Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

The provision of accessible and usable health information is vital for making informed health decisions and embracing active and preventative health behaviours (such as reporting of symptoms, early screening and seeking medical help). Previous research in this area has focused on health-related information seeking behaviour and use of information by citizens of developed countries and within urban geographical locations. The common thread from existing research within the context of developing countries, particularly in Africa, is the need for health information to be provided in a way that considers the diverse cultural perspectives and characteristics of rural communities; regarding both the content and the design of health information services. Considering the cultural aspects is important. However, there is little or no work that has considered the provision of health information that is culturally and locally appropriate. This research aims to investigate the health information behaviour of men in rural Nigeria and explore the local sociocultural aspects that relate to the provision of prostate cancer information. The research extends the theoretical framework of Johnson’s Comprehensive Information Seeking model to include health-related information design heuristics that address aspects of cultural appropriateness within rural contexts and particularly within the setting of developing countries. A qualitative approach was adopted as it was considered appropriate for this research. The research utilised 35 semi-structured interviews and 5 focus group discussions with men (aged 35 or over) residing in rural areas of Nigeria. Participants shared their experiences with health-related information seeking and use, the barriers they encounter and the role that culture and rurality play in that process. Findings show that within rural Nigeria, culture and religion play a vital role in shaping the health information behaviour of men. There is a lack of knowledge about important health issues that affect men, such as prostate cancer. The study documents that internal, interpersonal sources and oral-based communication methods are preferred in rural communities. Based on the findings, a revised model of health information behaviour that extends the existing scholarly perspectives to include cultural context and information use component in rural communities in Nigeria was presented.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Public Health)) --University of Limpopo, 2005 / In rural areas, most women carry the burden of preventing unwanted pregnancies alone. Most of the men are not aware of the benefits of contraceptives. They mostly complain that the contraceptives their partners use make them sick. Men have a negative attitude towards the use of contraceptives and do not share the responsibility of contraceptive use with their partners. Aim: Aim of this study was to determine men’s knowledge, practices, and attitudes on the use of contraceptives in a village of Limpopo province, South Africa. Methods: Five focus group discussions were held with groups of men between the ages of 20 and 50 in the five villages of Ga-Sekororo. The researcher used an audio tape to record what participants said during group sessions and made some observational notes to supplement the tape recordings. The researcher used a topic guide to direct and guide sessions with each of the group meetings in order to understand their knowledge, practices, and attitudes towards the use of contraceptives. Results: Some of the men were able to list the various methods of contraceptives available, the benefits of contraception, and the negative consequences of unprotected sex. Only 32% indicated a willing ness to use a male contraceptive pill when available which indicated unwillingness in most men to share the responsibility of contraception with their partners in spied of their knowledge of the benefits of contraception. Ninety two percent of men prefer the first-born child to be a male and if it happens to be a female, will continue to have children until a male is born. Programmes to address the reproductive health needs of men are needed and when implemented will benefit women as well. The government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should work together to fulfil this need. / The Ford Foundation International Fellowship Programme

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study had as objective to understand bachelordom in family farming of Alegrete, in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. It is a case study with the emphasis on life stories of six bachelor farmers through semi-structured interviews with them and interviews with key informants of the city. Beside the interviews, it was used bibliographical and documental research and observation technique. It was based on the theoretical foundation of the concept célibat paysan , symbolic power, symbolic domination and male domination by Pierre Bourdieu. Bachelordom features very prominently in the rural area of Alegrete, related to masculinisation processes and population ageing. Bachelors from the rural area are concentrated in two social groups: family farmers who work in ranching and cowboys working in farms. Bachelordom phenomenon has been expanding over time favored by the concentration of soldiers army and gauchos (people from Rio Grande do Sul) in that area, the concentration of land tenure, the modernization process and the development of gaucho ideology. As a social field, family provides the basis of affectivity for the bachelors, but is also a space of power play which has been changing over the last decades. There are some characteristics which are shared among the bachelors, as the commitment to family, the positive appreciation of rural life, work and Rio Grande do Sul culture, besides the wish of personal independence. Those similarities provide the emergence of the bachelors‟ identity. Bachelordom is a result of the men‟s decision in keeping single based on several factors as symbolic domination in terms of social and gender classes and ethnicity; family strategies; the condition of masculinisation and rural population ageing; and the positive appreciation of the rural bachelor‟s identity. So, bachelordom in family farming of Alegrete/RS is understood as a social construction. / O objetivo geral deste trabalho foi compreender a solteirice masculina na agricultura familiar do município de Alegrete, estado do Rio Grande do Sul. A modalidade de pesquisa utilizada foi o estudo de caso. Dei ênfase às trajetórias de vida de agricultores familiares solteirões. Realizei entrevistas semi-estruturadas com seis agricultores familiares solteirões, e com informantes-chave do município. Além das entrevistas, utilizei a pesquisa bibliográfica, a pesquisa documental e a técnica da observação. Busquei fundamentação teórica nos conceitos de célibat paysan, poder simbólico, dominação simbólica e dominação masculina de Pierre Bourdieu. A solteirice de homens aparece de forma expressiva no espaço rural de Alegrete, relacionada com processos de masculinização e de envelhecimento da população. Os solteirões do espaço rural do município se concentram basicamente em dois grupos sociais: agricultores familiares que trabalham com pecuária de corte e peões assalariados de fazendas. O fenômeno da solteirice expandiu-se ao longo do tempo, favorecido pela concentração de exércitos de soldados e de gaúchos primitivos na região, pela concentração da posse de terra, pelo processo de modernização e pelo desenvolvimento da ideologia do gauchismo. A família, como campo social, fornece a base de afetividade para os solteirões, mas também é um espaço de disputa por poder, que vem se transformando nas últimas décadas. Existem algumas características que são compartilhadas pelos solteirões, como o apego à família, a valorização positiva da vida rural, do trabalho e da cultura gaúcha, além do desejo de autonomia pessoal. Essas semelhanças proporcionam a emergência da identidade de homem rural solteirão. A solteirice é o resultado da decisão dos homens em manterem-se solteiros, que se fundamenta em diversos fatores, dentre os quais se destacam a dominação simbólica, em termos de classe, gênero e etnia; as estratégias familiares; a condição de masculinização e envelhecimento da população rural, e a valorização positiva da identidade de homem rural solteirão. Dessa forma, a solteirice masculina na agricultura familiar alegretense é compreendida como uma construção social.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The purpose of the study is to demonstrate the significance of words and their meaning in knowledge development and perception formulation. Meanings attached to the AIDS epidemic are used to test people’s understanding of this disease. The study is also aimed at demonstrating how false perceptions and wrong concepts are likely to occur if the problem of meaning is not addressed.

Thesis (MPhil (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The South African woman, due to political and social change, has a totally new role to play in the workplace. The study focused on attitudes by men towards black rural women who are participating in the upper echelons of rural economic development and have to display their full potential in positions previously and traditionally reserved for rural men. The research was conducted in the Port St John’s irrigation maize producing projects of Thandanani and Umngazi. The study develops and investigates the hypothesis that rural men have negative attitudes to the advancement of rural women. The researcher uses the theory of social closure, that originated from Max Weber, within which rural women’s upward mobility and resistance of men thereto can be placed. Social closure refers to the phenomenon that a hierarchical or stratified social system tends to develop in which an elite group seeks to maximize rewards by restricting access to resources to a limited circle of the eligible. In this a top-down process of exclusion and the limitation of opportunities, originating from rural men, is assumed. In contrast, rural women may attempt to gain access to opportunities enjoyed by rural men through a process of usurpation. In order to investigate these possibilities a social attitude survey was conducted among 45 male members of the Thandanani and Umngazi maize producing projects. Questionnaires in Xhosa language and based on summated rating scales were used. The rural men’s attitudes towards women were found to be differentiated. On the one hand, positive attitudes were found that support the advancement of women, accept equal opportunities and their creativity and helpfulness. On the other hand, sexist attitudes were observed that perceive women to be less capable and inherently inferior to men. Men, as the resourceful in-group, believe and think themselves as superior to women as the inferior out-group who as a result occupies lower positions of wealth and power. Men perpetuate their advantageous position and pass it to their offspring. These findings are borne out by literature where it is stated that men undermine cooperation between men and women in decision-making (Colclough 1999), regard women as minors (Cross et al 1988; Lessing 1994), and do not see them as relevant and worthy (Epstein 1970). Men are seen to have a desire to protect their advantage and create rules of distribution of resources to their own favour (Nel 2003). Development projects towards the advancement of women, who are believed to be inferior and incapable, are therefore deemed to fail. It is recommended that all agencies should adopt and implement equal opportunity programmes, feminists need to explore possibilities and give attention to how and in what areas men can be approached to enlist support in the struggle for women’s opportunities and rights; and cooperatives be established to break gender stereotypes through training and removal of boundaries that created occupational segregation between the genders.