Student Number : 9703129J - MSc(Med) research report - School of Pathology - Faculty of Health Sciences / Down syndrome is the commonest cause of congenital developmental disability in industrialized countries, where it occurs in approximately 1.4 per 1000 live births. In South Africa, the birth prevalence of Down syndrome was documented as 1.8 and 2.09 per 1000 live births in urban and rural populations, respectively. The physical, psychosocial and emotional burden of Down syndrome on affected families is significant. The aim of this study was to determine the reproductive choices of women with a child with Down syndrome, aged 1 year or older. The survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. The sample consisted of fifty women; 36 African, 4 Asian and 10 Caucasian. The questionnaire assessed the mothers’ knowledge of Down syndrome prior to diagnosis, what counselling was received and how this knowledge was utilised. Information was also obtained on the mothers’ use of family planning, the knowledge and use of prenatal medical genetic screening and diagnosis, and what decisions would be made in future pregnancies. None of the sample group of mothers had prenatal diagnosis in their pregnancy with their Down syndrome child, but 76% (38) said that they would want prenatal diagnosis in any future pregnancies. Of the 50 mothers, 21 (42%) said they would terminate a pregnancy if Down syndrome had been detected, 26 (52%) said they would not, and 3 (6%) said they were unsure what they would have done if faced with this decision. Of the Caucasian women, 40% (4) said they would opt for termination of pregnancy, 40% (4) said they would not and 20% (2) were unsure. Of the African and Asian women, 52.8% (19) and 75% (3) respectively said they would not terminate an affected fetus. The information from this study can be used to improve the understanding of how women and their families cope with their children with Down syndrome and give insight for the provision of more effective and comprehensive genetic counselling.

Student Number : 0420494F - MSc research report - School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies - Faculty of Science / Government reforms aim to provide free basic and affordable electricity in poor urban areas. However, the growing rate of urban poverty, limited development of energy infrastructure, the cost of modern services and fuel use culture further contribute towards the consumption of multiple fuel use. The diverse ways in which urban households utilise the available energy can make fuel transition very difficult to achieve. This research aims to investigate household energy consumption patterns in Diepkloof in order to understand the factors limiting a fuel transition from coal and wood to electricity. The analysis in this report uses data collected from the household survey in Diepkloof as well as key stakeholders in this field including the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee and Eskom. The reason for using these two stakeholders was because SECC is a social movement activist group advocating free electricity while Eskom is the electricity service provider. Household data examines the range of fuels, factors affecting fuel choice and the attitude of people towards alternative energy sources. The two stakeholders help to critically assess the effectiveness of energy policy document supporting the supply of electricity to poor communities, including Diepkloof. This research concluded that there is no clear evidence that an energy transition is taking place in Diepkloof. Moreover, the results indicate that the energy policy has good intentions but there are still some difficulties with affordability, and culture or personal choice. As a consequence of the underlying problem, most poor households still rely on multiple fuels use for major thermal purpose such as cooking and heating.

This research draws upon interdisciplinary studies of childhood and young people's agency to present an ethnographic account of one group of young people in Nepal's lived experience of 'the global schooling project', a term used to describe the series of policy initiatives and the complex landscape of actors and institutions furthering the aim of getting every child, everywhere into school. Based on five months of fieldwork in which I intimately embedded myself in the everyday lives and social, emotional worlds of a group of young people living on Mansawar Street in Pokhara, I show how the global schooling project and its values impact upon their childhoods and everyday choices, shaping their aspirations, daily routines and self-conceptions, and those of their families and communities. I bring attention to how these flattening policy initiatives can have the effect of marginalising many of these young people's unique talents, interest and competencies, not accounting for the diversity of their learning and their agencies in moving through and making sense of their everyday material and immaterial worlds. I emphasise how schooling can act as an ambiguous resource for these young people, not only providing opportunity, knowledge and pathways towards employment, but also drawing them into systems of inequality and exploitation, both inside and outside of school. This research, then, provides an account of the lived experience of schooling on Mansawar Street and the profound ways in which schooling shapes local economies and ecologies, transforming family and community relationships and young people's childhoods.

This study endeavoured to establish what influences students to undertake library and information studies. Are prospective students of library and information studies choosing their course and future occupation for the same sorts of reasons as in the past? Are prospective students well informed about their future occupation when they choose a course of study? What is the relative importance of some of the factors influencing their choice? Do metropolitan, regional and isolated students have the same understanding and expectations of their course and future occupation? A study of first year undergraduate students of library and information studies at three universities sought to provide answers to these questions. A quantitative and qualitative comparison of first year undergraduate students of Library and Information Studies at the University of Canberra and a random group from the same University was also undertaken in order to provide some comparative data. The findings showed that reasons for choosing library and information studies have generally not changed as much as one might expect. An interest in books and reading still ranks as a relatively important factor in students' choice, though there is some evidence of an increased interest in career and employment issues. Library and information studies students without an occupational background in the discipline generally have a hazy picture of what is involved in their future occupation and this lack of knowledge is compounded where students are located in regional or isolated areas. Generally most library and information studies respondents expressed a desire to enter 'traditional' workplaces in libraries rather than entering the broader information management field.

This dissertation collects essays that focuses on two branches of the economic literature on imperfect competition: the one of IO on the decision of firms' location and the one of economic growth on market structure and technological progress. Chapter 2 deals with the issue of firms' location and proposes a model that sheds light on how the geographic distribution of firms is affected by strategic interaction in presence of vertically differentiated products. The remaining Chapters, instead, have a common root; they, in fact, deal with the link existing between market structure and growth. More precisely, Chapter 3 studies how knowledge spillovers across firms influence this link and introduces the basic framework which is further extended in Chapters 4 and 5 to allow for strategic interaction and multi-product firms respectively. In all these models technological progress takes the form of cost reductions. The model-setting considered in these Chapters belongs to the class of creative accumulation models, whose introduction in the economic literature is relatively recent and can be attributed to Smulders and van de Klundert and Peretto. Finally, Chapter 6 follows the creative destruction tradition initiated by Grossman and Helpman and Aghion and Howitt and develops a growth model with product quality innovations of random size. In all the Chapters of this dissertation, we adopt a normative perspective by comparing the market equilibrium solution to the optimal one.

While previous research has examined the effect of income on happiness, we suggest that how people spend their money may be as important for their well-being as how much they earn. Specifically, we hypothesized that spending money on others may have a more positive impact on well-being than spending money on oneself. We found converging evidence for this hypothesis in a nationally representative survey (Study 1), a longitudinal study of windfall spending (Study 2), and an experimental study in which participants were randomly assigned to spend money on themselves or others (Study 3). We also found that people believe that spending on themselves, as opposed to others, will make them happier (Study 4) and that happier people were more likely to spend on others and experience higher happiness as result (Study 5). These results demonstrate that spending money on others may facilitate the translation of wealth into well-being.

In this qualitative study, an experimental horror game was developed to test what and how different aspects of the level design would guide players. The aspects that were used were identified in a pilot study. Five volunteers played the game and then participated in a Stimulated Recall Interview where each person was asked about their thought-process during a “choice-of-path” and why they chose to follow the path they did. They were also asked if any of the paths seemed like where they were supposed to go and how scary they felt the gamewas in general. Afterwards, the data was analyzed using thematic analysis and 16 themes that affect the player choice were identified and analyzed. The studyfound that decisions appeared to vary greatly between players, but that the mostattractive aspects of a level were brighter illumination than in the surroundingarea, easy accessibility and distinction from the surroundings. The most unattractive aspects were lesser illumination, backtracking and subjective negative associations. / I den här kvalitativa studien utvecklades ett experimentellt skräckspel för att testa vilka aspekter av en 3D-miljös design påverkar spelarens val av väg ochhur. Aspekterna som användes i designen identifierades genom en pilotstudie.Fem frivilliga spelade igenom spelet och deltog i en Stimulated Recall Interview där varje person frågades om sin tankeprocess under varje vägval och varförde gjorde valet de gjorde. De frågades också om något av valen kändes som dit deborde gå och hur obehagligt de tyckte att spelet var generellt. Efteråtanalyserades datan genom tematisk analys och 16 teman som påverkarspelarens val kunde identifieras och analyseras. Studien fann att valen gjordavarierade mycket mellan deltagarna, men att de mest attraktiva aspekterna av en3D-miljö var högre belysning än omgivningen, lättåtkomlighet och distinktion från omgivningen. De minst attraktiva aspekterna var svagare belysningen än omgivningen, platser redan besökta och subjektiva negativa associationer.

While previous research has examined the effect of income on happiness, we suggest that how people spend their money may be as important for their well-being as how much they earn. Specifically, we hypothesized that spending money on others may have a more positive impact on well-being than spending money on oneself. We found converging evidence for this hypothesis in a nationally representative survey (Study 1), a longitudinal study of windfall spending (Study 2), and an experimental study in which participants were randomly assigned to spend money on themselves or others (Study 3). We also found that people believe that spending on themselves, as opposed to others, will make them happier (Study 4) and that happier people were more likely to spend on others and experience higher happiness as result (Study 5). These results demonstrate that spending money on others may facilitate the translation of wealth into well-being.

This paper follows the methodologies of a previous study published in the American Economic Journal by Fogli and Fernandez that explores culture’s effect on second-generation American women and their work versus fertility trade-off. The difference between this paper and the previous study – used as a model – is the years of US census data used for the regressions. Fogli and Fernandez use 1970 United States census data while this study uses 2010 United States census data. As in their study, the culture proxy for work is labor force participation rates (LFP) and total fertility rates (TFR) for fertility assigned by the women's country of ancestry. Adjusting for some limitations posed by the data set, the results of this study show that the cultural proxies have significant results, though the sign of these proxies differs from the signs found in the model study. This paper also provides three extensions to the base study: insurance coverage, age at first marriage consideration, and a multiracial sample pool.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Tertiary education is becoming increasingly costly for many students. According to Pieterse (2005), young people can barely afford to make mistakes in their career decisions, as this could cost them too much in time and money. According to Coertse and Schepers (2004), one of the most important decisions adolescents will ever face is choosing what career to pursue. Coertse and Schepers (2004) propose that an adolescent’s career has significant consequences on their identity, values and aspirations. The most efficient way to develop young persons’ abilities, and assist them in realising their true potential, is through the educational and vocational training offered in schools (Lens, Herrera & Lacante, 2004). Many students do not receive proper career guidance at secondary schooling and they find themselves in their final year graduating, and unsure in terms of the career they are going to pursue. Hence, there exists a great need in the South African context for career guidance and for additional research in the levels of career maturity amongst final year undergraduate students. Career maturity has important implications for career development and decision-making practices (Schreuder & Coetzee, 2014). The term career maturity represents a readiness to engage in and the ability to master certain career developmental tasks appropriate to the age and level of an individual (Langley, Du Toit & Herbst, 1996). In previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa, career and educational planning was characterised by under- development, marginalisation, and under-resourcing (Pieterse, 2005). This could negatively impact students’ motivation towards, and perspectives of, their future careers. The present study aimed to assess the career maturity levels among final year students at a tertiary institution. Specifically, how students’ age, gender, stated certainty of career and type of secondary school influenced their career maturity levels. The sample group (N=149) consisted of final year undergraduate students, who were conveniently drawn to voluntarily partake in the research. Participants completed a biographical questionnaire as well as the Career Development Questionnaire (CDQ). Anonymity was ensured and the students were informed that all the information would be treated with strict confidentiality and used only for the stated research purposes. Statistical analyses involved descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation, T-test and Analysis of variance). The results indicated no significant relationship between the age, stated certainty of career, type of secondary school students attended and their career maturity. However, a significant relationship was found between gender and career maturity.