Browsing by Author "Clark, Judeline Geraldine."

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An exploratory qualitative study of young, black men's involvement in "train-surfing".
(2009) Mackay, Lindsay.; Clark, Judeline Geraldine.
Train-Surfing is a high-risk phenomenon that has in recent years, become a trend affecting black male youths in South Africa. This study aimed at examining the motives behind the phenomenon. It also aimed at exploring the role that train-surfing plays in constructing a black, South African, masculine identity and what it means to be a train-surfer. A broader aim of the study was to explore the constructions of masculinity and their influence on high-risk behaviours in men. The reason for the choice of topic was that although train-surfing is not a recent phenomenon it appears to be a growing phenomenon in South Africa. Scientific publications are limited thus far with regard to international and local literature on this issue. This exploratory study used the social constructionist theory as a theoretical framework and presents qualitative research findings based on in-depth interviews of six juvenile train-surfers who reside in Soweto, Gauteng. Thematic Content Analysis was used to analyse the data. The study found that train-surfers tend to show evidence of family discord and are inclined to rely on support from their train-surfing peers. All of the participants lacked a substantial father figure, however many of them showed evidence of consistent support from mother figures. Reasons for participation in train-surfing include impressing young females, a desire for status and fame and peer pressure. Some participants perceived the activity as a sport or hobby, whilst others used symbols of addiction in describing the phenomenon. It was also found that the train-surfing participants used train-surfing as a means to define their identity as young, black males living in South Africa. Train-surfing was found to be associated with other high-risk activities such as taking drugs, drinking alcohol and gang-related behaviours. These findings are important as they highlight the role of high-risk behaviour in adolescents and uncover much needed research regarding men and masculinities in South Africa.
An exploration of factors affecting voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) amongst employees in the private sector : a company case study.
(2010) Mthembu, Steve Sibusiso.; Clark, Judeline Geraldine.
Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) is known as the key component of HIVprevention and treatment programmes in workplace settings. The main objective of this study was to explore factors affecting the uptake of VCT amongst employees in the private sector. This study was also indirectly aimed in examining the effectiveness of HIV-prevention and treatment programmes in workplace settings. The Social cognitive theory (SCT) was adopted as the core theoretical framework in this study. The SCT explains behaviour change as a complex phenomenon and a product of multiple, complex factors embedded on the individual’s characteristic and his/her surrounding environment. This theory recognises the strength of other health promotion theories such as the health belief model (HBM), theory of reasoned action (TRA) in explaining behaviour change, but it mostly helps to provide a more holistic and coherent understanding of the complex factors affecting VCT uptake. This was a qualitative case study. Individual, semi-structured interviews were utilised to collect data from 6 male and 4 female participants, who are employees of a courier company operating around Durban. This company implemented an HIV/AIDS policy about 10 years ago, with an aim to introduce HIV-prevention and treatment initiatives, and to facilitate easy access to these initiatives within the workplace setting. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Themes were analysed and discussed in relation to the topic of the study. Factors that affect VCT in the workplace were categorised thematically and critically discussed as findings of the study. Despite the convenient and easily accessible VCT and ART initiatives, rapid testing and onsite nature of VCT campaigns, the uptake of VCT appeared to be relatively poor within the compnay. The perceived lack of confidentiality regarding results, fears of stigma and discrimination, as well as organisational factors, were identified as barriers to the success of HIVprevention and treatment initiatives in this company. In light of these findings, the study recommends measures that might help improve service delivery. The study also contributes to the body of knowledge with respect to challenges facing HIV-prevention and treatment initiatives in workplace settings.
The role of language and gender in the naming and framing of HIV/AIDS in the South African context.
(Taylor and Francis, 2006) Clark, Judeline Geraldine.
Language is at the core of the network of resources that we draw on in describing the world and relating to others, and as such HIV/AIDS cannot be separated from the ways in which we think about it, talk about it, and act on it. This article attempts to provide a contextualised interrogation of the meanings that have been made of HIV/AIDS. It draws on a critical feminist research project that discursively analyses black women's life narratives and is informed by the theoretical resources at the interface of feminist, poststructuralist and postcolonial knowledges. In attending to the texts and contexts within which HIV/AIDS is produced, this article analyses general everyday talk as well as participants' narrative accounts within the research context. It explores the ways in which they work as (gendered) articulations of discursive networks that to different extents reveal or conceal the historical legacies and ideological underpinnings of a social phenomenon such as HIV/AIDS. The various coded references to HIV/AIDS are considered with regard to their political, cultural and gendered power upon women's everyday lived experience. This contextualised analysis opens up valuable possibilities for a cultural re-evaluation of HIV/AIDS that goes beyond narrow explanations of illness and stigma and flags the significance of local discourses of HIV/AIDS in the South African context.