Social lmpact Assessment is a relatively new field of study in South Africa and abroad. It is dynamic and constantly changes as it develops. Current literature indicates that there is a need for SIA to be done through all phases of the project life cycle. The assumption made in this study is that this is not happening in practice. This study investigated the current practices in South Africa. Six case studies were analysed. The results confirmed the assumptions. The case studies were measured against the principles of Social lrnpact Assessment, lntegrated Environmental Management and Social Development. The main recommendations are that Social lmpact Assessments should be conducted throughout the Project Life Cycle and be initiated as early in the planning phase as possible. It is recommended that Social lmpact Practitioners should be exposed to the Social Development approach as these two philosophies could enhance each other. Social Impact Assessment forms part of the Integrated Environmental Management tools, and shouldn't be treated as a snapshot assessment, but as a process. Only when treated as a process, it can truly contribute to sustainable development. / Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

There is no doubt that the assessment of social impacts is as important, in some cases even more important, than the assessment of biophysical and economic impacts of development projects. Nonetheless, social impact assessment (SIA) has remained an "orphan" in the broader environmental impact assessment (EIA) context, both internationally and in South Africa, and is often neglected or treated as a less important aspect of an EIA. It was the aim of this study to measure perceptions of relative neglect of SIA in South Africa against the theory and practice of SIA as reflected in the literature. The basic hypothesis was that, whereas the theory and practice of SIA has reached a sophisticated level in the developed world, the practice of SIA in South Africa is not yet on a sound footing and that it does not receive the professional attention it deserves in a country beset by enormous social challenges. Thus the research problem was whether SIA is practiced at a satisfactory level of proficiency in South Africa. Social aspects of impact assessment in the North West Province of South Africa were investigated, with the aim to identify shortcomings and their possible causes and to make recommendations for improvement. The article format was used, and the main section of the study comprises two articles. The first article, a theoretical perspective based on a literature study, is a critical evaluation of SIA as part of the EIA process in South Africa against the background of international guidelines and best practices. The article includes sections on the historical background of the development of SIA in South Africa, the legal status and requirements of SIA in the country, and a critical evaluation of SIA regulation in South Africa. It was found that the persistent problems of SIA practice, experienced in other parts of the world, are also evident in South Africa. Apart from institutional, financial and professional constraints, there are also serious problems associated with approach and methods. The second article is an evaluation of and recommendations for the improvement of the practice of SIA in the North West Province. An empirical study of 26 EIAs, performed in the province between 1999 and 2002, was done. It was established that in terms of social baseline data, the identification of significant social impacts, specialist studies, public participation, recommended mitigation measures, and the attention paid to social impacts in records of decision (RODS) SIA practice in the North West Province is far from satisfactory. Apathy towards social impacts is associated with a general lack of SIA expertise. The following recommendations are made in the study to improve the level of SIA practice: a system of mandatory registration of SIA practitioners should be introduced; specialized SIA training programmes for SIA practitioners and officials should be developed and accredited; SIA specialists should be used to assess significant social impacts identified in EIAs; a policy framework and code of ethics for SIA practice should be developed; methodological guidelines for SIA should be supplied in or as a supplement to the new EIA guidelines; and the public participation process should be redesigned. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The validity of the traditional arts in contemporary society is often questioned by the wider public. This dissertation argues that one of the ways in which the arts attain value is through their function as political activism. In order to do so, it investigates the characteristics of resistance art. This is followed by a discussion of contemporary opera. While this genre is a minority interest when compared to popular music forms, it is, nevertheless, a form of resistance art that has the potential to fulfill a social and political function. The dissertation focuses on two case studies: John Adam's The Death of Klinghoffer (1990) and Paul Ruders's The Handmaid's Tale (2000), and concludes that contemporary opera can be relevant and effective socio-political critique. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This dissertation seeks to explore the association between natural disasters and neighborhood change and further to examine the differential impact of natural disasters on neighborhood change according to the disaster itself, the rehabilitation efforts of local jurisdictions, and the characteristics of the affected neighborhoods. Using the longitudinal model, it examines the shifts in neighborhood change trajectory before and after natural disaster for three indicators (home values, poverty rate and racial diversity). The results find that natural disasters have a significant impact on the trend of neighborhood change, reducing variation in the indicators within neighborhood. Home values and racial diversity of neighborhoods are likely to immediately decrease after natural disasters but not to shift in subsequent rate of change,while poverty rates are likely to instantly increase in the aftermath of the disasters and to annually decline over time. This dissertation also explores the differential effects on neighborhood change according to intensity of natural disaster, neighborhoods? average income and the location. The results of the analyses are like the following: 1) the neighborhoods which the more intense disasters hit are more likely to experience the rapid decline in home values and an instant increase in their poverty rates than those which the less intense disaster hit. On the other hand, the more intense natural disasters are more likely to increase neighborhoods? racial diversity than the less intense natural disasters, while natural disasters themselves are likely to decrease it. 2) natural disasters might have the more adverse impacts on low- and high-income neighborhoods than moderate-income neighborhoods and that the impacts on low-income neighborhoods are most severe. More importantly, the adverse impacts in low-income neighborhoods might be long lasting. 3)neighborhoods in suburban areas, compared to neighborhoods in the central cities, are likely to decrease in their home values after natural disasters and to increase in their poverty rates. Finally, the findings of this dissertation confirms its main arguments that a natural disaster affects the trend of neighborhood change and intervenes in the path of change over time and that natural disasters differentially shift neighborhoods according to their characteristics. Further it suggests that these neighborhood changes, once accelerated by a natural disaster, further polarize residential populations on a metropolitan neighborhood scale.

The primary objective of this study was to determine the social impact of arts festivals with reference to the ABSA KKNK. This goal was achieved by firstly analysing the social impact phenomena and the role thereof in events tourism. Secondly, a literature study was conducted in order to examine events as tourism products. Thirdly the results of the empirical research were discussed. Lastly conclusions were drawn from the research and recommendations were made with regard to the social impact of events as well as further research. From the literature, social impact was defined as the changes in the norms and values of society that are more apparent in the short-term. It was noted that when tourists vacate to a specific destination, visible impacts are noticed. Events can however provide employment opportunities, promote international peace and pride, as well as promote educational and cultural experiences but it can also lead to increased levels of irritation, crime, drug and alcohol abuse and cultural change. These positive and negative impacts were measured in the questionnaire, as adapted from Fredline and it was therefore the objective of the questionnaire to measure whether the community is positive or negative towards the festival, and whether there were any differences in the social impact when comparing the results of 2006 and 2007. The questionnaires were distributed in the community of Oudtshoorn based on a stratified sampling method followed by a random sampling method. A total of 444 questionnaires were completed, 179 in 2006 and 265 in 2007. On a positive note respondents agreed on the following aspects in 2006 and 2007: the public money spent on the ABSA KKNK would be better spent on other things, media coverage of the ABSA KKNK promotes development in Oudtshoorn and the basic skill base for event management in Oudtshoorn has increased. On a negative note respondents agreed on the following aspects in 2006 and 2007: ordinary residents get no say in the planning and management of the festival and traffic congestion is a problem. The positive impact has increased from 2006 to 2007. Two factor analyses were performed to determine the social impact factors in order to determine differences in the social impact of 2006 and 2007. The first analysis resulted in nine factors which accounted for 56.85% of the total variance and were labeled as: community issues, damage to the environment, community activities, local business and community opportunities, pricing, public facilities, traffic, disturbances and visitors. The second analysis resulted in three factors that accounted for 44.22% of the total variance and were labelled according to similar characteristics which included: community opportunities, community problems and community image. Means and standards deviations were determined after which the effect sizes were determined to explore the differences between the social impact for 2006 and 2007 on the dimensions of the various factors as determined in the factor analysis. It is clear that a small effect (0.2-0.4) exists between 2006 and 2007 concerning local business opportunities (0.25), pricing of goods (0.24), community activities (0.35), public facilities (0.39) and community activities (0.48). There were therefore no huge differences in the social impact between 2006 and 2007. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

This study examines the social representations of Thailand’s tourism development and related social impact, as perceived by respondents from Bangkok, Thailand. Employing social representations theory (SRT) and social exchange theory (SET), this study adopts qualitative methods to obtain respondents’ representations of tourism development in Bangkok. For the study, forty in-depth interviews and four focus-group interviews were conducted with respondents who were either involved or not involved in the tourism industry. The two main issues considered were, firstly, the determination of the concepts used to perceive tourism development and its social impact among Thai people and, secondly, how social exchanges affected these perceptions. The research suggests that there are four clusters of respondents who share common perceptions and certain socio-economic characteristics. Cluster one: respondents in this cluster are highly involved in tourism and are mostly of high socio-economic status. They share perceptions of Thailand’s tourism development as moving slowly forward, but hampered by red-tape management and bureaucratic problems. This cluster views economic impact in a positive light, especially with regard to the country’s increased revenue, and they perceive of culture as a tourism product. This group viewed environmental impact as a global problem and they mostly expressed the view that the tourism industry has a social responsibility to reduce the causes of pollution. Cluster two: respondents in this cluster are not involved in tourism and have a high socio-economic status. They perceive tourism development as having both positive and negative aspects. Economic impacts were represented both positively, in terms of national revenues and job creation, and negatively, in terms of fostering a materialistic society. Generally, this cluster views the social impact of tourism more negatively. Cluster three: respondents in this cluster are in mid-level-management positions in industries both involved and not involved in the tourism industry. They perceive tourism development in both positive and negative terms. They have favourable views of the economic impact of tourism and view Thai culture as a tourism product. Some respondents in this cluster are concerned about the environmental impact of tourism. Cluster four: respondents in this cluster have a low socio-economic status and include those involved and not involved in the tourism industry. This cluster perceived tourism development in positive terms. They predominantly viewed tourism development as a way to modernise society. This study also found six factors that affect individuals’ social representations of tourism development and social impact: personal benefits, socio-economic background, cultural values, personal traits, and socially derived and direct experiences. Of these, four were intrinsic factors—personal traits, direct experiences, individual benefits, and socio-economic backgrounds. The remaining two - socially derived and cultural values - were extrinsic factors. This study found that extrinsic factors are the main sources of individual representations and lead to hegemonic social representations. The significance and contribution of this research lies in two categories—theoretical and practical. From the theoretical angle, this research makes a number of contributions to the body of knowledge of social representation and social exchange. In terms of a practical contribution, these results can assist the Thai government to review the issues raised and ultimately provide more effective management.

The after-school period of older primary school-aged children was used to examine how the social construct of childhood is being shaped and how it changes over time. With studies on childhood still relatively new academic terrain, this research makes a contribution by identifying some key structural and social forces impacting upon childhood. This research investigated firstly how children spend their time in the after-school period, secondly the reasons why they do so, and thirdly parental and child understandings and opinions on this subject. Childhood was found to be differentially constructed by socioeconomic backgrounds, and mediated by employment status. Results suggest that increasing parental employment accompanied concerns over safety for children and the need to protect them. This meant that there was a tendency for families to mediate between the child and wider society through increased surveillance of children. For one-parent families this took the form of supervision of children through after-school programmes. Two-parent families, who were more able to organise their work arrangements so that one parent was home after-school, monitored their children's activities within localised areas based around the home. Parental 'risk anxiety' was seen to be shaping the lives of children in terms of defining safe places and spaces for them. Children themselves tended to prefer informal, unstructured activities within these contexts, and did not seem too concerned about safety issues.

Previous studies by Cornforth (2003, 2004), Cornelius et al. (2008), Cornelius and Wallace (2010), and Wallace and Cornelius (2010) highlight the need for further research in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for social enterprises and how their governance systems facilitate social outcomes when aligned to organisational mission. Against this backdrop, the main aim of this study is: to investigate the extent to which social enterprises (not-for-profit social providers) pursue ethical practices and social policies underpinned by their CSR agendas that enhance their stakeholders’ capabilities. The conceptual framework for the study is built on Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach (Sen 1991, 1999). Primary data were collected from face-to-face, in-depth, semi structured interviews with twelve owner-managers of small social enterprises from Bradford, UK. These were designed to understand their enterprise’s ethical views towards the development of deprived communities and the role this has in formulating their enterprise’s CSR agenda. The interview data were transcribed and analysed using constructivist grounded theory. The findings suggest that external CSR provision is often prompted as an immediate reaction to problematic issues arising in society. In general, it consequently lacks sustainability and is insufficiently evaluated for long term social impact. It is therefore argued that the CSR agenda for social enterprises should be based more on the organisation’s social ethos than the current process. Moreover, the findings emphasise the importance of social strategy emanating from governance mechanisms as this was identified as critical for the implementation of the CSR agenda so that social value is created in a structured and planned manner. These findings make a contribution to knowledge by providing conceptual and empirical insights regarding the consequences of social enterprises incorporating capabilities into their CSR policies and practices, and its social impact. Moreover, a conceptual model is developed that reflects the strategic importance of such a convergence in achieving this dual purpose.

Ett samhällsproblem i dagens Sverige är att fler individer i större utsträckning påverkas negativt av sociala medier. Instagram är ett av de största sociala medier som används idag och de bilder som publiceras på Instagram är oftast inriktade på kroppen. Denna kvalitativa fenomenologiska studie har som syfte att utforska och förstå unga individers upplevelse av kroppen vid användandet av Instagram. Studien använder kroppsuppfattning, utseendeideal, social jämförelser, social påverkan och kritiskt tänkande som teoretiska utgångspunkter för att skapa en djupare förståelse kring studiens fenomen och essens. Studien bidrar till en förståelse för det socialpsykologiska perspektivet gällande individens subjektiva upplevelse av kroppen utifrån Instagram-användning. Tio informanter i åldrarna 18–25 år deltog i semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades utifrån en tematisk analysmetod. Resultatet visade att majoriteten av informanterna upplevde den egna kroppen negativt vid användandet av Instagram då de upplevde att kroppen som framställs på Instagram är snyggare, smalare och mer vältränad. Jämförelse mellan den egna kroppen och kroppen på Instagram visade sig därför vara av stor betydelse för hur informanterna upplevde kroppen. Resultatet visade även att kritiskt tänkande är en viktig del i hur informanterna upplevde deras kroppsuppfattning vid användandet av Instagram.

Large-scale mining modifies the existing physical environment and has multiple long-term impacts on landscape but also on communities, and their cultural values. In Finland, social impact assessment has become a customary practice in assessing and estimating mining impacts that cause changes to the well-being of individual people and their livelihoods. However, the assessment is often lacking notions of social dimensions of the environment, neglecting discussing aspects such as localities and subjective well-being. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of considering the cultural benefits of the environment to human well-being in environmental decision-making. The purpose of this study is to explore and illustrate how cultural ecosystem services could contribute to the current practice in social impact assessments in Finnish mining projects by highlighting the relation between local people and environment through the valuation of cultural services. The study used a conceptual framework approach of cultural ecosystem services and conducted eight qualitative semi-structured interviews in two villages in Finnish Fell Lapland. The aim was to explore how the local people themselves describe their non-material benefits from the environment. Six out of the eight interviews were conducted walking with the participants. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed for analysis against the conceptual cultural ecosystem services framework. The results show how the well-being of local people was strongly linked to cultural benefits such as sense of place, enabled by meaningful activities in places that were often happening in mundane everyday places. The study implies the importance of considering cultural ecosystem services such as sense of place in the current social impact assessment practice as they help unveiling connections between people, the natural environment and subjective well-being.