Background. In South Africa violence related crimes are frequent, and interpersonal violence is one of the most common causes of injury and death. Violence can be related to social structures, poverty and income inequality. In South Africa 25% of the population live in extreme poverty, and 16% of households in Western Cape live in Informal dwellings. Drug and alcohol miss-use is a big problem. EMS personnel all over the world are exposed to violence. The last couple of years the rate of incidents of violence against the ambulances and EMS personnel in Western Cape and Cape Town has escalated, and a protocol to protect the personnel has been established. The protocol of Red Zones requires an armed escort for the ambulance and EMS personnel when working in certain areas. The red zones are often in low income areas, which makes United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of Reduced inequality relevant. The Purpose of this study is to describe how red zones affect patient waiting times and mission times for the ambulance in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Method. Quantitative analysis of priority 1 assignments in one month periods in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to Hanover Park, a suburb of Cape Town. Hanover Park has been considered a red zone since September 2016. Result. Seven different time periods in the missions were analyzed, comparing the City of Cape Town and Hanover park in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Conclusion. The result shows an increase in waiting times for EMS in Hanover Park, even though the precise response time could not be described. Call times and mission times for the entire City of Cape Town seem to have increased, indicating a problem beyond the red zones, potentially affecting everyone in need of an ambulance in the city. Further studies are encouraged. / Bakgrund. I Sydafrika är våldsrelaterade brott vanligt förekommande, och interpersonellt våld är en av de vanligaste orsakerna till skada och död. Våldet kan relateras till sociala strukturer, fattigdom och inkomstskillnad. I Sydafrika lever 25% av befolkningen i extrem fattigdom och 16% av hushållen i Western Cape lever i informella bostäder. Missbruk av droger och alkohol är ett stort problem. Ambulanspersonal över hela världen utsätts för våld. De senaste åren har graden av våldshändelser mot ambulanser och dess personal i Western Cape och Kapstaden eskalerats och ett protokoll för att skydda personalen etablerats. Protokollet för Röda Zoner kräver en beväpnad eskort för ambulans och personal vid arbete i vissa områden. De röda zonerna är ofta i låginkomstområden, vilket gör FN: s hållbara utvecklingsmål för minskad ojämlikhet relevant. Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva hur röda zoner påverkar patienters väntetid och uppdragstider för ambulansen i Western Cape i Sydafrika. Metod. Kvantitativ analys av prio 1-uppdrag under en månadsperiod i 2016, 2017 och 2018 till Hanover Park, en förort till Kapstaden. Hanover Park har ansetts vara en röd zon sedan september 2016. Resultat. Sju olika tidsperioder i uppdragen analyserades, och jämfördes mellan hela Kapstaden och Hanover Park 2016, 2017 och 2018. Slutsats. Resultatet visar ökad väntetid för ambulansvård i Hanover Park, även om den exakta framkörningstiden inte kunde beskrivas. Uppdragstider för hela staden Cape Town verkar ha ökat, vilket indikerar ett problem bortom de röda zonerna, vilket potentiellt kan påverka alla som behöver en ambulans i staden. Ytterligare studier rekommenderas.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka och problematisera hur Sida och Afrikagrupperna arbetar med hiv och aids i Sydafrika utifrån den postkoloniala kritik som riktats mot denna typ av arbete. Fokus ligger på de problem och dilemman som finns i utvecklingssamarbetet med Sydafrika. För att få en djupare förståelse och ytterligare ett perspektiv sammanför vi den postkoloniala teorin med teorier om hälsa. I det postkoloniala kapitlet behandlas bland andra Maria Eriksson Baaz och Pal Ahluwalias teorier om hur kolonialismen har skapat strukturer som påverkar Afrikabilden både i västvärlden och i Afrika idag. I teorin om hälsa utgår vi ifrån bland andra Deborah Lupton som menar att folkhälsa har en stark inverkan på politiska och sociala strukturer som fungerar som ett moraliserande system och påverkar hur vi ser på oss själva. För att få en förståelse och kunna problematisera ämnet ytterligare har vi tagit del av de dokument och policys som ligger till grund för Sida och Afrikagruppernas hiv och aidsarbete i Sydafrika. Dessa dokument analyseras och sammanförs med de intervjuer som har genomförts med Sidas och Afrikagruppernas anställda både i Sverige och i Sydafrika. Studien har, förutom att tydliggöra utvecklingssamarbetets komplexitet, också bland annat visat på att de strukturer skapade utifrån bilden av Afrika fortfarande påverkar biståndsarbetet på olika sätt och att västvärldens syn på hälsa i sin tur påverkar synen på Afrika. Sverige har definierat sitt utvecklingsarbete som ett partnerskap och studien visar att Sverige i jämförelse med andra länder ligger långt fram i detta arbete, men att det fortfarande finns brister. / The purpose of the study is to examine and problemize how Sida and the Africa Groups of Sweden´s work with HIV/AIDS in South Africa considering the post-colonial critique that has been directed at this type of work. Focus is on the problems and dilemmas that exist is the development work with South Africa. To get a deeper understanding and further perspectives we bring the post-colonial theory together with health theories. In the post-colonial chapter are Maria Eriksson Baaz and Pal Ahluwalias theories about how the colonial era has created structures that influence how one look at Africa today being discussed. In the health theory Deborah Lupton, amongst others, argues that public health has a strong effect on political and social structures that functions as a norm building system and influence how we view ourselves. To get an understanding and to be able to further problemize the material we have examined documents and policies that are the basis for Sida and the Africa Groups of Sweden´s work with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. These documents are being analysed and brought together with interviews that have been conducted with employees of Sida and the Africa Groups of Sweden in both Sweden and South Africa. The study has, except to elucidate the complexity of the development work, also shown, among other things, that the structures created due to the image of Africa still effects the aid work on different levels and that the western view on public health influence the image of Africa. The Swedish development work has been defined as a partnership and the study shows that Sweden, in comparison with other countries lies far ahead in this work, but that there still are shortages.

My project takes place in Korsten four kilometers north of central Port Elizabeth. Korsten is today known as the industrial center of the city and provides job opportunities throughout the whole region. Central Korsten contains the biggest informal market within Port Elizabeth; it is also functioning as a nodal interchange where buses and minibus taxis provide transport within the city as well as nationwide. In 2010 major changes in the transport system will take place as a part of the 2010 world cup program. The city introduces the new Bus rapid transit system, a transportation system based on trunk buses complimented with minibus taxis. Introducing a new bus-system to Korsten will be a great challenge especially concerning Korstens informal identity and tradition. The informal economy is today an integral part of the South African economy and something that most South Africans come in contact with on daily bases. But it is an economy and movement not measurable or regulated by the government. The informal economy got its own rules and traditions and it flourishes in Korsten. It creates job opportunities as well as a possibility to buy everyday goods to a reasonable price, but it also contributes to a hectic and unstructured environment which gives a chaotic impression. This dissertation highlights the informal tradition and its possibility to be an integral part of the modern Korsten. It investigates the meaning of the public space and what role it plays in our cities and how it can be implemented in Korsten. / Available at: erik_tellden(at)hotmail.com +46702267034

The outset of this study is to contribute to the literature concerning China’s increasing economic interest to engage in the African context, its economies and resource abundandce. The overarching research problem is that the approaches held by the respective African state entities may facilitate increasing development gains for the recipient state of this economic interest in principle. To adress this research problem the study is undertaken by conducting a comparative case study where three cases/states, with presumably diverging economic and political status, are likely to effect their overall state approaches differently. Research questions, which are addressed by the creation of an idealtype analytic matrix, concern whether the states of South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe take on a more ‘permissive’ or ‘restrictive’ approach towards China’s economic interst and whether the approaches can be looked upon on both aggratege and case/area-specific levels. The main findings are that a clear tendency of the ‘permissive approach’ may be noted on a aggregate level for all cases. Further, the cases’ economic and poltical status does not necessarily effect this aggregate tendency but but rather the dynamics in case-specific areas deemed relevant in this analysis. The desire to grasp the interest seems greater than internal dynamics.

This study investigates differences in foreign policy among Swedish political parties during 1972-1982. For 44 years, Sweden was led by the Social Democrats until the centre-right coalition gained power in 1976.  Social Democrat Olof Palme is probably one of the most notable Swedish politicians, known for his strong commitment in foreign policy including opposition to American involvement in Vietnam. However, certain signs show that the centre-right parties also had a strong commitment in many conflicts during the investigated period. Deepened research comparing the left and the right during this period has however not been done. Hence, this study aims to compare if there was any change in policy after 1976, but also look into similarities and differences between the political parties during the whole period. This is done through a comparison of the yearly Swedish foreign policy debates from 1972 to 1982, comparing views in four conflicts at the time: Vietnam, South Africa, Afghanistan and Central America. The findings show many similarities and differences, with small general differences in Swedish foreign policy before and after the historical shift of power in 1976. Interestingly, there is a notable commitment to foreign policy among the centre-right parties - sometimes stronger than Palme and the Social Democrats.

The purpose of this essay is to explain Chinas growing presence in Africa through a case study regarding the relationship with South Africa and highlight the specific features of this Chinese presence. In order to achieve the essays goal two theoretical perspectives will be applied to examine the data. These two theoretical perspective is the theory of imperialism defined by Johan Galtung and Rational Choice theory defined by Vivien Lowndes, et al. Through a textual analysis of the sources used, the essay has found that Chinese finance projects in Africa that are commercially viable and mutually beneficial for the African countries still somehow have an negative impact on the African countries development. The textual analysis also account for the motives and reasons behind Chinese presence on the continent as lack of resources as the main reason for China and the lack of a developed society for the African countries. The essay examine as well the consequence with the Chineses expansion on the continent for the African sovereignty and their development in the future.

This bachelor thesis is a qualitative case study of whether the Olof Palme International Center’s (OPC) model of foreign aid, as a Swedish non-governmental organisation (NGO), is understood by leading figures of the three types of participants involved in the model; the OPC, Swedish member organisations, and, in this case, South African partner organisations, as taking either a solidarity- or charity-approach to foreign aid, in both theory and practise. The theories of Mutual Aid and International Solidarity are used to construct two opposing “solidarity” and “charity” models of foreign aid, against which the OPC model is compared. These two approaches are selected as they are most often associated with NGO foreign aid providers. The criticisms of, and suggestions for improvements to foreign aid practises are collected from aid experts and leading scholars in the field, such as Pearson (1970), the OECD/DAC, and the UN. These suggestions and criticisms are compared against both models and sorted accordingly as indicators in the analytical framework, whereby a preference among aid scholars and experts for the solidarity model is revealed. Empirical data is collected through semi-structured interviews with the involved parties and analysed through qualitative content analysis. By analysing which of the indicators in the analytical framework, belonging to the “solidarity-model” or “charity-model” were affirmed by a majority of the interviewees, it was found that both the OPC’s model and the way it is implemented, is understood by all involved parties as a solidarity model.

BRICS is an organisation consisting of the developing countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Since its creation it has quickly become a great force of power on the global arena and is expected to encompass 42% of the world’s population after the upcoming membership expansion. This sparks interest in the study of the development of the organisation. Based on the research question “How can the development of BRICS be interpreted based on the theory of offensive realism?” the study explores the field of research using a qualitative case study with theory consuming design. The paper presents the result that the member states use the organisation to ensure the safety of their respective countries. This is being conducted through the increased cooperation among like-minded developing countries and through the establishment of their own institutions. These measures are implemented with the intention of balancing the west and increasing their own power.

With the purpose of contributing to the field of social science research regarding racism in South Africa, this thesis aims to investigate how peoples’ experiences of everyday racism manifest in their lives. As well as explore their views of changes in society, regarding everyday racism, during their lifetime employing the theoretical frameworks of Erving Goffman’s (1986) Frame Analysis, and Othering. The purpose was achieved through semi-structured qualitative interviews with five black South Africans. The interviews generated an empirical data which displayed patterns of microaggressions, radicalisation, and white supremacy. The study concluded that the respondents have different views on changes regarding everyday racism in South Africa, some identifying a more progressive society, while others believe that apartheid still has a hold on society. / I syfte att bidra till området av samhällsvetenskaplig forskning om rasism i Sydafrika, syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur människors upplevelser av vardagsrasism tar sig uttryck i deras liv. Vidare utforskar studien respondenternas syn på förändringar i samhället angående vardagsrasism under sin livstid genom att använda de teoretiska ramverken Inramningsteori av Erving Goffman (1986), och Andrafiering. Syftet uppnåddes genom semistrukturerade, kvalitativa intervjuer med fem svarta sydafrikaner. Intervjuerna genererade empiriska data som visade mönster av mikroaggressioner, rasifiering och vit överlägsenhet. Studien kom fram till att de tillfrågade besitter varierande åsikter angående förändringar kring vardagsrasism i Sydafrika, vissa identifierar ett mer progressivt samhälle, medan andra anser att apartheid fortfarande har ett grepp om samhället.

The lack of proper wastewater treatment inhibits the social and economic development in many communities. The South African town Wakkerstroom is an example where wastewater is first treated before it is released. Due to the lack of technical expertise and funding to manage the sewage disposal system, a large part of the wastewater goes directly, without any treatment, into a stream feeding the Wakkerstroom wetland. The wetland purifies the wastewater and provides clean water downstream, thus is indispensable for its detoxification capacity. One relatively cheap method to determine the absorption capacity of a wetland with respect to nitrogen loading is to investigate the nitrogen uptake by the wetland vegetation. In this study, the nitrogen uptake of the vegetation in the Wakkerstroom wetland during the growing seasons between the years 2000-2018 was investigated by using harvested biomass and its nitrogen content as a proxy. The interannual variability of Net Primary Production (NPP) was calculated using a Light Use Efficiency (LUE) model for the period 2000-2018. The NPP derived with LUE-modelling was compared to NPP based on an end-of season harvest of biomass in March 2019. The nitrogen content and carbon and nitrogen (C:N) ratio were determined in the harvested biomass by carbon and nitrogen content analysis. The annual nitrogen uptake of the growing seasons between the years 2000-2018 was subsequently determined by multiplying the calculated NPP by the fraction of nitrogen found in the harvested material. The NPPtot based on harvested biomass (NPPharvest) towards the end of the growing season 2018/2019 was estimated to be 2.01 kg‧m-2‧season-1. The NPPtot calculated from LUE modelling (NPPLUE) varied between 0.49-1.64 kg‧m-2 for the growing seasons between 2000-2018. NPPharvest was between 1.2-4 times higher compared to NPPLUE, probably due to overestimation of NPPharvest because of biomass sampling of more than one-year production, or underestimation of NPPLUE due to a low maximum radiation conversion efficiency factor, εmax. The community mean nitrogen (N) content found in the biomass harvested aboveground was 1.29 % for the Phragmites community and 1.00 % for the Typha community. The nitrogen uptake of the vegetation was estimated to vary between 6.10-20.5 g N∙m-2 per growing season between the years 2000-2018. / Bristen på adekvata reningstekniker för att behandla avloppsvatten hämmar den sociala och ekonomiska utvecklingen i många samhällen. Den sydafrikanska staden Wakkerstroom är ett exempel där avloppsvatten först renas innan det släpps ut. På grund av brisen på teknisk kompetens och finansiering att hantera reningsverket som avlägsnar avloppsvatten så läcker en stor del av det orenade avloppsvattnet ut i en våtmark i Wakkerstroom via en närliggande å. Våtmarken är av regional betydelse för sin reningskapacitet då den renar avloppsvattnet och förser användare nedströms med rent vatten. En viktig aspekt för att bestämma en våtmarks reningskapacitet med avseende på kväve (N) är att undersöka växternas kväveupptag i våtmarken. Kväveupptaget hos växterna i våtmarken i Wakkerstroom under växtsäsongerna mellan år 2000–2018 undersöktes genom att använda skördad biomassa och dess kväveinnehåll som proxy. Den årliga variabiliteten hos nettoprimärproduktionen (NPP) beräknades genom att använda en LUE (Light Use Efficiency)-modell för perioden 2000-2018. NPP framtaget med LUE-modellering jämfördes med NPP baserat på biomassa skördad i slutet av växtsäsongen i mars 2019. Kväveinnehållet och kol-kväve (C:N) kvoten bestämdes hos den skördade biomassan genom en kol- och kväveanalys. Det årliga kväveupptaget under växtsäsongerna mellan 2000–2018 togs därefter fram genom att multiplicera beräknad NPP med kvävefraktionen erhållen från den skördade biomassan. NPPtot framtaget med biomassa skördad i slutet av växtsäsongen 2018/2019 (NPPbiomassa) uppskattades vara 2,01 kg‧m-2‧säsong-1. NPPtot beräknat med LUE-modellering (NPPLUE) varierade mellan 0,49–1,64 kg‧m-2 under växtsäsongerna mellan år 2000–2018. NPPbiomassa var 1,2–4 gånger högre i jämförelse med NPPLUE, vilket troligtvis berodde på att NPPbiomassa överskattades på grund av att mer än en årsproduktion av biomassa skördades, eller för att NPPLUE underskattades på grund av ett för lågt värde på den maximala effektivitetsfaktorn εmax valdes. Medelvärdet för kväveinnehållet erhållen i biomassan skördad ovanför vattennivån var 1,29 % för Phragmites-samhället och 1,00 % för Typha-samhället. Kväveupptaget hos växterna varierade mellan 6,10–20,5 g N∙m-2 per växtsäsong mellan år 2000–2018.