South Africa has not yet become a nation united in its diversity despite the claim made otherwise in the South African constitution. To grapple with the constitution’s unfulfilled promises, many writers and artists from the country have taken up the incongruity between lived experience and nationalist rhetoric in their works. As part of that efforts by artists and writers in South Africa, Ivan Vladislavić’s 2006 book Portrait with Keys: The City of Johannesburg Unlocked describes the difficulties of living in a country that does not perfectly match the rhetoric of a nation “united in [its] diversity.” In order to expand on the theme in Portrait with Keys of incongruity between lived life and the national discourse, as well as between lived life and literary representations, it is imperative to identify the discourse surrounding the current situation in South Africa. In this analysis of Vladislavić’s book, the author will describe and decipher moments where the lived experience of residents in Johannesburg belies the inclusionary discourse of South Africa and the literary representation of other cities. After describing moments that highlight the lack of correspondence between life and word, the author will analyze the various strategies for coping with the incongruity in the book. By taking this route of analysis, the author intends to illuminate the South African phenomenon of incongruent experience (in which lived life, discourse, and representation do not correspond) and arrive at a reading of the incongruity in Vladislavić’s book that leaves room for hope. / text

The purpose with this thesis is to explore the urban landscape in post-apartheid Johannesburg, investigate the concept of the growing numbers of various types of urban villages and moreover look into the open urban village of Parkhurst. The main questions that are addressed in the thesis are: How would the urban landscape in post-apartheid Johannesburg be described and which types of urban villages can be identified? What would the residents in Parkhurst explain to be the reasons for living in an open urban village and what are their opinions on safety, public space and closed urban villages? Qualitative methods were used as in observation studies and inductive in-depth interviews during the field study in Parkhurst, Johannesburg. The study shows that the concept of urban villages can create both a negative spatial situation and a positive spatial situation – depending on the type of urban village. The thesis also shows that it is possible to feel safe living in a open urban village in a city with high crime and that thoughtful design and effective management of spaces in the city are essential factors that can prevent places from becoming ‘hot spots’ for crime.

The main aim of this study was to explore the extent of freedom or lack thereof in the relationships of HIV positive pregnant women and their partners. These women were attending antenatal care in two Soweto clinics, run by the Perinatal HIV Research Unit. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed and used as the data collection tool. A theoretical framework based on Amartya Sen's theory of Development as Freedom and Isabel Apawo Phiri's theological reflections on women's freedom, was used to analyze data collected from the participants of the study. The ideas of the two theorists complemented each other with regard to the sources of "unfreedom" for women from an economic point of view and from the cultural and religious points of view. Sen highlighted lack of basic freedoms and human rights as the core causes of lack of freedom, which is both a primary means and principal ends of development. Phiri advocated for the liberation of women from the oppressive cultural and religious practices brought about by patriarchy. Removal of all those key sources of unfreedom would provide an ideal situation in which women would be less vulnerable to HIV infection. The analysis of the participants' responses in this study suggested a lack of freedom in their relationships with the fathers of their unborn babies. This had an adverse effect in their ability to disclose their HIV positive status, negotiate safer sex and contraception. Economic dependency on the partners was found to be the major cornerstone that kept women in bondage in their relationships. The churches in Soweto did not seem to have any plausible impact in the lives of the participants and as a result all of them had very loose links with the church. This was another major gap in the initiatives to reduce HIV infection which challenges the churches in Soweto to strengthen their prophetic ministry in terms of women's freedom and their dignity both in the church and in society. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007

Although the Bible was brought to Africa by missionaries as part of the Western European colonial package deat Africans have claimed the book as their ownand have appropriated it from the perspective of their culture, world-view and life experience. It is as though Africans are asking, with the attendants in Jerusalem on Pentecost, "How is it that each of us hears [the wonders of God] in his own native language?" (Acts 2:8ff). In the midst of the stresses caused by poor working conditions, low wages and high cost of living, the African commuter-train worshipper has found the Bible to be an indispensable source of hope, and a source of life itself. In the morning, on the way to work, and in the evening on the way back home, the African commuter can still afford a smile as the Bible promises him/her solutions to all problems. When the problems seem insurmountable, the commuter finds solace in the Biblical beatitude "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20b). The commuter hears blessings pronounced on the hungry and the weeping in the Bible, and he is convinced that these blessings are pronounced on him too. The Bible is an indispensable tool in the hands of the African commuter-train worshipper, who interprets it and appropriates its message in a liberating manner, which the western mind sometimes cannot make sense of. The Bible remains the one book that gives dignity to all the commuter-train worshippers who live in squatter camps and sprawling townships, as it banishes all social inequalities. This study is about the way in which the African commuter-train worshippers read and interpret the Bible. The commuter's use of the Bible is placed within the context of the conventional African Biblical hermeneutical field. The commuter is recognized as an ordinary (untrained) reader whose contribution is highly valued by this author. This piece of work is a modest attempt at bringing to light the emerging phenomenon of commuter reading of the Bible, with the hope that Biblical scholars will take note of this rising phenomenon and give it the attention it deserves. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

The foreign exchange market plays an important role in global finance, as it is considered to be among the largest financial markets in the world because of the significant amount of money involved in the foreign exchange market's transactions. Economic theories show that the exchange rate market may interact with the stock market index, but empirical studies on the interaction between the exchange rate market and the stock market index produced mixed results. Thus there is no empirical agreement regarding the interactions between the stock prices and exchange rate. This study examined the interaction between the real exchange rate and the stock market index in South Africa, with the aim of identifying the effect of exchange rate shocks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). It establishes the direction of causality between the stock market index and the real exchange rate; identifies the long-run and short-run relationships between the South African stock market and the exchange rate and determines the response of the South African stock market to different exchange rate regimes from 1978 to 2008. This study used different econometrics models, including descriptive statistics analysis, Engle-Granger cointegration approach, Error Correction Model and a Granger-Causality test. Variables used in this study include the real values of the JSE all share index and the real exchange rate series (the Rand/U.S. dollar exchange rate) from January 1978 to December 2008. The stock market index responded to changes in exchange rate regimes. Although the response tended to be slightly stronger during the period of the free floating exchange rate, correlation coefficients were insignificant in both fixed and flexible exchange rate regimes. A negative long-run relationship between the real exchange rate and the stock market index was found. The short-run results established that changes in the real exchange rate have no impact on the real stock market index. Granger-Causality tests indicated that there is a bidirectional causal relationship between the South African stock market index and the Rand/U.S. dollar exchange rate. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

With documented declines in the biophysical state of the planet, there is an increasing need to develop good environmental management tools to measure sustainability. Some of the traditional environmental management tools that are currently in use, such as Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) do not adequately quantify sustainability for large events such as conferences, rock concerts and sporting events. In this research, Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is considered as a tool for assessing the sustainability of a large event, viz. the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The WSSD, a follow-up to the 1992 United Nations' Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), was held from 26 August to 4 September 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the largest event of its kind in the world, with 80 635 registered' (mostly international) delegates attending. EFA can be considered as a tool to measure sustainability that converts consumption and waste production into units of equivalent land area. Based on the reality of biophysical limits to growth, and presenting. data in an aggregated, quantifiable, yet easily comprehensible form, EFA is also a . useful tool for environmental policy and management. EFA has typically been applied at national and regional levels,as well. as in the assessment of technology. The application of the ecological footprint (EF) concept to a conference is the first of its kind undertaken. The case study shows conferences to be net importers of consumption items and thus dependent on a vast external environment. The EFA highlights those areas of consumption which constitute the largest part of the footprint and thus provides an opportunity for targeting those areas for proactive management. EFA for a conference clearly identifies that a reduced ecological footprint would mean a movement towards strong sustainability. Due to the vast resources consumed during a conference over a short period of time, initial observations and results show that conferences are ecologically unsustainable. In estimating the EF of the WSSD, data were obtained on the following items: carbon emissions from electricity usage for the WSSD by conference venues and accommodation; carbon emissions from air and road transport used by delegates; total water consumed during the WSSD; catchment size required to cater for the volumes of water consumed; carbon emissions from the waste generated; and carbon emissions from volumes of paper used during the WSSD. Data were sourced from various reports and service providers in the Johannesburg area. The total partial EF of the WSSD was the sum of the sub-component footprints of electricity, transport, water, waste and paper. The EF of the WSSD was 2 522.08 ha, comprising an electricity EF of 93.03 ha, transport EF of 1002.86 ha, water EF of 1 406.l4ha, waste EF of 0.45 ha and a paper EF of 19.60 ha. The footprint is 1.72% of the area of Johannesburg and 0.15% of Gauteng, but less than 0.01% the area of South Africa. The per capita EF of the WSSD was 0.03 ha, compared with South Africa's per capita EF of 4.02ha. A number of recommendations are made for the reduction of the EF of large events such as the WSSD, and hence reducing their contribution to environmental degradation. Recommendations include the wider use and application of the EF concept, at the institutional and govemmental level. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban, 2004.

The introduction of the Capital Asset Pricing Model in 1964, and its subsequent study by hundreds of thousands if not millions of people at universities throughout the world, has had far reaching consequences in terms of the way portfolios were constructed for many insurance and pension funds. It has affected the investment philosophies of large numbers of investors as well as influenced the calculations of firms costs of capital. Countless investment proposals have been accepted or rejected based on what the Capital Asset Pricing model has calculated the minimum return demanded by shareholders to be. This dissertation looks at the empirical evidence supporting the debate about the usefulness of the Capital Asset Pricing model, as well as presenting evidence as to any possible anomalies to this model on the JSE. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The theory behind the efficient market hypothesis exerts that it is not possible to consistently outperform the overall stock market by using stock picking and market timing strategies. The argument holds that, in an efficient market, all stock prices are appropriately priced and there is no over- or undervalued stocks to be found. Nevertheless, deviations from true stock prices can occur according to the hypothesis, although these deviations are mostly random occurrences. Thus, the only way an investor can outperform the overall stock market is by luck alone. However, the efficient market hypothesis is a controversial topic where it is often discussed within modern financial circles where academic theory has strong arguments both for and against the theory. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether it is feasible to outperform the overall stock market through investing in stocks that appear undervalued according to enterprise multiple (EV/EBITDA) and the price-earnings ratio. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

Director interlocks have concerned shareholders, the public and legislators since the early 1900’s. In 1914 the Clayton Act prohibited interlocking directorates among competing corporations in the USA. Research has been performed since the 1930’s covering stock exchanges around the world, however very little information was available concerning director interlocks in South Africa. This paper analysed interlocking directorships of the Top 40 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange using key metrics as per Newman and Conyon’s Small World theory, comparing the results to research on Italian, French, German, UK and US companies performed in 2008 by Santella, Drago, Polo and Gagliardi. South Africa was found to be closest to Italy, between the low density models (UK and US) and the significantly higher density models (Germany and France), suggesting that rather than just the two camps, there is a continuum currently reflected as the UK, US, South Africa, Italy, France and Germany. The presence of directors with multiple directorships and having significant influence in the network suggests systemic collusion is possible. Analysis performed on the composition of JSE boards showed that many of the King III Code requirements (presence of Non-Executive Directors, split of Chairman from Chief Executive amongst others) are met while some, such as the annual rotation of one third of directors and the independence of directors is problematic. There is still much that can be learned through enhancing the research coverage to provide a factual basis for understanding the impact of legislation and governance codes on the South African network, as well as to perform holistic research covering the combined network formed by board on exchanges across the globe. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The Department of Correctional Services (Johannesburg Management Area) is established in the South of Johannesburg in Gauteng Province. It was founded in 1982. According to the Annual Report of the Department of Correctional Services 2009, the institution was initially developed to house 2630 offenders. Presently it accommodates 10130 offenders. These offenders are dependent on the number of facilities and officials for rehabilitation purpose. The discrepancy in the number of officials to that of offenders is a challenge within the Department of Correctional Services with regard to skills development. The study was based on the hypothesis that “effective implementation of skills development within Johannesburg Management Area may lead to a successful social reintegration of offenders”. The empirical research was conducted to support the hypothesis. Questionnaire was distributed and interviews were conducted to obtain responses. the findings reveal that offenders who are skilled are easy to be reintegrated and at the same time skilled officials are able to play a vital role in facilitating the social reintegration of offenders Study further reveals that skilled officials are able to network on behalf of offenders with ease and are able to increase job opportunities for offenders who are already on social reintegration programme. The study recommends that the Johannesburg Management area need to restructure its human resource development office, ensure that experienced and qualified facilitators are employed. Each correctional centre should have qualified facilitators who are experienced in adult education to skill offenders in various areas of development. The study leaves a scope for future research stating that Department of Correctional Services do further analysis on skills development and Social reintegration of offenders nationally to find a common and standard approach that will assist in the full reintegration of offenders / M, Development and Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011