The scale is a fundamental yet controversial concept in human geography. Among diverse views over scale, this thesis draws insights from the process-based approach of scale jumping. It is a key notion to understand scale as a process, yet few explorations have been made on making use of its methodological values. Thus this thesis seeks to elaborate the notion by redeveloping it as an analytical framework. Four key elements are therefore concerned: (a) actors and their purposes; (b) directions; (c) approaches; and (d) outcomes. These elements form a framework to investigate the rescaling process of economic space in China. Conventional studies suggest that in the context of global competition, the role of state in scale (re)production has changed from a passive to an active actor. In China, where the state plays an active role in facilitating the economy, different levels of state actors, such as government officials and institutions, are involved in the (re)production of scale. Using the production of Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone (SSCZ) as a case study, the abovementioned four elements are investigated. Specifically, there are three research questions: (a) why do local governments rescale their economy? (b) How do local governments build SSCZ? And (c) what is the outcome of rescaling through SSCZ? The qualitative research method is used to collect data and other information for this research. This includes desktop searches and interviews of businessmen, planners, government officials, and local residents. Through a detailed investigation of the production of SSCZ, this research reveals the role of local governments, their intentions for rescaling, the approaches they used, and the outcomes of the rescaling

Includes bibliographical references. / The study explored the risk factors associated with youth offending behaviour in Cape Town, in order to suggest, from a social development point of view, preventive measures that address the risk factors from an outset. The sample that was used consisted of twenty reforming youth offenders (fifteen males and five females) at REALISTIC, a youth restorative centre in Cape Town. The study adopted a qualitative, exploratory approach, using a semi-structured interview schedule for face to face interviews. The sample was purposive and based on the selection of the administrators of the organisation. The results of the interviews, compared with relevant literature and theoretical framework, led to the findings of the study. The findings revealed that substance abuse, academic failure, anti-social peers, low socio-economic status in families and disorganized communities influence offending behaviour among the youth. Additionally, the absence of primary care givers and institutional failures on basic services delivery also exacerbate youth offending behaviour.

The purpose of this research was to explore the employment prospects for Deaf individuals in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is known to have one of the highest numbers of educated people in Africa. However, this does not include the deaf people who are often informally employed because of the poor quality of education afforded to them. The research explored the employment prospects for Deaf individuals using a quality research design to understand their experiences in this context. Twenty participants were purposefully selected in two cities, namely Bulawayo and Gweru. They had completed their secondary level of education and sat for the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) ordinary level exams which are Zimbabwe's national exams, while others sat for Higher Education Examination Council (HEXCO). The findings revealed limitations and inconsistencies in the education process, which restricted their progress for further studies as well as future employment prospects. These limitations include that Deaf learners are required to write exams that are separate from other hearing learners in terms of content. Educators do not take into consideration the Deaf leaners' limited comprehension of the English language. There is a lack of knowledge of sign language by educators and limited exposure to training to get the knowledge. These factors affected their work prospects as they were more likely to end up working in the informal sector, where they also faced oppression and exclusion based on their unique mode of communication. They also experienced the latter when accessing public services like hospitals. The challenges they face leave them disempowered, excluded and incapable of personal and social development. The research offers knowledge on issues that need to be addressed in order to foster empowerment amongst the deaf individuals as social development is for the Deaf too.

Bibliography: leaves 108-113. / The study investigates the problem of recidivism amongst male trial-awaiting youth detained at Bosasa's Dyambu Youth Centre (DYC), to determine whether their experiences with the variables under investigation have in any way influenced them to consider changes in their attitudes towards criminal behaviour. The research design in this study followed both quantitative and qualitative methodological orientations .An interview schedule was constructed in advance and applied in a standardised manner and was administered by the researcher, face to face with each respondent. Data were analysed and presented both quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings in this study revealed that financial gain, drug addiction and peer pressure were the major driving forces and motivating factors that influenced the respondents to become repeatedly involved in criminal behaviour. Lack of a stable source of income, denial of re-admission at school, rejection by family and friends and lack of stable home and accommodation were some of the major factors that made reintegration into the community difficult for the respondents during the period after their previous release. The findings in this study point to inadequacy of services with regard to prevention of crime and recidivism amongst juvenile offenders. Re-integration and after-care services were identified as an area that is grossly neglected in the field of probation and in social work services generally. Nearly all the respondents reported that they would like to abandon their criminal lifestyle but the situations that they face and various other factors highlighted in the study drive them to crime. The predominant factors identified by the respondents as influential in encouraging abandonment of criminal activities include: a fear of heavy criminal record, disgracing the family, the acquisition of various skills and knowledge from DYC workshops and classes; and their own individual thinking.

Menstruation is an issue of great importance. Today, despite menstruation being a natural process, it affects the education of girls. A qualitative study was conducted in Gugulethu, where face to face interviews were conducted with nineteen girls from Fezeka High school. The purpose of the study was to explore menstruation hygiene management among high school learners. Specifically, the study explored the experience of menstruation hygiene, the challenges faced during menstruation, coping mechanisms during menstruation and the support system available for menstruating girls. The study adopted a qualitative design because such an approach helps in examining a phenomenon from the subject's perspective. The findings established that girls knew about menstruation before the first onset. A mother or grandmother was a commonly mentioned source of information on menstruation. The study further showed that most girls use sanitary materials supplied by a mother or guardian, during menstruation. It showed that challenges that girls experienced include: emotional changes; physical discomfort (stomach cramps, tiredness, and loss of appetite); public shame; changes in social interactions and inadequate sanitation hygiene facilities. Additionally, the study showed that most girls still attend school during menstruation. The girls coped by wearing many clothes to prevent leaks; constantly checking their skirts; sitting differently on the chairs and taking medication to relieve menstrual pain. Friends were also found to help in alleviating the challenges faced by the girls; they were the main social support system for girls during menstruation. However, while school attendance was maintained, class participation was shown to be affected because of discomfort and menstrual pains. Based on the research findings, the study concluded that there is inadequate sanitation and hygiene for girls to comfortably change sanitary materials and there is a lack of communication on menstrual hygiene management between the girls and their teachers. As such, integrating menstruation hygiene management in the curriculum and providing for appropriate facilities to ensure privacy is recommended.

The recent surge in Chinese Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the African continent has brought about much debate and speculation around the potential implications both for the continent as a whole, and for individual African countries. There are mixed sentiments regarding the impact of Chinese FDI in Africa and speculation as to whether the continent has been benefiting more from Chinese investments than it has been losing. Shen (2013) points to two opposing views on China's investment in Africa. On one side China is hailed for bridging the technological and capital gap that has been hampering economic growth in Africa, and for coming to Africa's rescue by being more willing to invest in the continent than the West has been, especially after the financial crisis of 2008. However, the other side sees China as a ruthless investor, intent on plundering the African continent's resources and ultimately taking over its economies (Kolstad & Wiig, 2012). The current research focuses on an area of particular interest and importance for the African continent: specific ways in which Chinese FDI has impacted economic growth and employment in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA). The study employed a panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag model and conducted Granger causality tests on a sample of the top ten SSA recipients of Chinese FDI for the period 2003 to 2017. The results of the analysis revealed that Chinese FDI had a positive effect during this period on both employment and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a 1% increase in Chinese FDI resulting in a marginal 0.20% increase in employment, and a 0.17 % increase in economic growth. The findings of the research support the FDI-Led economic growth theory and Robert Solow's neo-classical growth model, which argues that economic growth is achieved through an increase in capital growth, labour force, and technical knowledge (Solow, 1957). Granger causality tests indicated the presence of a bi-directional relationship between Chinese FDI and economic growth. As this was a quantitative study, and significant factors pertaining to Chinese FDI in developing countries in Africa are qualitative in nature, it is recommended that qualitative studies be conducted in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the impact of Chinese FDI in African countries.

The mechanisms that perpetuate over-indebtedness at individual level (or household) are still not well researched. Emerging literature on debt and mental health shows that being highly indebted is stressful and it leads to psychological problems. This paper explores the relationship between psychological well-being and debt in South Africa. We rely on Wave 2 and 4 of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), a nationally representative household panel survey in South Africa. We have two indebtedness measures; Negative Asset Value and Financial Stress which are both constructed from the NIDS dataset. Negative asset value is based on the net worth of the respondent, whereas Financial Stress is based on household expenditure over income. In the sample data, we observe that respondents have higher CES-D scores on average in Wave 4 than in Wave 2. As a result, the number of people who report depression is also higher in this wave. The proportion of the sample that is indebted increases between Wave 2 and 4,with more household reporting financial stress in wave 4. In the empirical analysis, we firstly use cross-sectional data to estimate a probit model between debt and depression, while controlling for socioeconomic variables on the individual and the household they belong to. The results suggest that indebtedness is positively associated with depression. Debt and depression tend to be endogenous since poor mental health can lead to indebtedness.To deal with the endogeneity that exists between debt and depression, we estimate a recursive bivariate probit with the cross-sectional data. We find that the negative asset value is still positively associated with depression, but financial stress is not. Due to the inconsistency of results when using cross-sectional data, we shift to panel data. A fixed effects logit model is estimated to look at the changes in debt and changes in depression. The results show that both debt variables are significant determinants of the onset of depression. Lastly, in the fixed effects logit model, we swap out the debt variables with debt types to look at the changes in debt types and changes in the depression outcome. A personal loan from a bank, a loan from Mashonisa and Hire purchase debt are the significant determinants of changes depression.

The focus of the study is to explore on the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the Economic Development of South Africa. South Africa is a developing country and, just like other developing countries around the world, it requires FDI for its socio-economic and political development. Using the quantitative research methods, and following the descriptive analysis of data gathered from a questionnaire, the study is presented based on the relevant information gathered on the role of FDI on Economic Development of South Africa. This study found that FDI plays an important part within South Africa. Firstly, the study gathered information about factors that impact on the flow of FDI within South Africa. Amongst these factors there is the political nature of the country in which more stable political environment and the investment policies. FDIs within South Africa are a source of external capital which can lead to economic development. Furthermore, within the country, the study concludes that FDI leads to increased revenue and to the development of new industries. Technological advancements have also been brought about by FDI leasing to the socio-economic development of South Africa. The study however concludes that within South Africa, FDI can be a hindrance to domestic investment since it challenges the survival of domestic industries. The thrust with FDI is the focus on resources and capital elsewhere other than the investor's home country. In this regard, FDI has a negative impact on the country's investment. Ideally, the rules that govern foreign exchange rates and investments negatively impact on the investing country. The study therefore recommends the adjustment of investment policies that attract investments, such as policies promoting fair business practices.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are touted as engines of sustainable economic growth. They span a wide spectrum of economic domains and are inclined to foster innovative entrepreneurship and gratify a variety of socio-economic objectives such as poverty alleviation, income generation, employment creation and reduction in societal inequalities. The SME sector in South Africa is challenged by slow growth in young businesses and dying at infancy due to lack of financial support. Inadequate funding results from a myriad of factors which include comprehensive enforcement of regulatory requirements, information asymmetry, moral hazards, lack of sound information on credit performance and technological divide. This study investigated this funding conundrum by assessing the success rate of SME applications for commercial funding. A quantitative cohort analysis was used on overdraft facilities obtained from one of the leading financial institutions in South Africa to determine the drivers of default. A time series view of macroeconomic factors and macroprudential indicators in conjunction with the demand and supply trends was analysed using vector autoregression techniques to determine the impact of the economic environment and financial market condition on access to funding. Unit root tests and cointegration analyses were applied to examine stationarity, shortrun and long-run relationships. The SME scorecard was developed using logistic regression on cohorts of applications over a seven-year observation period to determine the drivers of default as part of credit risk management. SME application scorecards were developed including and excluding bureau information. The ensuing models' ability to differentiate risk were assessed using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves. The results show that, the demand and supply of SME credit is influenced by trends in the domestic, economic and financial environment. The robustness, stability and relevance of an application scorecard is enhanced by reject inference and the inclusion of bureau information. Small businesses operating in the service sector and having a long-standing rapport with the bank can easily access commercial bank funding. SMEs in the construction industry with a high number of credit enquiries are unlikely to survive the stringent conditions of the bank lending criteria. It is the prerogative of the principal business owner to honour their financial obligations across the credit industry if commercial bank funding is desired. Their credit quality forms the fulcrum of the lender's SME application scorecard.

The topic of the impact of government spending on economic growth has previously been extensively researched, however the evidence is inconclusive to make a ruling. The purpose of this study was to examine the empirical relationship between government spending and economic growth for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) over the period 1994-2014 by observing GDP as the dependent variable and Education, Health, Infrastructure and Defense as the independent variables. The study was based on panel data analysis of data obtained from secondary sources. The analysis process began with summarizing the data using descriptive statistics. Following this was the process of regression analysis in order to determine the relationships between GDP and Health, Education, Defense and Infrastructure. We checked for Multicollinearity using Variance Inflation Factors (VIF's) and used the Hausman Test to determine which statistical model to use. The study followed the fixed effects statistical model. The empirical results support the null hypotheses that health, education and defense have a long-tern relationship with GDP. The study however found that there was no long-term relationship between GDP and infrastructure.