A quantitative and descriptive type of study design was followed using structured self-administered questionnaires distributed among 84 conveniently selected male adolescent learners from Nanogang Community Junior Secondary School (NCJSS) in Gaborone. The purpose of this study was to describe factors that influence the uptake of safe male circumcision (SMC) as a human immune-deficiency virus (HIV) prevention strategy among male adolescent learners. The study findings show that protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was found to be the main reason for adolescent learners undergoing male circumcision (MC) (p<.01). Reasons such as maintenance of genital hygiene, culture, religion, and the enhancement of sexual pleasure were not found to be significant factors. Misconceptions such as the belief that girls do not like circumcised partners were found to be the main reason for adolescent learners not undergoing MC (p<.05). A number of factors which were claimed in previous studies to be obstacles for the uptake of MC, such as surgical complications, peer pressure, stigma, and discrimination, were not found to be major obstacles / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Morbidity and mortality are national problems that affect a vast number of children and young adults each year in Circumcision Schools. The number of children who either get sick or die of traditional circumcision school is probably high. "In one study of penile mutilation practice (in 1990) of the Xhosa tribe of Southern Africa, 9 % of mutilated boys died: 52 % lost all or most of their penile shaft skin: 14 % developed severe infectious lesions: 10% lost their glans penis; and 5 % lost their entire penis. This represents only those boys who made it to the hospital," (Denniston and Milos, 1997: v). The problem is still the same and this could mean that the true complication statistics is likely to be much higher if the entire South Africa is taken into consideration. Although traditional circumcision was well intended, the recent spate of death puts it under threat. Besides, there are many other controversial acts that are taking place within the school itself. There are many illegal schools instituted by inexperienced traditional surgeons. The plight is further worsened by the commercialisation of the traditional institution. It is painful to note that the camps which were normally held in winter for children to heal faster are now also held in summer. The outmoded system of administration in this institution and the health hazards experienced, confronts parents, children and the entire community with a dilemma - a dilemma that warrants ethical reflection. The dilemma poses a serious challenge to the cultures that practice the traditional ritual of circumcision. Many of the advisers of this thesis agree (the likes of Prof. C.S. van der Waal, Prof G. Tangwa, Chief T.l Ramovha, Traditional healer Mashudu Dima and Dr D. Sidler) that we don't have to do away with the school as such, but that there is a need to either change and improve certain things in this school. Social change and medical awareness seem very important in this regard. The hurdle created by this dilemma, though daunting, can be overcome. We need education, cooperation, dialogue, rationality and true reflection on our culture to work this problem out. Until our children are safe from the threat of morbidity and mortality, no one is safe. I therefore think that many human errors could paint an unfavourable picture on the traditional Circumcision School, whereby creating ethical dilemmas. The ethical dilemma could be a starting point for critical reflection on culture and tradition with the hope for change and future progress. It is such a challenge that Circumcision Schools should face and which they urgently need. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ernstige beserings en 'n hoë dodetal in besnyding-skool is 'n nasionale probleem wat elke jaar talle kinders en jong volwassenes affekteer. Die getal kinders waarvan die gesondheid aangetas word of wat selfs sterf in dié tradisionele besnyding-skole is waarskynlik haag. "In one study of penile mutilation practice (in J 990) of the Xhosa tribe of Southern Africa, 9% of mutilated boys died: 52% lost all or most of their penile shaft skin: J4% died developed serious infectious lesions: J0% lost their glans penis; and 5% lost their entire penis. This represents only the boys who made it to hospital" (Denniston and Milos, 1997:v). Dié probleem bestaan voort, en dit mag beteken dat die ware ongevalle syfer veel hoër mag wees, sou die hele Suid Afrika in berekening gebring word. Alhoewel besnyding tradisioneel welbedoeld is, word dié praktyk nou bedreig deur die onlangse vlaag van sterftes. Daarbenewens is daar vele ander kontroversïele praktyke wat in dié skole self bedryf word. 'n Groot aantal van die skole is onwettig en word deur onervare tradisionele sjirurge bedryf. Dié problem word verder vererger deur die kommersialisering van dié tradisionele institusie. Dit is ook kommerwekkend om daarop te let dat waar dit gebruiklik was om dié kampe in die winter te hou - vir die sneller herstel van die kinders - hulle nou ook in die somer beslag neem. Die verouderde sisteem waarmee dié institusie se administrasie bedryf word, sowel as die gesondheids-gevare wat daarmee gepaard gaan, stelouers, kinders en die gemeenskap as geheel voor 'n dilemma - 'n dilemma wat etiese nadenke verg. Dié dilemma bied 'n ernstige uitdaging tot die kulture wat steeds die instelling van besnyding huldig. Soveel as sekere van die bydraes binne die vervolgende verhandeling (bv. Dié van Proff. c.S. De Waal, G. Tangwa, Hoofman T.J. Ramovha, Tradisionele heler Mashudu Dima en Dr. D. Sidler) saamstem dat daar nie ingeheel van die skole afgesien hoef te word nie, is daar wel 'n nood om sekere aspekte daarvan te hersien en verbeter. Sosiale verandering en 'n mediese perspektief is van groot belang hiertoe. Die struikelblok wat deur hierdie dilemma veroorsaak word - hoewel intimiderend - kán weloorkom word. Daar is 'n nood vir opvoeding, samewerking, dialoog, redelikheid en 'n ware nadenke oor ons kultuur om hierdie probleem die hoof te bied. Tot tyd en wylons kinders veilig staan van die dubbele gevare van besering en dood, is niemand veilig nie. Ek dink dus dat, terwyl verskeie etiese dilemma's ongunstige beeld skep van menslike foute, hulle ook vra om insigte rondom die menslike kultuur, en om hoop vir toekomstige vooruitgang. Dit is wat tradisionele besnyding-skole benodig.

<p>Kvinnlig könsstympning uppmärksammades i västvärlden på 1970-talet då invandringen till väst från länder där könsstympning praktiseras ökade. När Waris Dirie gav ut sin självbiografiska bok En blomma i Afrikas öken 1999 kom könsstympning åter på tapeten. Eftersom könsstympning är en sedvänja som praktiserats i tusentals år världen över och fortfarande utövas i flera länder idag, väcktes ett intresse att ta reda på omständigheterna kring fenomenet. Vart, hur och varför uppstod denna till synes inhumana och irrationella sedvänja och hur kommer det sig att den lever kvar än idag? Vilka bakomliggande faktorer finns? Hur hänger könsstympning ihop med religion, kultur, genus, makt och så vidare?</p><p>Eftersom det verkade handla om ett mycket komplext fenomen togs beslutet att syftet skulle vara ganska brett och omfattande. Hypotesen var att könsstympning kunde förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen och detta är det som undersöks, analyseras och framhålls genom denna uppsats. De sociologiska teorier som använts faller inom ramarna för socialpsykologi och som komplement till dessa teorier har även interkulturella perspektiv och genus- och etnicitetsperspektiv använts.</p><p>Metoden är kvalitativ datainsamling. Ett stort urval böcker, artiklar och internetkällor har använts. Dataanalysen har skett parallellt och integrerat med datainsamlingen. Centrala begrepp och teoretiska utgångspunkter har sedan kopplats samman med fenomenet könsstympning i analysen. Slutligen hålls en avslutande diskussion där personliga reflektioner och slutsatser diskuteras.</p><p>Resultatet visar på många olika möjliga sociologiska, interkulturella och genus- och etnicitetsrelaterade förklaringsmodeller av hur könsstympning kan förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen. Det har även visat sig vara intressant att dra paralleller mellan den könsstympade kvinnan och den ”jämställda” västerländska kvinnan. Det finns ingen enkel förklaring till varför sedvänjan existerar än idag, det är många olika aspekter och faktorer som spelar in. Vad som är viktigt är att man förhåller sig till fenomenet med viss kulturell relativism och att man beaktar sedvänjans komplexa och multidimensionella natur.</p> / <p>Female genital mutilation (FGM) attracted much attention in the west in the 1970’s, when the immigration to the west from countries where FGM was practiced increased. When Waris Dirie published her autobiography Desert flower: the extraordinary journey of a desert nomad in 1999, the phenomenon got on the carpet again. Since FGM is a custom that has been practiced for thousands of years all over the world and is still beeing practiced in a number of countries today, an interest was awakened for examining the circumstances surrounding the phenomenon. Where, how and why did this apparently inhumane and irrational custom arise and how come it still exists today? What is at the bottom of it? How is FGM related to religion, culture, gender, power and so on?</p><p>Since it seemed to be about a very complex phenomenon a decision was made to keep the purpose of the essay quite broad and extensive. The hypothesis was that FGM could be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon and this is what has been examined, analyzed and emphasizwd through out this essay. The sociological theories falls within the framework of social phsychology, and as a compliment to these theories there has also been a use of intercultural perspectives and gender- and ethnicity perspectives.</p><p>The method is qualitative data gathering. A large selection of books, articles and websites have been used. Data analysis has been done throughout and integrated with the data gathering process. In the analysis, theory is related and connected to the pheonomenon FMG. Finally there is a closing discussion in which personal reflections and conclusions are discussed.</p><p>The result shows many different sociological, intercultural and gender- and ethnicity related explanation models of how FGM can be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon. It has also proved interesting to draw paralleles between the circumcised woman and the “equal” western woman. There is no simple explanation to why the custom is still beeing practiced today, there are many different aspects and factors involved. What is important though, is that you relate to the phenomenon with a certain degree of cultural relativism and that you pay regard to the customs complex and multi dimensional nature.</p>

Kvinnlig könsstympning uppmärksammades i västvärlden på 1970-talet då invandringen till väst från länder där könsstympning praktiseras ökade. När Waris Dirie gav ut sin självbiografiska bok En blomma i Afrikas öken 1999 kom könsstympning åter på tapeten. Eftersom könsstympning är en sedvänja som praktiserats i tusentals år världen över och fortfarande utövas i flera länder idag, väcktes ett intresse att ta reda på omständigheterna kring fenomenet. Vart, hur och varför uppstod denna till synes inhumana och irrationella sedvänja och hur kommer det sig att den lever kvar än idag? Vilka bakomliggande faktorer finns? Hur hänger könsstympning ihop med religion, kultur, genus, makt och så vidare? Eftersom det verkade handla om ett mycket komplext fenomen togs beslutet att syftet skulle vara ganska brett och omfattande. Hypotesen var att könsstympning kunde förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen och detta är det som undersöks, analyseras och framhålls genom denna uppsats. De sociologiska teorier som använts faller inom ramarna för socialpsykologi och som komplement till dessa teorier har även interkulturella perspektiv och genus- och etnicitetsperspektiv använts. Metoden är kvalitativ datainsamling. Ett stort urval böcker, artiklar och internetkällor har använts. Dataanalysen har skett parallellt och integrerat med datainsamlingen. Centrala begrepp och teoretiska utgångspunkter har sedan kopplats samman med fenomenet könsstympning i analysen. Slutligen hålls en avslutande diskussion där personliga reflektioner och slutsatser diskuteras. Resultatet visar på många olika möjliga sociologiska, interkulturella och genus- och etnicitetsrelaterade förklaringsmodeller av hur könsstympning kan förklaras och förstås som ett socialt fenomen. Det har även visat sig vara intressant att dra paralleller mellan den könsstympade kvinnan och den ”jämställda” västerländska kvinnan. Det finns ingen enkel förklaring till varför sedvänjan existerar än idag, det är många olika aspekter och faktorer som spelar in. Vad som är viktigt är att man förhåller sig till fenomenet med viss kulturell relativism och att man beaktar sedvänjans komplexa och multidimensionella natur. / Female genital mutilation (FGM) attracted much attention in the west in the 1970’s, when the immigration to the west from countries where FGM was practiced increased. When Waris Dirie published her autobiography Desert flower: the extraordinary journey of a desert nomad in 1999, the phenomenon got on the carpet again. Since FGM is a custom that has been practiced for thousands of years all over the world and is still beeing practiced in a number of countries today, an interest was awakened for examining the circumstances surrounding the phenomenon. Where, how and why did this apparently inhumane and irrational custom arise and how come it still exists today? What is at the bottom of it? How is FGM related to religion, culture, gender, power and so on? Since it seemed to be about a very complex phenomenon a decision was made to keep the purpose of the essay quite broad and extensive. The hypothesis was that FGM could be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon and this is what has been examined, analyzed and emphasizwd through out this essay. The sociological theories falls within the framework of social phsychology, and as a compliment to these theories there has also been a use of intercultural perspectives and gender- and ethnicity perspectives. The method is qualitative data gathering. A large selection of books, articles and websites have been used. Data analysis has been done throughout and integrated with the data gathering process. In the analysis, theory is related and connected to the pheonomenon FMG. Finally there is a closing discussion in which personal reflections and conclusions are discussed. The result shows many different sociological, intercultural and gender- and ethnicity related explanation models of how FGM can be explained and understood as a sociological phenomenon. It has also proved interesting to draw paralleles between the circumcised woman and the “equal” western woman. There is no simple explanation to why the custom is still beeing practiced today, there are many different aspects and factors involved. What is important though, is that you relate to the phenomenon with a certain degree of cultural relativism and that you pay regard to the customs complex and multi dimensional nature.

MPH / Department of Public Health / Male circumcision is being promoted in University of Venda presently due to the South African recent awareness that it is a method of preventing the transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency virus. However, for effective implementation, it is necessary that the students believe in the procedure and have a positive attitude towards the procedure. Purpose of study The objective of the study was to assess the University of Venda male student knowledge and perception regarding male circumcision. Methodology Method to achieve this was a cross sectional quantitative study using anonymous questionnaire among the male students in university of Venda after obtaining their consent. Data was captured and analyzed using SPSS. Result A total of 285 male students participated in the study. Most of them (77.2%) were undergraduate below 30years of age (91.2%) while others were post graduate (22.8%). Majority of them are Christians (97.9%), singles (85.9%) and married (12.6%).Result obtained showed that most of the respondent (87.9%) are circumcised, only a minority few (12.1%) are not circumcised. As regards the meaning of male circumcision (75.2%) said that male circumcision is the complete removal of theforeskin. Majority of the respondents (86.6%) responded that circumcision is better than uncircumcision, showing a relatively good knowledge of benefits of male circumcision, one-third of the respondent (39.9% ,37.8%) showed a good knowledge regarding the merits of male circumcision as per reducing the rate of STIs and the risk of HIV/AIDS. Conclusion Conclusively,most of the University of Venda students have a good knowledge of male circumcision, only a few are not knowledgeable about male circumcision. Also a positive attitude was shownon male circumcision with only a few students showing a negative attitude.While majority of the respondents practice male circumcision.They also encourage their siblings to do so. Recommendations The study made a number of recommendations that were intended to improve knowledge, attitude and practice of male circumcision, it calls for long campaign to reach more uncircumcised Univen students in order to scale up male circumcision and train more personnel to administer the ritual safely and under more hygienic conditions.

MAAS / Centre for African Studies / Zimbabwe launched the Voluntary medical male circumcision programme (VMMC) in November 2009, with the primary aim of curbing sexual transmitted infections (STI’s). In 2010, the district of Mazowe managed to adopt voluntary medical male circumcision programme to curb sexual transmitted infections. It is of concern that the voluntary medical male circumcision programme has been below expectations in Mazowe district. Hence, the aim of the study was to explore the effectiveness of the voluntary medical male circumcision programme among secondary school learners in Mazowe district. Furthermore, the primary goals of the study were firstly check the levels of understanding about the voluntary medical male circumcision programme among secondary school learners in Mazowe district. Secondly, explore the reasons behind the low rate of the voluntary medical male circumcision programme among secondary school learners. Thirdly, investigate whether cultural beliefs influence the learners’ choice. Lastly, recommend possible ways of improving the uptake of the voluntary medical male circumcision programme among secondary school learners in Mazowe district. A qualitative research method used in the study. Also, un-structured interviews and focused group discussions. The researcher conducted interviews using purposeful sampling method on three secondary schools in Mazowe district, Zimbabwe and about forty respondents participated in the study. The study adopted a planned behaviour and person/client centered approaches. The thesis’s conclusions deduced that most of the male respondents are not ready or willing to receive circumcision due to fear of being screened for HIV/AIDS, the cost of the procedure, pain, bleeding, to mention but a few. Furthermore, the researcher identified that in the Shona culture, medical male circumcision is rarely unknown. In addition, the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare must introduce new ways of circumcision to avoid bleeding, pain and must remove the screening of the HIV testing procedure before one is circumcise. Therefore, by these outcomes the Ministry of Child and Health Care Centre will try to find strategies in which they can scale the programme, since the study highlighted that most males are not going for circumcision, hence their lives are in predicament. More so, the study recommends v that researchers must obtain consent and ethical clearance from different relevant place so that data there will not be harm to respondents. Also, there is a need to look for policies in which the government will use to assess strategies to scale the programme, since it is of paramount importance to test the VMMC programme about the impact that it is giving to the community and to find out whether it is helpful or not. More so, in terms of future researchers, there is a need to reconnoiter barriers that hinders males from circumcised. Hence, fourth, this will motivate number of District schools to bring awareness towards males to take part in the programme and prevent males from being susceptible to the infections as recommended by the WHO in 2007. In addition, decentralizing the programme to the community, stakeholders would be able to work hand in hand with the District to make sure that the rate of the VMMC is up and those males take part in the programme willingly. Hence, this will create an efficacy of the programme since all stakeholders and the community will scale up the programme since the priority of all sides will be to scale the programme. Furthermore, clearing misconceptions associated with male learners (witchcraft, pain, bleeding, and religion, to mention but the few), providing them with right mentality about the good side of the programme. In addition, there is a need for the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare to amend new polices that allows free male circumcision, especially in public hospitals, hence, through these amendments, males might be willing to get the services. Lastly but not least, the Department of Education in Zimbabwe must set up tight mechanism for assessment for the programme, especially at secondary and high schools. This will in turn, develop an effective assessment system to see how effective the programme is in the districts. Finally, it is of paramount importance that the National HIV/AIDS council collaborates with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in decentralizing the service of the VMMC, since some respondents were concerned that the distance to the service centers were a hindrance for circumcision. / NRF

Research studies have revealed that male circumcision (MC) reduces the transmission of HIV infection from infected women to circumcised men by up to 60% (UNAIDS 2007:2), hence the adoption of MC as an HIV-infection prevention strategy by the United Nations (WHO 2007:2). Botswana, a sub-Saharan African (SSA) country, has HIV as a leading health and developmental challenge. The government adopted male circumcision as one of the strategies to combat the infection. Apparently, not all tribes in Botswana practise male circumcision as part of their culture. The purpose of this study was to develop and describe a model for HIV-infection prevention using MC. Three theory-generating research objectives were used to develop the model, namely to explore and describe perceptions of men regarding the use of MC, to develop and describe a model for MC service delivery, and to develop and describe guidelines for service providers to facilitate delivery of MC. A theory-generating research design which is qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual was used to develop the model in three phases. Phase 1 involved concept identification, concept definition, and concept classification. Data was collected using focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews among 38 men aged 18-49 years and analysed according to recommendations made by Tesch (1990), as cited in Creswell (2009:186). Four themes emerged in the study, namely perceived effects on values, perceived source and provision of information, perceived knowledge of benefits of male circumcision, and perceived risks of male circumcision. The concept of “culture congruence” was derived from the themes as the main concept for the development of a “culture-congruent MC model for HIV prevention”. Phase 2 involved a description of the structure and the process of the model, by organising the concepts in relation to one another. The model was also evaluated. Phase 3 of the model involved the development of guidelines to support health service providers to provide MC services in a culture-congruent way in preventing HIV infection. Recommendations made were incorporation of transcultural health care instruction in nursing and medicine curricula, research on secondary audiences, such as women, and application of a culture-congruent MC model among diverse cultures. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka föräldrars upplevelser av bemötande på barnvårdhälsocentral/sjukhus efter genomförd omskärelse av deras son/söner. Metod: Studien hade en kvalitativ och induktiv ansats och genomfördes på en öppen förskola i en förort i Stockholm, hösten 2013 och våren 2014. Urvalet skedde genom att författaren valde föräldrar till barn som hade blivit omskuren och som kunde ge informationsrika beskrivningar av fenomenet. Totalt sju föräldrapar medverkade i studien. Samtliga föräldrar hade omskurit sin son/söner i Sverige. Datainsamling skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer vilka analyserades med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Föräldrars upplevelse av bemötande efter genomförd omskärelse av sin son/söner sammanfattades i tre teman. I upplevelse av ett tillfredställande och professionellt bemötande beskrev föräldrarna de faktorer som bidrar till ett bra bemötande, där det bland annat framkom att respekt och förståelse för föräldrarnas värderingar är av betydelse för att skapa en trygghet och förtroende för vårdpersonalen. Föräldrarna beskrev sina upplevelser av ett bristande bemötande genom att uttrycka att vårdpersonal brast i sitt engagemang, var stressade, svåra att få tag på och brast i att ge information och rådgivning. Dessa upplevelser lämnade föräldrar att önska mer av vårdpersonalens bemötande i temat ett önskat bemötande, där föräldrarna uttryckte önskemål om en engagerad vårdpersonal som kommunicerar, ger adekvat information och rådgivning samt har goda kunskaper och utbildning om andra kulturer. Slutsats: Föräldrarna upplevde både positiva och negativa upplevelser med bemötandet hos vårdpersonalen, där bristande transkulturell kunskap hos vårdpersonalen var ett av de största problemen. Kontinuerlig utbildning om transkulturell omvårdnad kan underlätta för vårdpersonalen i deras möte med människor från andra kulturer. / ABSTRACT Aim: The aim of this study was to describe parents' experiences of treatment at child health care/hospital after circumcision of their son/sons. Method: The study had a qualitative and inductive approach and was conducted at a open pre-school in a suburb in Stockholm, in fall 2013 and spring 2014. The author chose the parents of children who had been circumcised and who could provide good information descriptions of the phenomenon. A total of seven pair of parents participated in the study, all whom circumcised their son/sons in Sweden. The data collection was carried out through semi structured interviews which was analyzed with the help of a qualitative content analysis. Result: Parents’ experience of treatment after the circumcision of their son/sons was summarized in three themes. The experience of a satisfactory and professional treatment, parents described the factors that contribute to a good treatment, which among other things, showed that respect and understanding of parents' values are important to create a sense of security and confidence for caregivers. The parents described their experiences of a lack of treatment by expressing that the nursing staff lacked in commitment, was stressed, difficult to reach and lacked in giving information and advice. These experiences left parents wishing for more of the care attitude of the nursing staff in the theme a required treatment, in which the parents wished for a dedicated nursing staff who communicate, provide approriate information and advice and has good knowledge and education about other cultures. Conclusion: Parents experienced both positive and negative experiences with the treatment of nursing staff, where the nursing staffs lack of transcultural knowledge was one of the biggest problems. Continuous education of transcultural care can help nursing staff in their meeting with people from other cultures.

<p>In his important work, The Beginnings of Jewishness, Shaye J. D. Cohen has argued that what it meant to be a Jew underwent considerable revision during the second century B.C.E. While previously a Jew was defined in terms of ethnicity (by which Cohen means biological descent), in the wake of Judaism's sustained encounter with Hellenism, the term Jew came to be defined as an ethno-religion--that is, one could choose to become a Jew. Nonetheless, the recent work of scholars, such as Christine E. Hayes, has demonstrated that there continued to exist in early Judaism a strain of thinking that, in theory at least, excluded the possibility that Gentiles could become Jews. This genealogical exclusion, found in works such as Jubilees, was highly indebted to the "holy seed" theology evidenced in Ezra-Nehemiah, a theology which defined Jewishness in genealogical terms.</p> <p>This dissertation will attempt to contribute to a greater understanding of differing conceptions of circumcision in early Judaism, one that more accurately describes the nature of Jewish thought with regard to Jewishness, circumcision, and conversion. In terms of methodology, my dissertation will combine historical criticism with a literary approach to the texts under consideration. The dissertation will focus on texts from the Hebrew Bible as well as Jewish texts from the Second Temple period as these writings provide windows into the various forms of Judaism from which the early Christian movement arose.</p> <p>Beginning with the Hebrew Bible, I will argue that there is no evidence that circumcision was considered to be a rite of conversion to Israelite religion. In fact, circumcision, particularly the infant circumcision instantiated within Israelite and early Jewish society excludes from the covenant those not properly descended from Abraham. In the Second Temple period, many Jews did begin to conceive of Jewishness in terms which enabled Gentiles to become Jews. Nonetheless, some Jews found this definition of Jewishness problematic, and defended the borders of Jewishness by reasserting a strictly genealogical conception of Jewish identity. Consequently, some Gentiles who underwent conversion to Judaism in this period faced criticism because of their suspect genealogy. Our sources record such exclusion with regard to the Herodians, Idumeans who had converted to Judaism. </p> <p>Additionally, a more thorough examination of how circumcision and conversion were perceived by Jews in the Second Temple period will be instrumental in better understanding early Christianity. It is the argument of this dissertation that further attention to a definition of Jewishness that was based on genealogical descent has broader implications for understanding the variegated nature of early Christian mission to the Gentiles in the first century C.E.</p> / Dissertation

Research studies have revealed that male circumcision (MC) reduces the transmission of HIV infection from infected women to circumcised men by up to 60% (UNAIDS 2007:2), hence the adoption of MC as an HIV-infection prevention strategy by the United Nations (WHO 2007:2). Botswana, a sub-Saharan African (SSA) country, has HIV as a leading health and developmental challenge. The government adopted male circumcision as one of the strategies to combat the infection. Apparently, not all tribes in Botswana practise male circumcision as part of their culture. The purpose of this study was to develop and describe a model for HIV-infection prevention using MC. Three theory-generating research objectives were used to develop the model, namely to explore and describe perceptions of men regarding the use of MC, to develop and describe a model for MC service delivery, and to develop and describe guidelines for service providers to facilitate delivery of MC. A theory-generating research design which is qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual was used to develop the model in three phases. Phase 1 involved concept identification, concept definition, and concept classification. Data was collected using focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews among 38 men aged 18-49 years and analysed according to recommendations made by Tesch (1990), as cited in Creswell (2009:186). Four themes emerged in the study, namely perceived effects on values, perceived source and provision of information, perceived knowledge of benefits of male circumcision, and perceived risks of male circumcision. The concept of “culture congruence” was derived from the themes as the main concept for the development of a “culture-congruent MC model for HIV prevention”. Phase 2 involved a description of the structure and the process of the model, by organising the concepts in relation to one another. The model was also evaluated. Phase 3 of the model involved the development of guidelines to support health service providers to provide MC services in a culture-congruent way in preventing HIV infection. Recommendations made were incorporation of transcultural health care instruction in nursing and medicine curricula, research on secondary audiences, such as women, and application of a culture-congruent MC model among diverse cultures. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)