MSc., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Riparian zones harbour different species pools from the surrounding landscape and are thus important to biodiversity conservation. However, riparian zones are highly variable. Network characteristics, morphology, flow-sediment interactions, biophysical connectivity and biological characteristics all vary along the length of a river. It could therefore be expected that the biodiversity characteristics of different riparian zones may also be variable. To investigate this, this study quantified compositional and structural diversity in 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th stream order rivers in south-western Kruger National Park (KNP). A suite of measures, chosen to encompass the variety, balance, and disparity properties of diversity, was used to quantify woody vegetation and bird compositional and structural diversity within each stream order. Woody plant species richness and species diversity was highest in the 7th order river and similar in the 1st through 5th order rivers. Likewise the woody vegetation community composition of the 7th order river was distinct from those in the other stream order rivers. Bird species diversity was similar in all five stream orders considered. Bird community composition of the 7th order river was distinct from the bird community composition of the 4th and 5th order rivers, which in turn was distinct from the bird community composition of the 2nd and 1st order rivers. Woody vegetation height, canopy width and diameter diversity tended to be highest in the 4th and 5th order rivers, while number of stem (NoS) diversity was generally highest in the 1st order rivers and decreased along the stream order sequence to the 7th order river. Bird body mass diversity was highest in the middle of the stream order sequence, while bird wing length/body length (WL/BL) and leg length diversity was similar along the entire stream order sequence. Overall, a variety of patterns of change in biodiversity along the stream order sequence were observed The lack of a consistent pattern along the stream order sequence among the different elements of compositional and structural diversity illustrates that no single measure can properly characterise the biodiversity of an area, and thus researchers and managers need to be explicit about which aspect of biodiversity they are aiming to study/conserve. Additionally, the unique combination of biodiversity found in each of the stream orders illustrates that each contributes importantly to overall regional biodiversity, and thus there is need to consider the role of entire drainage networks in the landscape, rather than simply focusing on perennial rivers. Finally, this study illustrates the need to consider the heterogeneous nature of biodiversity itself.

No description available.

Student Number : 8238599 - MA dissertation - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / The story of the Jewish community in South Africa is a long and colourful one. The population is based entirely on immigrants who first began arriving in the late 1860s. Their presence in the country is characterised by a disproportionate visibility and as being distinct from other “Diaspora” communities. The community has shrunk by a third in the last thirty years, in a mirror image of the initial waves of immigrants to the country a century before. This sense of movement spanning a long period of time in the context of the historical phenomenon that is South African Jewry suggests itself to a documentary film. A cinematic treatment of the phenomenon of waves of Jewish immigration to and from South Africa requires approaching the subject matter from a number of directions simultaneously. The film genre “historical documentary” requires equal emphasis on the techniques of cinema as well as an historical approach. This document addresses each in turn, with Section 1 dealing with the historical framework underlying the film. Section 2 addresses the theory and practice of documentary film inasmuch as it pertains to the proposed film. This section also contains a review of existing film documentary approaches to the subject matter. Section 3 contains a scene by scene breakdown of the film. The appendix contains a literature review and supplemental notes. Overall Aim The starting point for the construction of the film is an attempt to develop an approach that deliberately eschews the conventional documentary technique used in the making of similar films. By ignoring the fact that film is a predominantly visual medium, films often fall into a trap of “over-textualising” i.e. their visual or metaphorical essence becomes subordinate to the text of the film. Since the text drives the narrative, this can result in a sapping of visual interest in favour of what is often a tedious voice-over. This film wishes to take advantage of film as a rich visual and symbolic medium. I aim to show that this approach need not lead to a loss of overall transmitted content, historical or otherwise. The maxim “less is more”, though seemingly cliché, applies in large part to the making of a historical documentary.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management, specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Johannesburg, 2016 / The main thrust of this study was to investigate and explain the influence of human, social and financial capital on the internationalisation of SMMEs in South Africa in the context of women entrepreneurs. A cross-sectional quantitative study was employed on a sample of 135 women-owned SMMEs, by way of an online survey. This tested the association between social, human and financial capital, and the degree of internationalisation of women-owned SMMEs. This study revealed that women entrepreneurs in South Africa do not view international social ties and business networks, and financial capital availability as significant barriers to determining the degree of internationalisation. On the other hand, the study showed that women within this context believe that international education, knowledge and experience all play key roles in inducing the degree of internationalisation. The study suggests that the results may have deviated from widely accepted theories, due to emerging markets being different from developed economies, in which the majority of empirical studies have thus far been conducted. The findings strengthened the emerging, but sparsely researched second approach to the resource-based theory, which suggest that SMMEs internationalise to gain access to entrepreneurial capitals. The study further revealed that women entrepreneurs that had internationalised did so, through industries in which women are typically under-represented. Although not pervasive in literature, women entrepreneurs within South Africa were motivated to internationalise mainly due to external growth prospects and not by poor domestic demand. / MT2016

Research report submitted to partially fulfill the Master of Management in Finance and Investments to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of Witwatersrand March 2017 / This study empirically examines whether the capital structure for natural monopolies (parastatals) dynamically responds to macroeconomic conditions. It further examines whether the balance sheet channel theory holds for this industry sample. The study adopts a double sampling approach from the population of water boards in South Africa (SA), which raise their capital in open financial markets. A quantitative research approach is adopted with a descriptive design to achieve relevant deductions. Panel techniques are used in the descriptive design for the regressions. The study finds that leverage partly dynamically responds to macroeconomic conditions. Furthermore, the evidence shows that inflation is an exception that has no significant relationship with leverage. The balance sheet channel theory is found to hold for water boards that access capital in open financial markets. Specifically, empirical evidence shows that changes in the interest rate have a delayed impact on the companies’ characteristics, including capital structure. Overall, our evidence suggests that water boards in SA need to consider the benefits of linking financial policies to the business cycle and that their policies should consider the delayed effect of interest rate changes. / MT2017

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Medicine University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the Degree of Master of Medicine (Community Health) / The extremely complex fragmentation of health services in the greater South Africa has lead to confusion, duplication and uncoordinated planning. This study assesses the hospital component of the health services in one discrete geographical area where service responsibilities are particularly complex. Each of the hospitals identified within the study area was visited and, after a short conducted tour, detailed information was obtained on a standard questionnaire during interviews with senior hospital personnel. Final detail was obtained by inspection of various functional components in each hospital. Proposals regarding the process of regionalising the hospital services in a future post-apartheid era (when political boundaries, particularly homeland boundaries, have disappeared and the health services can be rationalised under a unified health authority) are made. The major finding is that, while some expansion is needed, the existing facilities can be reorganised into a functional complex at minimal cost and limited disruption of services. / AC 2018

The South African workforce has been transforming over centuries. Post -1994 South Africa brought about liberal changes in labour laws and policies, which saw women getting a four months maternity leave but there was a shortfall when it came to fathers in the workplace. The laws are mute about the father’s time off during birth of the child; the only provision made is the three days family responsibility leave. The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions and experiences of fathers with regard to the absence of paternity leave in the legislation and their experiences in early child care with new-borns. The study used a qualitative strategy and a case study design to better understand the perceptions and experiences of employed fathers. A purposive and convenience sampling procedure were used, with a sample of 15 fathers with reproductive age ranging from 25 to 55. The fathers that were interviewed came from three different companies, where a semi structured interview was employed to collect data. Data was analysed using thematic analysis that allowed the researcher to identify the recurring themes. The findings of the study demonstrated a need for paternity leave to allow fathers to be involved with their new-borns. Various factors that came up during the analysis include bonding, the helper and supportive partner, and emotionally absent. These factors contributed to an emphasised need for paternity leave as participants narrated their experiences and challenges. With the implementation of paternity leave participants felt that ten days of leave provision in South Africa would be the first steps to moving towards gender equality in the workplace and strict measures need to be put in place to ensure that fathers do not misuse the paternity leave. The study recommends further research to be conducted on the mother’s perspective on paternity leave. It is also anticipated that the result may support the amendment of Basic Conditions of Employment Act, or develop progressive policy which can equally cater for both men and women in equal terms. Keywords: Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Paternity leave, Fatherhood, Family. / GR2018

No description available.

Purpose – The purpose of the study was to develop a baseline decription of the current state of corporate real estate management within South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – A combined online/paper questionnaire was administered on the top 200 firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Findings – Majority of the firms have no formally organised real estate unit. A few have only recently organised formal real estate units as a department of the company, reporting mostly to the CEO even though the latter seldom gets involved in Corporate Real Estate decision. The CFO appears to be the one in charge of corporate real estate decisions in most of the firms. Majority of the firms own, rather than lease their corporate real estate due to location, transport advantages, minimisation of the risk of rent changes and community links that are advantageous to their business effort. The principal reason for leasing was the flexibility it affords in relocating in future. Other issues covered include the cost treatment of using CRE, the importance of CRE management, in-house management and outsourcing of CRE services and the criteria for selecting an external CRE management service provider. Business Implications – Service providers need to take into account specific criteria used by respondent firms in the selection of who manages their corporate real estate. Originality/value – This paper provides the first comprehensive description of corporate real estate management on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

The issue of rural poverty is deeply rooted in the skewed distribution of the resources in the rural areas. The majority of rural people do not have access to the basic services like health, water, electricity, education etc. the inequalities constitute a barrier to progress, and indeed there is some evidence to indicate that the extreme inequality acts as bottleneck to development. Land Reform and Rural Development programmes have been initiated in the rural areas to alleviate poverty, although they have been subject to hot debates in many countries. This is due to the fact that most of these programmes have fallen short of expectations, especially of the intended beneficiaries. This discourse attempts to link Land Reform and rural development to poverty alleviation. This is done by reviewing literature on land reform and rural development, analysing the case of Tarlton land Redistribution project and recommendations on the best practice for poverty alleviation through an integrated approach towards land reform and rural development.