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The article highlights the politics of the Covid-19 vaccination drive in Zimbabwe. It interrogates questions of individual agency and institutional power in the administration of the vaccine. It is framed within Foucauldian scholarship, particularly that concerning the role of biopower, subjects and governmentality in the politics of vaccination. The article uses virtual ethnography to understand the politics of vaccination and contends that the vaccination drive highlights how power is played out within the Zimbabwean context. Individuals perceive their agency as constrained through explicit and implicit coercion, since vaccination is exercised through a form of governmentality that uses biopower. The article argues that the vaccination initiative presents a new form of governmentality that is premised on policing individual agency by other individuals as opposed to the dominant notions of governmentality that are shaped by political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contends that subaltern urbanism is a way of life in the context of contemporary Zimbabwe. Through ethnography conducted in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, between February 2019 and May 2019, the paper extends the concept of subaltern urbanism through presenting subaltern urbanism as a way of life that encapsulates individuality and urban governance. The paper argues that subaltern urbanism is scripted by individuals positioned at the bottom of the social ladder and urban governing institutions. The paper maintains the view that subaltern urbanism as a way of life denotes redefinition and (re)imagining contemporary post-colonial urbanity. Finally, the paper proposes the notion that the author labels as "subalternization of the city" by urban governing institutions and suggests new ways of understanding urbanism in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport's distinctive social element serves as an excellent platform to facilitate corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This is particularly true in developing countries, where sport is increasingly recognised as a conduit to address social issues and development. Therefore, this study's main research objectives were to establish professional sport organisations' (PSOs) understanding of CSR, identify their CSR objectives, identify their engagement in CSR initiatives, and identify the benefits derived from CSR in a developing country context (South Africa). Data was collected via a qualitative approach, with in-depth interviews conducted among selected PSOs (n = 10). The results showed that PSOs engaged in and derived several benefits from their CSR initiatives, viz.: brand recognition, positive brand image, brand loyalty, increase in fans, commercial value, and sponsorship, and leveraging sponsorship. Additionally, some PSOs took more of a socially inclined approach in their CSR initiatives as opposed to a strategic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a significant increase in research around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the sport management context and it has been argued that CSR outcomes have marketing implications. Despite this increase, there is a gap in identifying the influence that CSR initiatives have on marketing performance within a professional sport management context. Moreover, the South African sport industry is rapidly professionalising with a need for the application of business management practices to the unique sport industry. This study explored the relationship between CSR and the marketing performance of selected professional sport organisations across South Africa. Six organisations were selected, representative of the three major professional sport codes in the country, namely cricket, rugby and soccer. Following a qualitative research approach, key personnel at the organisations were purposefully selected for in-depth interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted and the following core themes emerged: marketing objectives; income/revenue growth; marketing share; and CSR initiatives. The study proposed a set of criteria to assess the influence of CSR on marketing performance, which included: tickets and sales; brand loyalty; brand perception; media coverage; and sponsorship. The study clarifies the relationship between CSR and marketing performance in the South African professional sport environment and presents policy and practice-based recommendations based on these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport's distinctive social element serves as an excellent platform to facilitate corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. This is particularly true in developing countries, where sport is increasingly recognised as a conduit to address social issues and development. Therefore, this study's main research objectives were to establish professional sport organisations' (PSOs) understanding of CSR, identify their CSR objectives, identify their engagement in CSR initiatives, and identify the benefits derived from CSR in a developing country context (South Africa). Data was collected via a qualitative approach, with in-depth interviews conducted among selected PSOs (n = 10). The results showed that PSOs engaged in and derived several benefits from their CSR initiatives, viz.: brand recognition, positive brand image, brand loyalty, increase in fans, commercial value, and sponsorship, and leveraging sponsorship. Additionally, some PSOs took more of a socially inclined approach in their CSR initiatives as opposed to a strategic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a dearth of sport marketing research investigating the strategic potential of socially responsible sport marketing practices for organizations in the sport management industry. Despite the more recent focus on this the emergent topic within marketing literature, there is a lack of application of cause-related marketing (CRM) and social marketing (SM) strategies in the sport marketing context. Furthermore, these strategies are often confused with corporate social responsibility (CSR). The main purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the adoption of CRM and SM marketing strategies by professional sport organizations (PSOs) in South Africa. An interpretivist philosophy and qualitative approach was adopted for the study, which centered on in-depth interviews conducted with key individuals from six South African PSOs. The findings revealed encouraging evidence of South African PSOs engagement in CRM and SM activities. However, it also revealed that the strategic potential of these elements were not leveraged, mainly due to a lack of understanding of these concepts. The differences and similarities between CRM and SM are identified, according to practitioner understandings. The study contributes to sport marketing literature and practice by proposing a conceptual framework to guide the effective planning and execution of strategic CRM and SM campaigns by PSOs. This framework can assist PSOs to engage in social responsible marketing approaches to improve their marketing performance while maintaining socially responsible business practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines how the discourse of sexuality was employed to gain political legitimacy by the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) to out-manoeuvre their political rivals Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai Faction (MDC-T) in the Zimbabwean elections of 2013. In the context of Zimbabwe politics, the nexus between sexual discourse and political contests presents a conspicuous shift from dominant day-to-day mundane political debates centred on policy to debates of personal (mis)conduct and morality. The nexus between sexuality and political legitimacy is analysed using Michel Foucault's ideas on sexuality: repressive hypothesis and biopower. The paper maintains that the media have been used to disseminate the discourse of sexuality to the electorate. Importantly, the influence of media is scrutinised using the theory of mass communication and media politics as articulated by Castells, and the Propaganda Model postulated by Herman and Chomsky. Through Critical Discourse Analysis and results from unstructured interviews the paper observes that the discourse of sexuality had a considerable bearing on gaining political power. Lastly, the paper observes that, although the discourse of sexuality has a symbiotic relationship with amassing political power, there were other factors that influenced the electoral outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the sporting industry has become more professionalised, there have been an increased number of studies focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement within this sector. However, with unique aspects of professional sport organisations and limited studies on this in developing market contexts, this paper reports on a study that aimed to investigate the impact of environmental factors and stakeholders that have an impact on sustainable CSR engagement in the South African professional sport industry. Following an interpretivist philosophy, this study adopted a qualitative research approach to collect the primary data. Key stakeholders were strategically selected from six South African professional sport organisations and ten in-depth interviews were conducted. This inquiry revealed that several internal and external environmental factors influence sustainable CSR engagement by professional sport organisations, namely, (1) internal objectives, funds, people and resources and (2) external uncontrollable factors, economy, and community awareness. The study also found that corporate partnerships, non-corporate partnerships and targeted communities were the main stakeholder types involved in CSR activities. The study, therefore, expands the understanding of CSR engagement within the professional sport industry in South Africa, also contributing to CSR practice and policy within this sector by proposing the engagement in more sustainable CSR initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is an HIV prevention intervention that has predominantly targeted adolescent and young men, aged 10-24 years. In 2020, the age eligibility for VMMC shifted from 10 to 15 years of age. This report describes the VMMC client age distribution from 2018 to 2021, at the site, national, and regional levels, among 15 countries in southern and eastern Africa. Overall, in 2018 and 2019, the highest proportion of VMMCs were performed among 10-14-year-olds (45.6% and 41.2%, respectively). In 2020 and 2021, the 15-19-year age group accounted for the highest proportion (37.2% and 50.4%, respectively) of VMMCs performed across all age groups. Similarly, in 2021 at the site level, 68.1% of VMMC sites conducted the majority of circumcisions among men aged 15-24 years. This analysis highlights that adolescent boys and young men are the primary recipients of VMMC receiving an important lifetime reduction in HIV risk.