 'developmental social welfare' paradigm and considers the impact ofthe HIV/AIDS epidemic through an examination of the literature and through empirical research. It focuses on the implementation of macro policy change at an organisational level. The following broad questions formed the basis for this research. 1. Given the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal, what is being done by welfare organisations, and by whom, to provide care and support for children affected by HIV/AIDS? 2. Are welfare organisations in KwaZulu-Natal devising 'developmental social welfare' approaches to respond to the challenge of HIV/AIDS? If so, how is this approach being developed to assist children affected by the epidemic? What issues are being encountered? 3. In view of the fact that the AIDS epidemic in South Africa is several years behind other sub-Saharan African countries, are there any lessons that can be learned from other African countries about alternative models of care for affected children which have been developed? The research uses a case study approach within a qualitative research methodology. Research methods used were participant observation, interviews, questionnaires and collection of documentary sources. Three case studies are presented which look at different models of care and support for children affected by HIV/AIDS in the Pietermaritzburg district ofKwaZulu-Natal. Each ofthe case studies focuses on themes contained in the 'developmental social welfare' approach. The first case study looks at a community-based project for the support of HIV/AIDS affected children. It focuses on concepts such as community development and community action and at ideas of 'building human capacity' and 'self reliance'. The second case study considers the theme of,appropriateness' through the development an 'appropriate' adoption service for African children. The third case study, considers the issue of maximising resources through a study of a 'cluster' foster care scheme for HIV positive children. This study paints a picture both of potential disaster and of some possible ways forward. It highlights the achievements of the case study organisations. These include the promotion of awareness about the needs of vulnerable children through a community-based approach, as well as the development of new models of adoption for abandoned children and fostering for mv positive children. However, it also highlights the difficulties which faced these organisations, in particular budgetary constraints and the context of poverty within which they were operating. Tensions were found between the slow progress of community development' and the immediate needs of poor children and their carers in a rapidly progressing HIV/AIDS epidemic. The study points to the important role played by state social grants and the need to protect these . benefits. The study provides examples of the gendered nature of 'developmental social welfare' policies, specifically with regard to notions of 'self reliance' and community care. It proposes the need for a better analysis of the concepts contained within the 'developmental social welfare approach'. The need for a closer collaboration between the state and the non governmental sector is seen as critical to the development of a 'holistic' approach to the support of HIV/AIDS affected children. / Thesis (M.Dev. Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

In recent years, South Africa has attracted migrants from other African countries, many of whom find work in the informal sector of the economy. At the same time, African migrants elsewhere in Europe and the US have been shown to have higher rates of HIV infection than the general population. In South Africa, however, little is known about the vulnerability of international migrants to HIV infection. This study explored HIV/AIDS risks among informal economy migrants in the broader context of migration. The objective is to explore HIV/AIDS risk among migrants and to understand how migration experiences shape vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. This is a case study of ten Nigerian migrant traders in the Church Walk flea market in Durban. Ethnographic methods such as participant observation, individual and key informant interviews, as well as informal group discussion were used to collect in-depth data on migrants' motivations for migrating, challenges faced upon arriving in South Africa and sexual risk behaviours. It was found that migrants become vulnerable to HIV/AIDS both during the process of migration and once settled in the informal economy. Migrants found it difficult to secure jobs once in South Africa. Consequently, they had to deal with disillusionment, hunger, homelessness and hopelessness. During this period of hardship, migrants indulged in risky sexual practices such as having unprotected sex with casual partners as a means of dealing with their precarious situation. Migrants also had unprotected sex with many regular and casual partners once in the flea market where, as a last resort, they had found self-employment but had no access to HIV/AIDS intervention programmes. Reasons cited for risky sexual behaviour included separation from regular partners, loneliness, sexual pressures and the lack of social sanctions, which regulated sexual behaviour in their home country. The findings show that international migrants in the informal economy are a potential high-risk group for HIV infection and could transmit HIV to local partners as well as regular partners in their home country. This study highlights the need for interventions to reach this population. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

This study explores the ways in which Grade Two boys and girls (aged 7-9) in a predominantly Black school construct their knowledge of HIV and AIDS. The study also seeks to explore how young children, in giving meaning to HIV and AIDS, position themselves as gendered beings in the context of HIV and AIDS. By focussing on the construction of young children’s identities in response to AIDS, this study demonstrates how children, in responding to AIDS, do gender and sexuality. There is very little work around gender and young children, let alone gender, HIV and AIDS, and sexuality. This is because of the ways in which children are perceived to be nonsexual, degendered and without the capacity to think beyond a certain stage of development (See Bhana, 2006; 2007a; 2007b; 2008; Silin, 1995; MacNaughton, 2000 as exceptions). By drawing upon qualitative and feminist methodological approaches, this study positions young children as having their own identities, as active participants who are capable of making meaning. This study shows that AIDS is embedded within social, economic, cultural, political and ideological contexts and that the ways in which these children give meanings to HIV and AIDS are embedded within these contexts. In responding to AIDS, the children in this study inform us of their relationship to AIDS within social processes including sexuality, gender, race and class, and they show us how these are actively acted upon. This study also shows the children positioning themselves as gendered beings with the capacity to think, feel and enact their sexuality. In doing so, they dispel many notions which position young children as unknowing, asexual beings. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

The AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa threatens to roll back decades of development progress as the epidemic has contributed to rising child mortality, sharp reductions in life expectancy and has already orphaned a generation of children (Andrews et al 2006). UNAIDS (2007) notes that sub-Saharan Africa is the epicentre of the epidemic with an estimated figure of 22.5 million people having said to be living with HIV at the end of 2007. Approximately 1.7 million people were infected with HIV during the same year. UNAIDS (2007) further notes that one fifth of the adult population in Zimbabwe are living with HIV/AIDS. A total of 135 000 adults are estimated to have died between January 2003 and August 2003 as a result of HIV/AIDS related complications (Kujinga 2004:126). The HIV epidemic infects mostly the economically active household members and thus has the potential to draw households into poverty and even deeper poverty for those already in a state of deprivation. When hit by HIV/AIDS, like any other shock, households will adopt coping mechanisms; but in Zimbabwe’s context of hyperinflation and economic instability, how viable are these livelihood strategies? The objectives of this study were to explore the livelihood strategies that urban households resort to in response to the effects of HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe; and to assess the feasibility of these strategies in the context of the country’s current socio-economic turmoil. A qualitative methodology making use of ethnographic techniques such as semistructured individual interviews, focus group discussions and observations was employed to gather this data. Results indicate that households are limited in livelihood options due to underlying structural problems such as hyperinflation, resource and cash shortages as well as market failure. Households engaged in livelihood strategies such as use of savings, the sale of assets and commercial sex work. / Thesis ((M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

HIV/AIDS remains overpoweringly an illness of the marginalized and stigmatized in / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

The emergence of renewed emphasis on risk and risk management has opened a huge portal in attempting to deal with the negative impacts of mv/AIDS in the workplace. The study recognises the importance of risk management in achieving optimal benefits within any organisation. Furthermore it examines the devastating effect of mv/AIDS on the social and economic structure of South Africa and provides a benchmark programme in addressing this Issue. A case study is presented (Care for the Caregivers Programme, at McCord Hospital), which provides the framework of a programme in operation. The dissertation dissects the programme and evaluates the outcomes against a set of developed criteria. In maximising the benefits of such programmes, emphasis on proper implementation and monitoring is essential. The study proceeds to provide suggestions to harness the full potential ofthe programme. v / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

This study endeavoured to critically appraise the current models that have been designed to evaluate the HIVI AIDS epidemic. The flaw with the models is that they are not based on adequate data. Subsequently, the incorporation of the epidemic variables into Corporate Management has been lethargic especially with respect to small and medium business enterprises in South Africa. Nevertheless, larger corporations have evaluated the impact of the HIVI AIDS epidemic in their individual companies that provide results on the magnitude of the epidemic on the corporate sector. A careful analysis of these results taking into account the nature of the business will allow for more realistic inferences of the skill demographic magnitude of the epidemic from which smaller companies that have not embarked on studies can have a platform to assess the potential magnitude of the disease and this forms the backbone of the disease. Once this is recognised and incorporated into the mindset of companies, then strategic decisions have to be taken to minimise the impact of the epidemic on the business functions to ensure firstly sustainability and then profitability. Recommendations are outlined in the study based on the experiences of the larger corporate players that have performed the appropriate analysis for this and the actions that have been instituted. Thereafter the thesis substantiates the need for implementing strategies to deal with HIVI AIDS and the goals that companies should aspire. Lastly, based on workplace programs that have already been successfully incorporated into companies, the analysis and the program implementation is outlined. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.

Currently, the prevention and control of the spread of AIDS is one of the foremost international health concerns and one of the biggest social expectations in the United States as well. Until a medical solution to AIDS is found, the only viable means of AIDS prevention is to educate the public about AIDS and persuade those who are sexually active to avoid high-risk sexual behaviors.Because many studies have showed that college students are considered to possess the highest risk toward AIDS, in this study, possible factors that can change college students' behavior were examined.One hundred and ninety seven students who enrolled in two undergraduate general classes (biology and anthropology) at Ball State University were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning their sensation-seeking type and level, frequency of their interpersonal communication with their sexual partners, and quality of their AIDS/HIV education in middle and high schools. One student from this population refused to complete the questionnaire.This study showed that public relations practitioners would need to stimulate the target audience to interpersonal communication with their sexual partners, know each type of risk takers need different information from each other, and educate the target audience how to talk about this issue with their sexual partners, rather than educate them knowledge of AIDS or social norm of safe sex. / Department of Journalism