4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions
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Item Would You Drink It? An Exploratory Study Gauging the Public’s Perceptions and Attitudes on the Use of Reclaimed Wastewater in South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Prins, Franciscus X.; Thatcher, Andrew; Etale, AnitaIncreasing population figures globally, and in South Africa, and other factors, such as climate change could result in countries and regions suffering severe water scarcity. Alternative water sources, such as wastewater reclamation, are available which could bridge the supply and demand gap. Historically consumers have been against the use of water from water reclamation plants. This study aimed to determine consumers’ attitudes and key trade-offs toward alternative water sources, and to inform policy-and decision-makers for improved future public engagement. This could potentially improve the support for, and success, of future water reclamation plants. With the use of traditional surveys consumers’ willingness to consider alternative water sources are often determined after having assumed that they have existing knowledge of often complex topics. In this study, a decision pathway design allowed for information provision within an adaptive online survey with a set of linked questions. This encouraged the deliberate construction of opinions and views. In this way, respondents’ choices were more likely to be based on correct information before being asked to provide their opinions. By selecting one pathway information was revealed about respondents’ trade-offs and reasoning processes. Quantitative data were collected, and various demographical variables and responses were explored. Respondents’ most preferred water alternatives were provided at two points (at the start and at the end of the survey). The data revealed that there were changes between respondents most preferred alternative at the start and end of the survey. Furthermore, under situations of severe water scarcity most South African consumers would be in support of direct reclamation, however, respondents’ level of trust in the government, and the associated level of affect, could play a determining factor in the future successful implementation and operationalisation of water reclamation plants.Item Sculpting physical form: Muscular gay men’s subjective engagement with their bodies and training(2020) Cameron, Clinton; Eagle, GillianThe gay male body is defined by society as well as the gay community and culture within that society. Yet it is also defined by the individual gay men that inhabit their bodies. This research study explores the perceptions muscular gay men have of their bodies and the bodies of other men, the training they engage in to achieve their bodies and how the socio-cultural contexts in which they operate influence them. Seven self-identified muscular gay men were interviewed with a semi-structured interview schedule. The transcribed interviews were then analysed by making use of computer-aided critical thematic analysis. The findings suggest that all of the participants agree on the ideal body being muscular, lean and athletic. Even though participants desired the ideal body for themselves, they did not apply the same standards when it came to the bodies of other men, particularly partners with obesity being the exception. Participants were also narcissistically invested in the hard work they had put into their own bodies which remained unquenched by a constant desire for self-improvement. They also feared losing the bodies they had worked for and found particular enjoyment and affirmation in the admiration others had for their bodies. Participants also found training to be either a pleasure or a chore. Interestingly, those that found it a pleasure were also more likely to find a sense of community at gym. Participants also located their bodies as a way to belong or defend themselves within hegemonic masculinity.Item A multi-theoretical analysis of the complexity of land reform policy formulation in post- apartheid South Africa(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Jurgens, Richard Bartholomew; Hobden, hristineRecent years have seen a highly polarised public debate about land reform, centring on the question of whether the ANC government should seek to amend the Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation. The ANC finally adopted expropriation without compensation as its policy on land reform in 2018, a position on the question that appears to be a significant shift from its more reconciliation-led approach in the early democratic years. This dissertation analyses the land reform debate between 1994 and 2018 through a multi- theoretical lens, focusing, firstly, on the ANC-led government’s approach to policy formulation and implementation in this period, and secondly, on its approach to the parliamentary inquiry that it sponsored in 2018 to establish the public’s views on expropriation without compensation. Two related theories, the wicked problem framework, and framing theory, are used to shed light on the ANC’s approach to shaping the public debate on land reform during the period under review. An accountability model is used to evaluate the Joint Constitutional Review Committee’s approach to public engagement during its inquiry in 2018. The use of a multi-theoretical approach aims to provide new insights into the complexity of the land reform debate, and, at the same time, to illustrate the value and utility of theoretical tools in complex policy questions.Item Environmental, social and corporate governance investment on organizational sustainability: A case of the South African mining sector(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Dlamini, Mlandvo Brian Thembinkosi; Mondi, LumkileMining companies continue to mine and process minerals as the demand for such minerals remains high and will do so into the future for livelihoods to be sustained. However, there are many risks associated with mining and mineral processing activities concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. For organizations listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), there has been a mandatory call for ESG disclosure by these organizations to disclose what they are doing to eliminate or mitigate against risks associated with ESG. Addressing these risks requires a significant financial investment. The purpose of this research is to provide insight into the costs and benefits of investing in ESG within the context of the South African mining industry, with South Africa being a developing country. ESG matters have not been fully studied in developing countries. The appreciation of what focusing on them requires in as far as investing financially relative to the costs remains a crucial consideration. Managers and leaders have been left asking themselves what it would cost to invest in ESG, along with the reward it is expected to bring. The aim of this work is to review what seven of the JSE listed mining companies have invested towards addressing ESG risks and what benefit it has brought them. Secondary data available from the sustainability reports and annual reports of BHP Group Limited, Glencore plc, Anglo American plc, Gold Fields Limited, Anglo American Platinum, South32 Limited and Anglogold Ashanti, was sourced for this study. The chosen companies were chosen based on their value, being over R100 billion by market capitalization. These are companies for who’s data would be available as they are obligated to disclose their actions concerning ESG. From the results, the stakeholder community is in favour of companies having measures inplace to address issues concerning ESG risks. Disclosure of the actions taken increases awareness for the company and because of this, the reward is brand awareness leading to organizational sustainability. The amount of money invested in ESG is negligible compared to the long-term reward for the company. The study concludes that investing in ESG contributes to organizational sustainability. This research has provided the answers to the questions asked about the benefits of investing in ESG. Those who have done it are greatly rewarded. It isrecommended that mining companies set aside a budget to eliminate or mitigate against issues associated with ESG metrics to enjoy long-term sustainabilityItem Exploring rapid development in emergency relocations in the South African context: a case study of Nellmapius Extension 21 in Mamelodi, Tshwane(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Mahlangu, Phumuzile Nicoline; Huchzermeyer, MarieThe upgrading of informal settlements has been at the centre of upgrading in South African cities. While the government advocates for phased in situ upgrading of informal settlements, in some settlements upgrading is not possible thus making relocation the only option. While some cities may create Temporary Relocation Areas as guided by the Emergency Housing Programme, the City of Tshwane has managed to create a permanent relocation area for a relocated community in its jurisdiction. Using a series of interviews with community members, their leaders and a City official, this research report looks at how the City managed to create a permanent relocation area in Nellmapius Extension 21, being the study area. The findings of the paper are that the City has managed not only to develop the area but it did so rapidly. This paper reports on how rapid development happened in Nellmapius Extension 21 reporting on the potentials and limitations of rapid development, and what it could mean for South AfricaItem Mogaga: Play, Power and Purgation(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Magogodi, Kgafela Golebane; Law-Viljoen, BronwynIn street parlance, or iscamto, mogaga refers to the face of confrontation. In Sekgatla, a dialect of Setswana, mogaga is a name for a potent plant used in rituals of “social purgation” (De Graft, 2002: 26-27). This study focuses on the element of go gagaola or the act of triggering mogaga through a fusion of poetic incantations,1 song, dance and “spirit embodiment” (Ajumeze, 2014: 78). Go gagaola, the act of activating mogaga, hinges on agit-prop-mechanics that enable the elimination of botheration or the purging of domination. Does ritual drama have the power to alter material conditions? This and other questions about play-making as a scaffold which holds up a combination of spiritual elevation and political rebellion drive this enquiry. How do we expel botheration using the power of play? As it appears, ritual drama and guerilla theatre have the same framework as acts of “spiritual realism” (Mahone, 2002: 270). Guerilla theatre, like ritual drama, is also a system of change. Plotting the adventures of Phokobje and Phiri, I have found great resources in spiritual traditions such as malopo/malombo of Bakgatla/Bapedi and VhaVenda as well abaNgoma of Ba-Nguni. Mapping the journeys of characters in Chilahaebolae led to unexpected forays into astronomy – bolepa dinaledi in Setswana. People’s Experimental Theatre, Malombo Jazz Makers, Dashiki, Mihlothi, Malopoets and others who accentuated the connection between ritual and rebellion. Through this enquiry I make an offering to the decolonial project and the community of scholars, artists, astronomers and iZangoma who have been silenced by the settler-colonial canon through epistemic violence, massacre, and incarceration. These musings about mogaga play-making recasts theatre as the locus of confrontation and a tool for purging botheration. Going beyond “the banal search for exoticism” (Fanon, 1967: 221), I trace the bloodline of resistance theatreItem (Re)composing: A study of the musical documentary in reimagining the historical archive through song(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Roberts, Daniel Ronald Newland; Kaplan, KennethThis thesis investigates conventional documentary reenactments and proposes a different approach by examining the role of purpose-composed songs as a medium for historical reenactment in the music documentary. It scrutinizes this approach as an alternative to traditional notions of reenactment often associated with Hollywood-style documentaries where the convention is to restage historical events. Instead, the argument made is for the transformative and imaginative of poetic verse and musical expression to embody historical texts. The research explores the profound connection between the performer and the historical subjects through ancestral bonds, examining how this relationship enhances the performance's potency. In addition, it delves into the collaborative process between musicians and documentarians in creating purpose-composed songs, especially when performances are situated within locations deeply connected to the historical context, assessing how this impacts audience engagement. Reflecting on the evolution of the music documentary genre since the 1960s, the thesis critically examines Bill Nichols’s enduring analysis of documentary modes. It investigates the continued reliance on the vérité style in music documentaries while using selected case studies to map more diverse documentary forms extending beyond Nichols's purely observational mode. The artistic component of this research is an essay film, which offers a contemplative view of the symbiotic relationship between cinematographer and musician. It probes into the nuances of creating poignant artistic expressions that address historical traumas while simultaneously managing the complex interplay of the subjectivities inherent in filmmaker and musician. This dual-focused inquiry seeks to illuminate the capacity of music documentaries to convey historical narratives in a manner that resonates with contemporary audiences, marrying historical accuracy with emotional depth.Item Re-curating Bophelong’s Architectural Archive(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Msutu, Bongisa; Valley, GreerRe-curating Bophelong’s Architectural Archive is a study that explores the archiving of township (black) architecture, space and geography. The township, as a residential area originally and currently designed for the occupation of impoverished black people, has become a geography of appropriation, and an extension of radical self-care onto space – a spatial care. Bophelong, a township in the Vaal, is the subject of this study because its history – similar to the history of most South African townships - and lack of architectural archives present an opportunity for this exploration. This study provides a decolonial approach to archiving and curating black architecture, space and geography, considered ‘unarchivable’ by the traditional architectural archive that collects and curates in accordance with scientific empiricism. It is this colonial knowledge-producing tradition that renders township geographies epistemically worthless. Through qualitative re-search methods, this study provides and explores strategies of archiving and curating township architecture and space in such a way that it is politically and epistemically valuable to both its people and the architectural fraternity. It is the hope of this re-search that these strategies may lead to the valuing of such an archive, and to the interrogation of traditional architectural knowledge production and its politics of value.Item Reconstructing locomotor behaviour of Southern African plio-pleistocene cercopithecoids: evidence from functionally-related inner structural arrangement of the trabecular bone(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-07) Babutsi, Mosarwa; Beaudet, Amélie; Zipfel, Bernhard; Jakata, KudakwasheBecause of their abundance in African Plio-Pleistocene hominin-bearing sites and their stratigraphic association with fossil hominins, cercopithecoids represent a relevant “control group” for contextualising hominin evolution. often considered as ecological and biochronological indicators, particularly their ecological sensitivity is valuable in reconstructing southern African hominin bearing site’s palaeoenvironment and environmental changes. Since biomechanical loadings on trabecular bone produced throughout locomotor activities shape the structure of the skeleton, particularly at locomotor key joints, the expectation is that investigation of the trabecular bone of fossil cercopithecoids key joints like femur, humerus, Tibia and calcaneus would provide further evidence for eloquent discreet disparity in their locomotor behaviour and reconstructing their paleohabitats. This study used trabecular bone, described as meshwork or sponge with porous network within long bones joints and inside footbones contains red bone marrow. Its preferred orientation in is the basis of Wolff’s law, relating bone structures and its ability to adapt to mechanical load alignment in the direction of loading stress, as such recoding informative locomotor signals. Forty one (41) fossil cercopithecids from the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage sites that include Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Makapansgat, Taung and Bolt’s Farm as well as forty (40) extant cercopithecoids specimens were scanned using a micro-focus X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner. Trabecular bone parameters that include trabecular bone fabric anisotropy, volume fraction, thickness and spacing were quantified in ImageJ. These Plio-Pleistocene cercopithecoids recorded more arboreal locomotor signals with occasional terrestrial locomotion, suggesting transitional palaeoenvironment from long trees with cool climatic conditions to a more open grass land savanna type with dry climatic conditions believed contributed significantly to extinct of archaic humans and the emergence of the successful Homo.Item Hoop It Up, Loop It Back, Repeat: A Decade of Memory and Interconnectivity at a Johannesburg Basketball Court(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Cunningham, Alexandra Dolores; Goliath, Gabrielle; Kreutzfeldt, DorotheeThis research and artwork reflects on my memories of a decade at a public basketball half-court in the Johannesburg inner city. The court has become a home to myself and our larger community: its quotidian, repetitive, cyclical nature has allowed us to form a network and family. In exploring the ways in which our community has intertwined, I also explore the cuts and ruptures that occur. Using loops, hoops and the rhythmic nature of each day, my artwork reflects our communal desire for interconnectivity at the court, which forms a foundational netting. The repetition reflects my experience of family and positionality across dissimilarities, while also resonating with the rhythm of hip hop music: ever present at the court. Through conversations with other court community members, I explore these relationships and memories. In my artmaking, I use crocheted textile, pattern and imagery to reflect our experiences: something strong, durable and able to conduct a sense of warmth and comfort, yet also fragile and easy to unravel.