At the 7.6 km spatial scale in which remotely-sensed satellite imagery is used in many studies of subcontinental-scale vegetation vigor and dynamics, the information acquired has yet to be fully understood and integrated with ground-level reality. This dissertation reports results and analysis from ground-truth-sampling in the arid lands of West Africa's Sudano-Sahelian zones. The geographical locations of the transects investigated were obtained from areas exhibiting steep gradients in the interannual (1980-1994) coefficients of variation (CoV) of the mean annual monthly maximum composite of the Global Area Coverage's (GAC) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDV1) from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) series of satellites. I begin this work by disaggregating the term "food security" into its various components, then continue by exploring what is generally understood by the concept of "desertification" and what this actually translates to in terms of land degradation. I then discuss how an error in NASA's method for calculating interannual NDVI CoVs impacted both my own work and our concepts of the Sahel's boundaries. Field data I gathered in the central and northern Sahel indicate that cogent, simple explanations of latitudinal variations in CoV do exist, albeit not everywhere. The Gourma region of Mali provides an excellent example of how complexity confounds any neat quantization of information. For the more southerly agropastoral zone, high CoV variability flags rapid, dynamic desertification processes. Results of village- and household-level profiles along a transect in the heart of Hausaland confirm that rapid, dynamic land degradation corresponds with a high interannual CoV. Climate, especially rainfall and potential evaporation, form the basis of an analysis the outcome of which explains how and why the Malian Gourma shows a nonlinear, "anomalous" NDVI response to rainfall. I also explore the strong correlation between rainfall and NDVI in the southern Sahel, but conclude that if there is a link between NDVI and crop yields, it is very weak indeed. Finally, my research highlights several policy measures that may retard desertification and enhance food security.

Thèse--Université de Paris.

Thesis (M.A. (Journalism & Media Studies))--Rhodes University, 2004.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-91).

Thèse--Université de Paris.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of the Western Cape, 2006. / Includes bibliographic references (leaves 195-220).

No description available.

Dissertation (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

A research report on a study presented to the School of Architecture and Planning, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand / The research is a comparison of two state-owned housing institutions namely, the Johannesburg Social Housing Company and the Malawi Housing Corporation and how they are contributing to affordable housing and social integration in the housing sector. It uses a qualitative approach. Objectives of the research were achieved through obtaining primary written data that was collected through document reviews from the relevant organisations and interviews. The interviews were supported through the use of secondary materials. The research strategy was comparative in nature and content analysis was used to analyse the data obtained. The study showed that integration ensures that housing institutions provide housing without segregation and discrimination bias while affordability is a mechanism for housing provision to households whose housing needs are not met by the housing market. The research results portrayed that JOSHCO’s housing affordability is more meaningful than MHC’s because JOSHCO offers housing within the social economic opportunities in the inner city while MHC provides housing estates outside the inner city. It also showed that both institutions consider issues of income, gender, race and disability in their housing projects and programmes to ensure that integration occurs.

Dissertation (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.