Browsing by Author "Cochrane, James"
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- ItemOpen AccessArchitects of our own destiny : profiling opportunities for reconciliation and restorative justice within the context of the Presidential Urban Renewal Programme in Mitchell's Plain(2005) Esau, Matthew; Cochrane, James; De Gruchy, John WBy the time that President Thabo Mbeki announced in his State of the Nation address to the South African Parliament on 02 February 2000, that Mitchell's Plain and Khayelitsha in the Western Cape would be the focus of the Presidential Urban Renewal Programme, Mitchell's Plain had been in existence for 25 years. By this time [2000], the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) had completed most of its work and 'reconciliation' had become probably the most talked-about concept in the country.
- ItemOpen AccessThe foundation of human rights according to Roman Catholic Church natural law in comparison with the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter(2001) Makhasane, Charles Tsepo; Cochrane, JamesThe principal objective of this research paper is to explore the foundation of human rights according to the Social Teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the UN Declaration of human rights and the African Charter. However, the African Charter reflects the carbon copy of the UN Declaration and they both demonstrate that the origin of human rights is human dignity and the worth of the person.
- ItemOpen AccessHealth and religion : a study of health-seeking behaviour in Kayamandi, Western Cape in the context of "medical pluralism"(2005) Gwele, Malibongwe P; Cochrane, James; De Wet, JacquesThis small-scale study explores the concept of medical pluralism by looking at the health-seeking strategies of a selected group of residents in Stellenbosch's Kayamandi township. The study addresses the following three primary research questions: What are the health-seeking strategies of the target group? What factors significantly influence their health-seeking behaviour; and why are the respondents using more than one health-seeking strategy? We have used theoretical formulations derived from literature together with data we collected by questionnaires and interviews to respond to these questions. Our target group consisted of a mix of isiXhosa-speaking Christians, which fall into one of the following three groupings: Ecumenical, African Independent Zionists, and African Independent Non-Zionists. We applied a variety of methods to collect our data namely: survey questionnaire, in depth interviews and a focus group interview. Basic statistical and qualitative analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. We tested various potential variables before we concluded that Christian affiliation and gender are two major variables in this study that seem to influence our respondents' choices of strategy. The resulting data indicated that almost all of our respondents are mixing health seeking strategies. They are mixing in two ways: either in a complex way (multiple health seeking strategies for a single ailment), or a simple way (different strategies for different ailments). Even though Western Medicine is a dominant and the only legalized health-seeking strategy in South Africa this research suggests that there is a growing use of other health-seeking strategies, either alternatively or complementarily to Western Medicine. Reasons for this are discussed in this research report, and include firstly, conviction of experience and knowledge of health and illness among others. Secondly, we have established that these determinants transcend accessibility and availability of, particularly, Western medicine facilities. Respondents utilize three different health-seeking strategies selectively through 'border crossing' with minimal conflict.
- ItemOpen AccessHope in view of HIV/AIDS in South Africa : public discourse, faith and the future(2005) Olivier, Jill; Cochrane, JamesDo discourses of "hope" have real and practical consequences when it come to crucial issues such as policy, prevention, stigma, risk perception or funding? The following exploratory and treansdisciplinary study seeks to pull together a wide variety of the theoretical and analytical stances in order to examine the social construction of hope in the context of HIV/AIDS in South Africa. the theoretical framework is built from a base of cultural theory, discourse analysis and theology, and binds these together into a transdisciplinary argument.
- ItemOpen AccessIn search of common ground for interdisciplinary collaboration and communication: mapping the cultural politics of religion and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa(2010) Olivier, Jill; Cochrane, JamesThis exploratory study applies a cultural studies and interdisciplinary approach to the discourses that emerge in the discursive gap at the interface of religion and public health, a gap most readily seen in the context of HIV/AIDS and in literature addressing sub-Saharan Africa. The combination of the different, often divergent discursive frameworks of religion and public health, and the idea of the linguistic construction of HIV/AIDS, prompts this theoretical response. The empirical data for developing these theoretical judgements are based on personal involvement in the African Religious Health Assets Programme (ARHAP), an international, multi-institutional research collaborative that is focused on the intersection between religion and public health.
- ItemOpen AccessJacques Derrida, the sacred other and Seventh-day Adventism stumbling on the creative play of différance in Genesis 1(2012) Platts, Adrian; Cochrane, JamesThis thesis searches for that which is sacred to Jacques Derrida and ultimately concludes that if anything is sacred to him it is the other. This concern for the sacred is an attempt to ascertain Derrida’s relevance and value for religious traditions. Derrida’s ideas serve to destabilise (sacred) centres in religious traditions in order to find place for the (excluded) other. Hence, a central theme of this dissertation is that there are no stable centres. I have attempted to demonstrate this in the structure I have followed, a structure that is "centred on" decentring ideas that, while not arbitrary, could have been substituted for others: negative theology, the other, detours, khôra and différance.
- ItemOpen AccessLocal church strategies for poverty alleviation : an assessment of church-based projects using human scale development(2007) Adams, Samuel; Cochrane, JamesThis paper is an assessment of the viability of church-based poverty alleviation strategies. It hypothesises that churches have a valuable and significant role to play in the alleviation of poverty. The research looks at the activities of two churches within South Africa, that is, Jubilee Community Church in Cape Town, and Dihlabeng Christian Church in Clarens. The churches are then scrutinised as case studies in the light of Manfred Max-Neefs Human Scale Development theory. The theory of Human Scale Development is described. It is a radical alternative to mainstream neo-liberal approaches to poverty alleviation and development. There are three tenets of the theory: firstly, that development should involve the satisfaction of multiple needs simultaneously; secondly, that this is best conducted at the small or human scale; and thirdly, that dependency must be countered through the encouragement of self-reliance. Semi-structured interviews with key informants at the two churches provide the fieldwork data for this research. This data is then used to construct a thorough description of the churches' poverty alleviation programmes. Each church is discussed and the ten programmes at each are described in terms of their history and origin, their vision, and their core functions. The analysis of the data then occurs at two levels. Firstly, an assessment of the quantitative impact of the church-based projects is conducted. Secondly, there is a qualitative assessment of the churches as the data is combined with Max-Neefs three tenets of Human Scale Development. This analysis provides overwhelming evidence in support of the hypothesis. Churches are found to have a large impact on their communities. They are found to be building self-reliance as they satisfy multiple needs at the level of the human scale. The churches, therefore, are found to be valuable and significant role players in development.
- ItemOpen AccessThe quest for Ikhaya : the use of the African concept of home in public life(2002) Vellem, Vuyani S; Cochrane, JamesThis study purposes to develop an African religio-political symbol of ikhaya in the context of a newly found democracy in South Africa. Drawn from the insights of the oikos model by Everett, the study assumes that a governing symbol taken from the heritage of the African black masses in South Africa is essential for a sound public life and the emancipation of the black people.
- ItemOpen AccessThe South African township funeral : a 'site of resistance' of HIV and AIDS that promotes leading causes of life(2010) Baars, Mary E; Cochrane, JamesIs a South African township funeral a 'site of resistance' to HIV which provides communities with a means for achieving a telos of health? Could the funeral embody the leading causes of life (a theory used to develop the analysis) needed to create and sustain life in the midst of illness and death? This study will seek to answer these questions through a close look at the J L Zwane Church and Community Centre, a faith based community in Gugulethu, South Africa. By exploring township funerals of the apartheid past in relation to funerals resulting from the AIDS epidemic, despite what many construe as decay and death, ample evidence of resiliency and life will be demonstrated.
- ItemOpen AccessWho do I say that I am? : identity as a construct and its implications for Christian anthropology(2002) Trisk, Janet Elizabeth; Cochrane, JamesThe question of identity is one of the pressing issues for many disciplines, and is a key question in feminist theory. Theorists occupy diverse positions across a spectrum. At one end there are those who believe there is something "essential" which defines us (both as individuals and in groups). At the spectrum’s other end are those who take the view that identity is constructed - whether unconsciously through the practices identified by interactions, through performances of the body. This study seeks to explore some of these understandings of identity, using a specifically post-structuralist feminist lens which, inter alia directly challenges the dualisms upon which western philosophy is founded. Having outline some approaches to the question of identity, the study concludes by examining some of the consequences and possibilities for Christian anthropology in its understanding of what it means to be human and how the human person can be said to constitute the Imago Dei.