M.Comm. / The primary aim of this research is to indicate that the lack of economic progress in the Northern Province is basically caused by the absence of a strong manufacturing sector, particularly the chemical industry. The chemical industry is a key sector in both the primary and secondary sectors. In agriculture and mining it provides fertilizers and explosives respectively to increase output. Diversified farming will emerge as a direct response to a rise in agricultural output. As the population in the Northern Province is rapidly rising, the demand for agricultural products will also rise. This will have a positive influence on the income of farmers. As the income rises, production in agriculture will increase which will bring about a demand for implements, tractors and other equipment. In the manufacturing sector the chemical industry will stimulate the process of industrialisation in the Northern Province. The industrialisation process will involve the outward-orientation of the economy. This means that the chemical industry will act as a leading sector by showing forward and backward linkages. The economy of the Northern Province is performing poorly in terms of GGP. The role of the government in providing services cannot alone generate a sustainable economic growth. A sustainable economic growth in the Province can take place if the chemical industry plays a crucial role in producing chemicals which can be used in agriculture and manufacturing. Therefore this study will show that economic growth in the Northern Province can be sustained by growth in the chemical industry.

M.Com. (Economics) / The aim of this study was to look at the economic survival problem that has been very much in appearance in South Africa, especially recently. This will translate into a study of poverty in South Africa. In the second chapter I tried to get a clearer definition of poverty by, firstly looking at some formal definitions relating to poverty and then to look more generally at other descriptions of poverty from a more economic point of view. In this chapter we also discuss the Lorenz curve and how that can be used to measure poverty using income and the consumption of the population. Following on from this, in the third chapter we look at some definitions and theories of income and consumption. The theories we look at are the following : The General Consumption theory of Keynes, the Relative Income Hypothesis, the Permanent Income Hypothesis and the Life Cycle Hypothesis. After narrowing down the main cause of poverty, in the next two chapters we look at some characteristics of the poor in the rural areas as well as in the urban and metropolitan areas. In the chapter concerning the poor in the rural areas, the characteristics we look at are among others, the income, climatic problems, educational problems and health problems of the poor communities in these areas. When we discuss the characteristics of the urban and metropolitan poor, we also discuss the occurrence of unemployment and some measures that can alleviate this problem. In the sixth chapter we look at a comparison of South Africa with other countries in the world regarding the poverty problem, mainly at where South Africa fits into the world picture. In the summary some possible solutions for the whole poverty problem is put forward.

A research report submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Humanities, School of Arts, in fulfilment of the requirements of a Masters degree in Arts and Culture Management Johannesburg 2015 / The Civil Society sector in South Africa has been experiencing a funding crisis for the past 20 years. The arts represent a small portion of Civil Society, and the visual arts a small part of the art. This research considers how these visual arts non-profit organisations (VANPOs) in this economic microsphere have been challenged to survive and sustain their missions in what is a competitive, fluctuating and complex environment. This study scrutinizes the concept of sustainability and the visual arts non-profit sector’s capacity for implementation of economically sustainable projects in the current economic and funding environment in South Africa. It outlines the complex and challenging nature of sustainability for VANPOs. The VANPOs, all small organisations, have limited human and cash resources to implement sustainability strategies while fulfilling their missions. Furthermore the funding environment focuses on short-term project grants and production-oriented efforts. This does not offer the organisations much opportunity towards long-term organisational development nor strategic resourcefulness. At the same time they struggle to remain compliant with government regulations and donor requirements. This research considers methods of assessing sustainability and the perspectives of professionals involved in the management of VANPOs. It examines the challenges they have faced in finding ways to implement sustainability and in the implementation of ‘sustainable’ projects. The brief case studies focus on how five VANPOs have responded to diminishing funding.

A project report to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, In fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science / A detailed analysis was performed on statistics obtained from twenty two gold mines in different mining districts, to determine the parameters which affect labour productivity and working costs, (Abbreviation abstract) / AC2017

Context: The state of poverty in South Africa is a consequence of the country’s racially segregated past. Coping mechanisms to buffer the experience of poverty have been employed by individuals within households (Klasen & Woolard, 2000). One such coping mechanism is that of intergenerational households. Intergenerational households are well established in South Africa, largely seen in Black families, however very few studies have embarked on the outcomes of adolescents belonging to these households such as concurrent school and labour force participation (Aliber, 2003; Edmonds & Pavcnik, 2005). Intergenerational households experience economic strain that may induce children belonging to these households to seek employment, resulting in children not attending school, having uncompleted schooling or concurrently schooling and participating in the labour force. The objectives of the study are to estimate the level of concurrent schooling and labour force participation amongst adolescents in South Africa and determine the association between residing in intergenerational households and concurrent schooling and labour force participation amongst adolescents. Methods: Secondary data from the South African 2010 Survey of Activities of Young People (SAYP) is used with the sample size of 2 650 116 adolescents aged 7-17 years. Three levels of analysis are employed: univariate: frequency and percentage distribution tables, bivariate: Chi-square (? 2) and multivariate: binary logistic regression. Results: Thirty-one percent of adolescents reside in intergenerational households; 18% in multigenerational and 13% in skip-generational households. The study found that 24.08% of adolescents are concurrently schooling and participating in the labour force. The odds of concurrently schooling and participating in the labour force were higher for adolescents residing in intergenerational households. There is thus an association between residing in intergenerational households and concurrent schooling and LFP amongst adolescents in South Africa. Conclusion: Adolescents residing in intergenerational households have higher odds of concurrently schooling and participating in the labour force. It is thus important to focus on the living conditions such as the experience of poverty and household structures to which adolescents belong in order to understand their experiences and obstacles that may potentially hinder efforts made towards youth education and thus development in the country.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 14 December 2016. / The interaction between business and biodiversity has seen growing importance in corporate management; impacting policy, practices and strategy. This study examines South African companies’ assimilation of recommended biodiversity management practices, as communicated through their annual reporting and official websites. A selection of nine South African companies in the forestry, sugar and mining sectors were studied with regards to their reporting on biodiversity management practices. The research aimed to understand the extent of structured approach to biodiversity management, and explore potential sectorial differences. The study found a wide acceptance of the UN Global Compact Principles, the GRI reporting guidelines and the King Code of good governance principles. However, the companies did not demonstrate a consistent governance structure for biodiversity management. The study revealed one mining company with a stronger biodiversity governance structure making the use of various dedicated policies and standards. Furthermore, the study identified few sector specific differences. Though the forestry sector demonstrated good practice with its emphasis on biodiversity in its supply chain management. The study did not reveal a particular uptake of emerging biodiversity concepts such as No Net Loss, payment for ecosystem services or agroforestry, however the companies had adopted several sustainability and governance recommendations and standards. The study did not identify the existence, nor the use, of dedicated biodiversity certification programmes or South African developed cross-sector biodiversity certification programmes. The finance sector is in a good position to positively influence corporate biodiversity management practices. However, the study results give an impression that there is untapped potential in the finance sector to further drive the biodiversity management agenda in South Africa. Keywords: Corporate Biodiversity Management, Biodiversity Management Framework, Biodiversity Best Practices, / LG2017

M.Sc. (Mining Engineering), Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, 1995

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agriculture)) --University of the North, 1985 / Refer to the document / University of the North, HSRC (Human Science Research Council), and Lebowa Project Committee

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) is known as the key component of HIVprevention and treatment programmes in workplace settings. The main objective of this study was to explore factors affecting the uptake of VCT amongst employees in the private sector. This study was also indirectly aimed in examining the effectiveness of HIV-prevention and treatment programmes in workplace settings. The Social cognitive theory (SCT) was adopted as the core theoretical framework in this study. The SCT explains behaviour change as a complex phenomenon and a product of multiple, complex factors embedded on the individual’s characteristic and his/her surrounding environment. This theory recognises the strength of other health promotion theories such as the health belief model (HBM), theory of reasoned action (TRA) in explaining behaviour change, but it mostly helps to provide a more holistic and coherent understanding of the complex factors affecting VCT uptake. This was a qualitative case study. Individual, semi-structured interviews were utilised to collect data from 6 male and 4 female participants, who are employees of a courier company operating around Durban. This company implemented an HIV/AIDS policy about 10 years ago, with an aim to introduce HIV-prevention and treatment initiatives, and to facilitate easy access to these initiatives within the workplace setting. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Themes were analysed and discussed in relation to the topic of the study. Factors that affect VCT in the workplace were categorised thematically and critically discussed as findings of the study. Despite the convenient and easily accessible VCT and ART initiatives, rapid testing and onsite nature of VCT campaigns, the uptake of VCT appeared to be relatively poor within the compnay. The perceived lack of confidentiality regarding results, fears of stigma and discrimination, as well as organisational factors, were identified as barriers to the success of HIVprevention and treatment initiatives in this company. In light of these findings, the study recommends measures that might help improve service delivery. The study also contributes to the body of knowledge with respect to challenges facing HIV-prevention and treatment initiatives in workplace settings. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This study aims to develop a robust methodology for measuring the performance of equity-share schemes in South African agriculture. Equity-share schemes are privately owned farming operations that are generally restructured as companies with the original owner and the farmworkers as shareholders. Several studies have investigated various aspects of the performance of these schemes but no single study has yet measured their performance using a comprehensive and objective set of criteria. Four categories of criteria are proposed: poverty alleviation; empowerment and participation; institutional arrangements and governance; and financial performance. This study does not aim to assess the performance of existing equity-share schemes rather a methodology for the four criteria based on empirical evidence gathered in 2004 from a land reform project in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal and seven established equity-share schemes in the Western Cape. Poverty alleviation is measured using a transition matrix of households grouped by four different symptoms of poverty: current income, wealth, health and a principal component index of housing quality based on building materials, access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation. Eight. categories of indicators are recommended for empowerment and participation: control and ownership; skills transfer; understanding of the structure of the scheme; information; outcomes; trust; outreach; and participation. A scorecard applying norms based on empirical evidence gathered at equity-share schemes in the Western Cape is used to assess the indicators. A scorecard approach is also applied to institutional arrangements and governance, which are measured using three categories of indicators: accountability, transparency and property rights. Recognised indicators ;of financial performance are applied to balance sheet and income statement data provided by four of the seven equity-share schemes in the Western Cape. This analysis highlights problems with several of the conventional ratios used to measure the profitability, solvency and growth of recently restructured farming enterprises whose 'empowerment' status attracts exceptionally high levels of debt capital to finance long-term investments. To avoid these problems it is recommended that, for equity-share schemes, profitability should be measured by the return on assets or dividend return; solvency by the debt/asset ratio; liquidity by cash flow projections; growth by changes in the (estimated) real. value of shares; and workers' total returns by changes in the sum of the real wage bill, capital gains, dividends, interest and other benefits accruing to workers in aggregate. The proposed performance measures are relevant, manageable in number and have feasible norms based on empirical evidence. These indicators and their norms need to be tested on a wider scale and over time. Further research should be undertaken to estimate weights for the empowerment and institutional indicators. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.