Aidanhorn

What do you think ‘good interpersonal communication’ looks like? What type of person do you visualize as being a good interpersonal communicator? There are many different styles of effective interpersonal communication. Indeed, one can be good one-on-one, but perhaps not good with handling large crowds. In that case, a career as a therapist would be more suitable than a career as a master of ceremonies, although both require what we term ‘interpersonal communication skills’. In order to ...

The multiplier in macroceonomics is a number which determines how much effect an injection has on an country's economy. This paper gives a mathematical explanation for how the formula for the multiplier (1/(1-b)) is derived.

In this essay, I will outline the custodial issues that arise when a custodial parent considers relocating a significant distance away from the other parent, and the policies that are recommended to approach and solve those issues. I will explain how these policies should be adapted and applied to each case, given the specific set of factors that arise in each case. I will then consider the role of psychologists in assessing factors which affect quality of life in relocation for both child and p...

The social determinants of health are defined as “the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age”. They can be global, national or local issues and are the result of the distribution of power, wealth and resources. Low-income and marginalized communities are more susceptible to ill health than middle- and high-income communities.

This essay investigates social determinants of health, specifically looking at non-communicable diseases, and argues that structural interventions in the economy and society are necessary to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Sociologists study health demographics because patterns of health change across classes, cultures, genders and countries. Disease does not have solely biological causes, but is also determined by factors such as the socio-cultural environment, econom...

In this essay I will outline the effect of race, class and gender on the structure of families in contemporary South Africa. Family structures are influenced by the history of racial segregation in South Africa, household income, culture and the neighbourhood that they live in. Following an description of the structure of families in South African households, I will briefly consider how care is provided to children and families by the state and market. South Africa has a comprehensive social sec...

Educational outcomes in South Africa are highly unequal and reflect inequalities across socio-economic classes and racial groups. This essay will explore education-related causes of the reproduction of inequality across generations. Bourdieu’s ‘theory of practice’ can help to understand how structural inequalities reproduce themselves through education. The causes can be explained from either side of the learner-teacher dichotomy. Approaching the question from the side of the learner, one ...

Community care workers (CCWs) perform a vital service in the health care system. The work that they do provides substantial cost savings to the health care system and governments rely on their work, which can be unpaid, to sustain public health services. Despite the important role that community health care has within the primary health care system, the occupation is not well recognised and seldom has fringe benefits. Salaries remain low and CCWs experience poor working conditions with numerous ...

The European sovereign debt crisis negatively impacted economies across the world, including South Africa’s. This essay focuses specifically on how this crisis, which was somewhat precipitated by the Great Recession of 2008-09, impacted South Africa’s (SA) economy. The essay follows a chronological discussion. Firstly, it is focused on the state of the South African economy and South Africa’s fiscal policy before the Great Recession. Secondly, it describes how SA’s economy responded to t...

This essay discusses the proposed plans to restructure the provincial sphere of government in South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC) initiated a policy review on the system of provincial government in 2007 (hereinafter ‘policy review’), in order to respond to perceived shortfalls within the provincial sphere of government (hereinafter ‘provincial government’) (see South Africa [SA], 2007). Motivations for the proposed changes are critically discussed, with reference being made...