Land invasions during political transition: The Wiggins saga in Cato Manor

Urban land invasions have occurred in South Africa since the 1940s. However, since 1993 a new form of invasion has developed ‐ the invasion of developed and often serviced land and dwellings. This article examines the orchestrated land and housing invasion at Wiggins in Cato Manor. The focus is on the socio‐economic and political context that led to the invasion, which was highly organised and planned. The main reasons for the invasion are the serious housing shortage in Chesterville and the racist allocation of dwellings in Wiggins by the House of Delegates. The invasion took place on the eve of elections, when the moral and political authority of the apartheid state was waning. Although there were tensions, social relations between Indian residents and African invaders in Wiggins have improved. The Cato Manor Development Association has been appointed as development agent for Cato Manor and on its shoulders lies the inordinate task of resolving the Wiggins crisis.     

Residential renovation in the low income public housing sector: A case study in Merebank

Housing, an important research theme in development studies in recent years, is currently a central focus of concern in South Africa. Largely as a result of the inadequate supply of suitable housing the present trend among Indian households in the public sector in the Durban region is to renovate existing dwellings to suit their residential preferences and aspirations. This paper examines the nature of residential renovation in the public housing sector in order to identify and explain the processes that produce its occurrence, and to determine those factors which can be considered in policy formulation. The study was conducted in Merebank, a low income public housing scheme inhabited by Indians, and situated 15 km south of Durban. Changes in family size and composition, and a shortage of suitable housing, influenced the decision to renovate. The main concern was the addition of more space, especially bedrooms. Most of the renovations were undertaken on a self‐help basis, and financed from personal savings. Some of the problems experienced by renovators included: features of the original dwelling; building regulations; lack of loans; high interest rates; and shortage of materials. Access to finance, encouragement of self‐help improvement efforts, and flexibility in the design of low cost dwellings will help facilitate the residential renovation process.     

Against the odds: Health care in an informal settlement in Durban

In Durban, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, the demands of accelerated urbanisation, particularly with regard to health care, are compounded by the legacy of apartheid planning. This has resulted in health service provision being fragmented along racial, administrative financial and spatial lines. While urbanisation offers the promise of improved opportunities and a better lifestyle, the newly urbanised poor generally find themselves living in conditions which are detrimental to their health. The majority of newly urbanised blacks are forced to live in informal settlements which lack basic amenities such as water and sanitation – living conditions which create a whole network of ill health. This article examines health conditions in Canaan, an informal settlement in Durban. The focus will be on nutrition, sanitation, health status and access to health care delivery. The study revealed that Canaan did not have piped sewerage or indoor water. The diets of residents were lacking in protein and their main source of food was carbohydrates. The most prevalent disease was tuberculosis (TB), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), asthma and diarrhoea. All these diseases, apart from the STDs, are related to poor socio-economic conditions.     

哲学性的地理 丹尼尔·比恩鲍姆访谈萨拉·马哈拉吉

<正>丹尼尔·比恩鲍姆:谈一下你目前进行的工作。萨拉·马哈拉吉:我们正在检视保罗·费耶阿本德(Paul Feyerabend)和伊姆雷·拉卡托斯(Imre Lakatos)在通信中的科学哲学争论中的一些问题。他们在很有趣的八卦段落当中穿插了很多有关批判理性模式会     

The ‘alien invasion’ in South Africa: Illegal immigrants in Durban

Although South Africa's emerging non‐racial democracy has been internationally acclaimed, global integration has also brought its problems. One of these is the greater number of illegal immigrants entering the country. This article examines the problem of illegal immigration by focusing on an intensive case study in the locality of Durban. It attempts to identify reasons for illegal immigrants coming to South Africa, ascertain their country of origin, investigate the consequences of their stay in the Republic, identify problems associated with immigrants, and assess policy options to reduce the influx of aliens. The study reveals that the majority of illegal immigrants come to South Africa in search of better economic opportunities. However, they are accused of taking away the jobs of locals, lowering wages and spreading diseases. Although official government policy towards illegals is embodied in the Aliens Control Act (1991), there is a need to understand the problem within its regional and historical context.     

The impact of a new term auction facility on Libor–OIS spreads and volatility transmission between money and mortgage markets during the subprime crisis

During the subprime crisis, the U.S. Federal Reserve was concerned about widening spreads between overnight interbank lending rates such as the overnight index swap (OIS) and term London Interbank Offer Rate (Libor). Among the tools it used to counter the impact of the crisis, the innovative term auction facility (TAF) attracted much attention. We investigate the impact of the TAF on the Libor–OIS spread. We find that the TAF has clear initial and sustained expectation effects on the three-month Libor–OIS spread, but no real initial or short-term funding effects, which casts doubt on the usefulness of the TAF in reducing risk spreads. Since the subprime crisis also spilled across the interbank, commercial paper, and jumbo mortgage markets, we further examine the lead–lag relation between Libor–OIS, commercial paper, and jumbo spreads and the volatility transmission effects between them. For the period before the crisis, we find that the three markets behave largely independently. For the subprime crisis period, however, we find multidirectional lead–lag relations and one-way volatility transmission between these markets.     

“化整为零”:超越现代性

乌尔里希·贝克(Ulrich Beck)和埃德加·格兰德(Edgar Grande)以种种第二现代性(second modernity)为概念性地标勾勒出当今世界版图——西方与非西方,欧洲与欧洲外;本文将从两种显著的分析视角,即乌尔里希·贝克所提出的日常世界主义化(everyday‘cosmopolitization')及方法论性世界主义(methodologicalcosmopolitanism),对该版图进行测探和考察。其中一条研究路径即当今种种现代性就本质而言是对同一深层现代化动力的表达,或它们是彼此不可调和的迥异实体;另外,通过对照音乐模型及其变化产生的机制,以揭示将现代性之种种视为变体和变奏的原因。在对方法论性世界主义的考察中,文章将论及某种程度上与后殖民时期地方化欧洲图景相左的去地方化问题。囿于国家疆界的社会学二元论存在于可把握多变现实的分析单元选取过程之中。文章将一窥超越该疆界的尝试;而超越疆界是否意味着与独一性(singularity)进行对峙,即一种回避普遍与特殊和与之相关的非此即彼思维的概念化模式?参照在殖民力量不均等中心/边缘关系下的第一现代性建构,可能对第二现代性之勾勒有借鉴之处。国家...     

Consumer acceptance and physicochemical quality of osmodehydrated carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) slices

Consumer acceptability and physicochemical properties of candied osmodehydrated (OD) carambola were evaluated in an effort to increase consumption of the fruit. Fresh carambola slices (Averrhoa carambola L.) were soaked in either 15% or 20% or 25% NaCl brine for 18 h, then in 40 °Brix sucrose for 18 h, followed by 60 °Brix sucrose for 18 h and dried at 55°C for 18 h. Slices soaked in 15% NaCl were most preferred by a focus group. Decreases in pH, total soluble solids (TSS) and increase in salinity were recorded in sucrose solutions after soaking carambola. During osmosis, carambola became less green and more orange‐yellow (P < 0.05). The pH of candied OD products varied between 3.62 and 4.16, salinity 16–28 ppt, TSS of 67–70 °Brix and 18.8–20.8% moisture. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in flavour or texture for products brined in 15% NaCl and soaked in either refined white sucrose (RS) solutions or brown unrefined sucrose (URS) syrups, but differences (P < 0.05) in appearance, colour and overall acceptability. Candied RS carambola had higher (P < 0.05) overall acceptability (6.2 – liked slightly to moderately) to products from URS (5.6 – neither liked nor disliked to liked slightly), which was also supported by paired preference testing. Flavour was most liked (P < 0.05) of all sensory attributes.     

Ethnic polarization orderings and indices

An ethnic polarization index is a summary statistic of ethnic diversity in a population. Reynal-Querol (J Confl Resolut 46:29–54, 2002) suggested an index of ethnic polarization, the RQ index, and discussed its properties. In this paper we develop two ethnic polarization orderings that can rank ethnic distributions in terms of all ethnic polarization indices satisfying certain intuitively reasonable postulates. Some of these postulates and some additional ones taken from the earlier literature are employed to develop some axiomatic characterizations of the RQ index. In the process, a generalized form of the RQ index is also characterized.     

Space tourism: Research recommendations for the future of the industry and perspectives of potential participants

This paper has two objectives. Firstly, it proposes a set of research dimensions for the further investigation of the emerging space tourism industry and secondly, it examines the perceptions of potential space travel participants on key factors that influence their motivation, behaviour and decision-making. The research methodology adopted in this study involved collecting quantitative data from British residents in Southern England to explore and understand their perceptions of space tourism. In addition, qualitative data was gathered by interviewing key informants connected to the space tourism industry including Virgin Galactic, Airbus and EADS Astrium to understand their views on people’s motivations, perceptions and the future of the industry. Data analysis shows that intentional need for adventure and exploration is the motivational force in space tourism. Willingness to undertake space travel is also influenced by the perception to risk, which plays a central role in potential tourist behaviour. Furthermore, factors such as type of space travel (orbital/sub-orbital),type of launch and design of the spacecraft, location of spaceports, training required, duration, insurance, health and reputation of the operating company also seem to have some influence on tourist decision-making. The paper contends that while global research dimensions are necessary it is also important to understand perceptions on a country-specific and regional basis.