For the first time, the world now has a higher urban than rural population, with the urban to rural ratio growing at a steady rate. Much of this urban growth and urbanisation (from rural areas to cities) is happening in low and middle income countries, with city authorities often unable to keep up and ‘formally’ meet new housing demands. This has led to growth in ‘unplanned-for’ parts of our cities (from a formal planning perspective), in the form of (among others) informal settlements, often referred to in international literature as ‘slums’. International best practice and contemporary housing policy in South Africa propose ’passive’ approaches to informal settlement intervention, such as in-situ upgrading. In Johannesburg planning and housing authorities are generally reluctant to implement such approaches however; opting rather for more ‘active’ approaches such as relocation to formal housing (Huchzermeyer, 2009; Harrison, Personal Communication, 2013). This study makes two contributions. The first, and overall objective, is a pragmatic one, the second a theoretical one, both intended to improve engagement between the residents of informal settlements and city authorities. The overall pragmatic objective aims to contribute to an evolving understanding of informal settlements in South Africa. This is specifically in bringing balance in thinking to often polarised understandings of informal settlements; for example, government’s focus on ‘vulnerability’ and scholarly attention to the positive role played by informal settlements in our cities. The report argues that we do need to acknowledge the vulnerabilities of residents living within informal settlements but that we must also recognise the positive role played by informal settlements within the broader urban system, and within the lives of mainly poor individuals and households. The report shows that informal settlements do offer the means for individuals and households to build personal, household and community resilience in an urban context. It is because of this understanding that the report does not propose ‘radical’ strategies to intervene in informal settlements such as relocation or even high-level formalisation. It argues for incremental – perhaps, seemingly, passive – approaches such as in-situ tenure, infrastructure and housing upgrades. However, these approaches do need to be pursued systematically and consistently to ensure real and enduring impacts at both settlement and city wide levels. As part of its pragmatic contribution the report addresses methodology of interventions. It shows that interventions should be case specific and tailored to the circumstances of individual informal settlements. To this end, the first step to any informal settlement intervention should be in depth research into the specific context and set of living conditions in the settlement. The study argues, too, that the method of this investigation should build on the knowledge of residents within the settlement, combining traditional technical analysis with recently developed methods in which residents themselves play a leading role in informal data collection and analysis. The theoretical contribution brings together three streams of theory relating to three key concepts, being ‘urban informality’, ‘vulnerability’ and ‘resilience’. More specifically, it aims to bring concepts of urban informality into engagement with ideas of urban resilience, as suggested by Miller, et al. (2010). Two general views of informality and informal settlements are outlined, which are termed ‘informality as vulnerability’ and ‘informality as resilience’. The former often leads to a response that seeks to ‘eradicate’ informal settlements either through relocation or formalisation. The latter recognises the positive, adaptive nature of informal settlements as real and functional parts of our urban landscapes, calling for their integration into rather than exclusion from our cities. It is the adaptive capacity of informal settlements – or, rather of the individuals and households within the informal settlements – that provides the links between notions of informality and notions of resilience. In this sense, the idea of resilience in relation to informal settlements is a short-hand for discussing the extent to which informal settlements are able to: bring residents into a closer relationships with jobs, livelihood opportunities and services; provide poor households with access to land and affordable accommodation; and, provide a form of shelter that can adjust to the changing needs of households through their various life-cycles. The report recognises that resilience is an elastic concept used in various ways which is both a conceptual strength and limitation. The report outlines, for example, the differences between ‘equilibrist’ and ‘evolutionary’ conceptions of resilience. This work is positioned closer to the evolutionary conception as it views resilience as the capacity to adapt on an on-going basis to a continually changing world. However, it acknowledges that the equilibrist notion also has value as there are instances when for example, a settlement or a household should resist or recover from a shock (fire, flooding, a criminal attack or the loss of a job) and restore what may approximate an original circumstance. The report also acknowledges that resilience may be used as an analytical or normative term. Analytically, the idea of resilience – and the methodologies linked to it – is a means to test the adaptive capacity of households or other social formations, including human settlement. As a normative concept, resilience is an aspiration (as used, for example, in the City of Johannesburg 2040 Strategy). Although it is used normatively here, the report acknowledges that resilience is not intrinsically positive. Many negative features of a city may also prove to be highly resilient such as, for example, the spatial legacies of Apartheid rule. This ‘perverse resilience’ does require special attention. Within informal settlements, many of the ‘vulnerabilities’ may prove to be hugely resilient. This report focuses however on the positive dimension of resilience - on the extent to which the environment provided by informal settlements enhances the adaptive capacity of individuals and households. Through an investigation into the positive and negative aspects of living in Kya Sands, the study argues that when considering and engaging with informal settlements, planning authorities should not focus only on their undesirable characteristics (from which vulnerability is inferred). Authorities should also consider the benefits that informal settlements provide to their residents and the city at large (to which resilience is compared, but not equated). While interventions in informal settlements should address the clear vulnerability to a number of hazards that many of their residents face, interventions should not ‘eradicate’ the benefits that residents gain from living there. It is argued that resilience of informal settlements is based on the creativity and adaptive capacity through which their inhabitants have gained access to the city, despite their effective (formal) exclusion from it. A final contribution of the study is the empirical information is offers on one informal settlement in Johannesburg. Although there have been various investigations into the scale of informal settlement in the city, in-depth study of particular informal settlements are still rare.

African perspectives of mothering and attachment have only started being explored recently. Conversely there has been extensive research on Western understandings of attachment and mothering from a psychoanalytic perspective. Due to the limited literature, little is known whether psychoanalytic theories can be related to African cultural perspectives of mothering and attachment. This study aimed to understand African grandmothers’ cultural knowledge of mothering and attachment through a psychoanalytic attachment theory perspective. Secondly the study intended to describe the points of convergence and divergence between psychoanalytic concepts of attachment and African grandmothers’ cultural knowledge on mothering. Using a qualitative research design, nine African grandmothers, from different locations in Johannesburg, were interviewed, using a semi-structured interview. The data gathered from the interviews was analysed using aspects of narrative analysis. The findings regarding African grandmother’s cultural descriptions of mothering were on the most part consistent with the literature reviewed. The discrepancies between the participants’ understandings and the psychoanalytic attachment literature arose as a result of the major influence of socio-economic circumstances on their lives as caregivers. Psychoanalytic attachment constructs were present in the participant’s narratives and even though they were not specifically named by the participants, the results suggested they are entrenched in African cultural practices. Thus, from a psychoanalytic attachment theory perspective the research was able to demonstrate the convergences and divergences between psychoanalytic concepts of mothering and African cultural understandings of mothering, thereby illustrating how there is room for dialogue between the two.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science in Building to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Construction Economics and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are an innovative method to deliver infrastructural projects without government having to use public funds for funding capital projects. This innovative method has been adopted worldwide and has yielded the intended results, more especially in European countries. This innovative method provides government with an opportunity to focus on governing and take advantage of skills and funding from the private sector to fund capital-intensive infrastructural projects. Within the South African context, all PPPs are required to comply with the requisites of the BEE Code of Good Practice for PPPs, which states that 10% of the bid weight will be allocated for compliance in terms of BEE. Over the years, this requirement has been met for the majority of PPP projects that reached financial close and complied with the requirements promulgated by the South African Government as a tool to promote, develop and empower up-and-coming entities. The aim of this study was to investigate the economic advancement occasioned by PPPs on Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDI) subcontracting. This was attained through the use of a case study method as a result of the type of questions and objectives to be met. The study revealed that PPP projects are compliant with the BEE Code of Good Practice for PPPs. However, the requirements are not specific and clear in the PPP agreement to facilitate better monitoring and evaluation. Keywords: Previously Disadvantaged Individuals, Subcontracting, Black Economic Empowerment, Public Private Partnerships / XL2018

A thesis submitted in full fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Marketing) at the University of Witwatersrand, 2017 / With the rise of globalisation, consumers are increasingly faced with having to make purchase decisions between domestic and foreign products or brands. Therefore, it is important to gain a better understanding of what factors influence consumer decisions when considering a local or global product or brand. Although a number of studies have explored similar topics, a lack of research remains regarding a comprehensive theoretical model that provides a holistic view of factors influencing the decision to buy a global product. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate those factors that influence the purchase decisions of global fashion brands among black middle-class women in South Africa. More specifically, by means of a conceptual model, the present study proposes that ethnocentrism, price, brand knowledge (comprising of brand awareness and brand image), self-image, fashion involvement, brand love, attitude, and perceived quality influence consumers’ buying decisions. The findings of this study seek to fill the gap in literature regarding how emerging black middle-class consumers in South Africa make buying decisions with regard to (global) fashion products. An empirical study was undertaken, in which 500 black middle-class females were asked to complete an online survey to determine which factors influence their choice of global fashion clothing. The obtained data was analysed by means of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using Partial Least Squares. The findings support all proposed hypotheses, but not all hypotheses were found to be significant. The strongest relationships were found between brand knowledge and perceived quality, brand knowledge and attitude, and self-image and attitude. The weakest relationships were between ethnocentrism and purchase intention, price perception and perceived quality and finally brand love and purchase intention. Furthermore, the findings revealed that quality is the main reason for consumers to consider buying global fashion-branded clothing. On the other hand, price is the biggest drawback of sales of global fashion brands. This study is of significant importance to fashion marketers since it provides adequate insight into how global fashion brands can position themselves and influence consumers’ decisions to buy global fashion products. This study further provides a comprehensive model, adds to knowledge gaps, and provides several managerial implications and directions for future research. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand Business School, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation 28th July 2015 / In South Africa today there are many rural economies in decline. Despite the recognition internationally, since the 2nd World War internationally and since 1994 in South Africa specifically, of the value that can be added by specifically targeting Local Economic Development and Entrepreneurship as strategies for an answer to the decline in local economies, success has been limited. More success has in fact been seen in rural communities that have developed through the natural flows of the market than from direct intervention. This progression takes a long time though and the South African situation with all its history cannot wait this long for development. The question asked is why interventions fail, what are the basic factors that make up the local economic development paradigm and how are they affecting the interventions. Information is key to planning and planning is key to successful interventions. A literature review is done in order to establish the basis of LED historically, theoretically and specifically with regards to the South African rural environment, in order to assist in the development of the information required for successful planning of LED interventions. With the most prominent factors derived from this literature review tabled and applied into established Case Study models, a questionnaire is developed for application into rural economies through Community Entrepreneurship programmes or LED vehicles. In order to establish firstly the relevance of the factors and secondly the relevance of the questionnaire, it is reviewed, scored and commented on by a select group of industry practitioners in LED. The opinion of these individuals further validates the use of the factors and questionnaire in baseline LED intervention planning.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016. / The diaries of Jan van Riebeeck contains one of the oldest documentary records of weather phenomena for the southwestern Cape. They contain descriptions of daily wind direction and strength and daily rainfall events. The primary aim of this research is to reconstruct a comprehensive weather chronology for the southwestern Cape region from these diaries, spanning the period 1652-1665, and place this in context with the 20th-21st C climate for the region. The study further aims to examine the relationships between the 17th C society and natural environment. All climate and environmental information is extracted from the diaries and tabulated. Qualitative information on wind and rain was classified and transformed into quantitative data. Contemporary data retrieved from the Royal Observatory and the South African Weather Services are used to make comparisons between the historical study period and contemporary conditions. However, due to the qualitative nature of the historical data, statistical analysis demonstrated that such comparisons are limited. Within the historical period, analysis of the number of rain days demonstrated a distinct wet period in the first half followed by progressive drying. Wind data from the diaries reflected distinct seasonality linked to shifts in the position of the ITCZ. Additionally, unusual events including snow, hail, the Black south-easterly and ‘dirty rain’ are explored. Qualitative data revealed a heavy reliance on climate to support crops and livestock, and a range of environmental stresses to human health, infrastructure and food security. / LG2017

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 in Strategic Marketing. / Globally there has been a decrease in fixed line telephones while Smartphone sales have been on the rise; the same trend has also been happening in South Africa. Due to this trend, Smartphone brands have been placing importance on the retention of existing customers, therefore focusing on repurchase intentions. The research investigates the relationship between experiential marketing (sense, feel, think, act and relate experience), customer satisfaction and the repurchase intentions of Smartphones amongst the youth market of South Africa. The paper reviews literature on experiential marketing, customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions, then tests six hypotheses which were proposed which led to the development of a research model. Non-probability sampling was used at The University of the Witwatersrand where the study was conducted amongst 223 youth aged 15 – 35 years. Structural equational modelling was used to analyse the data, using SPSS and Amos software. The results revealed sense experience has the most influence on the customer satisfaction of Smartphone brands which then leads to repurchase intentions. The findings are expected to add to literature on experiential marketing, customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions as well as provide practical implications. / GR2018

The summer rainfall region of South Africa is dominated by convective thunderstorm development from October to March. The result is that lightning is a common event over most of the country during this time. The South African Weather Service (SAWS) installed a stateof- the-art Lightning Detection Network (LDN) in late 2005 in order to accurately monitor lightning across South Africa. Data from this network for 2006 was utilised in order to develop an initial climatology of lightning in South Africa. Analyses were performed of lightning ground flash density, flash median peak current and flash multiplicity on a 0.2° grid across South Africa. The highest ground flash density values were found along the eastern escarpment of the country, extending onto the high interior plateau. There is a general decrease in flash density from east to west, with almost no lightning recorded on the west coast of the country. The regions of highest flash density recorded the highest percentages of negative polarity lightning. The percentage of positive lightning was higher in the winter months, as was the median peak current of lightning of both polarities. The median peak current distribution displayed distinct bands of current values oriented in northwest to southeast bands across the country. The bands of higher median peak current correspond to the regions to the rear of the interior trough axis in areas dominated by stratiform cloud development and were more dominant in the mid summer months. The highest flash multiplicity was recorded in the regions of highest flash density. Along the southern escarpment, on the eastern side of South Africa, flash multiplicity values exceeded 3 flashes per square kilometer. The highest flash multiplicity of negative polarity lightning was recorded in the spring and early summer. Throughout the year, the percentage of single stroke flashes for positive lightning is high. Topography and the position of the surface trough have a very strong influence on the ground flash density and median peak current distributions, but not on the flash multiplicity distribution. The results from the analyses of the three lightning variables were then combined to determine risk indexes of high intensity lightning and of positive polarity lightning. The eastern part of South Africa is at extreme risk from both large amounts of lightning and from positive polarity lightning, whereas the regions in the northwest of the country that are dominated by mining are at extreme risk from mainly positive polarity lightning.

Thesis (MTech (Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / Urban rivers are the most utilised and yet degraded rivers worldwide. The urban rivers of the Western Cape are no different. The Lourens River flows through the agricultural and urban areas of Somerset West in the Western Cape and as a result is subjected to a variety of pollution sources. In the upper reaches this river flows through two large farms where metal containing pesticides are used. Further downstream it passes through an urban area where a variety of pollution sources could contribute to the contamination of the river. The extent to which the Lourens River, and the ecosystem it supports, is affected by metal pollutants is not known. The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of metals in the Lourens River as well as the contribution of agricultural and urban activities to metal contamination of the river. Sediment and crab (Potamonautes perlatus) samples were collected over a period of one year from seven sites over the length of the river. Sediment samples were also collected from a sedimentation pond on the bank of the river where orchard run-off water is remediated. Preliminary analysis of samples was done for ten metals (AI, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn). Results from these analyses determined the selection of six metals (AI, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn) for further investigation in this study. The concentrations of metals detected in collected samples varied significantly throughout the sampling period. This can be attributed to various factors such as rainfall patterns, the fact that pesticide application varies throughout the year and other urban activities. AI, Cr, Fe and Zn were found in significantly higher concentrations in the urban areas. These higher levels of contamination, relative to the upper parts of the river, can probably be attributed to various urban activities contributing to the contamination of run-off into the river. The sedimentation pond results revealed high concentrations of AI and Fe, while Cu, Cr, Mn, and Zn were found in lower concentrations. All six metals however followed the same pattern where the first four sampling occasions showed higher concentrations than the last three occasions. It can be concluded that agricultural and urban activities do contribute significantly to the metal contamination of the Lourens River.

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Environmental Management in the Faculty of Applied Science at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology / The concept “Sustainable Development” (SD) is defined and interpreted differently worldwide with the result that it encompasses different meanings to different people. The environmental impact assessment (EIA) process has been identified as a key tool for the implementation of SD. This research focuses on the concept of SD and its interpretation, meaning and implementation in terms of the legislation governing EIAs in South Africa. The research methodology employed in the thesis involves a literature study of the historical development and emergence of the concept of SD and the legal framework in which it is contextualised in South Africa. This is followed by a critical evaluation of the concept and its implementation using Jacob’s six Fault Lines. These Fault Lines include (i) the degree of environmental protection that is envisaged to attain SD, (ii) the emphasis placed on equality as a prerequisite for SD, (iii) the measure of participation required to attain SD, (iv) the scope of the concept of SD, (v) the environmental monitoring and evaluation that is required for SD as well as (vi) environmental planning to achieve the goal of SD. The second half of the thesis employs a case study methodology to evaluate the implementation of SD in five separate housing EIA processes in the Stellenbosch Municipal Area. Personal interviews and site observations are used to inform the case studies. The study identifies major conceptual flaws associated with the interpretation and implementation of the concept of SD as well as the challenges preventing EIAs from being an effective tool to enhance SD.The main findings are that EIAs do not sufficiently take into account the cumulative impacts of developments, they are unable to protect the environment from the increasing demand for additional housing in South Africa and that there is insufficient monitoring of EIA processes to ensure adequate long-term environmental protection.