Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Youth Civic Engagement is not a new phenomenon in South Africa. Throughout the history of country, spanning from the early resistance to colonialism in 1652 to the formation of the African National Congress in 1912 and its Youth League in 1944, the Soweto uprising in 1976, right up to the 1994 independence struggle, the youth has always played a pivotal role in social transformation. Unlike in the past where there was a common enemy in Apartheid, today the country faces a more complex set of socio-economic challenges. Despite being a middle income country, South Africa grapples with extreme poverty and income inequality, which impacts on educational opportunities and ultimately civic awareness and involvement. Approximately 42% of young people under the age of 30 are unemployed. The country currently has a youth population (14-35 years of age) which is about 41% of its entire population of almost 54 million. This youth population growth in itself implies that youth development should be a major priority area if growth and development are to be realised. The research is based in Khayelitsha. The social-economic problems faced among Khayelitsha township youth are complex and multidimensional in nature. The research question is: how is youth civic engagement able to initiate and foster collective action among community members of Site C in Khayelitsha, in order to promote social change? ILISO Care Society, a Community Based Organisation based in Site C was used as a case study for the research. In line with the theory and conceptual framework of social capital, the study demonstrates how reciprocal relations, trust and strong bonds, act as seedbeds for collective action. The Integrated Model of Communication for Social Change is incorporated into the framework to narrow down the social capital theory to an operational level. It is also used to illustrate how novel methods of dialogical communication adopted by ILISO Care Society reinforce social learning and promote democratic practices among young people. Both the quantitative and qualitative approaches were used for the study, with much of the analysis being grounded in qualitative methods. Data collection was done by means of the following utilities: a survey questionnaire which was administered among 52 respondents, semi- structured interviews, focus group discussions and participant observation by the principle researcher. The study revealed how the legacy of apartheid’s segregation policies have had enduring effects particularly on the education system, in turn, negatively impacting on youth civic participation, as well as other interlinked spheres of society. Most importantly, the findings revealed that the ILISO youth civic engagement projects have contributed in increasing the level of confidence (efficacy) to solve community problems of not only the ILISO project members, but also the wider Site C community. This was evidenced in the research participants‟ own belief in their ability to produce change (self-efficacy) and the ILISO youth members‟ shared belief as a group, in their ability (collective self-efficacy) to bring about social transformation. This has led to Site C youth acting collectively (collective action)when faced with challenges, thereby promoting social change.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc Agric)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

This study addressed important issues on infant and child mortality in Zimbabwe. The broad objective of the study is to establish levels and trends of under-5 mortality and to determine the impact of maternal, socioeconomic and environmental contamination variables on infant and child mortality. Data from four DHS surveys conducted in Zimbabwe were used. It was found that mortality at all ages below 5 years old remained more or less constant from the period 1990-1994 to the period 1995-1999 and declined from the period 1995-1999 to 2001-2005. Mortality below 5 years old declined from 102 deaths per 1,000 live births during 1995-1999 to 82 deaths in 2001-2005. This decline was unexpected and it is argued that this decline is probably not genuine. Various types of evidence are provided to support the view that this decline in mortality probably did not take place. Analysis of ZDHS 2005- 06 showed that births of order 6+ and short preceding interval (intervals of less than or equal to 18 months) had the highest infant mortality risk. Infants with these characteristics were significantly more likely (2.75 times) to die in infancy relative to births of order 2-5 and long preceding birth interval (p<0.001). The infant mortality risk associated with multiple births was 2.08 times more relative to singleton births (p<0.001). The results indicated that socioeconomic variables did not have a distinct impact on infant mortality. Determinants of child mortality were different in relative importance from those of infant mortality. The effect of maternal education, though not significant, implied a decline in child mortality with increasing maternal schooling. The provision of piped drinking water and flush toilets to the households had a stronger impact on child mortality than infant mortality. Including HIV prevalence in the models elevated the odds of dying in infancy and childhood stages by 10 percent and 63 percent, respectively. This suggests that HIV/AIDS directly and/or indirectly influences the current levels of under-5 mortality in Zimbabwe. This study supports health policy initiatives stimulating use of family planning methods to increase birth intervals. Family planning programmes should be aimed at educating women and men with low educational levels and those in rural areas about the potential benefits of long-term birth spacing. These and other results are expected to assist policy makers and programme managers in the child health sector to formulate appropriate strategies to improve the situation of under-5 children in Zimbabwe. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) / PhD / Unrestricted

This is a descriptive study of functional specialization in cities and its relation to certain social, economic and demographic variables.

No abstract available / Dissertation (ML (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Architecture / unrestricted

Environmental Impact Assessments ("EIA") have been regulated for the last 12 years in South Africa, initially through the Environment Conservation Act 1989, and since 2006 through the National Environmental Management Act 1998 ("NEMA"). The former applied the standard of "substantial detrimental effect" to the environment in determining whether an authorisation should be granted. NEMA requires the authority to take into account environmental management principles. These principles inter alia require that development must be socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. This is also known as sustainable development ("SD"). Administrative officials tasked with considering EIAs have been given legislative direction with respect to the environmental issues which need to be assessed. They have been given no direction on how to assess socioeconomic issues. Notwithstanding this there have been an increasing number of decisions based on socio-economic factors, notwithstanding that the environmental impacts have been determined to be acceptable. In Fuel Retailers Association of South Africa v Director-General: Environmental Management, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment, Mpumalanga Province and Others the Constitutional court held that SD must be applied by environmental authorities when they consider applications for EIA authorisation. However a careful analysis of NEMA and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, highlight that our administrators and courts have adopted a one dimensional and ultimately inaccurate interpretation of the application of SD. This is prejudicing the fulfilment of the objective of EIA, namely the determination of the acceptability of a project's environmental impacts. Whilst SD does have a role to play in the EIA process it is more defined, and does not take the central role the Constitutional Court has indicated. The aim of is to determine whether there are adverse impacts associated with a project. If there are, then ordinarily authorisation should be refused. However the authorities are enjoined to go a step further. They must determine whether the identified adverse impacts can be satisfactorily mitigated, and whether any positive socio-economic factors would accrue Page (iii) should the project be authorised. If both are answered in the affirmative, then a positive decision is appropriate. This is the balance which NEMA calls for, and this is the correct application of SD in an EIA. The broader application of SD espoused by the Constitutional Court is achieved not through the environmental authorities in the EIA process alone, but through the constitutional principle of cooperative governance. All authorities with an interest in a particular project must apply the principle of SD within the scope of their administrative functions. The environmental authorities consider the environmental impacts, the planning authorities consider the socio-economic impacts, the agricultural authorities determine the project's impacts on agricultural land, etc. The outcome of their individual decisions can then collectively be assessed to determine whether a project is sustainable or not. There are various measures which can be employed to address the interpretational deficiency which has now manifested. These include improving cooperative governance principles and practices in decisionmaking; undertaking strategic environmental assessments; and a dedicated Sustainable Development Act. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

This dissertation provides an in-depth analysis of the practical application and judicial framework pertaining to stem cell research in South Africa. In the realisation of the above-mentioned analysis, and ultimate critique on the current and proposed legal position, focus is placed on aspects of Medical Law, Legal Philosophy and Human Rights. These include concerns on the procurement of informed consent from stem cell donors, ethical and religious influences on the regulation of biomedicine in general as well as the impact of socio-economic indicators in the realisation of the effective implementation of stem cell research. Focus is firstly placed on the medical aspects surrounding the research, whereafter an examination of the current legal position and its practical application is made. Following the discussion of the current legal position, with reference to the array of influences and concerns pertaining thereto, the newly proposed regulative measures are examined within the current international framework. These regulative measures are placed within context of the private and public sector with their different benefits and disadvantages. In a further discussion of the realisation of the private sector’s interests, focus is placed on the role that Intellectual Property Rights play in the protection of monetary incentives to conduct stem cell research. All of the above ultimately leads the author to provide an informed set of recommendations in which the proposed regulative measures can be adapted to ensure the legitimate and practically sound implementation of stem cell research in South Africa. / Dissertation (Magister Legum (Public Law))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Public Law / unrestricted

Within post-Apartheid research there is little to no research into poor historically White areas which are experiencing rapid rates of desegregation. It is in these cases a researcher could pose a question to whether or not Apartheid’s race-class divisions are still prevalent. A further gap in South African literature is a lack of a model on which to base socio-economic changes in a situation of post-Apartheid and post-industrial trends. This study addresses both of these short fallings of current academic literature. This paper explores Socio Economic Transformation within a lower income urban area of Pretoria, South Africa. The area, which was previously White only under Apartheid legislation, has been experiencing changes due to factors including post-Apartheid legislation and post-industrialism. Desegregation and a decline in industry have created complicated racial and social patterns within a merging community. Two major trends within the study area include an influx of an upwardly mobile Black population and secondly a downward economic movement of White individuals. The trends identified within the study area contradict many mainstream South African beliefs as the more traditional White-racist-empowered vs. Black-marginalized-oppressed binary is not absolutely valid. These newly emerging racial geographies are identified and explained with the use of personal interviews. The resulting classifications of local individuals are then utilized in a conceptual model to help explain the various socio-economic trends within the area. The study is structured in three main components. Firstly, structural and contextual issues relating directly to the study site are addressed to provide a backdrop on which social issues can be analysed. Socio-economic changes with focus on racial and economic situation are identified and explained. Once the social, economic and spatial are well discussed a theoretical model is developed. The theoretical model is then utilized to plot the individual changes within the study area. The individual trends, which were identified during field studies, are modelled and analysed within a South African context. The model developed from the study has the potential to base further community research upon, both within South Africa and international arenas. The model identifies and explains both the status of individuals which is an individuals socio-economic standing. Secondly trends are defined as an individuals change in socio-economic status through time. Results from the study have shown that labelling the economic situation of varying racial groups on the historic Apartheid framework is no longer valid in all situations. Post-Apartheid racial hiring policies as well as a national de-industrialization trend has created a situation of an upwardly mobile Black middle class as well as a declining poor White economic classification. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / MSc / Unrestricted

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Socio-economic changes in the City of Polokwane have compelled many unemployed people to start street trading. Street trading is fraught with many challenges, such as lack of transportation, physical infrastructure, and access for funding, change of local municipality by-laws, lack of support and other related economic development issues. This study is concerned with the factors that hamper the development of street trading, economic growth and development in the City of Polokwane. The study tried to develop effective strategies that will enhance the capacity of street traders and change the perception of stakeholders to support street trading. In this study, a mixed research design was used to investigate the impact of street trading towards economic development in the area of the study. This study also used context-focus of the City of Polokwane as its springboard in engaging in this sometime daunting subject. Surely, with all the changes in the current socio- economic development, there is a need to review the impact of street trading towards economic development in the City of Polokwane. As stipulated in the study, the City of Polokwane should invest in training to enhance street traders` effectiveness so as to have an impact on the economic development in the city. To accelerate this process, the stakeholders should be encouraged to support street traders so as to improve the status of economic growth in the area.