Discussions of hope and the imagined future have thus far focussed on grand ambitions at the expense of the more mundane, modest wants that are the preoccupation of everyday life. Studies of the home have demonstrated the role of material culture in embodying memory and household pasts but little has been said of household futures and their impact on household presents. This ethnographic study of the lives of three middle class households in south-east London addresses these gaps through an exploration of the role of imagined futures in orienting everyday life in the household. The ways in which householders work to make household life what they want it to be, and to secure the longer-term futures they imagine for their children, are explored through the frustrations, disappointments and anxieties that stem from the frequent failures of these efforts. Objects are demonstrated to be both the means through which householders attempt to make household life what they want it to be - their potentiality shaping and enabling imagined futures - and the means through which these imagined futures are reconfigured or derailed. The period of maternity leave, that all three of my women participants were in the midst of, is shown to be one in which the work of bringing the household's imagined futures, and children's imagined futures to fruition falls disproportionately to mothers, often at the expense of their own wants. Finally, a broader lens is used to explore how middle class householders' efforts to live the life they want contributes to and shapes the processes of gentrification credited with bringing dramatic change to south-east London.

L’étude que nous avons menée sur la représentation des xenia dans la Tunisie romaine, s’inscrit dans le cadre général du rapport de l’architecture domestique avec l’affirmation du statut social de l’élite africaine. La construction de la domus était, sans doute, un projet stratégique qui exigeait des notables une réflexion sérieuse sur la meilleure façon d’exalter les signes extérieurs de leur richesse, de leur bon goût et, en définitive, de leur appartenance à l’idéal de vie romain dans lequel l’hospitalité, exprimée par le décor de xenia, occupe une place de choix. Les mosaïques à xenia dans la Tunisie romaine sont les plus nombreuses à l’échelle de l’Empire. elles représentent trois particularités, la première concerne la composition des pavements : les motifs de xenia sont représentés isolés et, dans la plupart des cas, associés à d’autres thèmes décoratifs ; la deuxième se rapporte à la répartition de ces mosaïques dans l’espace domestique, couvrant toutes les composantes de la domus et non pas seulement les pièces réservées aux hôtes ; la troisième, enfin, touche à la sémantique des xenia qui traduit certains aspects de l’histoire mentale de l’élite Afro-romaine. / The mosaics of xenia in the Roman area of Tunisia are the most numerous at the scale of the Empire. They present three particularities, the first one concerns the compositions of the ornamental tiling: the xenia motifs are represented isolated and, in most cases, associated with other decorative themes; the second one relates to the distribution of those mosaics in the household space covering all components of the domus and not just the rooms reserved for the hosts; finally the third one touches the semantic of the xenia which does not refer itself only about hospitality.

M.Tech. / In this research, I examine whether cultural meanings embedded in original sixteenth to eighteenth century Dutch lace and Shweshwe fabric, as examples of colonial forms, are transformed through selected processes. With reference to Dutch lace from Holland, I analyse how the form changes within colonial and post-colonial contexts, but propose that the cultural meanings of the lace remain similar in both contexts. With reference to Shweshwe fabric, I argue that the form stays the same within both colonial and post-colonial contexts, but that its cultural meaning changes as a result of how patterns printed on it are named and identified in a post-colonial context. In this research, I use the term ‘cultural meaning’ to refer to certain signifiers of culture. I propose that factors such as value, class, aspiration, desire and consumption are embedded in or make cultural meaning. My central argument proposes that crocheted doilies, and plastic tablecloths and placemats might be seen as post-colonial versions of Dutch lace. These post-colonial versions of Dutch lace are adopted and adapted by female homemakers in Naledi Ext. 2 to suit certain decorative tastes, values, aspirations and act as markers of class. This adoption and adaptation of the original colonial form, shifts the cultural meanings imbued within it, but not necessarily the associated consumptive meanings. Whilst the primary focus of the theoretical research is Dutch lace and its proposed post-colonial counterparts, I also examine examples of original Shweshwe fabric and how meanings of motifs found on this fabric have been transformed by the modern Mosotho to reflect notions of value and aspiration, whilst the actual motifs appear to be unchanged. In my practical work, I use Dutch lace, crocheted doilies, and plastic tablecloths and placemats, as well as Shweshwe fabric as visual references in the production of large to small scale paintings. In these, I explore how, through painterly alteration and transformation, shifts can occur in the meanings of patterns derived from these culturally-loaded sources.

Magister Public Health - MPH / In the era of AIDS, food and nutrition are becoming more of a priority for many households and communities. This is more so now that treatment is available for people infected with HIV and AIDS. Food and nutrition are fundamentally intertwined with HIV transmission and the impacts of AIDS. Evidence of the ways in which food insecurity and malnutrition may interfere with the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy is well documented. Aim: The purpose of the study was to inform improvements in food security interventions for PLWHA through an investigation of existing food security interventions in the Khomas Region, Namibia. / South Africa

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This study is aimed at empirically examining health seeking behaviours in terms of illness response on household level at South Africa using 2007 General Household Survey and other relevant secondary sources. It provides an assessment of health seeking behaviours at the household level using individuals as unit of analysis by exploring the type of health care provider sought, the reason for delay in health seeking and the cause for not consulting. This study also assesses the extent of dissatisfaction among households using medical centres and this factor in health care utilisation is considered as the main reason for not consulting health care services. All the demographic and health seeking variables utilised in this study are controlled for medical aid cover because it is a critical variable in health care seeking. Therefore this study makes distinction on illness reporting and they type of health care consulted by medical aid holders and non medical aid holders. Statistical analyses are conducted to explore and predict the way in which demographic variables and socio economic variables affect health care seeking behaviours. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this thesis, I examine household strategies in response to water level fluctuations of Lake Chilwa. I also analyse the frequency and patterns of migration of fishers, conflicts due to migration of fishers and comanagement. The following are the key results:First, the seasonal and periodic lake level changes affect livelihoods of the households. As a coping strategy, the households depend on fishing in pools of water located in influent rivers and hunt birds for income and food while others migrate to find work as casual labourers. When the lake rises during the rain season, inundated areas become suitable for production of maize and rice. However, when the floods recede in the dry season, farming of winter maize and vegetables is common.Second, migration of fishers is common around Lake Chilwa. The pattern of migration varies according to the season and gear type. The northern marshes and floodplain where fishers land the highest catches composed mainly of Barbus paludinosus, attract more fishers operating different fishing gear types. Conflicts emerge due to the Nkacha seine operations,which require removal of aquatic vegetation. The local fishers believe that the aquatic vegetation is a source of food for fish. The conflicts are in various forms including access to fishing grounds, authority to grant access to fishing areas and fish price competition between the local fishers and migrants.Third, the household strategies towards recovery of the fishery after recessions are inherent within the households’ traditional system.However, the introduction of co-management does not recognise key actors that include fishers and river-based fishing households that participated in the formulation of conservation strategies for remnant fish stocks in lagoon and rivers during the 1995 recession. Co-management is characterised by limited participation of the fishers especially those operating seines, district assemblies and non-governmental organisations. Similarly, there is low transparency especially with respect to how the key stakeholders, Department of Fisheries and traditional leaders, take decisions. In stark contrast, accountability among Beach Village Sub- Committees is growing; hence more fishing households now perceive these as representing the interests of Department of Fisheries.Based on the above results, a diversified occupational change involving fishing, farming and trading is necessary. The co-management arrangement should be adaptive with consideration of the traditional customs and values of the participating households. Since these households are dependent on the availability of fisheries, it is thus imperative to promote maximum resource exploitation in between recessions and encourage a complete stop to fishing during recessions.September 2009

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / In many countries, an enumeration of all household members remains the most important source of population statistics. According to Statistics South Africa, two population censuses and quite a few household surveys have taken place across the country. The quality of data recorded varies according to the operation. Despite great improvement in data collection and analysis capacities,some of the demographic data provided have not been assessed in terms of quality. The aim of this study was to ascertain the accuracy of demographic data on age and sex collected and the coverage during the population census 2001, General Household Surveys (2004 and 2007), Labour Force Surveys (2005 and 2007) and Community survey 2007 in South Africa. Two methods were applied to assess the quality of data. First, the direct method consists of checking the content and coverage (errors during enumeration, errors of exploitation, concordance in questionnaire). Second, the indirect method lies in the calculation of some indexes, age ratios,sex ratios, graphing of population pyramids and sex ratios curves. The indexes are Whipple’s index, Myer’s index and the Combined index of United Nations. Therefore, the main variables of interest are age, sex, place of residence and ethnic groups. Differentials in the quality according to declaration on age by gender, by ethnic group, by place of residence have been explored. This study has identified some variations in different indexes between 2001 and 2007 and has also evaluated the ethnic, gender and regional differentials. Comparison between indexes of each instrument has been done to measure some variations over years. Also, time-space comparisons were conducted across indexes of different instruments. The quality of data on age was better at national level compared to provincial level. Therefore, based on the measurements and patterns observed in the census and surveys data, the study has made some recommendations on the need for an integrated approach to reduce the gap and improve the quality of declarations on age and sex.

The thesis is focused on the analysis of the macroeconomic relationships of the growth of indebtedness of Czech households in 2000 - 2015. The aim of the diploma thesis is to find the main causes of household indebtedness growth and to identify the influence of this process on selected macroeconomic variables. The theoretical part of the diploma thesis deals with money creation, monetary and fiscal policy, the role of money in economic cycles and economic theories of household consumption. The practical part focuses more closely on debt development, its structure and sociodemographic structure of indebted households. The thesis describes the causes of household indebtedness growth, impacts on selected macroeconomic variables, ability of households to meet their financial obligations and, last but not least, international comparisons with selected EU countries. The diploma thesis brings a comprehensive view of the debt of Czech households in the period 2000 - 2015. At the end of the thesis, it explains the main causes and consequences of the growing indebtedness of households, together with the international comparison and the sociodemographic characteristic of indebted households.

This thesis argues that the full impact of Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) driven research, that works to enhance not only agricultural production and productivity but also market linkages cannot be captured effectively using only microeconomic level studies; but rather requires the use of a combination of micro and macro-level analysis. This is because the innovation systems perspective entails the collaboration of different actors across the entire agricultural value chain. Therefore this study aimed to firstly quantify the degree to which AIS driven research impacts upon the livelihood outcomes of rural smallholder farmers. Second, the study aimed to determine the extent to which a combination of macro-economic and agricultural policy shocks impact upon household incomes in the maize-based farming system in Malawi; given macro-micro linkages as strengthened by AIS research. The first objective was tackled by using quasi-experimentation with propensity score matching to establish a valid counterfactual and single differencing to measure impact. The second objective was achieved by using a combination of quantitative and qualitative statistical and econometric tools to delve into the dynamics of the maize market at different levels and to develop a model that is capable of capturing the maize market dynamics. A multi-equation partial equilibrium model of the national maize market was therefore developed and linked in a top-down unidirectional manner to the local maize economy via a price-linkage equation. A non-behavioural arithmetic micro-accounting approach was adopted to estimate household incomes that were linked to the local economy, through which macroeconomic level maize price changes transmit. The results of the study empirically demonstrate that AIS driven research impacts positively upon the livelihood outcomes of rural households. This is demonstrated with participating households exhibiting statistically significant higher production outcomes (upland crop production, maize harvests, value of assets, and value of livestock); household incomes as well as human capital outcomes in some cropping seasons. In addition participating households also had much higher statistically significant fertilizer use prior to the implementation of the fertilizer subsidy program in the country; and statistically significant higher fertilizer use patterns for the first two cropping seasons following the implementation of the subsidy program. Participating households had greater linkages with the market economy which allowed them to take greater advantage of market incentives but which also made them more vulnerable to policy shocks. This study therefore shows that the analysis of the impacts of the paradigm shift in agricultural research towards an innovation system orientation cannot be contained at the household level, as this would lead to the formulation of inadequate policies that do not take into account the effects of greater market linkages of the rural households. Policy implications are that increasing production and productivity and linking farmers to markets may not in itself be enough for sustained livelihood improvement, as the resultant greater linkages to the market economy may be detrimental to household livelihood outcomes in the face of uncoordinated policies. In order for the paradigm shift in agricultural research towards an innovation systems perspective to be effective in sustaining an entrepreneurial culture in rural societies in Africa, there is need to foster the diversification out of agricultural enterprises for income, while supporting productivity improvements for food security. In addition any interventions should be implemented only after systematic analysis of the potential consequences of the resultant enhanced macro-micro linkages. This would help to ensure that there is no mismatch between policies and livelihood improvement strategies. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

In this study, three lines of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction and complaint behaviour research were integrated, namely the expectancy disconfirmation model (Churchill&Suprenant, 1982; Bearden&Teel, 1983) (satisfaction/dissatisfaction research), Weiner’s (1986) causal dimensions (attribution theory), and Day and Landon’s (1977) taxonomy of complaint behaviour Traditional thinking concerning the disconfirmation of expectations only recognises a direct link from disconfirmation to satisfaction/dissatisfaction. However, evidence suggests that the disconfirmation of expectations acts as an important causal agent for generating attributional processing. In a consumer behaviour context, the performance failure of major household appliances often brings about a causal search. Consumers' affective reactions (generated by their causal attributions and the underlying properties of locus, stability and controllability) and their expectations for future product failure were found to determine their complaint behaviour The unit of analysis for this study was consumers who had recently purchased major household appliances (within the prior four-year period) and who could recall an unsatisfactory experience concerning the performance of such appliance. Attributes for the demographic variables were: gender, age, level of education, level of income and culture. A convenience sampling technique was employed, with 216 respondents having completed a self-administered questionnaire. This study showed that consumers’ complaint behaviour concerning dissatisfactory major household appliances was directed by a combination of functional and symbolic performance failures. A profile of complainers engaging in private versus public complaint action in terms of differences in gender, age and level of education could not be determined. However, respondents’ race and household monthly income were important factors in their complaint behaviour. Relatively fewer formal complaints (i.e. complaints to retailers or manufacturers) were made than one would expect, based on the expressed levels of dissatisfaction. A large number of respondents engaged in a variety of “hidden” or indirect complaint activities such as adverse word-of-mouth marketing, boycotting the retailer and switching brands. The majority of the respondents avoided more formal complaint actions such as contacting a consumer protection organisation/department or writing a letter – activities which would require more effort and inconvenience. Irrespective of respondents' taking complaint action or not, they attributed the causes for product failure to the manufacturer, retailer or some outside agent in the situation. However, they seemed undecided about the stability and controllability dimensions for the causes of product failure in terms of their complaint action. Anger was a significant predictor of negative word-of-mouth. Deciding whether to take action or not appeared to be determined by consumers' perception of the severity of the product problem. Researchers can gain valuable insights into the reasons for consumers’ specific complaint behaviour by looking at the coping strategies (in terms of the related behaviours and cognitions) that consumers employ to reduce the stress caused by product failures. This study clearly has practical implications for manufacturers, retailers and policy makers. / Thesis (PhD (Interior Merchandise Management))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Consumer Science / unrestricted