M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The absence of a father in family life is an occurrence which is experienced in almost every family. The absent-father refers to the father who, as a result of certain circumstances, cannot properly fulfill his role as father in the family circle. It appears that this phenomenon is gradually on the increase and it is apparent that parents increasingly feel the necessity to obtain guidance in respect of this particular problem. Several factors contribute towards the phenomenon of father-absence. The most general reason for this occurrence is the father's responsibility towards his occupation. The absent-father could also create the image of a father being physically present yet being psychologically absent. In this script an endeavour has been made to grasp the phenomenon of fatherly absence and the influence it could possibly have on a child. The purpose of this study is to determine, in the light of certain studies of literature and empirical research, the influence the fatherly absence has on a child. The purpose of this exercise is dual. Firstly it entails a literature study and secondly an empirical research. A relevant critical survey has been conducted in respect of the role the father plays in the family and in particular with special reference to the differential role of the father in the life of the son and daughter. The study of relevant literature further entails a critical study of fatherly absence and the influence it could have on the son and daughter.

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Tertiary Didactics) / In the Republic of South Africa (RSA) the high failure rate among first-year students, in particular, and the fact that more and more students are streaming to the universities, have dramatically increased the cost of a university education. The failure of a first-year student is a financial burden that the universities cannot afford. A first-year student who has failed has a negative attitude towards further study at any tertiary institution, leading to the loss to our country of the manpower we need for technological advancement. ..

This document is submitted in fulfilment for the degree: This document is submitted in fulfilment of the degree : Master of Architecture (Professional) at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa in the year 2013. in the year 2013 / Fire is part of our everyday life. As the relationship between man and fire grows, so does the danger of using it. In South Africa, the power of fire is unfortunately and commonly underestimated, resulting in more victims falling prey to the fire fiend. Facilities that provide specialized treatment for burn victims are limited. This includes treatment of the burn wound (cloned skin) and latent rehabilitation using physical and psychological therapy. The design of a building specialized for the needs of burn victims has been proposed. The facility will be mixed use and multi-functional: it will be a 2-part building consisting of a Skin Cloning Laboratory and a Rehabilitation Centre in Johannesburg. The site selected is located behind the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital (Joburg Gen). The site was chosen for its views, hospital connection and relationship to the Wits University Medical Faculty. The organic design was derived from the concept of “skin and the landscape”. The facade depicts the “element of water” and grows out of the excavated rock face wall.

Student Number : 9907324E - MSc research report - School of Architecture - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / This dissertation explores poverty in the inner city of Johannesburg. The World Bank perspectives on describing poverty have been adopted as a theoretical framework for understanding poverty in the inner city. The report looks at the local government’s planning framework for the inner city, and through Flyvberg’s theory of power and rationality, critically assess the potential of the RSDF to alleviate poverty in the inner city. Through Healey’s collaborative planning theory, the dissertation looks at possibility of improving poverty alleviation in the inner City of Johannesburg. Views were obtained from planning officials and community based organisations engaged in development of the poor. Additionally, statistical information from census 1996 and 2001 provide the reader with concrete figures on poverty in the inner city of Johannesburg.

The population of the city of Gauteng is expected to double by 2055 (Landau and Gindrey, 2008), which in turn is expected to exacerbate the effects of climate change within the city of Johannesburg. As pressure from the growing population and climate change mounts, existing open space will have to be assessed and its value will determine its function on a natural, social and economic level. This thesis explores the distinct spatial condition of the Johannesburg ridge as a contested landscape of sensitive ecologies and cultures. These remaining fragments of ecological infrastructures within the city can manifest spaces of encounters and introduce a discussion about climate change and the future. This dissertation investigates architecture’s mediating role in the contested landscapes, both physical and psychological. In terms of the physical landscape, any architectural interventions erected on the ridge would need to act as a mediator between the sensitive ridge ecology and the temporality of its diverse multicultural user composition. Design spaces and their proposed uses would need to work towards promoting a successful balance between different modes of knowledge. I propose a research institute located on the Melville Koppies West (MKW) ridge that will provide an interface between science and society that is accessible to the public. For the purpose of this dissertation I will call the research institute the Johannesburg Climate Change Observatory (JCCO). By creating a platform where different constituencies can overlap, new meanings can be negotiated and a cross-pollination of knowledge can thrive. I have studied the contested landscape extensively and have documented my observations through a series of interviews, photographs, mappings, sketches and physical models. The general consensus in the scientific community is that if we do not change the way we think about climate change by the year 2045 we will reach a point of no return for our planet. The JCCO is constructed to be dismantled because of the sensitive nature of the site and as a commentary on the nature of climate change. The intervention then becomes an extension of the site, improving ecological function and extending the existing sacred landscape. This in turn preserves the evolving palimpsest that is the Melville Koppies. As climate change affects communities all over the world the JCCO will become a critical intervention against entrenched practices that are contributing to climate change. It is a building typology that has been constructed through understanding the social dimensions of a physical phenomenon in a particular place, and is one that should be considered everywhere as each intervention of this nature needs to emerge from a similarly meaningful understanding relevant to the dynamics of different sites. The MKW presents a unique opportunity to preserve an ancient ecological landscape, to maintain an active cultural landscape, and at the same time, by respecting both, to create a new space that could give rise to new ideas and paradigms that in turn will lead to the transformative change required to address climate change.

A research report approved by the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment of the University of Witwatersrand for the degree of Master of the Built Environment in housing / In post-apartheid South Africa, the delivery of low-income housing has been occurring at unprecedented rates since 1994. This means that more and more poor households are gaining access to secure tenure on progressive basis. Unfortunately the new low-income housing townships are often established on cheap peripheral land, adjacent or far beyond the existing apartheid townships. The widespread growth of informal settlements in urban areas has also been occurring at higher rates following the repeal of apartheid laws which restricted rural-urban migration. The growth of informal settlements is nothing but a precise indication of poverty and the desire of the poor to gain access to employment opportunities. However, the link between employment opportunities and home is often provided by transport. Travelling demands money which most of the urban poor rarely have. For the poor, proximity to areas of employment opportunities is key to surviving in urban areas. The consequence of this arrangement is the establishment of informal settlements near places of employment as a way of escaping the cost of transport. Yet the upgrading of well-located informal settlements has not been a preferred and popular strategy for the post-apartheid government as a mechanism for promoting access to opportunities. Instead the focus has largely been on providing access to individual tenure through the delivery of the free-standing housing units on the periphery where land is relatively cheap to accommodate large scale housing delivery. Is this the only factor which had motivated the rural poor to migrate to urban areas in the first place? Which matters most for the urban poor? Is it access to subsidised housing in the urban area only or is the latter. Perhaps it is a combination of both factors. To provide answers to the foregoing questions, the researcher resolved to pose two guiding questions to focus the investigation: What are the effects of relocation to the periphery on household livelihoods and how do relocated households make a living on the periphery....what sort of coping mechanisms are adopted to survive in remote, isolated, low density and sprawling low-income Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) townships of the post-apartheid South Africa? The research uses Diepsloot as a case study area because it presents all the necessary traits of a typical post-apartheid South African low-income township which had been used as a northern Johannesburg relocation site. The findings of the research suggest that the only major positive impact which result from relocation, is access to secure tenure while the major negative impact, is the poor location of Diepsloot in relation to major employment opportunities. This finding correlates with the existing literature and the hypothesis of the study.

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2015 / This thesis explores the concept of social and cultural inclusivity and urban regeneration through a brewpub that celebrates South Africa’s rich drinking history. Growing up in a household where alcohol has been viewed as a negative factor that can actually destroy the family, I have always wanted to know if it could in fact ignite some positivity in the lives of society. Common social perception dictates our individual views and opinions on alcohol, and these perceptions sometimes differ from society to society, and from culture to culture. The history of beer is deep rooted in the soil of South Africa: from the traditional African beer makers who practiced ritual through their craft; to the notorious beer halls that were described as ‘drinking cages’ by the mine workers of Johannesburg. Today, the act of drinking beer is shared across multiple social spectrums – from the regular shebeen patrons to the trendy hipsters that crawl the city. Can these various social groups interact together over the common act of enjoying a beer with friends? Can a multi-cultural brewery overcome the many issues that occur within our diverse city? The three themes of health and morality, sociability, and state and nation, as suggested by Mack P. Holt in the book Alcohol: a social and cultural history, are the analytical tools that have been used to dissect the interesting body that is society and drinking. Ultimately, it is the understanding of these different aspects of consumption that has led me to the design of a new hybrid drinking establishment that could benefit the community in which it is situated. On a site known as the gateway to the Maboneng Precinct, the brewery houses all the functions necessary for the production of beer as well as a restaurant, coffee shop, curio shop, offices and a small learning centre. The brewery also offers the opportunity for aspiring brewers to occupy a brew lab and test their brewing skills on the market. The main patrons include the visitors of Arts on Main, residents in the area, Ellis Park spectators, students from the Doornfontein campus as well as people from many other walks of life. Hagaman says that beer holds a place “[…] in the total socioeconomic and ritual life of its brewers and drinkers,” and only once we learn from the past, take notes from the unknown and allow inevitable changes to happen, can such a place truly feel welcome and open for all. / EM2017

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Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / The capital structure theory was pioneered by Modigliani and Miller (1958). In their study, Modigliani and Miller (1958) argued that capital structure was irrelevant to firm value. There is also significant theory on the capital structure of firms and its determinants. Using a panel of non-financial firms listed on the JSE Securities Exchange, we investigate the relevance of capital structure on firm value and investigate the capital structure of firms in South Africa. The results of the analysis on the relevance of capital structure on firm value indicated that there is no statistically significant relationship between firm value and the capital structure of firms. This analysis was conducted for the general sample of firms in the study, within industries and by firm size, however, the results were consistent throughout all the analysis. The results of the capital structure and its determinants analysis indicated that South African firms followed a pecking order theory. The results also indicated that profitability, size, asset tangibility and tax shield has a statistically significant relationship to gearing or the firm’s capital structure. The analysis of the South African firms’ capital structure indicated that firms in South Africa tend to use more long-term debt than short-term debt. The leverage ratios also differed among industries with the Health care industry having the highest levels of leverage and the Technology industry having the lowest levels of leverage.