published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE WITS SCHOOL OF GOVERNANCE IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A MASTER OF MANAGEMENT DEGREE IN PUBLIC AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT / HIV and AIDS impact severely on the capacity of the state, its skills base and the efficient use of public funds to render high quality services to the broad populace. Public sector institutions are under immense pressure to implement policies and programmes to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS in the workplace (Public Service Commission, 2006). In this context, the purpose of this research is to assess the implementation of HIV and AIDS policy in the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport to determine if employees are benefiting from this policy. To accomplish this goal, the study employed qualitative interviews and observations to obtain the necessary data from DRT managers, programme officials and employees in June 2014. An examination of the data confirmed that efforts had been made to implement the HIV/AIDS policy in the DRT, although the scope and intensity of these initiatives varied across occupational levels. It was found that an internal policy on HIV and AIDS has been developed; some employees had been informed about the risks of HIV and AIDS; some line managers had been trained on HIV/AIDS management; health screening including HIV counseling and testing takes place regularly; employees have access to 24 hour counseling services; and some units had been supplied with educative messages including pamphlets and brochures. However, the findings also revealed gaps in the current implementation strategy, including limited communications, poor participation in campaigns, lack of leadership commitment, lack of resources and time constraints. In light of this, it was concluded that the current HIV/AIDS management strategy suffers from lack of capacity and coordination

Submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for Masters of Arts in Development Studies by coursework and research report In the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / Social cash transfer programmes on the African continent have more than doubled in the last decade, and this signifies a transformation in the perception of social cash transfers as ‘pity handouts’ to how they are seen today, as ‘productive investments’ in human capabilities. Southern Africa has been a pioneer in social protection growth in the last twenty years, but often accounts of these histories focus on pension schemes in places such as South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Lesotho. There is little incorporation of Mozambique’s social protection history, and most histories do not detail that Mozambique ranks fourth chronologically, in introduction of cash transfer programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa. This research puts forth that the Mozambican case of an early adoption of cash transfers in 1990 is a positive and unique example of a state’s active role in social protection despite neoliberal constraints. The state-led adoption of cash transfers in response to rising inequality and economic instability is unexpected at a time when these programmes were unpopular development interventions and when the state was supposedly rolled-back and confined because neoliberalism and the civil war. Tracing the history of Mozambican social cash transfers in the last 25 years illustrates two consistencies of the Mozambican government: 1. A supportive political position towards state involvement in welfare programmes, despite the government’s own political and development sector transformation from Marxist-Leninist orientation to welcoming of privatization; and 2. State financial and political support of social protection throughout a period when cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa went from unpopular hand-out interventions during crises, to lobbying for permanent social protection as a mechanism to address chronic poverty. / GR2017

Thesis (M.M. (Security))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2016 / Technological advancement have seen South African government departments, state owned entities and private companies using cyberspace as a platform of interaction and the storage of information. Technological advancements have a positive impact due to the compression of space, time and thereby ensuring fastpaced interaction across borders. These technological advancements have, however resulted in most organisations, both private and public, becoming prone to cybercrimes and related incidents. In an initiative aimed at countering these threats, the South African government has passed various laws. The National Cybersecurity Policy Framework (NCPF) is a South African Policy framework aimed at countering an increase in the occurrence of cybercrimes and related incidents. This research analyses the status in the implementation of the NCPF objectives allocated to the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS). Then the barriers in the Implementation are unpacked guided by the literature reviewed and finally recommendations on how to counter the identified barriers are provided post the data collection. The report firstly provides an outline of the global perspectives on cybersecurity which is followed by the regional cybersecurity measures, and then the national cybersecurity measures proposed by the South African Government department are outlined. The latter parts of the report focuses on the NCPF in terms of its scope, goals, objectives and stakeholders. Finally, focus is shifted to the DTPS as a chosen area of research wherein data was collected in a form of one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with relevant parties. The results of this research are presented as a narrative description that is synthesised to develop the theoretical conjecture and empirical generalisation of the entire research. This research uncovered that there are numerous barriers in the implementation of the NCPF both within the DTPS as well as between the DTPS and various stakeholders entrusted with the implementation responsibility. The last chapter consists of general conclusions made by the researcher based on the research conducted which is then followed by recommended countermeasures which will be communicated to the DTPS as well as all stakeholders who will be affected by the proposed recommendations. / GR2018

This dissertation explores how local government policies affect pre-and postdisaster business resilience, in the context of institutional and neo-institutional frameworks. The study builds on past research on business vulnerability and resilience to examine government policies in the pre-disaster and response and recovery periods, and explore how government responses of varying types can contribute to different outcomes for local small businesses in the recovery period following hurricane disasters. The project examines two cases surrounding events in 2005 and their impact on business resilience: Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the New Orleans metropolitan area; and Palm Beach County's experience with Hurricane Wilma. The dissertation involves a mixed-method approach to the subject matter. The statistical analysis portion uses multiple regression analysis of surveys of government-registered business owners in the affected areas. Business resilience is examined in light of the p redictive power of the size of the disaster; the influence of the institutional policies in public procurement, and vii economic development through small business programs; the role of institutional culture; and finally business vulnerability. The interview portion involves interviews with public officials, and coding and analysis of the field texts of these discussions, for additional information about the role that institutions play in the resilience of businesses before and after disaster. The statistical results suggest that institutional culture; size of disaster, institutional policies (particularly in procurement practices), and vulnerability can play a role in determining the resilience of a local business community. / The statistical analysis is supported by interview data, which suggest that public institutions can create a culture of resilience in the business communities they serve, through support of proactive measures that make businesses less vulnerable, and creation and maintenance of supportive networks in the business community through public-private channels. Such approaches, combined with forward-thinking policy toward economic development as a general imperative, can create business communities that are more resilient in the face of disaster. / by Christopher L. Atkinson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

佘耀亭. / 複印本. / Thesis (M.A.)--香港中文大學. / Fu yin ben. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-135). / She Yaoting. / Thesis (M.A.)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue. / 論文撮要 --- p.I-VII / 導言 --- p.1-5 / Chapter （一） --- 殖民政治與華人政策的產生背景 --- p.6-11 / Chapter （二） --- 早期華人社會的發展與政策制訂 / Chapter 甲 --- 1844-1859 --- p.Dec-21 / Chapter 乙 --- 1859-1876 --- p.22-30 / Chapter 丙 --- 小結 --- p.31-35 / 註釋 --- p.36-49 / Chapter （三） --- 軒尼詩生平及政治思想 --- p.50-61 / Chapter （四） --- 軒尼詩的華人政策 / Chapter 一 --- 施行中國刑罰及維持社會治安問題 --- p.67-76 / Chapter 二 --- 娼妓及妹仔買賣問題 --- p.77-86 / Chapter 三 --- 賣地政策及華人住宅衛生問題 --- p.87-93 / Chapter 四 --- 華人教育問題 --- p.94-98 / Chapter 五 --- 華人參與政務問題 --- p.99-104 / Chapter 六 --- 其他 --- p.105-109 / 註釋 --- p.110-119 / Chapter （五） --- 結論 --- p.120-125 / Chapter （六） --- 參考書目 --- p.126-135

彭銘剛. / "2013年9月". / "2013 nian 9 yue". / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-184). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in Chinese and English. / Peng Minggang.

This dissertation examines the relationship between political institutions and development policies across a wide array of policy arenas. It consists of three essays. In the first essay, I examine how corruption in political institutions affects citizens’ attitudes towards proposed policy reforms that should yield long-run benefits. I argue that where corruption in political institutions reduces citizens’ benefits from existing programs, governmental promises to deliver benefits via reforms are less credible. Thus, citizens will cling to inefficient policies not because they are unable to recognize the benefits of reform but because they do not trust political institutions to implement reforms in ways that will benefit them in practice. I use this logic to explain why citizens frequently resist attempts to reform the economically and environmentally costly practice of setting domestic gasoline prices below market prices. To reveal these patterns, I rely on original survey and administrative data from Indonesia. The second essay maintains the focuses on the quality of political institutions and natural resource governance but from a more macro perspective. In this essay, I argue that political regimes and political time horizons shape financial arrangements between governments and multinational oil companies. This essentially asks the reverse of a central question in comparative politics. Rather than asking how oil income affects political institutions, I ask how political institutions motivate politicians to make policy choices that increase or decrease the government’s access to oil income over time. To do so, I utilize an original dataset on financial arrangements between host countries and multinational oil companies, as reflected in historically confidential oil contracts. The final essay travels to a different substantive area of development policy, yet allows for a critical role for political institutions. This essay argues that the relationship between developing country governments and foreign aid donors should be conditional on the quality of political institutions, with aid donors giving countries with institutions better able to commit to selecting policies that promote development wider latitude to direct foreign aid resources towards local priorities. Instead, I find that political and security alliances shape whether donors give developing country governments more “ownership” over aid flows. Overall, the dissertation deepens understanding of the relationship between the quality of political institutions and policies within developing countries, while offering insights into contemporary policy debates about natural resource governance, environmental politics, and development aid.

This dissertation investigated the impacts of regulatory policies on well-being of immigrant families and low-income families, which offers evidence for policymakers to evaluate the necessity of employing harsh measures. In the first paper, I used the nationally representative National Health Interview Survey (2000-2012) to study the health and mental health impacts of local immigration enforcement policies, under Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act and the Secure Communities Program. I found some evidence of local immigration enforcement policies negatively impacting the mental health and self-rated health of Latino immigrants. In the second paper, I explored relationships between participation in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and parental investments in children, and how stringencies in state TANF policy requirements impacted the relationships. I used the 2004 and 2008 panels of Survey on Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and found that TANF participation was associated with increased family meal times and decreased incidences of family outings and reading time. TANF participation was not associated with other areas of parenting (e.g., extracurricular activity participation, family rules on watching TV, positive parenting, parenting stress, and parental expectation). Also, stringent state TANF policy characteristics were not associated with negative parenting behaviors. In the last paper, I investigated how the stringencies of state TANF policy were associated with single mothers’ long-term trajectories of welfare use, labor supply, and earned income. I used the 1996, 2001, and 2004 panels of SIPP data (1996-2007), covering the decade following TANF implementation. Findings indicated that stringent state TANF policies were strongly related to single mothers’ lower likelihood to participate in TANF; however, single mothers used other welfare programs (e.g., SNAP and SSI) to the same extent as single mothers living in states with less stringent TANF policies. Also, stringent policies did not lead to higher levels of labor supply or earned income.