In the social sciences, the discipline of sociology has not been actively involved in establishing collaboration among its members. Drawing on information from the abstracts of 4,491 papers presented at the 20th World Congress of Sociology in Melbourne in 2023, which were manually collected from the published abstract volume and the metadata of the papers were captured in the SPSS program, this paper analyses collaborative trends in sociological research and pathways of the discipline of sociology globally. This study examines the impact of author composition on the diversity of themes addressed and methodologies employed in papers on collaboration. It examines the effects of collaboration on the production of academic papers, demonstrating how presenters from different countries are involved in collaborative research to shape the thematic focus and contextual relevance of their work. Through this analysis, this paper aims to provide insights into the dynamics of authorship in the academic landscape. The analysis reveals patterns in knowledge production within sociology, highlighting how presenters' collaborations are shaped by the themes, methodologies, and contexts of their studies. The analysis revealed that the mean number of authors per paper was below two, and most presenters originated from only a few countries. The analysis identified seven key areas around which the papers were presented, which were aligned with the country of affiliation of presenters. A majority (two-thirds) of the papers were based on empirical data. Themes also determined the methodology adopted. The collaboration of authors, as reflected in the regression models, was influenced by control variables such as themes, methodology, and country of affiliation. The findings suggest distinct ways presenters connect and collaborate based on the nature of their research. The paper contributes to an understanding of how sociologists worldwide collaborate to make joint presentations at significant forums, such as international conferences. The paper offers insights into how the interests of presenters, in terms of topics, methodology, and research contexts, influence joint presentations and collaborations, thereby paving the way for future research collaborations.

Abstract This chapter presents the case for the sociology of Africa. Although Africa provides a diverse stage for the study of societies, attempts to build and develop an integrated sociology of Africa have yet to be made by social scientists and sociologists. While sociological knowledge is being produced by both the African diaspora and those living on the continent, it does not yet constitute an organized sociology of Africa. The handbook demonstrates that there is a timely need to broaden the sociological understanding of African societies by illustrating the pertinence of relevant sociological themes. The themes explored constitute the integral components of the sociological knowledge of African societies. The key topics include the context and perspectives of the sociology of Africa, race, ethnicity and religion; gender, sexuality and intersectionality; medical sociology; political economy and development; crime and violence; and the family and education.

This chapter highlights the problem of risky adolescent sexual behaviour as both a public health and social concern and the state of the family in the South African context. Risky adolescent sexual behaviour can put adolescents at a crossroads with poor health outcomes that alter their life course. At the time when adolescents are experimenting and forming new relationships including sexual relationships, guidance from the family can help them to navigate this stage of growth. However, the family entity must be conducive for non-judgemental and honest conversations around sexuality to take place. The current status quo is that the family unit is disfranchised, struggling economically, lacking role models and generally struggling to play a critical role in guiding adolescents as they transition into adulthood. The secrecy around sexual matters at the family level means adolescents are exposed to the subject through peers, social media and schools without understanding the full risks involved.

This chapter serves as a natural progression from the preceding one, as it expands upon the groundwork laid in the analysis and presentation of findings initiated in the previous chapter. It delves into the intricate web of connections between familial influences and two crucial facets of adolescent sexual behaviour: age-disparate relationships and multiple sexual partnerships. These two aspects, which were integral components among the five indicators of adolescent sexual behaviour scrutinised in this empirical study, now take centre stage in this chapter’s exploration. Familial influences encompass various factors, including parental communication with their children, the socioeconomic status of the family, living arrangements and parents’ marital status. The analysis presented in this chapter underscores the significant role of dysfunctional familial environments in fostering the emergence of risky sexual behaviour and its subsequent consequences.

In Lesotho in recent years, government changeover has become a topic of interest among the electorate, journalists, foreign missions, civil organisations and beyond. Similarly, election commentators, political analysts and researchers alike have discussed 'who climbs to power' and 'how do they ascend to' or 'descend from power'. Significantly less efforts have been focused on the effects of a new administration. This paper attempts to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by examining the relationship between a change of government and the priorities in policy. This is achieved by examining the implications for change of the executive power on the policy making in Lesotho. Using the e-government experience of Lesotho based on the changeovers of 2012, 2015 and 2017, it was found that the executive turnover has a direct, yet antagonistic effect on policies. The results show that often a new administration either goes slowly with or discontinues the policies, programmes and projects of the predecessor. This not only widens the policy-implementation gap as service delivery is interrupted, consequently leading to a lapse in solving problems in the society. It also creates uncertainty, not necessarily about who comes to power, but about what policy direction they will pursue.

This chapter presents an analysis of empirical data on the state of science in Africa. Relevant aspects of science are chosen to provide a comprehensive picture of the production of science in Africa during 2001–2018. In this chapter, the focus is on the research areas in which Africa published its scientific papers, the key institutions where scientific research was undertaken, and funding received from agencies to conduct and publish the research. The comparative analysis of Africa and the world presented in the chapter provides an added dimension of African science. It shows both the contribution of Africa to the world of science and research areas that are of specific significance to the continent and the world. The dependency of Africa on international sources of funding is obvious in the analysis.

This chapter discusses the methodology employed in the study, which investigated adolescent sexual behaviour and the impact of family dynamics on their sexual activities. The investigation adopted a sequential explanatory approach, harnessing both quantitative and qualitative data gathered from Cape Town, South Africa. The rationale behind this methodological choice is expounded upon in this chapter. The decision to employ mixed methods stems from the observation that prevailing studies on adolescent sexual behaviour often adopt a single-stranded approach, either quantitative or qualitative. In the context of this study, it becomes imperative to attain a comprehensive perspective on the intricacies of sexual behaviour, a feat accomplished through the synergistic deployment of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The chapter also details the strategies of data analysis.

This chapter critiques pertinent theories that underpin the study of adolescent sexual behaviour, with a specific focus on the family’s influence on shaping these behaviours. The intricacies of adolescent sexual behaviour are illuminated through various theoretical frameworks. Within this chapter’s realm of exploration lies a focused examination of several theories utilised to decipher not only the broader spectrum of adolescent sexual behaviour but also its intricacies. These theories emerge from diverse intellectual foundations and scrutinise the role of behaviour modelling, social ecology, ecological factors, family systems, multi-systems and the life course in influencing specific behaviours. The meticulously chosen theories discussed in this chapter offer a panoramic view of how an array of factors weaves together to shape an individual’s behaviour, with particular emphasis on the substantial influence of family environments.

This book explores the connection between family structure, parental engagement, and adolescent sexual behavior.

This chapter provides an exhaustive account of adolescent sexual behaviour from a global to African and South African perspective. The adolescence stage is an important developmental milestone and decisions taken during this time can have lifelong impacts on the lives of individuals. The decisions taken may include having sexual relationships without understanding the risks involved. In the context of self-discovery and experimentation which are characteristic of the adolescence stage, families continue to play a vital role in guiding children. Families do not remain the same. They transit, taking many structures and forms. How these different structures and forms of family affect adolescents remains largely unknown. Literature from different parts of the world has explored the impact of familial factors on behaviour both in general and, more specifically, on sexual behaviour.

This chapter delves into the realm of adolescent sexual behaviour utilising the empirical data gathered in the course of the study. With a comprehensive exploration of influencing factors, both quantitative and qualitative data converge to scrutinise the impact of the family type and structure on adolescent sexual behaviour, the interplay between household socioeconomic status and adolescent sexual behaviour, the pivotal role of parent-child communication in shaping adolescent sexual behaviours and the perspectives of both adolescents and parents regarding the family’s role in moulding adolescent sexual behaviour. Leveraging pertinent quantitative indicators, this chapter presents the findings of sexual behaviour, juxtaposing factors such as the age of sexual initiation, family income and the presence of parents.

This chapter deals with the principal components of science and shows how they interact with each other in facilitating the development of a strong scientific system which is neither completely self-reliant nor dependent. Partnerships of different kinds serve Africa differently and hence they need to be examined to provide a balanced view of the benefits accrued to African science. Connected to this is funding which often comes from overseas and restricts Africa from being tied to external sources rather than to its own local resources. The chapter identifies the preferred areas of scientific research that attract international funding and its connection with partnerships and productivity. Presenting the challenges in a research capacity, which is also linked to funding issues, the chapter demonstrates how these can be dealt with to strengthen the capacity of Africa in science. As an important component, policies relevant to science are reviewed to provide the basis for a stronger scientific system in Africa.

This chapter explores partnerships in African science. Different forms of partnerships such as South–South, South–North and South–South–North are delineated from the empirical data. The chapter deliberates on the principal partners of Africa who are involved in the production of science as revealed through scientific publications. Going further, the chapter examines both the partners of Africa and the partners of Africa’s partners. This is to capture the dependent versus self-reliant character of African science. International partners also need Africa for the advancement and development of their own science. In light of the analysis of publications that Africa produced in partnerships with other countries, the chapter shows the forms of partnerships that are predominant in African science.