ResearchSpace

ResearchSpace is the institutional repository of the University of KwaZulu-Natal,
unlocking knowledge, empowering impact, and preserving UKZN's research legacy.


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Politicised and contested environmental governance in local government in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
(2025) Thakur, Shaheen Sewparsadh.; Nel, Adrian.
Environmental sustainability and governance are critical aspects of local municipal development planning and implementation globally and in Africa. The transition towards a more environmentally sustainable mindset is becoming normative in the local government sector, especially in the global South. On a Southern African scale, local government in South Africa (SA) shares an intimate connection with communities, especially in terms of service delivery and environmental sustainability. The South African constitution promotes effective local Environmental Governance (EG) and a clean and healthy environment for all, but there are diverse political factors that influence local EG such as political instability, power relations, neopatrimonialism, factionalism and cadre deployment, amidst contemporary political alternation and incumbent decline. In depth, grounded research in SA that focuses on the political influence on the local environmental sector in the contemporary context is lacking. The study aims to identify and explore diverse political dynamics and influences on effective local environmental governance, environmental service provision and environmental-based neopatrimonialism on labour dynamics and incentivisation in the Endumeni local and uMzinyathi district municipalities in the KwaZulu-Natal province of SA. The theoretical framework consisted of a combination of the Political Ecology Approach (PEA), the Moral Economy Approach (MEA), and the Practical Environmental Governance Framework (PEGF). The research methodology was guided by a pragmatic and grounded research philosophy that included both inductive and deductive research approaches. The findings were obtained using both qualitative and limited quantitative data. The qualitative methods consist of key-informant interviews, observation, focus groups and meetings. The quantitative method consisted of a community questionnaire. A combination of purposive, non-probability and snowball sampling were applied to identify the most relevant stakeholders. The findings indicated that political dynamics, power relations and inter and intra party factions both enabled and constrained progress towards local EG and environmental service provision depending on political leadership within the council, the control of political power and the access to municipal resources. Essentially, the environmental sector was politicised and used as a political tool for securing political power over municipal leadership and resources. However, neopatrimonial relationships were sometimes enabling of environmental governance and justified by respondents from a utilitarian redistribution standpoint based on providing livelihood support to competent and impoverished cadres from the majority of the previously disadvantaged people of SA. Rather than liberal notions that neopatrimonialism and cadre deployment represent mere moral failings or underdeveloped citizenship, a moral economy approach suggests that, in contrast to ‘grand’ corruption, petty forms of patronage are embedded in moral economies of survival and relationships of ‘nested dependence’ that are more structural – persisting across political party orders and supported by their respective voters. This research contributes to an emerging body of research on municipal environmental governance, contested local politics and coalition councils in SA and provides a deeper understanding of politicised local environmental governance, environmental sustainability and the moral reasoning dictating the distribution of environmental-based incentives and opportunities in South African LG. The findings highlighted the complex, transitional nature of political theory in SA and point towards a multifaceted and delicate integration of environmental governance in post-apartheid local state democratisation.
An anatomical investigation of the radial artery and its distal segment in a select South African population.
(2025) Singh, Aleisha Jo.; Lazarus, Lelika.; Harrichandparsad, Rohen.
The radial artery and its distal segment are increasingly favoured as access points in neurointerventional procedures via the transradial approach, owing to their accessibility and lower complication rates compared to the transfemoral approach. The success of such procedures is influenced by factors such as vessel diameter, sheath compatibility and anatomical variations. Although the radial artery has been studied extensively in other populations, limited data exist for African cohorts, particularly within the South African population. Therefore, this study aimed to document the anatomical characteristics of the radial artery and its distal segment within a select South African sample. A mixed-method design was employed, comprising ultrasound investigation in a participant sample (n = 256, 128 adults and 128 paediatric patients) and cadaveric dissection of 30 adult body donors. The study was conducted at a central regional hospital in Durban, South Africa, and at the Department of Clinical Anatomy, University of KwaZulu-Natal. Ultrasound imaging measured the internal diameters of the distal forearm and snuffbox radial arteries, while dissection was used to determine the external and internal diameters, wall thickness at three levels (point of origin, wrist joint and anatomical snuffbox) and the origin of the radial artery. Ultrasound findings revealed mean diameters of 1.94 ± 0.39 mm for the distal forearm radial artery and 1.33 ± 0.31 mm for the snuffbox radial artery in adults, with males demonstrating significantly larger diameters. Paediatric measurements were notably smaller (1.12 ± 0.32 mm and 0.77 ± 0.20 mm, respectively). Cadaveric analysis demonstrated a progressive tapering of the artery from its point of origin toward the anatomical snuffbox. Approximately 55% of adults and 99% of paediatric patients had distal radial artery diameters less than 2.0 mm – the outer diameter of a 4 French sheath. Variations in the origin of the radial artery were also noted, with 10% displaying a high origin from the axillary artery. This study contributes to the literature by providing novel morphometric and morphological data based on a select South African population. The findings of the present study may assist clinicians during coronary, cardiovascular, neurological and neuro-interventional procedures within this select population.
Unpredictable stress and acute immune stimulation on anxiety measures in adult rats.
(2025) Vezi, Kholeka Neliswa.; Luvuno, Mluleki.; Mabandla, Musa Vuyisile.
Anxiety disorders and neuropsychiatric disorders have a complex and intricate relationship. In several neuropsychiatric disorders, anxiety is both a symptom and a risk factor. Acute and chronic stress exposure can both lead to anxiety disorders, and anxiety is a common neurobehavioral correlate of many stressors. There may be a connection between anxiogenesis and immunomodulation during stress, and research has indicated that the brain and its intricate neurotransmitter networks may affect immunological function. However, the interaction between chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and immunological stimulation in association with anxiety has been less extensively studied. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of CUMS on HPA-axis function, associated neurochemical changes, and anxiety-like behaviours following immune-activation by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in adult male rats. Rats were assigned to the following groups (n=6/group): control, CUMS, LPS, and CUMS+ LPS. Rats were subjected to CUMS protocol for 12 days and injected once with LPS two days before CUMS ended as per their respective groups. The open field test (OFT) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests were carried out afterwards. Subsequently, animals were sacrificed to collect plasma, amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus tissues to measure IL-6, 5-HT, BDNF concentrations, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 3 Group C Member 1 (Nr3c1), and corticosterone (CORT) concentrations. Animals subjected to CUMS paradigm exhibited anxiolytic-like behaviour. Whereas LPS did not show overt changes. Additionally, there was a significant reduction in IL-6, GABA, ACTH, and CORT, whereas there was a significant increase in 5-HT and Nr3c1 concentrations following LPS and CUMS treatment, which may indicate suppressed neuro-inflammation. The significant increase in BDNF further supports the suppressed neuroinflammation, which may indicate the activation of a neuroprotective mechanism. Furthermore, a significant decrease in GABA concentration was noted in the amygdala in all the experimental groups. Our study highlights the buffering/ameliorating effect of the combination, highlighting the complex interactions between chronic stress and immune activation.
A holistic approach to housing: a Social Work perspective.
(1999) Naidoo, Bisini.; Gray, Marilyn Marjorie Anne.
The study focused on the extent to which large scale housing projects, undertaken by the state in South Africa over the past three decades, were planned, designed and implemented to promote the widest interests and welfare of families and communities which had to be resettled and relocated. The literature study, which provided the background and basis for the study, covered a wide field. It included various definitions of housing, the current backlog in housing, changes in approaches to the provision of large scale housing, and various options and alternatives to conventional housing examined as a solution to the national housing problem. It extended further to include techniques and designs of the newtown concept, the developmental and holistic approaches and the latest policy initiatives of the state to address sociological problems, such as poverty and unemployment, through large scale housing development. To test the relevance and practical application of these holistic and developmental concepts and approaches, a mass housing project, promoted in terms of state legislation on the newtown concept, Phoenix Newtown, a major housing project started by the Durban City Council in 1970, was selected for intensive study. The research examined steps taken by the City Council in the planning of Phoenix Newtown, the nature of statistical and other data on which the concept and design were determined and the extent to which basic town planning principles and procedures were followed in the execution of the Master Plan. The results and conclusions reached in the study are included together with recommendations for future reference in the planning and promotion of proposed large scale housing projects, in the light of the country's new housing policy and legislation.
African feminist narrative strategies against gender-based violence in selected novels by Busisekile Khumalo.
(2025) Memela, Sinenhlanhla Felicia.; Mkhize, Thulani.
Gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa remains a pervasive and systemic social issue affecting women. This thesis critically examines how Busisekile Khumalo’s novels The Harvard Wife (2017), Nomaswazi (2019), and Fallen Candle (2020) portray the effects of gender-based violence and articulate narrative strategies that resist it. The study argues that storytelling in these texts serves as a form of social justice by educating, critiquing, and challenging cultural perceptions of gender-based violence. Using textual analysis, the study foregrounds the often-invisible effects of gender-based violence on women. Grounded in African Feminism, it positions black women’s fiction as intellectual activism challenging systemic gender oppression. The study explores how Khumalo deploys narrative strategies to expose the construction and consequences of gender-based violence, and highlights women’s resistance, resilience, and transformation from victims into agents of change. These representations demonstrate storytelling as a site of resistance, advocacy, and transformative engagement, while also highlighting broader psychological and social consequences. Future research could specifically investigate male survivors’ experiences, critically analyse constructions of masculinity, and assess digital storytelling as an emerging methodological approach.