3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item Local responses to the unified metropolitan transport authority in Kochi, India:(2019) Reeves, Sarah ElizabethThis research interrogates the meaning, genealogy and local interpretations of the proposed Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority in Kochi, India. The methodological approach is key in exploring the complex environment in which this policy is situated. The centrality of relationships and narratives in this research meant that rich interactions with local actors and an evaluation of my own positionality as an ‘outsider’ guided the research process. Three core thematic areas revealed three distinct findings. The first is that policy genealogy at the local level is produced both through its history and through dynamic alliances between stakeholders of varying power. The perception of power in choosing to form policy networks alters the meaning of the policy in discourse and as a document. The second finding is that ideas travel from international ‘spaces’ to local ‘places’ through global, hegemonic circuits. Ideas from the Global North are easily able to land in the Global South and in turn shape the perceptions and decisions of local actors in Kochi. The third finding is that there are discrepancies between the rhetoric of policy in the form of meta-narratives and the way policy is enacted in practice. Stakeholders agree on the underlying promises that allow UMTA to gain traction but the agency and discretion of individuals means that policy practice is highly diverse. This process reveals contestations and negotiations for power at the local scale promulgating in changing forms of governance in Kochi. It can be stated that something unique is happening in Kochi which is illustrated in its dynamic policy landscape.Item Factors affecting the performance of contractors on road projects supervised by national agency of public works in Gabon(2018) Onana, Jean-ClaudeThis research investigates the performance of contractors in timeously delivering road construction projects in Gabon. Road infrastructure is the backbone of economic development of any country. A good road network facilitates trade and cooperation. It also provides access to markets in addressing socio-economic challenges by providing access to employment opportunities (World Bank 2014). The study was motivated by the fact that despite the government of Gabon’s efforts to improve the delivery of road projects by initiating a National Infrastructure Master Plan (NIMP) and creating a National Agency of Public Works (ANGT) to supervise the construction of national roads, the performance of contractors involved on these projects remains unsatisfactory in delivering road projects within the time frame proposed. The objective of the study was to establish the effect of finances on the performance of contractors in the road construction sector, to assess the effect of skilled manpower on the performance of contractors in the road construction sector, to examine how organization structure affect the performance of contractors in the road construction sector, and to establish the effect of client support on performance of contractors in the road construction sector. The study uses a cross sectional descriptive survey design since it is an investigation of an individual group of respondents. The purposive sampling technique was used in coming up with a sample size. The study relied mostly on primary data source and 65 questionnaires were used as source of data collection. From the questionnaires sent 54 respondents returned their questionnaires cutting across professionals from the contractors and the ANGT directly involved in road construction projects these included Project Managers, Planners, Engineers, Site Managers, and Site Supervisors. The data collected were both qualitative and quantitative. Collected data were coded and entered into Statistical Package for Social Scientists SPSS Version (20.0). The data were analysed to test the hypotheses using the Chi-Square statistical method. The calculated Chi-Square values in all four cases were found to be less than the critical value consequently the null hypotheses were accepted in all four cases as per the study objectives. The findings were presented descriptively in forms of tables while explanation was presented in prose. The main findings were that all the 4 factors as per the study objectives had influenced the performance of contractors delivering road project on time. It was noted that finance and organization structure have the highest influence followed by skilled manpower and client support according to the number of respondents. The recommendations for improvement in finances included that contractors should form public private partnerships with financiers and government who may be willing to finance major road construction projects, legislation be put in place to ensure clear timelines for payments and spell out penalties for default and the establishment of a bank to serve the construction industry. The recommendations included training and skill upgrading within construction firms and establishment of more middle level technical colleges in order to improve availability of skilled manpower. Also recommended was that construction firms also need to have a flexible dynamic organizational structure as the existence of such was found to be the core from which the successful implementation of road construction projects was founded. In addition, client support in form of prompt payments and approvals, involvement of stakeholders, early land acquisition and project coordination are necessary to ensure enhanced performance of contractors in the road sector. This would ensure timely, cost effective and quality completion of road projects.Item A democratic city?: the role of transport networks on social cohesion(2016) Makhubu, Jabu AbsalomUrbanity is political, thus, urbanists have to engage in political issues and systems in order to address the injustice of the past, especially in the context of South African cities. 2014 marks South Africa’s 20th year into democracy, but what are the achievements and advancements in changing the legacy the country inherited? “What is the spatial layout/”blueprint” of a democratic city and society?” “Democratic urban space is derived from the design for all concept” Kurdistan et al, 2012, 71. Burdett, 2013 argues that a multiple scale perspective informs us that social processes are the outcomes of often hidden spatial narratives, alongside more conventional social science considerations. “It is perhaps the role of urban scholarship to bring informal role players and professional agencies closer together, both through theoretical reframing of the contemporary urban crisis and by the identification and explanation of projects and initiatives that are, by default or design, changing our urban world, as they contribute to making cities just and equitable” (Burdett, 2013, 365). This research attempts to act on Burdett’s call above. It discusses the inherited legacy of social, economic, and physical separation, in the goal of understanding the development trajectories proposed by the City of Johannesburg that are focused at addressing this legacy. Regional and neighbourhood projects such as the Gautrain, Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Trainsit, and Alexandra Renewal project are being implemented throughout the city. Very few projects such as the Corridors of Freedom focus both on the regional and metropolitan scale. This research specifically focuses on the metropolitan scale; it unpacks, and expands on the City’s vision of a Socially Cohesive city. Furthermore, it proposes an urban design framework that identifies key projects at a metropolitan level that need consideration in order to change the image of JohannesburgItem Transition neighbourhoods: re-imagining the suburb in a world without oil(2015-05-28) Du Plessis, RianaTransition Neighbourhoods: Re-Imagining the Suburb in a World Without Oil This research report was inspired by two urban concerns: the first being the intrinsic structural and functional inefficiencies of the typical suburban environment and secondly, building on that, what the future of these environments will be in a scenario where cheap fossil fuels will no longer be readily available. A review of the literature available on the subject showed that although the notion of peak oil and/or oil depletion is not necessarily universally acknowledged, there is a growing group of scientists and scholars globally that believe that it is only a matter of time before we will no longer have the level of access to oil that we are used to. As a potential urban scenario it therefore warrants some consideration. The central question of the research report is whether the built form and function of existing suburban residential neighbourhoods can be retrofitted to become more resilient and to enable its residents to adapt to a life without oil (or at least drastically reduced availability of oil) while at the same time maintaining or (where absent) introducing accepted norms for a liveable neighbourhood. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how the principles of localisation and the Transition Movement can be made applicable to suburban environments. The theory is that the more a community is able to survive locally the less it will depend on external inputs and linkages. The outcome of the research is a model for how to adapt a conventional suburb to become a Transition Neighbourhood that will enable the survival of the suburban neighbourhood as a functional place in the larger cityscape. The research report uses Menlo Park, a centrally located residential neighbourhood in the City of Tshwane, as a case study. An Urban Design Framework was developed for the neighbourhood that applied various dimensions of resilience, localisation, liveable neighbourhoods and the Transition Movement to a practical context, and illustrated how the suburb will look and function after such a transformation.Item The effect of long journeys to work on black commuters' punctuality, absenteeism and travel behaviour(2015-01-21) Fourie, Elizabeth MariaDue to a number of reasons, black commuters In South Africa are often faced with long, timeous and complicated journeys to work. The purpose of this research report is to determine how these long commuting distances influence the punctuality and rate of absenteeism of black employers to the work-place. A survey was undertaken in Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Durban. The sample of 1238 respondents was divided into long and short-distance commuters and the answers of these two groups were compared. Respondents were questioned about factors causing them to be late or absent from work as well as . their attitudes towards punctuality. They were also questioned about their employers' attitude towards lateness. The results showed clearly that transport related problems constituted a major part of all late arrivals at the work place. Lateness due to transport problems was mainly influenced by the distance travelled to work, the total travel time, the number of transfers, the time the commuter had to leave his home, and the time he had to start work. Although absenteeism was also increased by the distance commuters had to travel and the difficulty of the journey, it was experienced much less than lateness. Lateness at the work-place due to transport problems is a big problem in South Africa, which is aggravated by the long distances faced by many commuters. It is important to try to minimize the problem and thereby cut the cost of lateness to industry.Item Retrofit repair rethink : redevelopment of the typological suburban retail node(2014-04-02) Bredenkamp, Francois A.Cannot copy abstractItem Chaos and order: transport interchange / link(2009-09-16T06:17:21Z) Bhengu, Nkululeko ThabaniNo abstract