This thesis is a detailed account of Zimbabwe's controversial fast-track land reform programme. Zimbabwe's land reform history has been discussed extensively, with a focus on land redistribution. The fast-track land reform programme transferred eleven million hectares of land from 4 000 white commercial farmers to 51 543 landless peasant families. The thesis begins by offering some land reform theories and gives an overview of the land question in Southern Africa. This is followed by a discussion of Zimbabwe's land question from a historical perspective. Next is a periodised account of the successes and failures of land reform attempts made by the Zimbabwean government from independence in 1980 to 1998 when the fast-track land reform programme was conceived. Zimbabwe's political and economic situation at this time is significant. The context for fast-track land reform includes a discussion about the national question in Zimbabwe and the deteriorating status of white citizenship; the rise of Zimbabwe's liberation war veterans as a formidable force and the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change as a strong political party that was challenging, among others, the dominance of the ruling Zanu-PF party and its policies. The blueprint for fast-track land reform is discussed in order to contrast it to how the reform unfolded in practice. In this regard, the response of the international community to the violence and lawlessness that characterised fast-track land reform is worth mentioning, especially since it has bearing on how Zimbabweans are trying to cope with life in a radically altered physical and social environment, following the land reform exercise. The consequences of fast-track land reform are analysed in terms of development and the plight of Zimbabwe's farm workers; the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of farm workers, white commercial farmers and others in Zimbabwe's countryside and whether or not fast-track land reform beneficiaries can successfully engage in agriculture to improve their standard of living. The Vumba and Burma Valley case study is illustrative of how fasttrack land reform was implemented and its socio-economic impact on Zimbabwe's poor and marginalised groups, for instance, female farm workers. The case study offers valuable insights about the survival strategies that ordinary people affected by the land reform exercise are adopting in order to cope with their new circumstances. Data was gathered from a focus group discussion (pilot study), in-depth semi-structured interviews and observation on three farms, as well as interviews with a few government officials, government documents and newspaper reports. The study is useful to countries that are planning or already implementing land reform, for example, South Africa.

Urban infrastructure is the key physical asset for successful functioning of modern cities. Yet the building and maintaining infrastructure networks require robust institutions, either expressed explicitly in rules and regulations or implicitly in social norms and mutual expectations, which are crucial for governing the complex relationships among all stakeholders including governments, regulators, investors, utilities and consumers that underpin the production of infrastructure services. Although there are more and more studies focusing on infrastructure, the underlying institutions that sustain the 'sink' of long-term accumulation of finance, technology, organisational and geopolitical power for shaping urban landscape have often been neglected. In particular, few studies have investigated the uneven geographical phenomenon of urban infrastructure investment and governance. As such, this thesis compares and explores how and why political, institutional and governance frameworks in Beijing and London influence urban water infrastructure investment and service delivery differently. The findings from the comparative study of the thesis should assist better understanding of 'variegated capitalism', especially state capitalism versus liberal capitalism. Through case study and close dialogue methodology, this thesis compares and investigates the investment models, governance frameworks, pricing systems and infrastructure contracts for urban water infrastructure in Beijing and London from the perspective of economic geography. Based on the theories of institutional and relational economic geography, this thesis organizes the study into four substantive chapters: Chapter Three compares the investment models employed in Beijing and London for water infrastructure investment and the underlying institutions; Chapter Four explores the effects of different governance frameworks on urban water infrastructure investment and service delivery in Beijing and London; Chapter Five investigates the effects of different pricing systems in the two cities for coordinating the intrinsic, market and investment value of urban water infrastructure; Chapter Six analyses different infrastructure contracts for financing large-scale water infrastructure projects in the two cities. The thesis finds that institutions are embedded in time and space for harnessing the flows of capital and producing the configurations of infrastructure provision, thus shaping the heterogeneous landscape of the material, economic, social and geopolitical fabric of contemporary cities. Therefore, in contrast to the statement 'form follows function', this thesis argues that infrastructure functions are inherently geographical in nature. The thesis has made the following contributions: firstly, it has compared the various trajectories of urban water infrastructure investment and governance in different political economic contexts, especially the dialogue between Global North and South, making original contribution in the 'geography of infrastructure'; secondly, the thesis employs cases studies to compare and investigate institutions empirically - issues that have been neglected for much too long in mainstream economic geography, contributing to 'variegated capitalism'; finally, in practical terms this research provides information for governments, regulators, investors, infrastructure providers and other stakeholders on in-depth understanding of urban water infrastructure investment and governance in different institutional and relational contexts.

This research was conducted with the aim to evaluate the policy interventions on HIV and AIDS in pregnant women in the Lukhanji sub district of Chris Hani District Municipality. The study would also propose policy improvement strategies towards curbing the spread of HIV and AIDS in pregnant women. In realizing these goals, the entire research process was guided by the research objectives and questions which sought to evaluate policies and strategies relevant to HIV prevalence in pregnant women. The secondary research objectives were accomplished through the review and analysis of the relevant literature and theories. Qualitative research approach was used in determining the findings and conclusions from the study. Data was collected using qualitative research methods and in this case a structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to the study participants. The Questionnaires were handed and discussed with each participant. Demographics, socioeconomic and cultural factors were considered in designing the data collection tool. These factors are known to have an impact on the prevalence of HIV. It has been shown through the study that demographic variables have an effect on HIV prevalence. Hence when considering policy interventions these should be taken into account. All the respondents were given enough time and they provided clear and comprehensive responses to the questionnaire and follow up discussions. The evaluation of the responses showed that various HIV prevention related policies are being implemented within the Lukhanji sub-district. Numerous programmes relating to HIV and AIDS, also specifically covering pregnant women are being rolled out across the sub-district. HIV prevalence in the study population is rated as average to low when comparing with the district, provincial and national statistics. Current data obtained from the study indicates that HIV prevalence stands at 17%. This finding demonstrates the heterogeneity of HIV prevalence when comparing this result with current provincial and national statistics. Evaluation of the different HIV and AIDS programmes that are aligned to provincial and national policy somehow explain the positive outcomes observed in the Lukhanji sub-district The study recommends that more work be done in reaching out to the communities using various communication channels and strategies. This could address the challenges associated with the lack of cooperation with local traditional leaders, because this has been found to have a negative impact on implementation of some programmes such as circumcision. One of the positive findings from the study is the accessibility of health care facilities to the local rural communities. Further research on the subject should be undertaken to ensure continuous evaluation as this topic is viewed as a continuous global issue.

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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. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

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The major purpose of this study is to analyze hazardous waste enforcement by the states as mandated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA). States' historical enforcement records from 1980 to 1990 are analyzed to determine the pattern of variations in enforcement. This study differs from previous studies on hazardous waste regulation in that it employs longitudinal data from 1980 to 1990 to analyze states' enforcement effort.

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This dissertation includes three papers that examine the role of child care policy in promoting early childhood education and care and parental labor supply. Paper one investigates the effects of universal pre-kindergarten on center-based early education and care enrollment and child care expenditures by household income with a focus on middle-income children. Paper two considers how the generosity of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) benefits is associated with child care utilization and maternal labor supply. Paper three assesses the role of coresident grandparents in parental labor supply during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study investigated how education policy influences student success, and if there are linkages between K-12 education policy and higher education. Historically, education has primarily been a function of state and local governments. The role of the federal government drastically changed with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001. This thesis focused on the influence of No Child Behind on several indicators of student success in K-12 and postsecondary education. All fifty states were examined in this study. This approach is rather unusual since it is typical to focus on one state or a small group of states. In addition to the state level analyses, macro analyses were also conducted to generate sounder policy prescriptions. This study tested three primary research questions. The first research question tested possible changes in several measures of student success since the implementation of No Child Left Behind. The second research question analyzed the relationship between K-12 education policy and higher education. The third research question addressed the possibility that state education reforms have had an impact on test scores, graduation rates, and college enrollment. Findings showed that K-12 test scores have improved on the national level since the implementation of No Child Left Behind, but there are several states that have witnessed a decline in test scores since legislation was enacted. There was no relationship between the state reforms and the variables that measured student success. Based on the findings, policy prescriptions were generated for both leaders within education and policymakers.