Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-107).

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how a ruling-class actor attempted to reinvent and reconstitute an ethnic subject. Dr I.D. Du Plessis was, among other things, an Afrikaner litterateur and Commissioner of Coloured Affairs between 1930 and 1962, the period covered by this thesis. In Cape Town he applied himself to "preserve" what was known as "the malays". Although having an historical presence in Cape Town, defining the "malays" was always a problem as their very basis was in the process of being eroded as industrialisation forced social and communal changes. But the specificity of the "malays" was not an ethnic specificity with a rigid system of control and leadership, and staunchly cast against other sets of "identities" (such as Indians or "coloureds"). As chapter one shows, Du Plessis initiated the project at a conjuncture when the existence of ethnic units was presumed and the efforts to "preserve" them were profoundly political. A background to his ideological location is also discussed. From his particular location he journeyed amongst the "malays" and attempted to reinvent them as a specific ethnic unit fixed in space and time. Chapter two presents Du Plessis' model of "malay ethnicity" and its roots in history.

A prospective longitudinal study was carried out to establish the relationship between growth, development and social milieu in Coloured pre-school children in Cape Town. This population was selected because, on the basis of previous studies, a wide range of nutritional status as well as a spectrum of socio-economic conditions were known to exist. A pilot study was conducted to establish the feasibility of obtaining information about factors to be included in the study as well as to determine the most suitable sampling methods. A cohort of 1 000 consecutive Coloured infants born in the Cape Town municipal area and notified to the Cape Town City Council was identified. A random sample of 187 was selected from the cohort for long-term study. Anthropometric data were documented from birth until 5 years and compared to the NCHS reference values. Developmental data consisted of milestones recorded during infancy, language assessment on the Reynell Language Scale at 2½ years carried out by the Logopaedics Department, University of Cape Town, and at 5 years, a specially constructed developmental assessment designed to assess gross motor function, fine motor development including visuo-motor skills and language, both comprehension and expression as well as basic colour and number concepts. Social data were collected during home visits by two experienced, full-time research social workers, who were both integrally involved in the planning of the study. At birth infants were relatively light and short for gestational age. Size at birth correlated with social class. A rapid post-natal weight gain rendered them relatively overweight between 3 and 6 months. Thereafter they again became lighter and shorter than the NCHS reference values and this persisted during the pre-school period. Mother's weight was related to weight at birth, 12 months and 30 months. The genetic influence on growth was reflected in a correlation between parental height and child's length from 12 months onwards. Environmental influences as assessed by social class by occupational grading of the breadwinner, income and family stability were also correlated with growth from 12 months onwards. Infant development as indicated by milestones was very similar to internationally reported studies. Motor development was not associated with social class by occupational grading of the breadwinner but with father's education, mother's personality and family stability. It was also highly correlated with growth during infancy. Early language milestones were associated with the child's micro-environment as indicated by marital status, family unit, setting and stability. Language development at 30 months reflected a general lag in verbal skills and was correlated with parental education and family stability. At five years there was a good correlation between growth, development and social milieu, although the social variables accounted for far more of the variation in development than did growth. Social class by occupation grading of the breadwinner and income reflected the general socio-economic status and there was a good cross-correlation between the social variables. Approximately one third of the families lived in a middle cl ass environment. However, poor maternal education, low incomes and over-crowding were prevalent and must constitute risk factors in child rearing. Sixty five percent of the mothers were not educated further than primary school level and over half of the families were living below an effective minimum level of income. Similarly, over half the families lived in grossly overcrowded conditions. In conclusion, therefore, during infancy developmental milestones were similar to those reported in the literature. Later, however, there was a fall-off in development and this coincided with a greater association with social circumstances. Just prior to school entry social factors far outweighed growth indices as predictors of developmental variation. Social stability of the family a composite evaluation based on a number of social characteristics, was most consistently associated with development. The implications for intervention are that this would need to be broad based and aimed at improving incomes, housing, family cohesion and child centredness and eliminating social pathology. Such intervention would require a concerted effort from a variety of sources which should include administrators, community workers and health professionals.

Includes bibliographies. / This dissertation seeks to trace the forty-year evolution or the Portuguese or Madeiran immigrant community of Woodstock between the 1940s and 1980s. As the majority of Portuguese in Woodstock came from Madeira the terms, Portuguese and Madeiran, will be used interchangeably when referring to the immigrants. Throughout this period, Woodstock began to attract significant numbers of Portuguese immigrants, earning it the name' Little Madeira'. It became, in fact, the first suburb in Cape Town in which a distinct, Portuguese ethnic community developed .The dissertation is an attempt, however tentative, at the reconstruction of the history of the Portuguese community whilst at (he same time endeavouring to stress the importance of the contribution of sustained immigrant study to parochial and national histories.

Bibliography: leaves 158-177. / The aim of the thesis is to use a particular set of informal sellers in central Cape Town to focus study on aspects of informal sellers that have not previously been given high priority in analysis of the informal economic sector. In so doing, insight into the perceptions of informal sellers (in terms of their work or informal selling situation) and an evaluation of the relationships between informal sellers, the formal sector and government authorities will be gleaned. The work is based on, and extends, data provided by an in-depth Cape Town City Council survey conducted in 1985. The specific objectives of the study are, firstly, to provide comparisons on the number of informal selling outlets over a one year time period. Secondly, to identify and analyse the characteristics and locations of informal selling outlets. Thirdly, to investigate and analyse the operation of the different types of informal selling outlets in some detail. In particular, the backward and forward linkages affecting such outlets will be the focus of attention. In addition, it is intended to establish the attitudes of the formal sector and government authorities towards informal sellers, and vice versa.

Bibliography: pages 279-292. / This study attempts to explore the ways in which Rosalie Van der Gucht influenced and contributed to Speech and Drama education during the second half of this century in the Cape. The writer takes the view that although Van der Gucht was not particularly original in her work - dramatically, socially or politically - she had an impact which is still felt in the Cape Province and beyond, because of her outstanding qualities as a leader, teacher and play director; effected through her special skills as a communicator. The chosen form is a critical biography, which makes it possible to investigate the impact of Van der Gucht's initiatives within the contemporary context. Given that there are only a handful of books which deal with the theatre of this period in the Cape, and they contain few specific references to Van der Gucht; the chief sources for this topic were unpublished written material, and interviews with Van der Gucht's past students, colleagues, friends and relations. Of special importance were Van der Gucht's unsorted collection of papers (bequeathed to the Human Sciences Research Council), the Little Theatre Press Cutting books and the University of Cape Town Archives. In Chapter One the formative influence of her parents, her education, and her first working years in England prior to the Second World War are traced. The following six chapters cover, decade by decade, the period from 1942 to 1971 when Van der Gucht was at the University of Cape Town, training aspirant Speech and Drama teachers, actors, and students taking general Arts degrees. Her influence upon the teacher and actor training courses, including a scrutiny of curriculum developments, is examined; as is her membership of the South African Guild of Speech Teachers and her foundation and leadership of Theatre for Youth which aimed to reach young people beyond the University. Chapter 8 covers the years after her retirement from the University, when she launched upon a second career as a play director, and attempts to pinpoint the chief characteristics of her directing. Chapter 9 deals with the events leading to her death in 1985 - which shed new light on Van der Gucht as a person. The conclusions drawn from this study pertain to Van der Gucht's quality as a person and teacher. The writer takes the paradoxical view that this woman of British origin and education; was, first and foremost, an educator of the traditional kind found in Africa: an oral educator, who used oral material, verbal communication and social situations to inspire and direct those with whom she worked to greater efforts for the benefit of their society, themselves and the discipline of drama. The study is intended to be a useful historical resource for students of drama and the theatre in South Africa.

Bibliography: pages 159-163. / The major aims of this study are to analyze spatial patterns of land use change, to establish the relationship between land use change and locational conflict and to analyze the nature and patterns of locational conflict in Cape Town.

Bibliography: pages 91-95. / A theoretical introduction to Public Finance is presented with a summary of the role which the South African government plays in the economic sphere. In addition, part of survey research data collected by the Department of Sociology, University of Cape Town, has been statistically analyzed in order to discover what demographic factors influence trends in citizen preferences and attitudes towards the allocation of public funds. The hypothesis on which the research was based, i.e. that demographic variables such as sex, marital status, age, income, education and race produce significant differences in public opinion towards the allocation of public funds, has been partly rejected by the findings.

Bibliography: pages 168-180. / The concern of this study is to identify social areas among the coloured population of Greater Cape Town and to see if these are recognisable in physical space; i.e. if once social areas are recoqnised, whether the patterns of differing social status can be related to that of adjacent areas. If socio-economic status is assumed to be reflected in housing type and quality, then physical environment and interaction between adjacent areas is likely to play an important role in creating an environment that is perceived to have a particular character and status. As a result, contiguity will have great significance in the emergence of distinct socio-economic sub-areas. It is therefore essential to concentrate a study of this type on adjacent ESD's and to regard the four major concentrations of residential areas as separate entities. By dealing primarily with contiguous ESD's each forming separate residential concentrations, it carries no implication that there is no interaction between the different residential concentrations. Together they form a total system and areas of similar socio-economic status may develop in all or some of the residential concentrations.

Summary in English. / The contention underlying this dissertation is that ethnic identity and notions of community in South Africa are the result of several intertwined processes, which include historic interventions by the state to create 'groups' and 'nations' as building blocks for apartheid structures. These processes also encompass initiatives by those oppressed to constitute 'oppositional' communities. Both sets of activities have occurred in specific historical and material circumstances. By focusing specifically on a 'group' descended largely from merchant forebears, this study of Cape Indians examines the significance over time of the class, caste and religious cleavages within a constructed 'community'. Moreover, this dissertation discusses the effects of political currents on Indians in the Western Cape whose relatively more privileged position in relation to Indians in Natal and the Transvaal has been instrumental in isolating them from most of the events in the other provinces. It is hoped that this dissertation will contribute not only to the history of the Western Cape but, in a broader sense, also to the history of Indians in South Africa.