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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
151

South African low income housing policy : a wobbly pillar, a cornerstone for development, or a lever for socio-economic change for the state?

Nyandu, Zandile January 2013 (has links)
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 108 of 1996 (the Constitution), affords all South Africa citizens the inalienable right to housing. Since 1994 there have been many policies which include the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) of 1994; and the Housing Act, 1997 (Act No. 107 of 1997). Currently the most fundamental housing policy is the National Department‟s mandate is the Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements, 2004. The first objective of this study was to analyse whether South Africa is viewed as a welfare or a developmental state. The second objective of this study was to assess whether the South African Low Income Housing Policy contained in the comprehensive plan for the development of sustainable human settlements (2004) is a wobbly pillar of the state, a cornerstone for development or a lever for socio economic change. This research study comprised of sixteen in-depth interviews with South African housing policy developers and implementers. The interviews were based on semi-structured interview questions. The study followed a qualitative technique and an exploratory research approach. The study found that South Africa is not viewed as a welfare state, nor is it viewed as a developmental state. It is viewed as an intermediary state that has strong policies and institutions that support a developmental agenda. The study further found that the South African housing policy is not viewed as a wobbly pillar of the state but it is viewed as a cornerstone for development and a lever for socio-economic change. There was lack of diversity because all interviews were based in Kwa Zulu Natal and Gauteng, which are only two of the nine provinces of South Africa. A total of ten recommendations were made to policy developers, implementers and for future research. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / zkgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted
152

Defining international human rights in Africa : an analysis of the role of culture

Qupe, Gugulethu Sibongile 29 May 2014 (has links)
LL.M. (International Law) / Please refer to full text to view abstract
153

Mediated libraries' effect on black South African children's ability to access western story structures

Machet, Myrna Phyllis 16 September 2014 (has links)
D.Litt. et Phil. (Library & Information Science) / One of the characteristics of publishing in South Africa is that it does not reflect the demographic make-up of South Africa. Publishing in South Africa has been largely financed and controlled by whites and little effort until recently has been expended on the incipient black reader. This has contributed to the lack of a reading culture amongst black people in South Africa. Oral cultures or even cultures with residual amorality Her from Western literate societies. These differences affect cultural products, such as stories, and responses to cultural products. Readers whose norms and expectations of formal discourse are governed by residual oral mindset relate to a text quite differently from readers whose sense of style is fundamentally textual. When an author writes, he postulates an audience. He has to know the tradition - the intertextuality - in which he is working. He can then create fictional roles that the reader is willing and able to play. It is not easy to get into a reader's mind, but it is not an impossibility if both the reader and writer are familiar with the 1iterary tradition in which they work, whether this tradition is oral or literate. There are major differences between an oral and literate culture in their thought processes, perceptions of the world, narrative structures and understanding and response to literature. This must affect cultural accessibility of text. An oral culture, such as black South Africans, will look for different structures, characters and types of discourse in their literature.
154

Strategies for socio economic empowerment of traditional leaders

Dlomo, Nozipho Desideria 17 October 2008 (has links)
M.A. / This study sought to provide guidelines for the development of strategies for the socio economic empowerment of traditional leaders. Traditional leaders have performed the development function even prior to the establishment of local government structures. The Constitution of the country does not clearly state the role of traditional leaders. It, however, gives clear disposition of the role of local municipalities and thus creates a vacuum between the two structures. The research explored the socio economic issues in KwaZulu-Natal and also the role that could be played by traditional leaders to enhance sustainable development in rural areas. A qualitative research approach was applied with purposive sampling strategy in this study. Structured questionnaires were formulated and used with focus groups. Two focus groups were conducted with traditional leaders and one with a professional group. The findings of the study confirmed that there were problems experienced by traditional leaders when performing the development function. This had resulted in traditional leaders not being sure of what role they could play in relation to the functions of municipal councils. It also revealed the tension that existed between traditional leadership structures and municipalities. However, the study also indicated the training of traditional leaders to become effective in developmental strategies of the province KwaZulu-Natal and also gave an exposition of the strategies for the socioeconomic empowerment of traditional leaders. / Prof. J.B.S. Nel
155

An investigation of the pedagogic and contextual factors that contribute to learner achievement levels in South Africa : a study of selected public schools in the Western Cape

Du Plooy, Lucinda Lucille January 2015 (has links)
Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Poor performance by South African students especially in literacy and numeracy are at a level of national crisis. Theory, as well as international and national systemic tests, show that the reasons for this is both multiple and extremely complex. In this study I investigated the problems relating to learner achievement levels in South African education. The main question arising from this problem, which I addressed, is: What are the possible factors that contribute to learner achievement levels in South Africa? My conceptual focus is on pedagogic practices and the socialization of identity, and how these relate to learner achievement levels, working from the premise that children from different social classes experience schooling differently. My focus is on the classroom, phase and school contexts, whilst locating these in the wider national, continental and global contexts. The disciplinary approach used in this study is in the domain of sociology of education, drawing specifically on the work of leading sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Basil Bernstein. Bourdieu’s notions of ‘habitus’, ‘field’ and ‘cultural capital’ helped in understanding structure and agency, and the interiority and exteriority of social relations, whereas Bernstein’s ‘code theory’ and his work on curriculum, pedagogic practices and pedagogic discourse was used to describe how formal knowledge is realized and transmitted, and its effects on different social groupings. Methodologically, this study is located within a qualitative interpretivist research paradigm. Research was conducted in three purposively selected public primary schools in the Western Cape using a qualitative multiple case study research design. The bounded cases were Grades 1, 4 and 7 learners in relation to their teachers and principals. The rationale for selecting these particular cases stems from the fact that research in these particular areas of schooling is lacking. The significance of the study lies in the fact that previous research on learner achievement used teacher behaviour as a predictor for achievement, whereas this study focused primarily on learner behaviour and the learners’ views on their own achievement. The study employed in-depth data collection procedures including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and various document related sources. The contextual analysis reveals that there is clearly a need to understand the nature of the learner, what they bringing into school and how they make sense of schooling. Furthermore, it shows that the ways in which learners exercise their agency is reinforcing underachievement. It further reveals that teachers are under pressure to get learners to adhere to the middle-class ethos of schooling and as a result are pushed into the regulative discourse compromising the instructional discourse within pedagogy. Pedagogically, the analysis reveals that teachers are under pressure in terms of curriculum coverage having to work within restricted time-frames, and having to meet the requirements of the ANAs that they do not see the possibility to relax framing in terms of pacing. As a result they are leaving their learners behind. Furthermore, the unnecessary strong framing at the level of pacing, not making the evaluation criteria explicit, and the heavy reliance on systemic testing, as in the case of the ANAs, is creating homogenised and standardised learner identities, which translate into differential learner experiences and ultimately differential learner achievement levels. / National Research Foundation (NRF)
156

The role of RDP housing in revitalising the socio-economic environment

Ntlangula, Zininzi January 2015 (has links)
The role of RDP housing cannot be underestimated and it plays a big role in South Africa. It assists those who are less fortunate to afford to buy houses. RDP housing delivery is not only expected to put a roof over people's heads but to change their lives in various ways. RDP housing delivery tackles issues related to social and economic enviroment. In terms of policy documents and surveys, research has shown that it is critical to incorporate RDP housing beneficiaries from planning right up to development stage. Public participation and the involvement of beneficiaries from the planning stage onward assists in determining the basic needs of the community that can be addresed through RDP housing development. This study is about the role of RDP housing in revitalising the socio-economic environment with a specific reference to Second Creek, which is under the jurisdiction of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.
157

A socio-economic impact analysis of selected national development agency funded projects in the Eastern Cape province

Mditshwa, Siviwe January 2012 (has links)
The South African government cannot in isolation deliver all the community needs as expected. Therefore, the involvement of all the sectors becomes crucial in the fight against poverty, largely due to the fact that the delivery of services (community needs) by the public sector does not balance with the amount of the resources allocated. This implies that government cannot successfully manage to deliver the community needs in isolation. A shared service delivery strategy to support the socio-economic development initiatives towards sustainable shared growth is therefore essential. The Public-Private Partnerships and Public-Public Partnership have emerged as alternative measures or important public policy tools in addressing the ‘shared delivery’ of services to the general public of South Africa. As a result of high levels of poverty experienced by the people of the Eastern Cape, in fact by the larger South African population, major interventions by NGOs, CBOs and other civil organisation are gaining momentum. Likewise, the establishment of the National Development Agency as mandated is also a public policy tool that looks into improving the socio-economic development of the local communities. Such interventions and partnerships therefore have a big role to play in support of the ANC led government to effectively deliver on its mandate, thus ensuring improved citizen’s welfare. Importantly, what triggered the undertaking of this study are the high levels of poverty, poor local economic developments and poor monitoring and evaluation of the funded projects in the Eastern Cape. In this study community and poverty in developing South Africa is well discussed. Attention is drawn to the whole idea of socio-economic development - simultaneously touching on the socio-economic shift in SA. Local Economic Development is also discussed with its LED dimensions, including business developments within the two said districts. The main aim of this study is to establish the extent to which the interventions by National Development Agency ‘Public Entity’ have improved the socio-economic development of the rural local communities in the Amathole and OR Tambo Districts towards sustainable and shared growth. The study includes a conceptual meaning of the public sector in general with its key service delivery role players. The study also includes the conceptual theoretical basis of the socio-economic development with specific reference to South Africa then cascades down to the study areas. Under the same note, a detailed explanation is also given on the nature of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as a model for improved socio-economic development. Conceptual presentation of the Public-Public Partnership (PPP) for shared service delivery is also alluded to.
158

The implications of global trading for North/South relations: a case for fair trade

Quinn, Alyson 05 1900 (has links)
Since mercantilism, which began in the mid 1600s, there have been numerous systemic changes in the global trading system. The most significant changes have been colonialism, the slave trade, peasant enclosures, industrialization and the formation of global economic institutions. Each one of these has had a marked effect on the distribution of resources and the wealth generated from their manufacture. Mercantilism, a theory related to trade and commerce, brought about intense competition amongst Northern countries in order to secure markets and resources. Colonialism was a way of assuring traders access to both primary resources and overseas markets in Southern countries. This pattern of trading whereby Southern countries provide the raw resources for the benefit of those in the North is still relevant, and has contributed significantly to divisions in wealth between the hemispheres. By the early 1800's mercantilists posed a threat to the aristocratic classes, which found themselves land rich but money poor. This, along with the growing movement towards industrialization, led to the eviction of peasants from land they had lived on for centuries. Two sources of cheap labour became available. Peasants who were desperate to find work in order to survive, and those deemed to be slaves from the developing world. Their labour was used to clear land for cultivation and for factory work. This combination of cheap labour and access to primary resources from the South enabled Northern countries to forge ahead with the industrialization of their economies. The year 1944 was an important year for global trading. Three institutions, namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade (GATT) were formed shortly thereafter. These international organisations would help solidify globally the ideology of laissez -faire economics. They would also play a direct role in influencing Southern governments to reduce trade barriers. It is claimed by critics that the IMF, the World Bank and GATT have used their power to uphold policies which have pried open Southern economies for the gain of those in the North. Critics believe these policies have been particulary negative for those living a subsistence lifestyle. Poverty in the developing world is currently at catasrophic levels with 34,000 children dying every " day from malnutrition and disease. Some charge the IMF, World Bank and GATT for increasing the vulnerability of the poor and ecological destruction. Fair trade is a system of trade which deliberately seeks to establish a more equal basis of exchange between the two geographical hemispheres. It helps to counter some of the imbalances of the current trading system. With the commitment of Alternative trading organisations (ATO's) thousands of men, women and children have secured a lifestyle which is both economically viable and ecologically sustainable. The challenge for fair trading is to apply alternative trade models more widely, and to promote fair trading as a part of mainstream commercial activity. One way the fair trading system is doing this is through labelling products sold in supermarkets with a fair trade label. Those products with a fair trade label have passed the fair trading criteria agreed to by the International Federation for Alternative Trading. Social Work is one of many professions that could help support fair trading. By organising fair trade networks as part of social development practice, social work could be active in supporting an economic system which empowers those who are most disadvantaged, and thereby reduces the inequality perpetuated by the current trading system. There are a number of other key roles for social workers. They could educate the public about global economic issues through conferences, workshops and writing educational material. Another role for social workers is that of negotiation. Social workers in the international development field would be in a good position to link Southern producer groups to Northern fair trading businesses. They could also link socially responsible business in the North to marginalised groups in their own countries. A third role for social workers committed to fair trading, is research. Topics could include ongoing analysis of the social and environmental effects of the current trading system, exploring the effectiveness of various alternative trading models and research on factors that could help facilitate the growth of socially responsible business. There are three international bodies which help social workers maintain a global perspective. They are the IFSW (International Federation of Social Work), the LASSW (International Association of Schools of Social Work) and the ICSW (International Council on Social Welfare). / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate
159

Rozmanitost organizací ve vybraném území (sociologická studie) / Variety of Organizations in a chosen Locality (a sociological study)

Havránek, Aleš January 2010 (has links)
The impact of organizations on society , the social environment , life and the world is omnipresent. We see that the organization not only affect their internal and external environment , but also with one another and it is this fact led me to question the influence that extinction regionally dominant organization of the diversity of organizations in the area of its activity - increased or decreased ? The answer to this became the reason for choosing the theme and aim of my thesis . In the theoretical part of the thesis deals with a sociological conception of organizations such as certain social and economic structures of formal and informal arrangements, with different objectives , responsibilities and culture. In the practical part of the thesis identify selected areas, identifies and extracts information sources , to determine criteria for analyzing reports and performing analysis of the obtained outputs according to established criteria provides the reader with an overview of the range of organizations in the selected area . Analysis of the outputs according to the criteria of date , accepted hypothesized that disruption of territorial dominant organization in 2008 resulted in an increase in the diversity of organizations in the Světlá nad Sázavou town.
160

The response of children from different cultural backgrounds to socio-cultural values reflected in children's books

Machet, Myrna Phyllis 16 September 2014 (has links)
M.A. (Library Science) / Children's literature transmits values regarded as important by society and is an important means of socialisation. It will tend to reflect those· values regarded as important and fundamental to the dominant social class. Alternative values and the questioning of traditional values only takes place in children's literature when society in general begins to question its values. Reading is a transactional process. Meaning is not "contained in the text" but the result of interaction between the reader and the text. The reader's cultural background and attitudes will play an important role in determining how a text will be understood. Children from diverse backgrounds will not necessarily understand a text in the same way, as they bring their background to the text and understand it or interpret it in the light of that background or schema. Values are the foundation on which people base their actions, beliefs and attitudes. Each culture develops its own value system in terms of which values will be ranked in order of importance. Through socialisation these value systems will be passed on to new generations...

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