This dissertation looks at the possibility of using a development, like a retirement village, to stimulate the economic development of small towns. Following on from this, the question of whether or not a retirement village could be used as a model for Local Economic Development (LED) of small towns is also explored. The case study chosen, is that of the small town ofHowick (situated in the Midlands ofKwaZulu-Natal) and Amberfield Retirement Village which is located there. The study examines the economic impact that Amberfield Retirement Village has had on the small town ofHowick, as well as le>oking at the extent to which its success is locationally specific (and what implications this wou}d have in terms of replicating the retirement village). The findings of the study reveal that Amberfield Retirement Village has had a significant impact on Howick, especially in terms ofthe linkages it creates and the large injection of capital that it brought to the small town. The unique locational aspects and specificity of both Howick and Amberfield Retirement Village also form part of the findings of the study, and which affect the conclusion drawn in terms ofthe replicability ofthe retirement village. It is concluded that the retirement village could be used as a model for LED of other small towns, however, the location and the setting of the retirement village are all important. / Thesis (M.T.R.P.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1997.

Midmar is built on the Umgeni River, KwaZulu-Natal and is 1060m above sea level. The river starts as a small stream in Loteni and has a total catchment area of 906 square kilometres and an annual rainfall of 1016 mm. Midmar provides a multitude of benefits classified as either onsite use benefits or non-use benefits. This dissertation focuses on environmental economics and is concerned with assigning a monetary value to a given environmental good, namely, recreation at Midmar. This entails estimation of the demand curve for recreation at Midmar, and using this curve, establishing the consumer surplus attached to Midmar. The Individual Travel Cost method is used to investigate the nature of recreational demand at Midmar and essentially, measures the economic value of recreation use here. In addition, an examination as to whether consumers enjoy any consumer surplus associated with recreational demand is undertaken. The survey undertaken concludes that recreational visitors to Midmar enjoy a consumer surplus of approximately R71 per visit. Total consumer surplus for Midmar during 1999 was estimated to be R4.9 million. This suggests that the actual price paid by visitors to Midmar understates the true value attached to such a visit and hence, park management needs to be aware of this. Finally, this dissertation emphasizes the importance and potential use of research such as this which could assist and guide future planning and decision making in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Comm.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.

M.Sc. / The location of a solid waste landfill site is not only determined by the need of the local population of an area but also by minimum requirements imposed by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. These minimum requirements act as a method of environmental protection against pollution caused by landfill sites. The objective of this study is to explore the utilization of a geographical information system as an aid in selecting the best possible location for a new solid waste dumping site. It is possible to determine the most appropriate location for such a new waste dumping site by using the minimum requirements set forward by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry as guidelines in the site selection process. The minimum requirements can be used to eliminate all those places that do not meet the necessary requirements. The remaining areas can all be considered as potential sites and must be investigated personally by the people responsible, in the local government. A need for a regional solid waste landfill site in the area of Howick, Hilton and Mpopomeni in the KwaZulu/Natal Midlands was identified and used as the basis for this study.

This thesis contributes to the literature on the French Catholic Marist mission in New Zealand by providing the first critical in-depth biography of one of the early French missionaries, Antoine Marie Garin (1810-1889). It emphasises the importance of the Marists’ position as outsiders in nineteenth-century New Zealand society. As neither ‘colonising’ British settlers, nor ‘colonised’ Maori, the Marists were in a special position to view events unfolding in the mid-nineteenth century, when New Zealand was changing from a Maori-dominated to a predominantly Pakeha-dominated world. The records which the Marists kept of their experiences, including diaries, letters, memoirs and annals, have the potential to provide a significant contribution to New Zealand historiography, and remain relatively untapped. As a biographical study, this thesis uses the framework of Garin’s life story to add insight to the intercultural dynamic in nineteenth-century New Zealand. The thesis begins with an exposé of the theory used to examine the intercultural dimension in Garin’s experience. Garin’s life in New Zealand was a tale of cross-cultural encounter occurring within two cultural-social paradigms: the Maori-Pakeha paradigm, and the Catholic-Protestant settler paradigm. With respect to the Maori-Pakeha paradigm, it is argued that Homi K. Bhabha’s theory of hybridity provides an innovative framework within which to study early interaction between Maori and Pakeha. The concept of hybridity stresses the interdependence of coloniser and colonised, thereby recognising the existence of agency on both sides, and avoiding the binary opposition of ‘Maori’ and ‘Pakeha’ that continues to mark contemporary New Zealand society. Another postcolonial theory, that of diaspora, is used to illuminate Garin’s experience in settler communities. It is argued that religion can be the basis for a diaspora, and that the Catholics in nineteenth-century New Zealand had a diasporic consciousness because of their creation of separate Catholic institutions, and their connections to the wider Catholic world. Part Two of the thesis consists of the biography proper. It is framed as a cultural biography: a biography that seeks to illuminate not only the subject’s life, but also national history. Garin was a grassroots Catholic missionary, who, through talent, perseverance and a little luck, made a notable impact on New Zealand society, in particular in the area of Catholic education. However, even more important to his story was his ability to build bridges between cultures, and create communities of Maori and settler Catholics. Arguably, Garin’s greatest legacy is the diary that he kept while a missionary to Maori. This documents the everyday border crossing that was taking place between the Maori of Mangakahia and Garin himself in the hybrid society of 1840s’ New Zealand.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1970.