Hard substrates in the marine environment are an important ecosystem of great scientific and economic value. Hard substrates provide suitable habitat for a diverse assemblage of benthic organisms. This thesis investigated the ecology of benthic hard substrate communities along a section of wave-exposed coastline, including the Sardinia Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA), in the warm-temperate Agulhas bioregion of South Africa. The effect of physical variables on benthic communities, including both the intertidal and shallow subtidal, was quantitatively assessed across (Chapter 3) and along (Chapter 4) the shore to provide a model of zonation for this bioregion and a baseline of community patters and biodiversity, as this information was lacking especially for the Sardinia Bay MPA. The zones described in Chapter 3 were in agreement with previous trends described for this bioregion with the addition of different biotopes in the upper Balanoid and deeper subtidal zones as well as the addition of an intermediate/transition zone in the subtidal between the algal dominated shallow subtidal and deeper subtidal, which has an increased abundance of sessile invertebrates. Disturbance is an important process in structuring benthic communities, and its role in structuring shallow benthic communities was investigated using a disturbance simulation experiment across a wave-exposure gradient (Chapter 5). Communities were found to change along the exposure gradient and monitoring the undisturbed communities showed that large waves caused disturbances across all the exposures. The recovery process was similar across all exposures mainly through lateral vegetative growth and regrowth from basal parts with communities in disturbed quadrats recovering to resemble the surrounding undisturbed community. Recruitment did not have a significant effect in the recovery process and community composition was therefore a result of the effects of the physical environment along the exposure gradient. Lastly this thesis investigated the indirect effects of protection in the small Sardinia Bay MPA (Chapter 6). Despite the small size of the MPA this study found differences in diversity and abundance between communities inside and outside the MPA. These differences in benthic biota infer indirect effects of protection that are probably due to the increase in abundance of exploited fish inside the MPA. Lower abundances of red algae, macroinvertebrates and diversity inside the MPA in the shallow depth category was attributed to the higher abundance of the generalist fish species that concentrate in the shallows. Significantly lower abundances of Chordata in the shallow and medium depth categories inside the MPA was attributed to predation by the benthic carnivorous species as ascidians are included in the diet of these species. This chapter also compared the effectiveness of destructive (scraped quadrats) and non-destructive (visually assessed quadrats) sampling methods. Scraped quadrats were found to be more effective in detecting changes across the MPA compared to visually assessed quadrats. Destructive methods sample the entire assemblage, to a higher taxonomic level, and measure abundance using biomass. It was concluded that biomass is a better metric when comparing communities across protection or other treatments as it provides better biological information of the community.

South African public organisations are faced with many unique challenges in striving to manage an increasingly diverse workforce. This study aimed to investigate the managing of diversity at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. To achieve this aim, the views of the Total Quality Management approach were examined in order to create an effective and efficient diversity environment within the municipality. In order to understand what effective diversity management means in South African public organisations, a qualitative approach to the research was utilised through document analysis and interviews. Purposive sampling was used to identify participants. Interviews were conducted until a point of data saturation was reached. Data was analysed using the systematic coding tool of the ATLAS.ti software programme. The research reveals that many shortcomings exist concerning diversity management in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. Therefore, a need exists for proper management of diversity that would support tolerance and respect for diversity.

Football as the most popular sport, serves as a medium through which development issues can be addressed in a variety of ways. The potential and limitations of sport as a vehicle for change are widely recognized for informing YDF and partner organisations for change and capacity building at all levels of engagement. The YDF on HIV prevention project brought about a close working relationship between GIZ/YDF, Volkswagen groups South Africa, NGO’s, federations and government institutions. Volkswagen formed a PPP (Public Private Partnership) to promote HIV prevention among the youth in the Eastern Cape Province. The aim of the cooperation was to raise awareness and improve the knowledge of the youth on HIV prevention. The project combined peer education through football with life-skills education on HIV Prevention in schools. The present study aimed at evaluating the impact and effectiveness of the YDF project in addressing HIV prevention awareness in the selected schools of Nelson Mandela Bay. The sample consisted of fifty grades six and seven learners of the ages of twelve and over. In this mixed methods research, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used and data was collected by means of questionnaires and interviews where pre and post-test studies were conducted. The results suggest that there has been an improvement in the learners’ awareness and therefore the YDF on HIV prevention programme has been effective in improving the participants’ level of HIV prevention awareness in Nelson Mandela Bay. These findings should make a meaningful contribution to the debate on sports based participation programmes on HIV/AIDS education, with regard to the stakeholders and implementing parties, as well as to the public.

Place branding has grown in popularity since the late 1990s. In this regard, place branding is an endeavour to not only construct an image or message of a place but also to communicate and manage it. Place branding can be viewed from a functionalist point of view as a strategic instrument to be managed in a similar manner as a product or corporate brand in order to enhance competitiveness. The focus of place branding has overwhelmingly been on the customers who are mainly tourists. However, there have been recent calls to take into account the perspectives of others stakeholders, in particular internal residents, in the place branding process. It has been noted that place branding is effective through its ability to authentically represent the setting of its constituents and through it to reveal a compelling narrative of the place. This authentic setting is represented by the place identity, which can be discovered from the perspectives of the place‟s internal residents. The current study was anchored in stakeholder theory and set out to propose a simple exploratory model for understanding place identity through the perspectives of internal residents. The study explored various frameworks and models proposed in the literature up to date to understand place identity. The overarching variables were filtered out from the different frameworks and an exploratory place identity framework was proposed. A non-experimental study was carried out in the city of Nelson Mandela Bay. The study was exploratory and its variables had not been previously tested in the city. A questionnaire, which was partly self-administered and partly administered through face-to-face interviews, was distributed electronically and manually. The framework proposed variables were city role, cognitive evaluations, envisioned future as well as affective evaluations and they were operationalised from the literature. The relationship between the variables was confirmed through correlation analysis. The hypotheses in the study were tested through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, ANOVA, t-tests and Chi-squared tests. A destination identity framework for Nelson Mandela Bay.

This study examines the effects of conflict on socio-economic development. It focuses on the ongoing political conflict in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality due to national political factionalism that has negatively affected service delivery. Political conflict led to the absence of the municipal manager from 2009, impacting the administration of the Metro. Since that time, no municipal manager has held office for more than four months. The municipal manager’s job is crucial to the operation of the Metro, including the allocation of funds required for service delivery. Service delivery has therefore been negatively affected by the conflict, with waste removal being particularly neglected. This has been prevalent in areas such as New Brighton and Motherwell, which will be the primary focus of this treatise. This study found that, as a consequence of the situation in the Metro community members have become indifferent to political affairs. However, they still seek change and have faith that their livelihoods could be improved.

This study assessed the Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTAS), from a governance perspective, in addressing service delivery challenges in local government, with specific reference to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). The research study comprises six chapters. The research is based on the assumption that one of the biggest challenges facing most municipalities in South Africa is lack of universal access to water and electricity, sanitation, refuse removal systems and local economic development. As a result of these challenges, the NMBM has implemented the NMBM Turnaround Strategy so that it can fulfill its constitutional developmental mandate conferred on it by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. The research study provided a brief historical background on the development and transformation of local government in South Africa. This research adopted both the quantitative and qualitative approaches. The purpose of the research study was to describe and explore the 2009 Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTAS) with specific reference to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). The evaluation of the LGTAS of the NMBM will therefore be fundamentally descriptive, but highly exploratory in nature. The empirical survey was employed for purposes of the study and the interpretation of the research findings were analysed and described. As a metropolitan municipality, the NMBM has been entrenched with a responsibility to promote developmental progression within its locality (Integrated Development Plan: 2007). This research also identified the strengths and the weaknesses of the LGTAS as it is regarded as critical in successful service delivery. It is envisaged that this research will assist the NMBM, and other municipalities’ country-wide, to identify challenges that they are faced with and deal with it accordingly in terms of the objectives identified in the LGTAS. Furthermore, this research study envisages promoting sustainable development within the NMBM as well as improving the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery that will ensure communities of their well-being and dignity. Various recommendations are presented, based on the findings primarily from the literature review and empirical survey, on how the existing status quo of the NMBM can be changed to enhance service delivery and be aligned to the Batho Pele principles. If these recommendations are adopted, the NMBM will be able to deal more effectively and efficiently with the developmental obstacles it currently faces.

SMEs play a vital role in the country. For the purpose of the study the focus was on SMEs in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Jurisdiction. Businesses which met the SME criteria (refer to Chapter 1, Section 1.7.1), (Du Plessis, 1996: 162; Marx et al., 1998: 728) were included in this study. The study is formed around the aspects of business which contribute to the growth of the business in the long term. A specific study was conducted on the ethnic entrepreneur and the aspects that influence business growth. There are many factors which influence the growth of the business; for the purpose of this study, a specific focus was placed on: (1) knowledge with regard to business; (2) entrepreneurial culture; (3) brand management; (4) location of the business; (5) business relationships; and (6) cultural influences. These variables will determine how the growth of the business is ultimately influenced. The research can also discover from respondents what they view as important in their lives. The study then goes further to analyse whether the independent variables, as reacted to by the respondents, have a significant or non-significant effect on growth.

The Kyoto Protocol of UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) postulated that anthropogenic causes are the main drivers of global climate change. This Kyoto Protocol was ratified by South Africa, with South Africa accepting all the binding commitments. Since then South Africa has promulgated legislations which cater for the environment and the reduction of the greenhouse gases respectively, with the aim of promoting sustainable development. The South African constitution has recognised the environment in Section 24. This is the birth place of the “Environmental Clauses” which do not only speak to the national government but are also broken down to the provincial and local government. This study was grounded within the field of Development studies and undertook a case study of improving the socio-ecological resilience strategies of climate changes in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropole (NMBM). The study employed the use of semi-structure interviews whereby a questionnaire was used to guide the researcher in the interview process. A total of 23 officials were interviewed, ranging from governmental departments (municipality) through civil societies to private consultants, in order to avoid the generation of biases. The data obtained from respondents were presented, analysed, and discussed. From the data collected, it was possible to single out certain barriers to climate change resilience initiative in NMBM. Some of these barriers include the lack of awareness of climate change resilience issues, lack of political will, lack of funding, and the poor concern given to climate change issues since the municipality does not consider it a core issue. Based on the study findings, the main recommendation offered to NMBM was the creation of a Sustainable Development Framework, which will provide a perfect platform for development, acknowledge the threat posed by the negative effects of climate change, and enhance opportunities to execute climate change projects in NMBM.

The problem this research seeks to address concerns related to the role allocated and strategies implemented by HIV and AIDS education NGOs, in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS in Nelson Mandela Bay. The problem is approached as a development challenge and examples are drawn from the undertakings of South African Partners (SAP), an NGO operating in the education field. The study adopted qualitative research, relative unstructured interviews, direct observation and literature review as methods of data collection. The study further identified specific roles that education NGOs play in response to HIV/AIDS and delineated the strategies that HIV and AIDS education NGOs employ in responding to HIV/AIDS. The research found that HIV/AIDS education NGOs have become important channels through which people affected and living with HIV/AIDS participate in development, share their experience and access information and resources. Further noted was that HIV/AIDS results in a diminished workforce and a higher allocation of state funds to public healthcare. The research findings showed that an education NGO in a prison context serves to mobilise the prison community and sensitise it to HIV and AIDS issues. This, through its addressing of the needs and causes of HIV infections in prison. SAP aid recipients were found to be satisfied for the most part, with the service rendered them by the education NGO. The study found that HIV prevention educational sessions were quite effective in disseminating HIV and AIDS basic information and that SAP achieves their goals through their training of facilitators who employ the STEPS curriculum. The trained facilitators facilitate group discussions, distribute condoms and lubricants through partnerships, and solicit behavioural change through the use of theatre to disseminate HIV prevention information. Key recommendations of the study are that HIV and AIDS education NGOs must integrate poverty reduction interventions in their activities and that further, they would do better to form coalitions in order to strengthen their capacity to sustain their activities and manage partnerships. Education NGOs should form partnerships that provide social protection. Ruther recommended is that education NGOs should further their curriculum in consideration for sexual preferences.

This research adds on to Chaulk & Brown (2008) research on the assessment of employees’ reaction towards management and the union in the pre-strike and post-strike period. Research problem: The study raised two aspects that form part of the statement of the problem. Firstly, strike action has been a major aspect describing the South African industrial relations climate. The high level of strike action prompts the question; “Are South Africans World Class Strikers?” (Anstey, 2006). Secondly, the analysis of strike action has focussed more on the economic and power testing impact analysis rather than psychological and affective impact analysis of the strike such as establishing the impact of the strike on job satisfaction, work climate satisfaction, organisational commitment, management satisfaction, and union commitment. Research objectives: To address the research problem, research objectives, research questions and hypotheses were established. The main objective of the study was to examine the causes, processes and the impact of the strike, thereby making a contribution to both theory and practice. Whereas the contribution to theory took a form of building on to the research carried out by Chaulk & Brown (2008), and exploring through the process analysis on how behaviour during the conflict impacts on the ongoing relationships within the organisation, the contribution to practice took a form of highlighting to management and unions the impact of the strike on employees so that necessary interventions to prevent the negative impact of the strike would be created. Research questions: Six research questions were established and these were; what were the causes of the strike; how did the strike unfold; what were the substantive outcomes of the strike; what were the procedural outcomes of the strike; what were the climate outcomes of the strike; is there a relationship between the demographic factors and the affective outcomes of the strike? Research hypotheses; Five research hypotheses were established for the research. These hypotheses were aimed at establishing the impact of the strike on the affective outcomes of the strike. These were; there was a significant change in the level of organizational commitment after the strike; there was a significant change in the level of job satisfaction after the strike; there was a significant change in the level of work climate satisfaction after the strike; there was a significant change in the level of management satisfaction after the strike; and there is was significant change in the level of union commitment after the strike. Research design and methodology: Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect data. Qualitatively, interviews, media reports and the Municipality records were being used to collect data on the causes, processes and outcomes of the strike. Quantitatively a survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was collected from 105 Traffic Officers who had recently been on strike in the NMBM. Measures of organisational and union commitment, employee job satisfaction, and work climate satisfaction were assessed using the Chaulk & Brown (2008) questionnaire. A paired sample t-test, ANOVA test, and Scheffe test and Cronbach’s alpha, were some of the quantitative methods used in data analysis. Henning’s approach was used to analyze qualitative data. Major findings: The results from the questionnaire revealed that job satisfaction, work climate satisfaction and management satisfaction significantly changed in the post-strike period. In addition, impact of demographic factors on affective factors was evident for participation in the strike and the level of union commitment; age and job satisfaction; occupational level and job satisfaction; and service length and union commitment.