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Papers by Sunette Pienaar

Knowledge as Enablement, 2014

Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple op... more Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple oppression: (a) the social engineering policies synonymous with apartheid have marginalised women economically and socially; (b) patriarchy, embedded in cultural and religious discourses, has rendered women voiceless and powerless and (c) HIV / AIDS targets the most vulnerable: women and children. Not only are women carrying the brunt of HIV infections, but they also carry the extra burden of caring for the sick and the orphaned. The writer wants to ensure that she does not victimise the family of women in her research experience in any way, compounding their burdens. It is paramount for the writer that ethical considerations should be at the core of research with African women in previously disadvantaged communities, infected and / or affected by HIV / AIDS. The writer discusses some of the ethical elements of the theology and research methodology within which she positions herself. As a narrative researcher, she argues positions herself. As a narrative researcher, she argues that the regulative principles that apply to traditional research methods are limited when applied to narrative research. She then proceeds with a description of her research experience in a day with the Ubisi family, a family of women infected and affected by AIDS. She continues by writing from this experience, sharing a few of the ethical dilemmas that she had faced during that day and how she came to terms with them.

Over the past decade, we have seen the production of knowledge in the academe undergo fundamental... more Over the past decade, we have seen the production of knowledge in the academe undergo fundamental change. This change has challenged traditional disciplines, practices and policies that form the foundation of established educational institutions. Elements such as the interrelatedness of abstract and applied research, the transdisciplinarity setting, the heterogeneous institutional setting, increased reflexivity (i.e. a more dialogical process), and new ways of assessing the quality of knowledge, have all challenged the type of knowledge produced and facilitated within higher education. Additionally, critical disparities regarding the role of the community and critical stakeholders, and the purpose for which knowledge is produced, have received noteworthy attention. Within this transitioning environment, contradictory impressions of 'social accountability' and 'relevance' continue to place the humanities under a critical lens. It is against this background of purporte...

South African Review of Sociology, 2012

Despite numerous attempts by scholars to clarify ‘community engagement’, it remains a vague conce... more Despite numerous attempts by scholars to clarify ‘community engagement’, it remains a vague concept in South African higher education institutions. Conceptual frameworks are sorely lacking and there are no universally accepted standards against which to measure the impact of community engagement. In this article an attempt is made to clarify this concept by proposing the Millennium Development Goals as a

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2004

Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple op... more Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple oppression: (a) the social engineering policies synonymous with apartheid have marginalised women economically and socially; (b) patriarchy, embedded in cultural and religious discourses, has rendered women voiceless and powerless and (c) HIV/AIDS targets the most vulnerable: women and children. The authors describe a research experience in Atteridgeville, a historically disadvantaged community in South Africa, with a family of women infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS, about their experiences of care and or the lack thereof. A narrative approach offers useful ideas to facilitate a process in which African women in historically challenged communities can speak out about their experiences of care and or the lack of care.

Let G = (V, E) be a multigraph with no loops on the vertex set V = {1, 2,. .. , n}. Define S + (G... more Let G = (V, E) be a multigraph with no loops on the vertex set V = {1, 2,. .. , n}. Define S + (G) as the set of symmetric positive semidefinite matrices A = [a ij ] with a ij = 0, i = j, if ij ∈ E(G) is a single edge and a ij = 0, i = j, if ij / ∈ E(G). Let M + (G) denote the maximum multiplicity of zero as an eigenvalue of A ∈ S + (G) and mr + (G) = |G| − M + (G) denote the minimum semidefinite rank of G. The tree cover number of a multigraph G, denoted T (G), is the minimum number of vertex disjoint simple trees occurring as induced subgraphs of G that cover all of the vertices of G. The authors present some results on this new graph parameter T (G). In particular, they show that for any outerplanar multigraph G, M + (G) = T (G).

Participatory knowledge sharing between the third sector and higher education institutions is rec... more Participatory knowledge sharing between the third sector and higher education institutions is recognised as a means to transform the academy and society for the betterment of both. Participation between different sectors, however, presents role-players with various challenges. Ethical dilemmas present one such challenge. Both higher education institutions and the third sector often lack frameworks for ethical engagement. Such frameworks might be accommodated in partnership agreements. However, partnership agreements themselves are often lacking, and in cases where they do exist, ethics are often not fully considered. Where ethics does come into play it relates to engagement with communities specifically, and not engagement between higher education institutions and the third sector. In such cases ethics is often regarded as an impediment to knowledge sharing. Proposals by academics referring to community-based participatory research and other participatory research methods are often rejected by institutional ethics committees because of epistemological preferences and the lack of ethics guidelines to accommodate such research. The third sector, again, is pressurised by donor expectations and requirements to deliver output against objectives within fixed time frames and against tight budgets. Few third sector partners negotiate ethics considerations with donors in the budgeting process. Accountability to communities is often neglected as a result. The purpose of this conceptual chapter is to synergise the accountability considerations of the third sector with ethics considerations for participatory research and ethics challenges encountered by both sectors in partnerships. The aim of this exercise is to propose an ethics framework to speak to the nexus between higher education institutions, the third sector and communities in engagement. Such a guiding framework might enable participatory knowledge sharing between the third sector and higher education institutions.

This article works with the assumption that Practical Theology requires involvement at grassroots... more This article works with the assumption that Practical Theology requires involvement at grassroots level. The narrative approach to pastoral care offers certain possibilities, by means of Participatory Action Research, for setting foot on grassroots level together with research participants. In this case, the research participants are children infected or affected by HIV / AIDS. Initial expectations were that children infected or affected by HIV / AIDS would be particularly defenceless against violence. The research in two comparative, traditional black suburbs confirms that it is not HIV / AIDS, in the first place, but poverty, which leaves children defenceless against various forms of violence. Proposals are made about taking a stance and about the role of the church as an alternative community.

Knowledge as Enablement, 2014

Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple op... more Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple oppression: (a) the social engineering policies synonymous with apartheid have marginalised women economically and socially; (b) patriarchy, embedded in cultural and religious discourses, has rendered women voiceless and powerless and (c) HIV / AIDS targets the most vulnerable: women and children. Not only are women carrying the brunt of HIV infections, but they also carry the extra burden of caring for the sick and the orphaned. The writer wants to ensure that she does not victimise the family of women in her research experience in any way, compounding their burdens. It is paramount for the writer that ethical considerations should be at the core of research with African women in previously disadvantaged communities, infected and / or affected by HIV / AIDS. The writer discusses some of the ethical elements of the theology and research methodology within which she positions herself. As a narrative researcher, she argues positions herself. As a narrative researcher, she argues that the regulative principles that apply to traditional research methods are limited when applied to narrative research. She then proceeds with a description of her research experience in a day with the Ubisi family, a family of women infected and affected by AIDS. She continues by writing from this experience, sharing a few of the ethical dilemmas that she had faced during that day and how she came to terms with them.

Over the past decade, we have seen the production of knowledge in the academe undergo fundamental... more Over the past decade, we have seen the production of knowledge in the academe undergo fundamental change. This change has challenged traditional disciplines, practices and policies that form the foundation of established educational institutions. Elements such as the interrelatedness of abstract and applied research, the transdisciplinarity setting, the heterogeneous institutional setting, increased reflexivity (i.e. a more dialogical process), and new ways of assessing the quality of knowledge, have all challenged the type of knowledge produced and facilitated within higher education. Additionally, critical disparities regarding the role of the community and critical stakeholders, and the purpose for which knowledge is produced, have received noteworthy attention. Within this transitioning environment, contradictory impressions of 'social accountability' and 'relevance' continue to place the humanities under a critical lens. It is against this background of purporte...

South African Review of Sociology, 2012

Despite numerous attempts by scholars to clarify ‘community engagement’, it remains a vague conce... more Despite numerous attempts by scholars to clarify ‘community engagement’, it remains a vague concept in South African higher education institutions. Conceptual frameworks are sorely lacking and there are no universally accepted standards against which to measure the impact of community engagement. In this article an attempt is made to clarify this concept by proposing the Millennium Development Goals as a

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2004

Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple op... more Black women in previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa carry the burden of triple oppression: (a) the social engineering policies synonymous with apartheid have marginalised women economically and socially; (b) patriarchy, embedded in cultural and religious discourses, has rendered women voiceless and powerless and (c) HIV/AIDS targets the most vulnerable: women and children. The authors describe a research experience in Atteridgeville, a historically disadvantaged community in South Africa, with a family of women infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS, about their experiences of care and or the lack thereof. A narrative approach offers useful ideas to facilitate a process in which African women in historically challenged communities can speak out about their experiences of care and or the lack of care.

Let G = (V, E) be a multigraph with no loops on the vertex set V = {1, 2,. .. , n}. Define S + (G... more Let G = (V, E) be a multigraph with no loops on the vertex set V = {1, 2,. .. , n}. Define S + (G) as the set of symmetric positive semidefinite matrices A = [a ij ] with a ij = 0, i = j, if ij ∈ E(G) is a single edge and a ij = 0, i = j, if ij / ∈ E(G). Let M + (G) denote the maximum multiplicity of zero as an eigenvalue of A ∈ S + (G) and mr + (G) = |G| − M + (G) denote the minimum semidefinite rank of G. The tree cover number of a multigraph G, denoted T (G), is the minimum number of vertex disjoint simple trees occurring as induced subgraphs of G that cover all of the vertices of G. The authors present some results on this new graph parameter T (G). In particular, they show that for any outerplanar multigraph G, M + (G) = T (G).

Participatory knowledge sharing between the third sector and higher education institutions is rec... more Participatory knowledge sharing between the third sector and higher education institutions is recognised as a means to transform the academy and society for the betterment of both. Participation between different sectors, however, presents role-players with various challenges. Ethical dilemmas present one such challenge. Both higher education institutions and the third sector often lack frameworks for ethical engagement. Such frameworks might be accommodated in partnership agreements. However, partnership agreements themselves are often lacking, and in cases where they do exist, ethics are often not fully considered. Where ethics does come into play it relates to engagement with communities specifically, and not engagement between higher education institutions and the third sector. In such cases ethics is often regarded as an impediment to knowledge sharing. Proposals by academics referring to community-based participatory research and other participatory research methods are often rejected by institutional ethics committees because of epistemological preferences and the lack of ethics guidelines to accommodate such research. The third sector, again, is pressurised by donor expectations and requirements to deliver output against objectives within fixed time frames and against tight budgets. Few third sector partners negotiate ethics considerations with donors in the budgeting process. Accountability to communities is often neglected as a result. The purpose of this conceptual chapter is to synergise the accountability considerations of the third sector with ethics considerations for participatory research and ethics challenges encountered by both sectors in partnerships. The aim of this exercise is to propose an ethics framework to speak to the nexus between higher education institutions, the third sector and communities in engagement. Such a guiding framework might enable participatory knowledge sharing between the third sector and higher education institutions.

This article works with the assumption that Practical Theology requires involvement at grassroots... more This article works with the assumption that Practical Theology requires involvement at grassroots level. The narrative approach to pastoral care offers certain possibilities, by means of Participatory Action Research, for setting foot on grassroots level together with research participants. In this case, the research participants are children infected or affected by HIV / AIDS. Initial expectations were that children infected or affected by HIV / AIDS would be particularly defenceless against violence. The research in two comparative, traditional black suburbs confirms that it is not HIV / AIDS, in the first place, but poverty, which leaves children defenceless against various forms of violence. Proposals are made about taking a stance and about the role of the church as an alternative community.