Au cours des dix dernières années, les prix immobiliers ont augmenté de façon considérable. Selon certains observateurs, cette hausse peut au moins en partie être attribuée à une insuffisance de l'offre, elle-même due à des politiques foncières restrictives mises en place par certaines communes. Cette thèse cherche à comprendre ce qui motive une commune à instaurer de telles politiques de maîtrise de la croissance. Nous nous plaçons dans le cadre de la Nouvelle Economie Politique et modélisons cette décision comme le résultat d'un jeu de pouvoir entre différents intérêts liés au foncier, arbitré par des élus locaux opportunistes. Ce jeu de pouvoir oppose principalement les propriétaires immobiliers et fonciers, qui peuvent trouver des alliés parmi les entreprises locales, qui s'associent au sein de growth ou ideas machines. Dans un premier modèle nous décrivons ce jeu d'influence sous différentes hypothèses concernant l'influence du vote et du lobbying. Nous montrons que la rigueur de la politique implémentée peut sous certaines conditions être liée de façon négative à la part des propriétaires dans la population locale - et ceci malgré le fait que ces derniers sont clairement partisans d'une politique stricte. Par ailleurs, la mobilité des individus rend les décisions des communes interdépendantes et nous parvenons à une solution d'équilibre qui s'apparente directement au modèle spatial autorégressif utilisé en économétrie spatiale. Une étude empirique portant sur la taxe locale d'équipement confirme l'hypothèse d'interactions stratégiques et montre que les choix des élus sont avant tout influencés par les habitants-propriétaires et les ideas machines d'un côté et par les agriculteurs de l'autre. Dans une deuxième analyse, nous étudions si les élus locaux se servent des mesures de maîtrise de la croissance d'une manière stratégique afin de faciliter leur réélection. Nous développons un modèle de vote probabiliste dans lequel la composition de la population est endogène à la politique foncière. Une étude empirique confirme que les choix de zonage des élus locaux sont influencés par la mobilité de l'électorat, même si leur comportement ne peut pas être qualifié de stratégique.

This thesis is a study of Wilfred Cantwell Smith's contribution to the field of religious studies, with special reference to his study of Islam. Smith's views as a historian of religion, as an Islamicist and as the pioneer of a new approach to the study of other men's faith are of great significance. / This thesis studies his work on Islam in the light of the development of his ideas with regard to the concept of religion and the approaches to studying it. The evolution of Smith's understanding of Islam is classified here into three phases. During the first phase, Smith's approach was socialistic; he was essentially concerned with the social role of religion, in this case Islam, in modern society. In the second phase of his work as an Islamicist, it was the concern to acquire a more adequate knowledge of Islam and to create a sympathetic understanding of the Muslim culture and religion. / The third phase was marked by the publication of his seminal work, The Meaning and End of Religion (1962). His work on Islam in this phase is in the nature of explorations into his own theories regarding the study of religion in general. During this phase, Smith devoted much attention to such concepts as "religion", "faith", and "cumulative tradition", as well as to a new approach in the comparative history of religion. This indicates that Smith in this phase was not only a specialist of Islam, but a historian of religion and a comparative religionist.

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Jurgen Habermas is a second-generation social philosopher of the Frankfurt school, the birthplace of critical theory. He suggests that modernity is a project of substituting rationality for religion. In his analysis, such a succession is the result of a process of social evolution, in which each developmental stage has its basic concepts and modes of understanding subjective, objective, and social worlds. For him, the salient feature of rationality consists of differentiation between various validity claims of truth, truthfulness, and sincerity which are indistinguishable in religious language. The rationalization of religion, hence, progresses in terms of a differentiation between validity claims, a decentration of human understanding, the disenchantment of the world, and the linguistification of the sacred. Habermas proposes a universal pragmatics in which two modes of language use are separated: instrumental-strategic, and communicative. He thinks that the failure of the enlightenment movement to replace religion with reason stems from its preoccupation with instrumental reason and language use, dispensing with communicative rationality; and the remedy lies in communicative rationality. / Critically analyzing Habermas' theory of communicative action, this study examines Habermas' basic idea of substituting communicative rationality for religion in the light of his critique of Max Weber and of instrumental reason. Ontological, epistemological, methodological, and conceptual presuppositions in his argument are discussed and evaluated.

This thesis studies al-Ghazali's theory of knowledge, particularly his concept of knowledge of God in his three later works: "The book of Knowledge" of the Ih&dotbelow;ya', al-Munqidh, and Iljam al-`Awamm. From his conception of knowledge of God the first book of the Ih&dotbelow;ya ', to his criticism of various approaches to attaining the knowledge of God in the Munqidh, to his assertion of the best method for attaining the knowledge of God in the Iljam, the aim of the current study is to find out which faculty of man's perception, according to al-Ghazali, is the most appropriate for accessing Divinity. Since al-Ghazali's three works studied here---were composed in different periods, and since the Iljam was completed only a few days before his death, the objective of this study is then to see if there is any change, or development, in al-Ghazali's position regarding the issue of knowledge of God during the later period of his life.

Relationships are important for older black people in their endeavours to understand the world. The relationships of older black people have, however, undergone many changes. This article attempts to explore the relational experiences of older black women using the MmogomethodTM as a projective technique to obtain insight into the meanings they attach to the changed relations. The Mmogo–methodTM (Roos, 2008; 2011) is a culturally sensitive research tool. Eight Swazi–speaking women from eMalahleni in Mpumalanga, South Africa, with ages ranging from 68 to 88, participated in the research. The research participants were asked to create visual representations using malleable clay, beads and dry grass stalks to illustrate aspects of their experiences of relationships with those around them. They then took part in focus group discussions. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the older women in the study contributed to relationships by providing financial support and by taking care of their families and extended families. They provided financial support by using their government grants to look after their households. In turn, they received selective physical, emotional and spiritual support. The research revealed that the older women generally identified one particular person with whom they established a close relationship. They felt understood in this relationship, which they described as comforting because their needs were perceived and met by the particular person. The older women also emphasised the emotional support they received from the community, which came mainly from people of the same age thus giving them the opportunity to share information and experiences with their peers while taking part in various activities and while relaxing. Spiritual support was also a key factor in the relationships among the older people - they could, for example, share their experiences of life with fellow church members, and church members also looked after and supported each other in times of illness. The relational challenges experienced by the older black women were a lack of protection, a lack of help and support in taking care of their houses, the absence of men, changed norms and values, and the loss of relationships. The older women said that they felt overwhelmed and stressed by these challenges. They also felt estranged from intergenerational relationships, which were traditionally regarded as a potential sources of support and care for older persons. They also did not know how to approach the relationships differently because the familiar norms and values that had guided intergenerational relationships had changed. The older women in the study said that they had felt cared for and safe in previous intergenerational relationships. They longed for the past when, in their view, clear norms and values guided relational interactions. They felt stressed and overwhelmed by the absence of men in their traditional roles as providers. Contemporary men also did not fulfil their duties when compared with men in the old days. The Mmogo–methodTM which was applied as a projective technique, revealed the meanings the older black women attached to relationships in their lives. As part of a cross–cultural, intergenerational research project, this method gave valuable insight into how older black women perceive their contributions and the challenges related to their relationships. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Despite the contribution of mining to the South African economy, this industry has impacted negatively on the environment and society for many decades. These negative impacts are evidence of poor corporate actions. Instead of contributing to society, it seems that mining companies, more often than not, neglect their corporate social responsibilities mostly in the pursuit of financial profit. It has been well documented that it is mostly local populations, living close to mining operations, which pay the price of social and environmental damages and degradation, while the industry's benefits are measured in economic and political terms. Such an imbalance between the economic, environmental and social factors will make Sustainable Development impossible to achieve. Welverdiend is a community paying a dear price in terms of social problems caused by mining operations. The aim of this study, therefore, is to assess the impact of these problems on the social well–being of Welverdiend and the surrounding community's residents. In the light of these findings on different social issues, the research aims to confirm the importance of a people–centred approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The following is a brief outline of the course of the study. Chapter One serves as the introduction to the research project. Chapter Two, aligned with Objective One, provides a theoretical overview on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development. Chapter Three, which is aligned with Objectives Two and Three, reports on the findings obtained through a survey and Chapter Four, aligned with Objective Four, presents the conclusion and recommendations. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Relationships are important for older black people in their endeavours to understand the world. The relationships of older black people have, however, undergone many changes. This article attempts to explore the relational experiences of older black women using the MmogomethodTM as a projective technique to obtain insight into the meanings they attach to the changed relations. The Mmogo–methodTM (Roos, 2008; 2011) is a culturally sensitive research tool. Eight Swazi–speaking women from eMalahleni in Mpumalanga, South Africa, with ages ranging from 68 to 88, participated in the research. The research participants were asked to create visual representations using malleable clay, beads and dry grass stalks to illustrate aspects of their experiences of relationships with those around them. They then took part in focus group discussions. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the older women in the study contributed to relationships by providing financial support and by taking care of their families and extended families. They provided financial support by using their government grants to look after their households. In turn, they received selective physical, emotional and spiritual support. The research revealed that the older women generally identified one particular person with whom they established a close relationship. They felt understood in this relationship, which they described as comforting because their needs were perceived and met by the particular person. The older women also emphasised the emotional support they received from the community, which came mainly from people of the same age thus giving them the opportunity to share information and experiences with their peers while taking part in various activities and while relaxing. Spiritual support was also a key factor in the relationships among the older people - they could, for example, share their experiences of life with fellow church members, and church members also looked after and supported each other in times of illness. The relational challenges experienced by the older black women were a lack of protection, a lack of help and support in taking care of their houses, the absence of men, changed norms and values, and the loss of relationships. The older women said that they felt overwhelmed and stressed by these challenges. They also felt estranged from intergenerational relationships, which were traditionally regarded as a potential sources of support and care for older persons. They also did not know how to approach the relationships differently because the familiar norms and values that had guided intergenerational relationships had changed. The older women in the study said that they had felt cared for and safe in previous intergenerational relationships. They longed for the past when, in their view, clear norms and values guided relational interactions. They felt stressed and overwhelmed by the absence of men in their traditional roles as providers. Contemporary men also did not fulfil their duties when compared with men in the old days. The Mmogo–methodTM which was applied as a projective technique, revealed the meanings the older black women attached to relationships in their lives. As part of a cross–cultural, intergenerational research project, this method gave valuable insight into how older black women perceive their contributions and the challenges related to their relationships. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Despite the contribution of mining to the South African economy, this industry has impacted negatively on the environment and society for many decades. These negative impacts are evidence of poor corporate actions. Instead of contributing to society, it seems that mining companies, more often than not, neglect their corporate social responsibilities mostly in the pursuit of financial profit. It has been well documented that it is mostly local populations, living close to mining operations, which pay the price of social and environmental damages and degradation, while the industry's benefits are measured in economic and political terms. Such an imbalance between the economic, environmental and social factors will make Sustainable Development impossible to achieve. Welverdiend is a community paying a dear price in terms of social problems caused by mining operations. The aim of this study, therefore, is to assess the impact of these problems on the social well–being of Welverdiend and the surrounding community's residents. In the light of these findings on different social issues, the research aims to confirm the importance of a people–centred approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The following is a brief outline of the course of the study. Chapter One serves as the introduction to the research project. Chapter Two, aligned with Objective One, provides a theoretical overview on Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development. Chapter Three, which is aligned with Objectives Two and Three, reports on the findings obtained through a survey and Chapter Four, aligned with Objective Four, presents the conclusion and recommendations. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine to what extent Sen's freedom-centred view of development, with its existing theoretical foundations, offers sufficient theoretical insights for guiding development policies towards the enhancement of human freedoms. The theoretical part of the dissertation focuses on the three foundational building stones of Sen's freedom-centred view of development. First, the capability approach sets the evaluation space of development in the capabilities that people have reason to choose and value, but by doing so, it is argued that Sen's capability approach contains tensions between human freedom and human well-being that can be loosened by thickening this evaluation space with a substantial view of human well-being. Second, the capability approach views individual agency as central in development, but because of the socio-historical dimension of human freedom and agency, it is argued that concepts of collective capabilities and of socio-historical agency are more central in promoting human freedoms. Third, promoting human freedoms cannot be dissociated from democratic policy-making. But because the link between the two is not necessary, it is argued that the capability approach's consequentialist evaluation of human well-being will have to be thickened by a procedural evaluation which assesses the exercise of political freedom through certain normative principles of decision-making. The empirical part of the thesis illustrates these theoretical arguments through the analysis of two case studies, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. The case studies particularly point to a country's socio-historical agency, or collective capability in promoting human well-being, through socio-historical narratives. These narratives assess a country's collective capability in promoting human freedoms by looking at the country's socio-historical reality, and how its members have appropriated that reality in the course of the country's history, opening up or closing down opportunities for realising policy decisions towards the removal of unfreedoms.