Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The central theme of the study is whether deliberate actions to realise aspirations can and would be likely to increase capabilities amongst the poor, and whether such attempts might reduce poverty. Capabilities are seen here as real opportunity sets which people can use to achieve what they want to be or do (Sen, 1990:43-44). In addition Amartya Sen also emphasises the important role of agency in the achievement of capabilities (Sen, 1985). The relationship between aspirations, agency and capabilities is therefore explored, with emphasis on whether people can escape a potential poverty trap by deliberate and focused use of agency. I also ask what role structural opportunities and constraints play in this process.The study has been largely inspired by the idea of Arjun Appadurai (2004) that the poor might be constrained in their efforts to escape poverty because they lack the capacity to aspire, as they might have been socialised to accept that their aspirations would not be realisable. This idea was tested in a five year action research programme in Site C, Khayelitsha, near Cape Town. The dissertation offers an analysis of the programme in which a group of women was assisted in voicing their aspirations and subsequently worked on the realisation of these aspirations with a limited amount of support and facilitation by the researcher. Although many papers have been written on the social and economic implications of Appadurai’s idea, both within and external to the human development approach, the practical implementation of the idea in a project seems to be novel. The analysis of aspirations and capabilities is contextualised in the dissertation. The history and migration of the participating women show how their lives have been shaped by colonialism, apartheid, and their own cultural practices. This is followed by a discussion of the literature which informs the research and the analysis. The capability approach is discussed with particular reference to its conceptual tools, and the differences in the approaches of Sen and Nussbaum are briefly described. I review the ways in which capabilities are generally measured, and discuss the perspectives of different authors on individualism in the approach. Adaptation and agency as seen from the perspective of the capability approach provide important conceptual material for the analysis in a later chapter. A number of studies which assessed capabilities by qualitative means are then briefly reviewed, and these again provide background information for the analysis of the Khayelitsha study. The study on the use of agency in the capability approach reveals that there are lacunae, which could possibly be addressed by amplification from other disciplines. With this in mind agency is further explored in different disciplines – economics, psychology and social theory. Particular attention is given to three classical theorists of agency, Giddens, Bourdieu and Habermas, but the work of Archer, Latour, Long and Joas is also reviewed. I then recommend that the capability approach would benefit from a hermeneutical analysis of agency, and indicate specific elements which I think can be brought forward into such an extension. The literature review also includes a section on aspirations, which takes account of the conceptual relationship between aspirations, agency and capabilities. The empirical material is introduced under the umbrella of an action research programme which spanned a five year period. As part of this programme there was a household survey to obtain benchmark data. This was followed by the presentation of a life skills course based on Participatory Action Research or PRA methods. Between late 2006 and 2010 the women implemented their decisions, and their actions were observed. The main research process during this phase was an ethno-methodological study of the participating women. During this phase a number of life histories were recorded and I also conducted a set of individual interviews which focussed on individual agency. In 2010 I assessed the women’s increase in functionings and capabilities by taking note of actions taken towards achieving their aspirations, and in 2012 I recorded seven interviews on the rural-urban dynamics in their lives. The main findings of the household survey are given in a separate chapter on research findings. The different recordings of the aspirations the women articulated, and how these changed, are also recorded in the chapter on findings. The analysis of the respondents’ increase in functionings and capabilities is done with reference to an adaptation of a diagram published by Robeyns (2005:98), which visualises the essential conceptual parts of the capability approach. I adapt the diagram for a specific social context, for aspiration formulation, for agency assessment, and for the assessment of increased capabilities. In a second analysis chapter I do a hermeneutic agency analysis of six of the participating women in the context of the capability approach, asking whether the pursuit of their aspirations had been agency-unlocking. This is followed by a concluding chapter.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / This study investigated the factors inhibiting learners from low socio- economic backgrounds from accessing higher education. The intention to investigate and identify these inhibiting factors was motivated by the growing body of evidence that suggests that there is a correlation between poverty and lack of education. The aim of the study was to investigate which pre-university factors have the most inhibiting impact on learners from low socio-economic backgrounds. The objective was to identify these factors in order to find ways in which they could be overcome and/or prevented. It was argued that, if the impact of the inhibiting factors could be minimised or eliminated, more learners would be able to access higher education successfully. The theoretical framework used in the study was based on Sen’s Capabilities approach. The list of capabilities applied to analyse the data were education and skill, economic resources, employment and working conditions, housing, and family and social integration. The study was positioned within a qualitative, interpretive research paradigm and used a case study design. The research site was a high school in Khayelitsha near Cape Town. Research participants were purposively selected and consisted of a total of twenty-nine learners from across Grade 10, 11 and 12, as well as three educators.The study used multiple sources of data instruments: secondary data (statistics and other census information about Khayelitsha), the participants’ June 2014 progress reports, a demographic information sheet, a reflective questionnaire and three focus group interviews (one per Grade).Content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data through a three-stage open coding process. The list of inhibiting factors discussed in the literature, namely poor schooling, a lack of financial means, a lack of knowledge and information, and socio cultural factors was indeed confirmed by the data collected in this study. Other factors emerged from the data and these were regarded as new knowledge that this study contributes towards the body of knowledge. Lastly, the findings suggest that the inhibiting factor which had the greatest impact on learners from low socio-economic backgroundswas a lack of knowledge and information because this factor negatively impacted on all the capabilities listed above. Based on these findings, recommendations were proposed for the parents and community, school and educators, the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and for higher education institutions.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / In this mini-thesis I explore the connection between women in the community and women leaders specifically in the Site B Section of Khayelitsha. I investigate amongst other, the social, environmental and economic challenges that women face. I explore feminism and patriarchy in order to better understand the women of Khayelitsha. In order to explore the study appropriately it was important to group the women separately in the qualitative interviews. There were two groups; the first group was women from the community where we discussed their experiences in their community. The second group comprised of women leaders (in local structures such as street committees, the Khayelitsha Development Forum, and political party counsellors) in the area. These women have rather unique experiences and that is an aspect that was critically explored. I then argued how safety and security affects women and their quality of life. The results from the in-depth interviews showed in many instances a close correlation with the literature on the topic. At the same time, the analysis of the interviews and responses to the questions also indicate additional dimensions of experiential meaning that can be ascribed to the in-depth exploration of the existential situation of women in South African society and the various challenges they experience. This was especially true of the B Section area in Khayelitsha, which was selected for investigation and from which the interviewees were drawn.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Small, Medium and Micro enterprise (SMME) development was identified by the South African government as a priority for creating jobs to solve the problem of the high unemployment rate in South Africa. The government focused primarily on SMMEs in previously disadvantaged communities. SMME training can be approached from different angles. The main areas of concern are: • Business skills training o Covers all the conventional management training areas in a business • Technical skills training o Addresses the ability to use knowledge or techniques of a particular discipline to attain certain ends • Entrepreneurial skills training o Involves the birth and growth of a business enterprise and includes, among other entrepreneurial traits, creativity and innovation, risk propensity and need for achievement. If small business owners are not in a large team environment, with colleagues to offer advice and tasks being covered by people with different strengths, then it is hardly surprising that they make wrong moves in business. This supports the idea that learning from the real experience of a mentor who has been in business proves to be an effective training model for the SMME environment. A number of initiatives are aimed at building the capacity of small business owners in the Western Cape, South Africa. This study will focus on a new initiative presented by the Small Business Academy (SBA) at the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB). This initiative is an entrepreneurial development programme for small business owners from Khayelitsha, combining an academic training programme with a mentoring programme in one single development programme. The programme was a pilot programme and needed to be evaluated throughout the process. The aim of the study was to evaluate the pilot programme in terms of the selection of participants and mentors, the academic training programme and the mentoring journey. The study proves to highlight the successes of the programme as well as adjustments needed to improve its effectiveness. The evaluation of the programme was crucial for the following critical reasons: • To ensure success and growth of the programme and its expansion to other parts of South Africa and Africa in the future.• To ensure future funding for the programme, as it is at present subsidised by the USB and corporate sponsorships. • To ensure the necessary adjustments to the programme in order to improve its effectiveness. Key findings of the programme were that the pilot programme was extremely successful in all three aspects evaluated. The best of the best were selected, the participants excelled academically and the programme achieved a graduation rate of sixty seven per cent. The mentoring journey had an immense impact on the participants’ view of approaching their way of doing business.

<p>In this report, housing development and perticipation of communities are examined. Although houses have been build in certain areas of Khayelitsha , there is a slow delivery and there is a lack of public involvement in housing programme to decide about the future of the community. In order for any development to be sustainable it must be driven by affected people with a sense of ownership being engendered to them. This holistic approach for housing development is in line up with the current government policy on the matter.</p>

The study seeked to investigate an evaluation of the effects of poverty in Khayelitsha Site C. Poverty in this area has manifested in the conditions people live under and the social effects of such conditions in the life of Site C residents was assessed in terms of/or in relation to the following: levels of infant mortality / level of malnutrition / rate of school drop out due to lack of food and other resources / high level of alcohol abuse / lack of basic services and the shortage of toilets etc.

The study seeked to investigate an evaluation of the effects of poverty in Khayelitsha Site C. Poverty in this area has manifested in the conditions people live under and the social effects of such conditions in the life of Site C residents was assessed in terms of/or in relation to the following: levels of infant mortality / level of malnutrition / rate of school drop out due to lack of food and other resources / high level of alcohol abuse / lack of basic services and the shortage of toilets etc.

<p>In this report, housing development and perticipation of communities are examined. Although houses have been build in certain areas of Khayelitsha , there is a slow delivery and there is a lack of public involvement in housing programme to decide about the future of the community. In order for any development to be sustainable it must be driven by affected people with a sense of ownership being engendered to them. This holistic approach for housing development is in line up with the current government policy on the matter.</p>

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Sharp divisions featured between curative and preventative health care in the Public Health Services of South Africa before the democratisation process. There was fragmentation in authority structures and inequalities between urban and rural areas as well as along racial lines. This resulted in a situation where there was duplication and inequality in the distribution of resources amongst the different levels of health care which led to costly inefficient and ineffective health services. The introduction of the White Paper Towards the Transformation of Health System in South Africa in 1997, aims at the restructuring of health services towards a unified health system which is capable of delivering quality health care to all in a caring environment. The District Health System (DHS) is featured as the key to ensuring decentralised, equitable Primary Health Care (PHC) to all the citizens of South Africa. This study looks at the reorganisation of health services in the clinics and the day hospitals which are rendered by the Health Department of The City of Tygerberg and the Community Health Service Organisation (CHSO) of the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape(P AWC) in Khayelitsha with the aim of achieving comprehensive PHC services. Inthe absence of legislation for the integration of health services, initiatives for the achievement of quality comprehensive PHC within the district are envisaged. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Openbare Gesondheidsdienste in Suid Afrika was voor die demokratieseringsproses gekenmerk deur 'n skeidig tussen kuratiewe en voorkomende gesondheidsdienste. Daar was fragmentasie van bestuurstrukture, ongelykheid tussen stedelike en landelike gebiede asook ongelykheid op grond van ras. Dit het gelei tot duplisering van, en ongelykheid in, die verspreiding van hulpbronne op die verskillende vlakke van gesondheidssorg. Die Witskrif op die Transformasie van Gesondheidstelsels in Suid-Afrika, 1997, fokus op die herstrukturering van gesondheidsdienste en het 'n verenigde gesondheidstelsel ten doel wat daartoe in staat is om gehalte gesondheidsorg in 'n sorgsame omgewing aan almal te lewer. Die Distriksgesondheidstelsel (DGS) word gekenmerk deur gedesentraliseerde, gelykmatige Primêre Gesondheidsorg (PGS) dienslewering aan al die inwoners van Suid-Afrika. Hierdie studie kyk na die herorganisering van gesondheidsdienste wat deur die gesondheidsdepartement van die Stad Tygerberg en die Gemeenskapsgesondheidsdiens organisasie van die Provinsiale Administrasie van die Wes-Kaap (PAWK) in die klinieke en daghospitale in Khayelitsha gelewer word met die doel om omvattende Primêre Gesondheidsorgdienste te voorsien. Weens die afwesigheid van wetgewing vir die integrasie van gesondheidsdienste word inisiatiwe vir die bereiking van gehalte omvattende Primêre Gesondheidsorg binne die distrik beoog.

The central theme of the study is whether deliberate actions to realise aspirations can and would be likely to increase capabilities amongst the poor, and whether such attempts might reduce poverty. Capabilities are seen here as real opportunity sets which people can use to achieve what they want to be or do (Sen, 1990:43-44). In addition Amartya Sen also emphasises the important role of agency in the achievement of capabilities (Sen, 1985). The relationship between aspirations, agency and capabilities is therefore explored, with emphasis on whether people can escape a potential poverty trap by deliberate and focused use of agency. I also ask what role structural opportunities and constraints play in this process. The study has been largely inspired by the idea of Arjun Appadurai (2004) that the poor might be constrained in their efforts to escape poverty because they lack the capacity to aspire, as they might have been socialised to accept that their aspirations would not be realisable. This idea was tested in a five year action research programme in Site C, Khayelitsha, near Cape Town. The dissertation offers an analysis of the programme in which a group of women was assisted in voicing their aspirations and subsequently worked on the realisation of these aspirations with a limited amount of support and facilitation by the researcher. Although many papers have been written on the social and economic implications of Appadurai’s idea, both within and external to the human development approach, the practical implementation of the idea in a project seems to be novel. The analysis of aspirations and capabilities is contextualised in the dissertation. The history and migration of the participating women show how their lives have been shaped by colonialism, apartheid, and their own cultural practices. This is followed by a discussion of the literature which informs the research and the analysis. The capability approach is discussed with particular reference to its conceptual tools, and the differences in the approaches of Sen and Nussbaum are briefly described. I review the ways in which capabilities are generally measured, and discuss the perspectives of different authors on individualism in the approach. Adaptation and agency as seen from the perspective of the capability approach provide important conceptual material for the analysis in a later chapter. A number of studies which assessed capabilities by qualitative means are then briefly reviewed, and these again provide background information for the analysis of the Khayelitsha study. The study on the use of agency in the capability approach reveals that there are lacunae, which could possibly be addressed by amplification from other disciplines. With this in mind agency is further explored in different disciplines – economics, psychology and social theory. Particular attention is given to three classical theorists of agency, Giddens, Bourdieu and Habermas, but the work of Archer, Latour, Long and Joas is also reviewed. I then recommend that the capability approach would benefit from a hermeneutical analysis of agency, and indicate specific elements which I think can be brought forward into such an extension. The literature review also includes a section on aspirations, which takes account of the conceptual relationship between aspirations, agency and capabilities. The empirical material is introduced under the umbrella of an action research programme which spanned a five year period. As part of this programme there was a household survey to obtain benchmark data. This was followed by the presentation of a life skills course based on Participatory Action Research or PRA methods. Between late 2006 and 2010 the women implemented their decisions, and their actions were observed. The main research process during this phase was an ethno-methodological study of the participating women. During this phase a number of life histories were recorded and I also conducted a set of individual interviews which focussed on individual agency. In 2010 I assessed the women’s increase in functionings and capabilities by taking note of actions taken towards achieving their aspirations, and in 2012 I recorded seven interviews on the rural-urban dynamics in their lives. The main findings of the household survey are given in a separate chapter on research findings. The different recordings of the aspirations the women articulated, and how these changed, are also recorded in the chapter on findings. The analysis of the respondents’ increase in functionings and capabilities is done with reference to an adaptation of a diagram published by Robeyns (2005:98), which visualises the essential conceptual parts of the capability approach. I adapt the diagram for a specific social context, for aspiration formulation, for agency assessment, and for the assessment of increased capabilities. In a second analysis chapter I do a hermeneutic agency analysis of six of the participating women in the context of the capability approach, asking whether the pursuit of their aspirations had been agency-unlocking. This is followed by a concluding chapter. / Philosophiae Doctor - PhD