Browsing by Author "Savage, Michael"

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    The politics of exclusion : a case study of the Factreton area
    (1990) Field, Shaun Patrick; Savage, Michael
    This study explores and documents the experiences of coloured workers in the Factreton area. Coloured workers in Factreton have a tendency to be unresponsive to political issues and political organisation. This unresponsiveness to politics is due to coloured workers tendency to perceive, and deal with, political and non- political realities as separate and unconnected. Coloured worker's social consciousness has been shaped by a particular set of historical and current factors. These factors are collectively termed, "The Politics of Exclusion". The apartheid state has politically, culturally, economically and psychologically excluded coloured workers from having access to the resources and status of the white population. The apartheid state has also separated coloured workers from the African majority. Coloured workers have responded to their oppression and exclusion by using non-political means to sustain community life. These have included particular kinship networks, high church attendance amongst women, excessive alcohol consumption amongst men, and a range of other cultural forms. Coloured workers' day-to-day struggle for economic survival has also tended to reinforce their unresponsiveness to politics. Coloured workers' lack of a clear political identity together with a prevalence of individualism and exclusive forms of behaviour has resulted in coloured workers distancing themselves from political organisation and action. These issues and arguments were developed through the use of extensive interviews with coloured workers and political activists. Furthermore, my year long residence within the Kensington/Factreton area was a vital method and experience which shaped this study.
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    Prison health care in South Africa: a study of prison conditions, health care and medical accountability for the care of prisoners
    (1996) Van Heerden, Judith; Benatar, Solomon Robert; Savage, Michael
    This quantitative and qualitative study investigates the type and quality of health care and conditions of imprisonment that prevailed in some South African prisons in the late 1980s. It was inspired by political activists who were incarcerated, yet despite, or because of, the harsh conditions in prison persisted with their struggle for human rights. Appeals for the improvement of prison conditions which they submitted to the authorities are unique primary source documents. By implication, this survey adds value to their cause, for several issues examined in it had already been raised while they were in prison. With most information on prisons restricted until 1992, there was no body of literature on South African prison health care to review. Instead, Chapter 1 outlines the historical background of imprisonment in South Africa and key penal legislation. It also deals with events like the Biko affair which, in the recent past, affected the medical profession, the response of professional organisations to these events, and the national and international repercussions. Chapter 2 on the methodology describes the study design, data collection process and the limitations of the survey. Numerous attempts to interview District Surgeons and visit prisons were fruitless, consequently reducing the intended scope of the primary research. Because these external limitations affected the study design, they are discussed under methodology. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed to collect information about health care while imprisoned during the States of Emergency ( 1986-1990). Interviews based on this questionnaire were conducted with 123 ex-detainees from the Eastern and Western Cape. The results of the study are presented in Chapter 3, both quantitative, in the breakdowns of the data relating to each of the 14 questions, and qualitative, in the tables which reflect individual experiences and comments. The significance of these results is examined in the discussion in Chapter 4, backed by other supportive evidence. It begins by sketching general conditions of imprisonment, using unsolicited information from the interviewees, and proceeds to discuss health care services as they pertained during the study period. Many points of discussion also draw on the seven Case Reports and the report on North End Prison, Port Elizabeth, which have been added as an appendix to that chapter. The research indicates a disregard for the well-being of and failure to provide adequate health care for individuals at the mercy of detaining authorities. This situation was compounded by collusion among the forces of law and order and District Surgeons, and a scant response by academics and professional organisations to problems associated with imprisonment, isolation and torture. In the conclusion, Chapter 5, strategies for improving prison health care are explored. They are based on current national and international literature, policy and practice. The main proposals for reform are then summarised in the recommendations in Chapter 6. These range from revising legislation so as to accord with the constitutional rights of prisoners to addressing the training and attitudes of personnel, establishing health care standards and auditing mechanisms, and creating a more open prison system.
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    Prison health care in South Africa: a study of prison conditions, health care and medical accountability for the care of prisoners
    (1996) Van Heerden, Judith; Benatar, Solomon Robert; Savage, Michael
    This quantitative and qualitative study investigates the type and quality of health care and conditions of imprisonment that prevailed in some South African prisons in the late 1980s. It was inspired by political activists who were incarcerated, yet despite, or because of, the harsh conditions in prison persisted with their struggle for human rights. Appeals for the improvement of prison conditions which they submitted to the authorities are unique primary source documents. By implication, this survey adds value to their cause, for several issues examined in it had already been raised while they were in prison. With most information on prisons restricted until 1992, there was no body of literature on South African prison health care to review. Instead, Chapter 1 outlines the historical background of imprisonment in South Africa and key penal legislation. It also deals with events like the Biko affair which, in the recent past, affected the medical profession, the response of professional organisations to these events, and the national and international repercussions. Chapter 2 on the methodology describes the study design, data collection process and the limitations of the survey. Numerous attempts to interview District Surgeons and visit prisons were fruitless, consequently reducing the intended scope of the primary research. Because these external limitations affected the study design, they are discussed under methodology. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed to collect information about health care while imprisoned during the States of Emergency ( 1986-1990). Interviews based on this questionnaire were conducted with 123 ex-detainees from the Eastern and Western Cape. The results of the study are presented in Chapter 3, both quantitative, in the breakdowns of the data relating to each of the 14 questions, and qualitative, in the tables which reflect individual experiences and comments. The significance of these results is examined in the discussion in Chapter 4, backed by other supportive evidence. It begins by sketching general conditions of imprisonment, using unsolicited information from the interviewees, and proceeds to discuss health care services as they pertained during the study period. Many points of discussion also draw on the seven Case Reports and the report on North End Prison, Port Elizabeth, which have been added as an appendix to that chapter. The research indicates a disregard for the well-being of and failure to provide adequate health care for individuals at the mercy of detaining authorities. This situation was compounded by collusion among the forces of law and order and District Surgeons, and a scant response by academics and professional organisations to problems associated with imprisonment, isolation and torture. In the conclusion, Chapter 5, strategies for improving prison health care are explored. They are based on current national and international literature, policy and practice. The main proposals for reform are then summarised in the recommendations in Chapter 6. These range from revising legislation so as to accord with the constitutional rights of prisoners to addressing the training and attitudes of personnel, establishing health care standards and auditing mechanisms, and creating a more open prison system.
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