DOI: 10.14749/1446554017
title: Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) Research Seminars 2014-2015

description: Description: 
 The seminars focused on HSRC projects that were underway in 2014-2015 and related work being done elsewhere at the time of the seminar. The seminars addressed latest research, identified research gaps, suggested new research agendas and explored potential policy relevance. This data set includes the proceedings of the 10 seminars of 2014-2015. The following themes were covered:

 17 September 2014 - Knowledge Generation and Innovation in the Humanities

 16 October 2014 - Measuring Multiple Deprivation at a Small Area Level in South Africa: A Springboard for Tackling Deprivation in the Eastern Cape

 02 December 2014 - The Current State of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in South Africa: Research Findings and Implications for Programme Development

 09 December 2014 - Critical Perspectives on the ASSAf Humanities Consensus Report

 02 March 2015 - Substance Abuse, Harm Prevention and Harm Reduction: Setting a Research Agenda

 03 March 2015 - Spatial Measures of Socio-economic Inequality in South Africa

 10 March 2015 - Human and Social Dynamics: The Role of the Social Sciences in Science Engagement

 11 March 2015 - Public Engagement for Good Governance: The Role of the Humanities

 24 March 2015 - (Un)healthy diets - A Tale of Misinformation or Competing Interests?

 27 March 2015 - Food, Nutrition, and Care: Security During the First 1,000 days
Abstract: 
 The Human and Social Dynamics Research Seminar Series is a collaboration between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Human Science Research Council (HSRC). The seminar series are designed to

 
 showcase research and knowledge production in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) which is generated by the National System of Innovation (NSI)
 
 serve as vehicles for disseminating research evidence to wider and diverse audiences
 
 operate as platforms for the sharing of local and international expertise and experience and
 
 promote research and knowledge production in the SSH that benefits and enhances the NSI.


 The seminars focused on HSRC projects that were underway in 2014-2015 and related work being done elsewhere at the time of the seminar. The seminars addressed latest research, identified research gaps, suggested new research agendas and explored potential policy relevance.

 The following themes were covered:

 17 September 2014 - Knowledge Generation and Innovation in the Humanities 

 The seminar was held to discuss how the relevant DST Science Councils have responded to the ASSAf Consensus Study on the State of the Humanities in South Africa (2011). At the June 2014 Academy of Science for South Africa (ASSAf) Humanities Conference, the Minister of Science and Technology (in her opening address) requested the DST to convene a seminar with the HSRC, National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Academy of Science for South Africa (ASSAf) to critically engage the ASSAf Consensus Study on the State of the Humanities in South Africa: Status, Prospects and Strategies (ASSAf, 2011).

 16 October 2014 - Measuring Multiple Deprivation at a Small Area Level in South Africa: A Springboard for Tackling Deprivation in the Eastern Cape

 The seminar sought to share knowledge about the recently constructed ward-level South African Index of Multiple Deprivation (SAIMD) 2011, with a particular focus on the Eastern Cape. The seminar concluded with discussions about ways in which the SAIMD can be used to inform policy making, and ways in which it could be updated in future years by drawing from other data sources.

 02 December 2014 - The Current State of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in South Africa: Research Findings and Implications for Programme Development

 The seminar presented the key findings from the 2012 national HIV population-based household survey (SABSSM4) and discussed their implications for both HIV/AIDS policy and programming in the country. The discussion focused on the current state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa, based on the findings of the 2012 population-based household survey (SABSSM4) that were released on 1 April 2014. The main goal will be to discuss the implications of the findings on the current HIV/AIDS policies and programmes and efforts to implement them. In addition, it will seek to identify gaps in information which could be addressed in next national HIV population-based household survey (SABSSM5) planned for 2015-2016.

 09 December 2014 - Critical Perspectives on the ASSAf Humanities Consensus Report

 The seminar followed on a previous seminar entitled Knowledge Generation and Innovation in the Humanities which took place on 17 September 2014. This seminar differed from its predecessor in that participants were solely from the DST and its entities. Participants from universities were present in their capacity as members of ASSAf. The intention was therefore to have a purposive meeting that would focus not simply on overall thinking in SSH, but would also explore practical issues in relation to the promotion of research in the area.

 02 March 2015 - Substance Abuse, Harm Prevention and Harm Reduction: Setting a Research Agenda 

 This seminar was a follow-up to a previous seminar on 12 May 2014 which focused on the same topic. The aim of the 2015 seminar was to formulate a research agenda. Topics included addressing substance use in low resources settings: Lessons from intervention research in South Africa as well as setting a substance abuse research agenda for South Africa: Lessons from the United States and globally.

 03 March 2015 - Spatial Measures of Socio-economic Inequality in South Africa 

 The seminar sought to share knowledge about the development of new measures of spatial inequality and their application as explanatory variables in order to better understand outcomes at both the individual level (e.g. people's attitudes towards inequality and options for redress) and the area level (e.g. hotspots of social unrest and violent crime).

 10 March 2015 - Human and Social Dynamics: The Role of the Social Sciences in Science Engagement

 The seminar reflected on science engagement in South Africa, against the background of the DST Science Engagement Framework. This included reflecting on the broader role of science in society, and on the role of the social sciences in science engagement, including the conceptual and empirical challenges that face researchers and policy-makers. Participants reflected on the Science Engagement Framework from the national, international, and developing country perspectives. On this basis, the seminar examined prospects for the implementation of the strategy.

 11 March 2015 - Public Engagement for Good Governance: The Role of the Humanities

 The seminar presented an overview of the current practice of public engagement that aims to promote fair and transparent democratic governance in South Africa using case studies from some international countries. It reviewed current public engagement policies, operational practices and institutional arrangements. It identified the gaps which could address the development of good 'public engagement' practice and relevant policy through an engagement with international experts.

 24 March 2015 - (Un)healthy diets - A Tale of Misinformation or Competing Interests?

 The seminar sought to bring to the fore the challenge(s) of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa and its likely trajectory and consequences. It focused specifically on one of the key risk factors for NCDs, that is (un)healthy diets against the background of the most recently available findings of the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES 1). It also explored the current implementation status of the World Health Organisation (WHO) 'best buys' related to (un)healthy diets in South Africa.

 27 March 2015 - Food, Nutrition, and Care: Security During the First 1,000 days

 The seminar was a follow-up to the government cluster policy workshop held in February 2014, which examined selected key elements of the SANHANES-1 findings with a view to devise a programme of priority actions. The subsequent seminar focused on food, nutrition, and care security in the first 1,000 days with the aim of assessing the situation of South African women and children during that period, and to chart the way forward for new or improved interventions designed to address care and the nutritional status of women and their children.
description: Compilation or synthesis of existing material
description: Digital audio recording
description: Transcription of materials
description: Seminar themes were chosen on the basis of ongoing research projects being carried out within the HSRC. Project leaders were asked to each develop a concept note.