Queens as Mothers: the role of the traditional safety net of care and support for HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in Ghana

The paper examines the significance of the traditional safety net to provide security and help to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). (Abbreviation OVC, as conceptualised by UNICEF (2001)). It questions the scenario of societal breakdown due to HIV/AIDS by asking how the traditional safety net operates, nature of solutions to the OVC problem it provides and its sustainability. No geographical region in Ghana has been so affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic than the Manya Krobo District in Ghana. While analysing the role of the work of the Manya Krobo Queen Mothers’ Association (QMA) and five private caregivers, the perceptions of three OVC are presented: on how it is to be an OVC, what their dreams and hopes are for the future, and their awareness of HIV/AIDS. It is observed that even though the QMA serves as a good role model for how to address the OVC problem, it has its limitations. The traditional extended family system is under pressure, but not about to break down. As the effectiveness of its support will depend on the contribution of the wider Ghanaian society, localised solutions have to be scaled up to make an impact. Thus, the breakdown scenario needs to be nuanced and contextualised. The vulnerability of the local place under study relates to unemployment and migration, economic poverty and social–cultural marginalisation. These factors are intertwined with the HIV/AIDS epidemic.     

There and back again: Epiphany, disillusionment, and rediscovery in political ecology

This paper reviews the experience of discovering, abandoning, and rediscovering elements of the work of political ecologist Piers Blaikie from the period spanning 1992-2006. In the process, we analyze the cyclic fate of critical ideas in the field of political ecology, including especially the “chain of explanation,” during a tumultuous period where materialist and constructivist theorists encountered one another. The paper concludes with a specific discussion of the power of traditional tools in political ecology for addressing current socio-ecological crises, specifically HIV/AIDS in southern Africa.     

The changing geography of traditional medicine: Urban herbalism on the Witwatersrand,South Africa

While medical geographers have generally ignored medical pluralism in developing countries, a small but significant geographical literature on traditional medicine has emerged. Progress for research by geographers on traditional medicine lies through a broader contextualisation of medical pluralism sensitive to the socio-economic and political context of health and disease. In this paper, a brief overview of medical pluralism in South Africa is presented. Issues surrounding the changing geography of traditional medicine are illustrated with reference to urban herbalism on the Witwatersrand.     

Palynological biozones and radiometric data at the Carboniferous–Permian boundary in western Gondwana

Absolute radiometric data obtained recently in Upper Paleozoic basins of South America and Southern Africa are available to constrain the age of some palynological biozones defined in the Western Gondwana. Some dates obtained from Argentina coincide with southern Africa's and are useful to constrain the palynological associations. In this way, the Permian Argentinian Lueckisporites–Weylandites (LW) Biozone is compared with the Lueckisporites virkkiae Biozone of Brazil and Zone 3 of South Africa. On the other hand, the palynofloras from Dwyka (South Africa) are comparable with Argentinian and Brazilian associations recovered near the Carboniferous–Permian boundary. Tuffaceous intervals of the Dwyka Group in South Africa suggest the beginning of that sequence at 307 Ma reaching the 290 Ma at the top. The available palynological, paleoenvironmental and radiometric data from these three western Gondwanan areas are analyzed and compared.     

Imaginative geographies of gender and HIV/AIDS: moving beyond neoliberalism

This paper examines how neoliberal development discourse contributes to the production and maintenance of problematic gendered hierarchies and spaces. By interrogating the basic assumptions undergirding this discourse, this paper explores how neoliberalism produces spaces which normalise certain identities—especially those associated with individualism and economic rationality, and makes errant values such as communalism and altruism. Drawing on perspectives from feminist geographies, we argue that by normalising and privileging certain masculine identities, neoliberalism reinscribes and legitimizes gendered power relations that are counterproductive to addressing HIV/AIDS. The ‘ideal’ person fighting HIV/AIDS in the neoliberal framework is rational, competitive and self-interested, but these characteristics are complicit in worsening HIV prevalence and mobilize problematic gender roles and identities. Given the pervasiveness of this ideology in Malawi, we propose ways in which families, communities and institutions can challenge and reshape gender identities and potential solutions to HIV within this context.     

The pattern of diplomatic sanctions against South Africa 1948–1994

South Africa was the object of a concerted international campaign of diplomatic isolation against the policy of apartheid during the era of National Party rule between 1948 and 1994. Part of the isolation was self-inflicted with the rejection of states with communist governments or the presence of African diplomats. South Africa became one of the international pariah states. The country therefore maintained only a small foreign service, which was spatially concentrated, notably in western Europe and North America. Attempts to expand diplomatic contacts before 1990 were limited mainly to Latin America as the foreign response was essentially hostile. The end of the Cold War enabled South Africa to extend its representation abroad, particularly in eastern Europe, but the majority of African and Asian states only established formal ties with the country following the first universal franchise elections and the installation of President Nelson Mandela as the first African head of state in May 1994.     

Community capacity amongst people living with HIV/AIDS

Mobilisation of people living with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s was tied to social identity and the public rendering of AIDS as a gay disease. This activism has continued in large cities alongside new streams of mobilization addressing the needs of groups such as women and Aboriginal peoples living with HIV. We draw on interviews conducted with six people living with HIV/AIDS in a small Ontario city where the population does not allow for services tailored to specific groups. We investigate experiences of social engagement amongst people living with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS and examine why efforts to establish a community-based participatory research project was unsuccessful. Drawing from indicators of community capacity developed by Jackson et al. (Health Promot Int 18(4): 339–350, 2003) we identify the role of stigma both amongst different groups living with HIV/AIDS and the wider public as undermining a common sense of community and, potentially, our efforts to establish a community-based participatory research process.     

Missing women: Reflections on the experiences of Swazi migrant women on the Rand, 1920–1970

The migration of Swazi women to the Witwatersrand in the period 1920–1970 marked an era of change in the lives of many Swazi women. Under the constraints of rural impoverishment, many women were forced onto the Swazi labour market, one which had little room for women. By the 1930s the exodus of Swazi women to the Rand had gathered so much momentum, that women quickly became objects of national concern to the British colonial government, Swazi traditional authorities and South African authorities. Their experiences as migrant workers in South Africa have largely gone unnoticed. As African women, they suffered the triple oppression of class, race and gender, and as foreign women were subject to a battery of laws designed to keep foreign Africans out of South Africa. The personal experiences of Swazi women as migrants and workers in South Africa are examined here, using life-history or personal narrative techniques which have considerable potential as a way of recovering hidden histories and reinstating the marginalised as makers of their own past.     

Provenance of the Lower Paleozoic Balcarce Formation (Tandilia System, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina): Implications for paleogeographic reconstructions of SW Gondwana

Lower Paleozoic moderately sorted quartz–arenites from the Balcarce Formation deposited in eastern Argentina (Tandilia System) comprise mainly detrital material derived from old upper crustal material. The sources were magmatic, sedimentary, and subordinated felsic metamorphic terranes. High concentrations of tourmaline and Ti-rich heavy minerals, including zircon and nearly euhedral chromite, are common. Trace element concentrations (Nb, Cr) on rutile indicate pelitic and metabasaltic sources, respectively. Major element analyses on chromites indicate a basic volcanic protolith of mid-oceanic ridge origin, which was exposed close to the depositional basin. The delivery of chromite may be associated with convergent tectonics causing the consumption and obduction of oceanic crust during pre-Upper Ordovician times. The oblique/orthogonal collision of the Precordillera Terrane with the western border of the Rio de la Plata Craton, west of the Balcarce Basin or source further to the east from a Lower Palaeozoic extensional basin are possibilities.Geochemical and petrographic data exclude the underlying Precambrian and Cambrian sedimentary rocks as dominant sources, and favour the basement of the Río de La Plata Craton, including Cambrian rift-related granites of South Africa and the Sierras Australes (eastern Argentina), as main suppliers of detritus. Trace element geochemistry of recycled pyroclastic material, associated with the quartz–arenites, also suggests volcanic arc sources. The provenance of the pyroclastic material may either be the Puna–Famatina arc, located in north and central Argentina, or a hypothetical active margin further to the south. These ash layers are equivalent in age to volcanic zircons found in the Devonian Bokkeveld Group in western South Africa.The deposition of a glacial diamictite of Hirnantian age (Sierra del Volcán Diamictite) is interpreted as a member of the Balcarce Formation. Based on the stratigraphic re-location of the glacial diamictite and trace fossils, the Balcarce Formation is considered here to be Ordovician to Silurian in age. The Balcarce Formation can be correlated with similar rocks in South Africa, the Peninsula Formation, and the upper Table Mountain Group (Windhoek and Nardouw subgroups), including the Hirnantian glacial deposit of the Pakhuis Formation.     

Les continents péri-atlantiques au crétacé supérieur: Migrations des faunes continentales et problèmes paléogéographiques

Terrestrial vertebrates offer possibilities of reconstructing the migrations by land-routes followed during the late Cretaceous on the peri-Atlantic continents (North America, South America, Europe, Africa). South America and Africa were not separated before the Aptian. Later, migrations could still have occurred between Africa and South America during the late Cretaceous by a land-route (probably discontinuous) situated on the Rio Grande Rise-Walvis Ridge barrier; it is not impossible that some amphibia used this route. In Laurasia, two provinces were largely separated during the early part of the late Cretaceous: Euramerica and Asiamerica in the terminology of Cox (1974), (that is, Europe plus eastern North America and Asia plus western North America). During the latest Cretaceous, western North America became connected with Euramerica, but probably separated from Asia. During the latest Cretaceous, a route, probably terrestrial, permitted important faunal exchanges between South America and Laurasia; this connection was situated in the Caribbean region, perhaps where Central America is today. Limited faunal exchange occurred between Euramerica and North Africa.     

Japan's hidden involvement in South African manufacturing

This paper examines the development of Japanese involvement in South African manufacturing. In the extensive literature dealing with the growth and spread of Japanese investment abroad the unique situation of Japanese companies in South Africa has been overlooked. Despite the introduction of a ban on direct investment in South Africa there is a considerable hidden Japanese presence in local manufacturing which resulted from licensing arrangements. In particular, Japanese enterprise is strongly represented in the South African motor-vehicles sector where it is at the forefront in innovating new flexible production systems.     

国内外PMP/PMF的发展和实践

对20世纪80年代以来PMP／PMF在国内外的发展和实践情况作了简要的介绍和评论。内容包括PMP／PMF定义、估算方法、成果合理性检查和概率。PMP估算方法包括概化估算法、当地暴雨放大、暴雨移置、暴雨组合、推理模式和统计估算法。PMF估算着重介绍了由PMP转化为PMF的产流和汇流特点，以及目前在南非和法语非洲国家广泛应用的经验公式。     

An interdisciplinary approach to HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination in Belize: the roles of geography and ethnicity

Belize experiences the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in Central America, ranging between 2.1 and 3.2% (World Health Organization 2008). To add to the limited literature on HIV/AIDS Stigma and Discrimination (HASD) in Belize, the authors conducted a study to assess whether stigma and discrimination is related to geography and ethnicity. One-hundred forty participants were interviewed using a structured survey instrument at three different parts of the country, and the results were analyzed quantitatively. These places were Cayo District on the western border with Guatemala, Belize City, and two cayes (Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye). Respondents in Belize City generally held the lowest rates of stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes towards individuals living with HIV/AIDS, highlighting a possible relationship between geography and ethnicity. Concurrently, self-identifying Afro-Belizeans and Creoles reported lower rates of HASD attitudes in some contexts than other ethnic groups. The results show that there may a relation between geography, ethnicity, and HASD, and that a randomized, controlled study is an important next step in determining the strength of that relation.     

Factors influencing willingness to comply with HIV/AIDS prevention measures by female college students in Kolkata,West Bengal,India

With a 2.4 million people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), India is among the countries in the world most vulnerable to the spread of HIV. This study focuses on understanding what makes female college students (ages 18–24) in Kolkata, India willing to comply with HIV/AIDS preventive measures; these students are widely believed to be at low risk of infection with HIV. Through a questionnaire survey, the data used in this study was collected from 232 female students attending five higher education institutes. Multiple regression analysis reveals that religion, household income, perception of whether preventive measures would hamper freedom, and respondents’ perception of the effectiveness of preventive measures all influence the students’ willingness to comply with preventive measures. Based on its findings, the study makes several recommendations to improve HIV/AIDS prevention in Kolkata and West Bengal, India.     

土壤样品中贵金属活动态提取技术

介绍了土壤样品中贵金属铂、钯、金的水提取态、黏土吸附态与可交换态、有机质结合态以及铁锰氧化物结合态等不同相态的提取方法与测定方法。方法检出限为铂0.03 ng/g,钯和金0.01 ng/g。实验了铂、钯、金活动态金属各种提取液介质中痕量贵金属的稳定性、固-液分离方法、提取温度的影响及提取液的处理方法。通过在南非隐伏铂钯矿或矿化区的试验,结果表明所圈定的异常与实际矿(化)体相符,为识别隐伏贵金属铂钯矿床提供了有效信息,对寻找隐伏矿床具有一定的指导意义。     

Lessons learnt in addressing environmental issues of new water resource projects – a case study in KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Developing new water resource projects without taking cognisance of the environmental impacts, both biophysical and social, has received global condemnation for many years now and is largely becoming a practice of the past. However, it is the prominence, extent of issues addressed, timing and intensity of the investigations and the commitment to environmental protection and mitigation that has increased significantly over the past few years. Practices in South Africa are no exception to this. Environmental legislation in South Africa requires that an Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) approach be adopted when any new project is being considered. This IEM approach was recently put to the test in South Africa during the planning and implementation of an inter-basin transfer scheme in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. This paper will discuss the steps that were taken to address the environmental issues during a protracted planning phase, and what was accomplished. It will compare how these recommendations were taken forward into the construction phase and the operations phase, and the lessons learnt from the process. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Mesozoic and Cenozoic reconstructions of the South Atlantic

The movement of Antarctica with respect to South America has a number of implications for paleocirculation as well as for the reconstructions of Gondwanaland. Recent papers on the Southwest Indian Ridge have published new or revised poles of opening for Africa and Antarctica which can be combined with the poles of opening between South America and Africa to give resultant motions between South America and Antarctica.The first indication of a complete closure between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula is at anomaly 28 time (64 Ma) as the two continents are now configured. Between anomaly 28 time (64 Ma) and anomaly M0 time (119 Ma) the amount of closure does not change greatly, and the small computed overlap can be explained by minor uncertainties in the rotation poles used for the reconstructions or some slight extension between East and West Antarctica. By 135 Ma some rotation or translation of the Antarctic Peninsula with respect to East Antarctica must be postulated in addition to any presumed extension between East and West Antarctica in order to avoid an overlap of South America with the Antarctic Peninsula.Having determined what we feel to be a viable reconstruction of Western Gondwanaland and holding South America fixed, we rotated Africa and Antarctica, with respect to South America, for eight different times during the past. Africa moved away from South America in a more or less consistent manner throughout the time period, closure to present, while Antarctica moved away from Africa in a consistent manner only between 160 Ma and 64 Ma. At 64 Ma its motion changed abruptly: it slowed its north-south motion with respect to Africa and began slow east-west extension with respect to South America. This change supports the hypothesis that a major reorganization of the triple junction between Africa, Antarctica and South America occurred between 60 and 65 Ma. The triple junction changed from ridge-ridge-ridge to ridge-fault-fault at the time of the major westward jump of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge just south of the Falkland-Agulhas Fracture Zone.The Mesozoic opening of the Somali Basin moved Madagascar from its presumed original position with Africa in Gondwanaland. The closure of Sri Lanka with India produces a unique fit for India and Sri Lanka with respect to Africa, Madagascar and Antarctica. This fit juxtaposes geological localities in Southeast India against similar localities in Enderhy Land. East Antarctica. The late Jurassic opening in the Somali Basin is tied to opening of the same age in the Mozambique Basin. Since this late Jurassic movement represents the initial break-up of Gondwanaland, it is assumed that similar movement must have occurred in what is now the western Weddell Sea and may also explain the opening evidenced by the Rocas Verdes region of southern South America.     

南非西布什维尔德杂岩体铂、钯、金区域地球化学测量

利用南非勒斯滕堡地区区域地球化学测量水系沉积物和土壤样品,采用化学光谱法测定Pt、Pd和Au三种元素,对该区布什维尔德杂岩体铂、钯和金进行区域地球化学勘查,发现新的铂族矿(带)异常,在主带上部和上部带底部发现新的Pt、Pd和Au的异常带。     

Petrological,geochemical and isotopic data of Neoproterozoic rock units from Uruguay and South Africa: Correlation of basement terranes across the South Atlantic

Felsic to intermediate igneous rocks from the Cuchilla Dionisio (or Punta del Este) Terrane (CDT) in Uruguay and the Várzea do Capivarita Complex (VCC) in southern Brazil were emplaced in the Tonian and experienced high-grade metamorphism towards the end of the Cryogenian. Geological and geochemical data indicate an S-type origin and formation in a continental within-plate setting by recycling of lower crustal material that was initially extracted from the mantle in the Palaeoproterozoic. Similar felsic igneous rocks of Tonian age occur in the Richtersveld Igneous Complex and the Vredefontein and Rosh Pinah formations in westernmost South Africa and southern Namibia and have been correlated with their supposed equivalents in Uruguay and Brazil. Geochemical and isotope data of the largely unmetamorphosed felsic igneous rocks in southwestern Africa imply a within-plate origin and formation by partial melting or fractional crystallization of mafic rocks that were extracted from the mantle in the Proterozoic. The parental melts of all of these Tonian igneous rocks from South America and southwestern Africa formed in an anorogenic continental setting at the western margin of the Kalahari Craton and were emplaced in, and/or contaminated by, Namaqua Province-type basement after separation from their source region. However, the source regions and the time of extractions thereof are different and, moreover, occurred at different palaeogeographical latitudes.New petrological data of CDT high-grade gneiss indicate a geothermal gradient of c. 20–25 °C/km, implying continental collisional tectonics following subduction and ocean basin closure at an active continental margin at the eastern edge of present-day South America in the late Cryogenian to early Ediacaran. The associated suture may be traced by the high-grade gneiss and amphibolite-facies mafic rocks in the CDT and probably continues northwards to the Arroio Grande Complex and the VCC in southern Brazil.