Thesis (B.A. (Hons.))--University of the Witwatersrand, Arts Faculty (Political Science), 1988 / This study examines state reform policy and popular township response from 1976 to 1987 in Alexandra, a black township bordering Johannesburg and Sandton's richest white suburbs.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, 1995 / This thesis presents an analysis of the relationship between social processes, cognitive understandings and the organisation of space, as this pertains to local-level politics in a section of Alexandra township, South Africa, during 1991 and 1992. The context of the thesis is the attempts by the Alexandra Civic Organisation and the Alexandra branch of the African National Congress to elicit support from people living in formal and inform~i housing during a period of intense violence. The focus of the ethnographylis on local-level civic structures and political leadership, which in some ways support and in others contradict the aims and objectives of these two organisations. The reason for this internal political diversity is that local-level politics is embedded within social maps - cognitive orderings of space that represent patterns of social relations and structures of power. This points to the main theoretical focus of the thesis: the interrelationship of space, culture and society in an urban context. Urbanism is conventionally defined in sociological and geographical terms as the articulation between social process and urban spatial form. The thesis shows how anthropology can make a contribution to this field of study by incorporating a concern with culture. The mutually constitutive relationship of urban space, culture and society presents a way of looking at urbanism that does not depend on a rural-urban dichotomy; a social. and cultural dualism which is conventionally fitted into a modernist narrative of urbanisation. The ethnography in the thesis demonstrates the inapplicability of this narrative, and the categories of rural tradition and urban modernity which it implies. Keywords: anthropology, urbanism, urbanisation, rural-urban dichotomy, space, Alexandra, politics, civic organisation, informal housing. / AC2017

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / ABSTRACT The aim of this dissertation is to explore alternative ways of looking at architecture through the use of theory, the type of theory, alternative building programme development, representing architecture and how architecture is implemented. By doing so, an intervention is designed to expose various social truths, stimulating self reflection and adding value to the Alexandra-Sandton corridor context. This research project utilises the spirit of carnivals as subversive and radical events to change a community’s behaviour. This dissertation explores Bakhtin’s theory of the “carnivalesque”. This theory was used as the theoretical framework based on four characteristics. Throughout the research process these are used to analyse site context and create an intervention. The four carnivalesque characteristics are: - Usurping of hierarchies; - Pushing taboos; - Unusual connections; - Eccentric behaviour. The social inequalities along the Alexandra-Sandton corridor are broken down into every day activities and juxtaposed to amplify and expose hidden rules that we have come to accept in Johannesburg. The intervention acts as a commentary on the future connection of the two contrasting communities for spectacle and self reflection, transcending the everyday experience into a surreal playground through virtual reality and other means. Architecturally, Social Fiction has three main design strands 1. Theoretical exploration; 2. Architecture as emotional stimulus; 3. Virtual reality as fictional representation. Social Fiction is a project that bridges architecture, politics, socioeconomics and philosophy, using the medium of virtual reality and comic book fantasy as an open and accessible way, challenging the traditional plan, section elevation as a means of communication. / GR2017

This thesis seeks to explore the role of the performing arts in reconfiguring an unjust spatial history. By exploring the performing arts as a vehicle for creativity, freedom and a new consciousness within the city. Alexandra Township is still one of the impoverished settlements with very few public facilities, amenities and public space. The quality of its infrastructure is timeworn and does not meet all the needs of a society that is modernising. Finally there is now an increase in learners passing matric and wanting exposure to potential career options in the performing arts. This thesis will critically explore performance in the city - where the performer is seen as the self of all selves. It will also explore the meaning of public space in Alexandra and how the residents of Alexandra utilise public space for the purpose of performance. The idea of the building is to borrow from Alexandra where the building is seen as backstage and the township as the backdrop; A building that shapes and watches the urban life of Alexandra. This building speaks of an architecture which is connected with pockets of dignified public space. Fused with green spaces to create a theatre which becomes a green node for public space and the celebration of a performance culture found in Alexandra Township.

The subject of my thesis is Russian artist Alexandra Exter’s work in the performing arts, with a focus on her theatrical set and costume designs in the Kamerny Theater, her creations for Iakov Protazanov’s 1924 science fiction film, Aelita, and finally her exquisitely fabricated set of approximately forty marionettes. Within these colorful wooden figures are reconciled conflicting notions of stasis and dynamism, sculpture and performer, human and object. Drawing upon Victor Shklovskiĭ’s formalist definition of “enstrangement,” I examine her introduction of the object in place of the human performer as a means of exposing the creative process, forcing the viewer to actively engage with the production. Thus, her manipulation and eventual replacement of the human performer not only exemplifies the interconnectivity and mutability of Russian avant-garde art, but impels the viewer to reconsider the familiar in terms of the strange, ultimately calling attention to the humanity of the dehumanized performer.

The focus of the study is to explore Geographic patterns and Disasters Management in the context of Alexandra Township situated in the Johannesburg Metro. The research evaluates if the Disaster Management Unit in Johannesburg municipality is prepared in terms of policies, community campaigns on flood disasters as well as forming organizations that will assist in times of disaster. It also refers to other South African townships with regard to where most affected townships are located, how the community is affected and how the local government responds. Disaster management infers preparedness for disaster; therefore, measures of preparation from the local government need to be in place to reduce extreme losses, pro-active policies should be in place to guide officials on how to manage disasters affecting their areas. The South African local government as the third sphere of government is closest to the people and mostly responsible for the community’s wellbeing. It is for this reason that local governments should have a strategy on how to deal with disaster. Having experienced natural disaster incidents, most countries in the world have been compelled to develop legislations, disaster management and mitigation plans that guide them on how to prevent and respond to disasters. In view of a several unimagined disaster incidents in South Africa, the researcher maintains that the concept and practice of disaster management is rather new in South Africa, and many local governments do not have well-informed strategies to manage natural disasters. Unlimited rain caused by climate change, the position of residence and overpopulation can be major attributes to disasters hazards. Floods can easily flow into residential dwellings and destroy the property, not only that, but it can also result in the loss of lives and enhance the spread of diseases. It becomes more of tragedy as most people living in these areas are poor and have all their belongings in the same place which makes them even more vulnerable to disaster. The location of Stjwetla settlement along the Alexandra Township riverbanks becomes relevant at this point in case. The residents of Stjwetla are exposed to flood threats, they are very much aware of the risk associated with the low-lying geographical patterns, overpopulation and the riverbanks. However, they still occupy the disaster prone sites because they cannot afford elsewhere. Stjwetla is an illegal settlement where no one pays rent; there is a serious lack of basic municipal services such as water and electricity in the area. The residents claim to have arrived in this area simply because Johannesburg seems to offer informal job opportunities; therefore, they anticipate good opportunities in terms of employment. Most of them are from Limpopo province and have more than twenty years residing in Stjwetla, and are still unemployed. The community has formed rescue groups that help in times of regular disasters such as floods and fire. The rescue groups also mediate between the community and the northern Johannesburg municipal Disaster and Emergency Unit. The Disaster and Emergency Unit have formed good relations with the community leaders for support and emergency response. Other organizations, for instance Red Cross Society make regular input, by offering food and clothes to the people affected. Red Cross Society and other organizations work together with the local government to help Stjwetla residents deal better with disaster effects. However, the residents feel that other government departments, such as social development, health and housing must assist as well. Residents are of an idea that the disaster management unit alone cannot conquer the disaster risk in Stjwetla but social development should help with psychological therapy while health department should intervene to reduce long-term effects of injuries. / M, Development and Management, Public Management and Administration, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

The exploratory study investigated school related factors responsible for high matriculaion failure rates in physical science in public high schools of Alexandra Township in South Africa. The target population included all Further Education and Training (FET) science educators and learners in Alexandra Township. An extreme-case sampling method was used to select a sample of two schools. Data was collected through two different closed questionnaires, one for educators (n=10) and the other for learners (n=250). The results were analyzed using mainly descriptive tatistics. The results, according to the views and opinions of educators and learners showed that the main causes of high failure rates are poor educator qualifications, outdated teaching methods, massive workloads, high levels of absenteeism and acute deficiencies in aspects related to: resources, subject content, classroom management skills, proficiency in language of instruction and assessment, motivation and perseverance. Recommendations for practice and policy are suggested. / Further Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

In an attempt to prove that cooperation between a public and a private agency will give a more efficient recreational programme for a specified area, the study, although strictly limited, investigates the area, and membership distribution at Alexandra House and Kitsilano Community Centre. After stating the function of a public and a private recreational agency, and describing three experimental programmes, the historical development and administration of the two agencies is outlined. Next, the study analyses the Junior teenage programme of Alexandra House, and the teenage programme at Kitsilano Community Centre on the basis of facilities, activities, leadership and programme development. The method used was to study the records of the respective agencies with particular reference to the teenage programmes mentioned. Programmes exhibiting cooperation in other cities were also studied with a view to their application to the local scene. Interviews and discussions with officials followed. The writer also drew upon his personal experiences as a social worker at Alexandra House. The study reveals facts which are important to the conclusions drawn and the recommendations made. Namely, that the area known as "Kitsilano" has not been defined, that transiency on the part of membership effects the programme, that Kitsilano High School is a common meeting ground for members of both agencies, that patterns of cooperation on the part of public and private agencies is possible, that Alexandra House, being an older agency than Kitsilano Community Centre, has worked through some of the problems facing the Centre, that administratively the two agencies are quite different. The analysis of the respective programmes points up that the two agencies are meeting the recreational needs of a large number of teenagers in different ways but that gaps in services do exist. The conclusions drawn are that the two agencies should cooperate in instigating research: to define the "Kitsilano" area, to ascertain the needs of the area in definite terms, to establish the division of labour between a public and a private agency, and to interpret a total programme of services to the public. It is further recommended that patterns of cooperation should be established along the lines of the Cleveland experiment, the Los Angeles Youth Board, and the New York City Youth Commission. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

No description available.

The short-term responses of Cassiope tetragona, a high arctic evergreen shrub, to variations in growing season climate were examined using experimental manipulations of temperature and growing season length at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island. Surface temperatures in the field were increased an average of 1-2 °C in two communities using open-top greenhouses. Growing season length was altered in a snowbed community by using manual snow manipulations to change the date of snowmelt. Growth and reproductive responses of Cassiope tetragona to these manipulations were observed over two field seasons following treatment establishment. Natural variations in vegetative and reproductive characteristics of Cassiope tetragona were also monitored in unmanipulated communities selected to represent a range of environmental conditions at the study site. Retrospective analysis of past Cassiope growth and reproduction was used to provide a record of variations in productivity spanning 25-35 years which could be related to climate records from Ellesmere Island. For the retrospective analysis, patterns of internode lengths were used to delimit sections of annual growth and chronologies of annual stem elongation, leaf number and flower number were then analyzed using methods similar to those applied to tree-ring studies. In general, the reproductive parameters of Cassiope tetragona were observed to be highly responsive to short-term variations in growing season climate, while vegetative production exhibited a much more conservative response. Flower production and rates of reproductive development were significantly stimulated by experimental warming. Retrospective analysis of flower production support field observations indicating that flower production is highly sensitive to annual variations in growing season temperatures. In contrast, shoot growth showed moderate responses to experimental warming. Records of past growth indicate that although vegetative production appears to be sensitive to annual variations in summer temperatures, the degree of responsiveness is much lower than for reproductive parameters. Net growth and reproduction were not stronly affected by natural or experimental variations in snowmelt timing, although phenology timing was significantly altered. The conservative growth response of Cassiope tetragona to short-term variations in climate is suggested to be related to constraints on plant phenology which may restrict flexibility in the period utilized by plants for aboveground growth. Preferential allocation of within-plant resources to reproductive structures during periods of ameliorated growing season climate may account for the observed strong reproductive responses to climate variations. Trade-offs betweeen growth and reproduction have important implications for predicting the long-term response of Cassiope tetragona to climate change. An understanding of within-plant allocation strategies is also important to the interpretation of past variations in growth and reproduction. Retrospective analysis of past Cassiope production is likely to be a very useful tool for investigating ecological relationships and past climate change.