Books

Om die volle betekenis van demografie te begryp is dit nodig om elkeen van die sleutelkonsepte daarin van nader te beskou. Daar word vandag ook dikwels van demografiese terme gebruikgemaak om sekere verskynsels by insekte- en dierebevolkings te beskryf. Demografie is egter in die eerste plek 'n dissipline wat hom besig hou met die studie van menslike bevolkings. Die beskrywings het uitsluitlik op menslike bevolkings betrekking.

Revised and reprinted several times, this tertiary textbook introduces students to key demographic methods and concepts using South African examples that illustrate a wide range of demographic trends. Emphasising the interrelatedness of economic, social, political, environmental and population variables, this book is an invaluable reference for all students of the science of human populations.

This is a study of the demographic trends in learner enrolments after the racial de-segregation of South African schools. The report looks at the current situation of racially integrated schools, raising a number of pertinent questions that require the attention of policy-makers.

If you are sitting in a South African school or university right now, you need to put aside 1948 and "Bantu Education" as a primary target of enquiry – these were little more than steps along a road that was already paved – and study when, where and how your institution came into being in the first place. This book joins the growing body of work (much of it by South African scholars) displacing the many mind-numbingly dull texts loaded with assumptions and logics that, in the case of South Africa, reify a simplified colonial explanation of the past. Generations of students, educators and policymakers have suffered enough through tedious though inaccurate history books disguised as dispassionate, impartial views of "the facts."

Development and Dreams: The urban legacy of the 2010 Football World Cup considers the effects of South Africas hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is held that here lies the greatest potential benefit of the 2010 World Cup a repudiation of Afropessimism and an assertion of a contemporary African identity both at home and on a global stage.

Covering a breadth if issues, the international developement specialists who have contributed to this volume significantly deepen our understanding of the key socio-economic issues in the first decade of South Africa's democratic Governance.

Locating the South African challenges within a broader international perspective, the issues covered include all the major economic growth challenges confronting South Africa - employment, industrial policy, urban governance, the informal economy - and the social challenges of poverty , inequality, HIV/AIDS and health policy. The key development debates of the post-apartheid era are outlined and the success or otherwise of a decade of reform and experimentation is considered.

Although published in 1999, this book is one of the first to use the Geographic Information System (GIS) to outline government spending on infrastructure development in South Africa. It will be of use to development planners and to those who seek an additional national source of development information.

This is an important and timely contribution to the rapidly growing field of competition law in South Africa. While the South African competition authorities have established an enviable local and international profile for their work, there is a need for critical evaluation of the developments in this field since the Competition Act came into force in 1999. This book meets this need.

• How do citizens in poor communities benefit from and perceive state interventions?
• How do citizens in poor communities interact with others in the community to promote the well-being of themselves and their families?
• What are the implications of the above for community based research, policy and practice?

Development, Social Policy and Community Action: Lessons from Below addresses these questions based on rigorous and multi-faceted research conducted in the poor, urban area of Doornkop, Soweto, using a range of different methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives that all broaden our understanding of citizen-community-state interactions in disadvantaged, urban communities in South Africa.

Solutions to poverty and inequality are often designed, implemented and evaluated in a top-down manner, thereby disregarding the views and agency of the poor citizens themselves. Addressing this gap, the authors explore how government assistance, through social grants and services, as well as community support mechanisms provide solutions to citizens in poor communities and the ways that the citizens perceive and make use of such interventions.

This research study points to the need for more nuanced policy strategies and interventions pertinent to local challenges which also resonate with the global search for solutions in similar contexts. With a fresh perspective that addresses the interconnections between state interventions, community and citizens in sustainable social development, this book provides a case for the importance of conducting community-based research that effectively encourages research findings to support communities to effect positive change.

This occasional paper is an analysis of the health, environmental and socio-economic factors influencing infant and child survival amongst South Africa's African and coloured population.