Media briefs

Mrs Lee Da Rocha-Silva, one of South Africa's foremost researchers in alcohol and drug abuse, received the Human Sciences Research Council's highest internal award for research, the Research Excellence Award, at the HSRC's 1997 ReXcel Awards function in Pretoria on 27 November.

A survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) at the beginning of the year on the state of environmental training in companies revealed that although many large South African companies had adopted environmental policies, the majority (81%) still believed that they had little or no adverse impact on the environment.

The 1996/97 annual report of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) reflects a consolidation of many of the initiatives begun in previous years, a refinement of recently developed management systems to ensure quality research, and the HSRC's responses to the new challenges and growth opportunities presented in 1996/97.

A growing percentage of people in South Africa have little faith in local government's ability to solve the problems experienced in communities.

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has decided to transfer its Genealogical Information Service to the newly established Genealogical Institute of SA (GISA). The HSRC has over the years accumulated one of the largest collections of family history source material in South Africa.

More South Africans now rate the job being done by President Nelson Mandela as good than was the case shortly after our first democratic election three years ago. However, people are increasingly dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed, and only a third of respondents are satisfied with the country's economic situation.

The public is distrustful of the validity of the 1996 matric examination results. It seems, however, that most South Africans believe that the most serious problems in education will be solved within the next few years.

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is developing a unique national crime database that will provide ? at a glance ? a picture of South Africa's major crime areas.

In 1996 the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) was approached by the Institute for Social Studies Advisory Service (ISSAS) in the Netherlands to act as one of two partnership institutes in Africa to assist in compiling a directory of advanced training opportunities at education and training institutions in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (the ACP countries). The first version of this directory was launched at the HRSC in Pretoria on 24 July 1997.

In an effort to meet the vast development challenges confronting and impacting on the South African youth, as well as to contribute to the youth development process in South Africa, the Youth Section of the Department of Welfare?s Chief Directorate: Population Development requested the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) to compile The Youth Book: A Directory of South African Youth Organisations, Service Providers and Resource Material.

South Africans are generally hostile to illegal immigrants and strongly support government measures to curb illegal immigration. According to a joint national survey of public opinion on security issues conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in October 1996, almost two-thirds of respondents (65%) strongly disapprove of illegal immigration.

There is strong public support for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) playing an external role ? including peacekeeping. This could possibly reflect a belief among South Africans that the country?s security cannot be pursued in isolation from that of our neighbours.

Throughout the world there is a growing awareness of the serious problem of child abuse and neglect. In South Africa child abuse has reached epidemic proportions. In 1996, the SAPS Child Protection Unit (CPU) alone dealt with 32 033 cases of abuse against children (excluding offences under the Child Care Act 74/1983, such as child neglect and abandonment). This constitutes an increase of 47% on the 15 224 cases reported in 1993.

The public believes that the police are now less effective than two or three years ago. According to a joint national survey of public opinion on security issues conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in October 1996, 42% of respondents indicated that police effectiveness had declined, while 32% believed that the police were now more effective than two or three years ago.

The majority of South Africans (75%) are of the opinion that South Africa should maintain a strong national defence force. There is currently also a greater degree of certainty among South Africans about the need for a strong defence force than two years ago.

In doing justice to the South African constitution?s recognition of all eleven languages, the Department of Defence is faced by immense challenges. Having not been exposed to similar requirements in the past, many of the indigenous languages now recognised in the constitution do not have the technical or tactical vocabulary used in modern military correspondence, training and operations.

With recent pronouncements on the issue of gender equality in the military, the South African Department of Defence (DoD) has boldly embarked upon a road few other armed forces have travelled, and upon which few appear willing to travel. The DoD is making a concerted effort at increasing the number of women in senior positions and at all decision-making levels in all the arms of service.

Yet, according to a study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the South African public is opposed to equal participation of women in the armed services. South Africans do not support a role for women in combat. Nevertheless, most people are in favour of recruiting more women in the armed services.

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) compiled two guides that contain all the information that school leavers need to make a decision about tertiary and distance education.

A surprisingly large percentage of South African pupils feel that good luck is of major importance to do well in mathematics and science. This is in striking contrast to the attitude of students in countries who performed well in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has found in its further interpretation of the findings.

A unique report that shows the spatial extent of needy communities and service provision in KwaZulu-Natal has just been released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). The report, Service need and provision within KwaZulu-Natal, presents a format which for the first time collates spatial and database information generated within a Geographic Information System (GIS).

The gender imbalances that existed among graduates a decade ago have virtually been eradicated. In 1985 only 39% of the those who graduated from South African universities were women, whereas in 1994 women constituted almost half of the graduates.

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has been awarded almost half of the R10 million that the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST) made available for a special crime prevention fund. This fund was established to enable science and technology to make a meaningful contribution to crime prevention in South African communities.

Reliable and detailed data on crime is a prerequisite for the development and implementation of effective crime prevention strategies. The recently released quarterly crime report of the SAPS Crime Information Management Centre (CIMC) is therefore an important yardstick for the monitoring of the incidence of crime, according to Dr Willem Schurink, manager of the Crime Prevention Programme of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

Reliable and detailed data on crime is a prerequisite for the development and implementation of effective crime prevention strategies. The recently released quarterly crime report of the SAPS Crime Information Management Centre (CIMC) is therefore an important yardstick for the monitoring of the incidence of crime, according to Dr Willem Schurink, manager of the Crime Prevention Programme of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

With the signing of the agreement on the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) programme by SA Deputy-President Thabo Mbeki and American Vice-President Al Gore on 17 February 1997, South Africa became a full participant of the GLOBE programme. The South African partner in this programme will be the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST), while the national co-ordination of the programme will be undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Pretoria.

A recent study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) indicates that members of the police and the traffic services experience stress due to their negative public image. However, it also became clear that they love and are dedicated to their work, despite the high levels of stress and trauma they might experience.