This study is a Minor Field Study (MFS), which is a Sida funded scholarship who made this field study possible. With an institutionalist approach, this field study aims to outline the foundational reasons behind peoples’ participation in the South African informal financial stokvel system. In order to do that, interviews have been made trying to identify what roles normative, cultural and economic factors play in peoples’ decisions, why individuals’ find that the stokvel system is a better choice than other systems, and also to explore what individuals experience distinguish the informal and formal economic systems. The study has been conducted in South Africa, in the province KwaZuluNatal, and twenty-five persons has been interviewed in order to get the people perspective. Results show that both normative, cultural and economic factors appear as important, but that the economic factors play the overall biggest role for joining a stokvel. Both the main differences between the formal and informal system, and the reasons why individuals find that the stokvel system is the best system of choice, can be traced back to trust and trust issues.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and management, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business Sciences. Johannesburg, November 2017. / The conceptualisation of core values indicate that they are guiding principles in shaping organisational culture. Furthermore, values enhance firm efficiency if they are well integrated in all business processes. Despite the fact that core values motivate employees, SMEs in the informal economies of developing countries do not provide a list of core values to employees. The purpose of this study, therefore; was to establish the commonly practiced core values in Uganda’s informal economy and whether such core values could motivate and reinforce behaviour among employees and at the same time, foster entrepreneurial performance. The study adopted a mixed methods approach. In this case, the sample size for qualitative interviews was twenty-five respondents whereas the sample size for the quantitative survey was three hundred and eighty-six (386) respondents. The interviews were guided by a semi-structured interview guide and revealed that the commonly practiced core values in Uganda’s informal economy are; cleanliness, trust, fairness, responsibility and respect. It was established that core values motivate and reinforce employee behaviour. The quantitative survey was done using a questionnaire with a five- point Likert scale. Hypotheses and mediation tests were carried out by way of structural equation modeling, using AMOS and Sobel’s test respectively. Results from all hypotheses’ tests indicated significant positive relationships between predictor and outcome variables. However, the relationships of; motivation and entrepreneurial performance and legitimacy and entrepreneurial performance were positive, but insignificant. In addition, it was discovered that the reinforcement theory is applicable in Uganda’s informal economy. Based on the results of this research, it is recommended that SMEs should seek to acquire skills on how to fully turn legitimacy and motivation into business advantage and how to use core values as tools for advertising and marketing the business. Finally, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, with help from local governments, should design a policy to tempt SMEs to voluntarily engage in community service, especially cleaning up water and drainage channels to improve cleanliness in the communities as well as improving on business legitimacy. / GR2018

When HIV/AIDS first emerged from the shadows decades ago, few people could visualise how the epidemic would evolve, and fewer still could describe with any certainty the best ways of combating it. Today, we know from experience that the impact of HIV/AIDS thrives in conditions of socio-economic vulnerability and inequity. We are witnessing how HIV/AIDS is devastating regions, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, pushing the already stigmatised groups further away and destroying the sustainability of communities and their development conditions. The burden lies on local governments, National as well as regional authorities to take a more proactive role in confronting the pandemic and to prioritise activities geared towards the prevention of the spread of the disease. To fight poverty is to promote human development thus broadening people’s choices. This research project assesses the current practices that Johannesburg government has taken as an appropriate strategy to fight HIV/AIDS in Informal Settlements using the Human Development Strategy. Assessing the appropriateness of Human Development Strategy, an Informal Settlement named Sol Plaatjies, which is situated in Region 5 of Johannesburg, is used as a case study. The appropriateness of this strategy is measured against its ability to reduce the effects that are brought about by the HIV/AIDS since this strategy has been implemented in Sol Plaatjies.

Historically, Zimbabwe’s urban population enjoyed high water supply and sanitation service levels and standards, having one of the highest coverage levels in Africa. However, over the last two decades, the quality of Zimbabwe’s urban water supply and sanitation services has slowly been eroded. The poor, displaced and disenfranchised Zimbabweans that occupy Harare’s informal urban settlements are vulnerable to challenges posed by unavailability of basic water and sanitation services. This qualitative research project, carried out between January and June 2013 in Harare’s Hopley and Retreat informal settlements, investigates factors that have been preventing delivery of basic sanitation services to residents in these two settlements. Presenting evidence from the two informal settlements of Hopley and Retreat, this research establishes that there is a complex relationship at play between policy processes, the prevailing political environment and the way in which institutions have responded to the problem of sanitation in these settlements. The study was undertaken towards the end of an era of a negotiated Government of National Unity between ZANU-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change, highlights the dominance of power and political contestation between the two parties that has spilled into policy decisions on basic service provision in the informal settlements. The deep rooted culture of political violence which characterised the political environment from 2000 onwards, with very little commitment to democratic processes, was instrumental in the development of Hopley settlement after the 2005 elections. At face value, ZANU-PF was providing displaced people with alternative accommodation. However, as Muzondidya notes, this along with other ZANU-PF strategies is ‘(c)onsistent with its hegemonic political culture… to engage in cosmetic political and economic reforms that will not result in further democracy or result in a loss of its historic monopoly over power…’ (Muzondidya in Raftopolous, 2013, p.50). Informal settlements are a relatively new phenomenon in Zimbabwe. However, since their inception, they have continued to grow, fuelled by ZANU-PF’s strategy to allocate unserviced residential stands in exchange for residents’ allegiance to the party, with the most recent illegal residential stand allocations taking place in Chitungwiza town in 2013. A close examination of Hopley and Retreat revealed that water and sanitation services provided in Zimbabwe’s informal settlements are typically inadequate or non-existent – a situation that has the potential for severe public health impacts. The emergency actions taken by Non-Governmental Organisations during the height of the 2008 cholera outbreak only provided short-term sanitation solutions. The research concludes that water and sanitation services in Zimbabwe’s informal urban settlements have come to this point, mainly due to the interacting forces of politics. These have influenced policy processes on decision-making, formulation and implementation of sanitation policies for informal settlements. Despite the political origins of several informal settlements, there is a notable absence of practical policies to tackle the issues posed by this development and a lack of institutions capable of instigating the plans needed for change.

Student Number : 2503365 MSc Building (Housing) research report School of Architecture Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / The failure of governments to promote efficient housing policies coupled with increasing speculation in land markets has resulted in scarcity of serviced land, leading to a lack of adequate housing for the majority of the urban population. This has resulted in illegal land use and development and the eventual situation of informal settlements developing at a rapid rate. However most governments in the developing world, including South Africa have failed to acknowledge that most new urban informal settlements are developed by an illegal process as informal settlement residents willingly or unwittingly contravene planning regulations, contravene laws out of ignorance of the legal requirements, coupled with the inability to conform to the high standards set. Consequently, States respond to this illegality in the form of eviction as it threatens the economic, social and political stability of the urban environment. Concepts promoted internationally and identified in international literature recognize that the solution to informality lies in appropriate protection of rights which should ensure access to secure shelter leading to access to other benefits such as livelihood opportunities, public services and credits. That flowing from International Laws and Covenants, Human Rights Law needs to be looked at as a system of law that creates legally binding obligations for states with the aim of protecting, respecting and promoting housing rights for informal settlement residents. In the context of rights, Fernandes goes further in emphasising the legal constitutional perspective of the urban phenomenon where law is used as a vehicle for urban development and social change as well as encouraging state action and its attempts at socio-political legitimization in the context of informal settlement intervention.

Student Number : 0204752J - MSc research report - School of Construction Economics and Management - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / Most governments in developing countries are unable to assist in the ever-growing housing needs of the informal sector, which constitutes the major part of most economies. The two reasons for this state of affairs are (i) the ever-shrinking resource base of countries, which makes the provision of subsidies impractical; and (ii) the fact that this sector is normally characterized by irregular incomes, which makes provision for loans by financial institutions difficult. This situation is particularly true for the Kingdom of Lesotho. Due to their unfortunate predicament, the informal sector has become innovative in addressing their housing needs. Various informal credit methods are widely employed to finance their houses, which are built progressively. This research therefore investigates the possibilities of linking the progressive housing investment to bank housing finance, using Maseru - Lesotho as the research focus. In order to achieve the above aim, a household survey was conducted coupled with structured interviews. The structured interviews were held with the commercial banks as well as the government housing authorities. These interviews were mainly to elicit their views about the option of Microfinance of housing. It was established that the respondents as well as the government authorities were not aware of this option. The banks were equally unaware of it and in addition to this, the perceived risk led to skepticism. As such these made Microfinance of housing impractical in the short-run. However it would be advisable to mobilize the formation of a revolving fund to which the commercial banks could on-lend, as a solution to the lack of housing finance.

Informal street trading has played a role in the decline of the inner city. In restoring the inner city to its splendor and attracting people plus investments back into it, there has been an acknowledgement of informal street trading and a move to organise the activity. The City of Johannesburg has taken action towards dealing with informal street trading within the CBD by having trading and non-trading zones, constructing markets and providing stalls along pavements in busy streets from where traders can sell. This study was carried out as a response to the major issue at hand of cleaning up the city and ridding the streets of informal traders and only letting them trade in a controlled manner preferably in enclosed markets. While not dwelling on matters of whether regulating traders is good or bad, the main purpose of the study was to probe into the systemisation of informal street trading in the CBD, further investigating the alternative of a street market as that which can be done in other parts of the inner city as a means of keeping the vibrancy of the city through the provision of minimal infrastructure. Hence, this study explored the functionality of a street market plus certain issues pertaining to informal street trading in terms of what is being done in regulating the activity, whether trading permits are being issued and whether traders are more secure trading from designated trading areas. The outcomes were then used to outline any lessons learned from the case study that can in turn be applied or be used as an insight to other parts of the inner city. In analysing informal street trading in the inner city and Kerk Street, street market it was shown that the provision of minimal infrastructure through a street market enables informal street trading to be controlled and managed in a well organised open environment while maintaining a vibrant area in which both traders and passer-bys are able to interact.

Background - The demand for management consultants in projects has been growing. However, many projects fail to integrate knowledge due to communication issues. Management consultants therefore need to be able to communicate and integrate knowledge in projects. Informal communication is very important and can be used to integrate knowledge efficiently in projects. Thesis aim - The aim of the thesis is therefore to enlighten how informal communication affects the integration of management consultants’ knowledge in projects. Methodology - This is a qualitative cross-sectional study, where primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with twelve management consultants from nine different companies. Findings - Informal communication affects management consultants’ knowledge integration in projects in several ways. Most commonly by creating trust and strong relations, which enhances the knowledge integration in projects. However, unfavorable unstructured communication can lead to uncontrolled knowledge that threatens the knowledge integration. Therefore, informal communication needs to be balanced, used in the right way and used in combination with formal communication to be as efficient as possible for knowledge integration in projects.

A informalidade atinge níveis expressivos nos países em desenvolvimento. No Brasil cerca de 50% dos postos de trabalho estão na informalidade, sendo responsáveis por quase 40% do PIB nacional. O modelo de crescimento neoclássico padrão, desenvolvido e aplicado originalmente para países desenvolvidos não é capaz de compreender porque os brasileiros não estão trabalhando menos como conseqüência dos fortes crescimentos das alíquotas tributárias no início dos anos 90. O modelo prevê uma queda dramática do número de horas trabalhadas, entretanto tal fenômeno não é observado nos dados. A informalidade parece uma boa resposta para esse desajuste, pois trabalhadores informais pagam menos impostos e, assim, aumentos nas alíquotas impactariam menos a decisão de ofertar trabalho. O objetivo dessa dissertação é modelar o número de horas trabalhadas pelo brasileiro médio para o período 1986- 1998, adicionando um setor informal no modelo de crescimento neoclássico. A inclusão de um setor informal no modelo diminui o efeito de impostos sobre o número de horas trabalhadas, melhorando assim a aderência do modelo aos dados brasileiros. / The informal sector has reached significant levels in developing countries. In Brazil about 50% of jobs are informal and account for nearly 40% of national GDP. The traditional neoclassical growth model does not explain why, given the significant increase in tax rates in the early 90s, Brazilians did not work less. The traditional model predicts a dramatic drop in the number of hours worked, but such a sharp drop is not observed in Brazilian data. The informal sector seems to be a good explanation for this divergence; informal workers do not pay taxes and so the increases in tax rates should have no impact in ones work-leisure decision. The central aim of this dissertation is to model the number of hours the average Brazilian worked between 1986 and 1998. By including the informal sector, the proposed model predicts a less dramatic change in the number of hours worked in the presence of increasing tax rates. This change makes the predicted number of hours worked closer to the actual behavior found in Brazilian data.

Underrepresentation of women and minorities in the science, technology, and engineering (STEM) fields is a perennial concern for researchers and policy-makers. Many causes of this problem have been identified. Less is known about what constitutes effective methods for increasing women’s participation in STEM. This study examines the role that identity formation plays in encouraging girls to pursue STEM education and careers utilizing data from a cohort-based, informal science enrichment program that targets middle-school-aged girls. A Mixed-methods design was employed to examine girls’ science interests, efficacy, attitudes, and identity—referred to as affinities. Quantitative data were collected before and after program participation using science affinity scales. Qualitative data included observations, focus groups, and individual interviews. This study builds on past research conducted on the same program. The study is presented in three components: fidelity of implementation, participant affinities, and science identity theory building. Quantitative and qualitative measures reveal that the program was implemented with high fidelity. Participants had high initial affinities for science as compared to a contrast group. Analysis of qualitative data of science affinities revealed several themes in girls’ attitudes, experiences, and intentions toward science. Emergent themes discussed include girls’ preferences and interests in science, gender and science efficacy, attitudes toward science, and elements of science identities. Archetypes of emergent science identities developed in this study (expert, experimenter, and inventor) inform different ways in which girls engage with and envision science study and careers. Implications for best practice in fostering science engagement and identities in middle-school-aged girls include the importance of hands-on science activities, the need for enthusiastic relatable role models, and an emphasis on deep understanding of scientific principles.