The research presented here considers the role of the teacher of reading in the child's first year of school. It was undertaken in an attempt to find out more about how teachers go about teaching children to read. The research was inductive in design and adopted an ethnographic methodology. The research was undertaken in two parts with five teachers in all providing case studies of practice. In the first part. the roles adopted by three Reception / Year One teachers were examined and the literacy tasks they provided for children were analysed. The results of this study led the researcher to question a) the focus of the classroom observation on predetermined aspects of practice and, b) the omission of the teachers themselves from discussion of their practice during the duration of the research. The secondp art analysesth e largelys pontaneousli,t eracyr elatedr esponsesm adeb y two further Reception / Year One teachers to the children in their classes and the comments these teachers made about their thoughts and actions in interviews after the teaching sessions. The findings include an analysis of the layers of concern that appeared to influence teachers in their interactions with children about literacy. Examination of these interactions also suggested ways in which teachers may adopt procedures that go some way towards compensating for the differences between home and school learning that have been identified by other researchers. These findings led to the development of a model of practice which shows teachers to be acting in both reactive and proactive ways. This view of practice led the researcher to question models of initial and inservice training for teachers of reading which are based on proactive models.

The coastal zone is the dynamic interface between land and sea and is under immense threat from increasing coastal population and development trends as well as global climate change. Given global and regional sea level rise projections, coastal African countries including South African are highly exposed to climate risks, namely storm surges, flooding and coastal erosion, which particularly impact socio-ecological systems at the local level. The aim of this study is to examine the various technical responses and governance approaches employed by government to address coastal risk along the Langebaan shoreline – a coastal town located in the Western Cape, renowned for its tourism, recreation and scenic attributes. However, the Langebaan shoreline is increasingly at-risk from climate-related sea level rise, compounded by inappropriate coastal development. This research suggests measures to strengthen coastal risk governance (CRG) through exploring stakeholder interpretation of coastal risk as well as understanding the barriers to addressing coastal risk in the context of the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM). This study was informed by a review of the legal framework governing coastal risk in South Africa as well as the various technical reports pertaining to addressing coastal erosion in Langebaan. Primary data collection was undertaken through semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that coastal erosion along the Langebaan shoreline is a complex and multi-faceted human-environmental issue. Furthermore, various reactive steps have been taken in response to Langebaan's eroding shoreline since the 1997 storm, these included hard and soft engineering measures as well as managed retreat. However, the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) remain crippled by lack of institutional capacity and resources to tackle environmental issues like coastal erosion. Therefore, strengthening coastal risk governance (CRG) in under-resourced municipalities like the Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) requires improved communication and coordination across all levels of government and with civil society, which in turn will promote long-term strategic thinking and innovative and collective action.

Contemporary biodiversity conservation is ‘wickedly complex'. This complexity stems from the need to address the diverse objectives of protecting biodiversity and enhancing social wellbeing. However, centralized and exclusionary conservation approaches are often ill-suited to tackling these coupled objectives. Consequently, increasingly calls have been made for the development of more holistic, participatory, nuanced and context-specific conservation governance approaches. Community-based conservation – which seeks to include local communities and their knowledge and priorities in conservation governance – offers a viable though context-specific alternative. However, thus far communitybased conservation initiatives have produced mixed results, largely due to a lack of understanding of how to effectively initiate, implement and manage such ‘wickedly complex' conservation initiatives. South Africa possesses enabling legislation for community-based conservation, but to date there has been no implementation of legally recognized communityconserved areas in the coastal zone. Accordingly, this research is guided by a desire to better understand this ‘policy-praxis disjuncture', and explores what factors, conditions and processes are required to enable South Africa to embrace a more community-orientated approach to conservation. It is proposed that greater understanding and potentially success can be gained by viewing communitybased conservation including, the initiation, implementation and governance of community-conserved areas, as a ‘change process'. Drawing on Commons Theory, Governance Theory, and the Theory of Change approach, a framework was developed to guide the exploration of the factors, conditions and processes that enable the shift to a community-based mode of conservation governance. Case study investigations were conducted in two established regional community coastal conservation cases, and one South African ‘case-in-progress'. Based on the findings of these cases, and the perceptions of South African conservation actors, this dissertation offers insights for tackling South Africa's policy-praxis disjuncture by developing a South African Empirical Community-Based Conservation Theory of Change Pathway. By exploring the initiation, implementation and governance of community-based conservation initiatives as a change process, this dissertation provides a framework for designing a process to facilitate and implement community-based conservation where contextually appropriate. More specifically, it emphasizes the need to develop a context-appropriate, strategic, systematic and iterative set of actions, with clearly articulated assumptions, which strive to address present or potential issues, to support the change to community-based governance. Consequently, this dissertation provides a framework for understanding how a shift to a community-based mode of conservation governance takes place, and offers a South African specific design pathway, with potential application by diverse conservation actors in other countries.

This study focuses on the mystical elements in Die swart kombuis (1978) by Sheila Cussons. This second collection of poetry of Cussons grows out of a context of the investigation of the tension between the earthly and the metaphysical that manifested in her first publication, Plektrum (1970), to a concentrated experience of the spiritual and human search for meaning and integration in Die swart kombuis. This publication can be placed within the tradition of Afrikaans mystical poetry. The mystical element is to be observed with the title of the collection, which can be read as a symbol of transformation. The word “kombuis” (kitchen) becomes an archetypal arena loaded with meaning and associations that are explored and expanded upon in the collection. The poems function as poetic expressions of the poet’s relationship with her persona and the internal dialogues that take place during these confrontations. The collection can be read as a creative expression of the poet’s individuation process. Cussons exposes the integration and the interpretation of her archetypes and allows the reader to participate in this sensitive process of personal enlightenment. The various stages of self-realisation find expression in the symbolic use of language and concepts that Cussons employs. This technique takes the reader on an abstract journey of selfinvestigation. By giving poetic expression to her personal process of individuation, Cussons presents the reader with a creative vehicle through which he or she can step into the mystical dimension. Previously, the reader might not have had exposure to complex concepts such as individuation, archetypes and symbolism; however, through the reading of this collection of poetry, access to these ideas is vicariously granted. This study aims to formulate a reading model that is able to identify, analyse and explain the various mystical elements in selected poems in Die swart kombuis. Mystical elements and characteristics are identified to give the reader an introduction to the language use and associated symbolism. The structure of the reading model incorporates ideas and theories from theorists such as the psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung, the philosopher and psychologist William James and the poet, Jungian analyst and cantadora Clarissa Pinkola Estés. The ideas of literary theorists Roland ix Barthes, Umberto Eco, Jonathan Culler and Frank Kermode are also included in the approach to the text. Attention is, furthermore, paid to symbolism, mythology and the use of poetry as a form of therapy and self-reflection.

Deterioration of freshwater systems due to eutrophication is increasingly a global concern because it puts stress on the already limited freshwater systems. Eutrophication is caused by elevated levels of nutrients in river systems primarily from poor land management whereby excess nutrients are discharged into fresh water bodies. It is exacerbated by factors such as human population growth, economic growth and climate change. The main aim of this study was to analyze the changes in the nutrient status of the Berg River since the 1970s and tendencies toward hypertrophic conditions. The Berg River is an important source of bulk water supply for both domestic and industrial purposes in the Western Province, South Africa. The study examined water quality data from the Department of Water and Sanitation’s Resource Quality Information Services for nine monitoring sites along the Berg River to determine the long-term trends. The data sets were analyzed using parametric statistics. The results show that nutrient levels in the Berg River are increasing at almost all the selected monitoring sites. The long term trend showed low mean values for both upstream and downstream with a peak nutrient levels observed along sections that were densely populated and extensively cultivated. Based on available total phosphorus data, all sites were classified as eutrophic except a monitoring site along the most populated and cultivated section of the Berg River which was permanently hypertrophic. Long-term mean values for total phosphorus exceed the recommended international guidelines for aquatic plant life. The long-term mean values of nitrate and nitrite also exceed the recommended guideline for aquatic plant life. Ortho-phospate mean values for the study showed that all sites experienced hypertrophic states at some stage during 1987 to 2017. Student t-test analyses confirm that nutrient concentration loads had increased in the past decade. The results confirm that anthrophogenic activities and climate change are two major drivers of change resulting in an increase in eutrophication. Therefore, serious attention should be paid to the role of anthrophogenic activites and climate change to mitigate the negative impact on freshwater systems.

For the past thirty years, food producers and consumers have initiated alternative food networks (AFNs) because of the perception that the globalising agrifood system is unsustainable, untrustworthy, and untransparent. These alternative strategies for food production and distribution are perceived to be rooted in sustainable, socially-embedded principles. In more recent years, solidarity purchase groups (SPGs) have formed as a distinct type of AFN collaboration that facilitates higher levels of relationships of regard and reciprocity between consumers and producers. The literature of AFNs has largely focussed on AFNs in the global North. There has been far less research focussed on the nature of AFNs in the global South. This research project was undertaken to write a history of an SPG in the global South, in Cape Town, South Africa: The Good Food Club (GFC). The development of the GFC was examined within the context of the global literature on AFNs. Key actors in the GFC, suppliers and members, were interviewed to describe their participation and to discuss the motivations driving their involvement in the GFC. The research explored their values around food production and distribution, and the ways their values have developed or changed over the time of their GFC involvement. Through increased exposure to the food system realities, members have grown in their consciousness as consumers. Members and suppliers expressed desire for connection with each other, for increased embodied knowledge. Members do not believe they will find this this knowledge and connection in the country's corporate retailers. Finally, this research comments the GFC developing similarly to AFNs of the global North, and its consequent limitations as a strategy for the common good of Cape Town.

The phenomenon of serial killers is a fascinating topic for readers, as well as for researchers. This dissertation is going to expand the steadily growing stock of literature regarding the origin of serial killers, but with a focus on the social environment. As the social environment differs from country to country, depending on cultures, history, societies, and economic circumstances, it is important to take a South African perspective when studying the social environment of individuals in South Africa. After explaining the different approaches to define the term `serial killer´, this paper provides a solid review of previous research on the origin of serial homicide in South Africa. While presenting the most popular theories on the origin and development of serial killers in South Africa, it becomes evident that the social environment has never been considered to be a factor that might play a role. This paper criticises the fact that an examination of the social environment of serial killers has been absent in previous research on the development of serial killers. Consequently, it makes it its task to examine the social environment of South African serial killers via multiple case studies. Six South African serial killer cases are presented and the social environment of the individuals is explained. Moreover, similarities between the cases and other conspicuities are pieced together and analysed, followed by a discussion on how they might have an impact on a serial killer. Additionally, the paper gives some food for thought on why the social environment in South African townships is so fertile for serial killers to offend and what cultural and historical circumstances might play a role in developing such an environment. Providing incentives for further in-depth research here and there, this research expands the steadily growing body of literature on serial killers from a South African perspective. The paper concludes that the social environment of serial killers is a huge and interesting subject area, with many possible influencing factors that are therefore worth exploring further. Additionally, this paper proposes that the social environment should be taken into account when researching serial killers in general, and especially their origin and development. This paper takes the initiative to research the social environment as an independent factor within the phenomenon of serial killers. It proposes a preliminary examination approach to the role of the social environment in relation to the origin of South African serial killers for the purpose of drawing attention to the importance of including it when researching serial killers to generate a better understanding of the origin of serial killers and the phenomenon in general.

Namibia has experienced an upward growth of informal settlements since independence. Such settlements have become an integral part of urban areas in the country, a situation that begs for, first, acceptance of this reality and, second, action to mitigate challenges that are generally associated with living in such areas. Due to such challenges, which include high rates of poverty as a result unemployment among slum dwellers, informal settlements have become the glaring face of social exclusion in Namibia. In order to arrest this exclusion, planners and policymakers need to find ways of upgrading these settlements so that the residents’ quality of life is incrementally enhanced. This paper is an outcome of a study conducted in five informal settlements in Windhoek, with a deliberate focus on access - or lack thereof - to basic services and infrastructure. Having highlighted the level of exclusion in those informal areas, this paper recommends that instead of re-inventing the wheel, government must embark of a sustained deliberate exercise to upgrade the existing informal settlements instead of demolishing or eradicating them. Policymakers are urged in this study to accept that people, out of desperation fed by social factors, would continue to occupy land illegally. Policymakers must thus find ways to amicably regulate these invasions. This would help attain a degree of inclusivity and compliance with the Constitutional requirement of ensuring dignity for everyone in the country.

This study explores factors that influence condom use decision-making of adolescents from two schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data generated from 16 individual semi-structured interviews. When exploring the factors that influence adolescent’s condom use decision-making, sexual debut and the role that emotion plays in the decision-making process were frequently discussed. The themes which emerged for sexual debut included relationships were about displaying true love which was equated with having sex and respecting parents’ expectations and rules informing decisions not to have sex at this age. When exploring the themes which emerged for condom use decision-making, the adolescents spoke about their concerns for the future and organising their lives. In addition, anticipated fear about falling pregnant, becoming parents and being infected with a disease emerged when exploring adolescent condom use decision-making. Understanding adolescent condom use can assist in aligning sexual and reproductive health (SRH) interventions and supporting healthy SRH decision-making and healthy relationships for adolescents.

This thesis presents an analysis of the South African Parliament’s attempts to create a mechanism to enable oversight of delegated legislation. The question sought to be addressed is, whether Parliament has done anything to create a mechanism to oversee the delegation of its law-making authority to the executive and if so, whether any of these efforts have been successful. This paper illustrated how the making of delegated legislation is not foreign to South Africa’s system of separation of powers as provided for in our Constitution and as interpreted by our courts. It is shown how, despite what the Constitution allows, recent law-making efforts have not strengthened Parliament’s ability to oversee delegated legislation. Instead legislators purposefully sought to curb attempts to improve rule-making and delegated legislation. Similarly, efforts to make delegated legislation more accessible to the public have been missing from government’s list of priorities. The South African Parliament’s efforts to scrutinise delegated legislation is contrasted with the efforts of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and several foreign legislatures. Finally, it is indicated how Parliament, after more than 20 years since the promulgation of the final Constitution, has failed to create a permanent mechanism to enhance and strengthen its oversight of delegated legislation.