published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

This study is concerned with corporate policy on IllV/AIDS. This was investigated by speaking to key-informants from fifteen enterprises in KwaZulu Natal. They were asked about their policies and programmes and what they had put in place to combat this epidemic. The rational choice model was used as a framework for analysis ofthe policies. This model is discussed in the first part ofthe study and was chosen as it seems to reflect the dominant policy outlook in South Africa and may shape the way that organisations .respond. The second part of the project is the report and discussion of the findings. It is a presentation ofthe responses given by the key informants regarding their perceptions and understanding of the problem of IllV/AIDS as well as the policies .of their companies regarding the same. Mostofthe companies in the study did not have policies specific to. IDV/AIDS. Some had general guidelines and treated HIV/AIDS as any major illness. There seemed to be denial, especially among the management, of the seriousness of the disease despite evidence ofits significant impact within the various organisations. There were few to no resources set aside formv/AIDS programmes and interventions and this seems important in defining the IllV/AIDS problem as one of the future rather than the present In the third part of this project, the theoretical framework and the findings were linked. There was an attempt to answer the question ofhow rational the policy process is within the companies in the study and .whether the responses of these organisations can be understood in the context ofthe rational choice model. It seems that this model does aid in understanding of the policy process when there is a realisation· that it interacts with other human mctors to create what we observe. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

This is a study of an implementation process, which means it is a study of the gray area somewhere between policy and program. The policy created in 1983 opened the door of the college to non-traditional learners. Sweeping changes in the social discourse of disability supported the development of the 1983 policy. A review of the literature revealed four factors that were likely to influence the process: the policy, the implementing agency, external influences and power, politics and negotiation. The purpose of the study was to compare a framework, established from the literature, to a framework that evolved from the research. The project concluded that the four factors were adequate to describe the situation however, the preconceived framework was inadequate to describe the relationship among the factors for this site. Data collected from documents and interviews revealed that some factors have a stronger influence on the process than others. In this case, power, politics and negotiation and the implementing agency are strong considerations, while the policy and external factors play a weaker role. The result was a reconstructed framework that portrayed the implementation process for this site.

Recent feminist criticism has resulted in remarkable changes to the interpretation of the refugee definition. Case law, academic commentaries and gender guidelines now recognize that women may constitute a particular social group under the definition of refugee. However, only those who belong to certain subgroups of women are usually granted asylum because being a woman only is considered too broad to comprise a particular social group. Such restrictive interpretation is theoretically and practically problematic, and it is the primary cause for the inconsistency in the interpretation of the definition of a particular social group and refugee determination in gender-based claims. Through an analysis of recent gender-based cases before the Canadian courts and the Immigration and Refugee Board, this paper argues that this inconsistency will be avoided when categorization of women does not require female claimants to prove characteristics other than their gender. Female refugees who are persecuted for being women do not need to provide additional reasons for their suffering, and this broad categorization of women should be consistently applied in Canada.

Historic interiors are an integral component to the historic fabric of our communities, yet the protection of interiors is fodder for debate among preservationists as to whether interiors are afforded equal protection as exteriors. This debate arises because interiors present unique challenges, namely, issues of public access, designation of publicly versus privately owned interiors,and infringement on Fifth Amendment rights. This thesis will examine federal, state, and local government policies, organizations, and laws, and discuss their impact on the protection of historic interiors. Five seminal court cases that examine legal precedents for designating interiors will also be addressed. Finally, case studies provide examples of how two communities have used local preservation laws to preserve and protect significant interiors in their cities. This thesis will show that historic interiors are subject to controls that ensure their preservation and designation. / Historic preservation in the United States -- Legal precedents -- Case analyses. / Department of Architecture

This study was aimed at analysing structural relations between the State and the non-governmental organizations (NGO) sector. It focused on the relations between two NGOs, namely the Labour Research Service and the Institute for Democracy in South Africa on the one hand and the National Development Agency on the other. The National Development Agency is a State intermediary structure established to facilitate funding and policy dialogue between the State and the NGO sector. The three institutions have been included in order to analyse the way in which a state-designed institution relates with NGOs and in turn the NGOs responded in general.

HIV/AIDS is reducing the hard-won returns on investment in education in South Africa.