Browsing by Author "Chellan, Noel."

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Assessing the perceptions of water conservation among informal settlements through a case study of the Mpolweni informal settlement, Reservoir Hills, Durban, South Africa.
(2014) Neerachand, Yashveer.; Chellan, Noel.
The purpose of this study is to assess the perceptions of water conservation among informal settlements through a case study of the Mpolweni settlement, located in a peri-urban area in Reservoir Hills, Durban, South Africa. The specific objectives that guided this research aimed to examine the factors that give rise to water conservation, the water saving devices that are available for water conservation and the accessibility of such devices to the settlement, the views and practices of the informal settlement dwellers regarding water conservation and water usage and the obstacles that the settlement experience in conserving water. Questionnaires and focus groups were employed in collecting data regarding perceptions of water usage and conservation. Results indicate a general lack of knowledge among residents regarding water saving devices and water conservation practices, highlighting the need for education awareness programs regarding water conservation and water saving devices. However, most residents show positive attitudes toward water conservation and a readiness to adopt water saving practices.
Child soldiers and the impact of violence and trauma on their psychosocial development in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
(2014) Phakathi, Mnikeni Comfort; Chellan, Noel.
This study has reviewed psychological, social, economic and political literature, which focus on analysing and quantifying the Child Soldier (CS) phenomenon. It acknowledges the contributions made by lawmakers and theorists in trying to understand and prevent the scourge from persisting in the Democratic republic of Congo and spreading globally. As proposals increase on how the children can be rehabilitated and reintegrated into original societies or places of safety, some activists prefer a long lasting political solution particularly an accountable management of natural resources through a democratically elected government. There are many factors contributing to the devastation suffered by child soldiers such as wide spread poverty and lack of infrastructure such as roads, schools and recreational facilities for children which inhibits development. Psychologists suggest digging deeper into the effects of stress and trauma on children affected by war because such children suffer pathologies greater than a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In addition, political economists argue that natural resources dependence and the unequal distribution have prolonged the war in the DRC and neighbouring countries. Research proves that children show remarkable resilience when faced with danger and abuse. They choose to forget the life threatening events as a survival mechanism. Misremembering helps them survive initially at the military camps. They apply the same mechanisms during reintegration with safer communities.
Political apathy among South African and Namibian youth: a case study of the 2014 and 2019 national elections.
(2023) Kekana, Mbahare Johannes.; Chellan, Noel.
This research examines the impact of political apathy on electoral participation in Namibia and South-Africa, focusing on the 2014 and 2019 national election of both countries. The objectives are to ascertain and clarify the causes of political apathy in the electoral participation of youth of Namibia and South-Africa in their 2014 to 2019 general elections, and to examine the effect or influence of political apathy on the electoral process in both countries. The need of this research was presented out of the necessity to address the increasing rate of political apathy especially voter turnout in both democratic nations. The causes of political apathy in the two countries have been attributed to lack of mobilisation of the electorate, political marginalisation, corruption, lack of political accountability, lack of motivation, lack of trust in the electoral process, failed promises by political leaders, lack of civic engagements, political violence, thuggery and militarisation of the electoral process, political deception, powerlessness of votes etc. This study uses descriptive research design to determine the effect or influence on political apathy between 2014 and 2019 national elections in Namibia and South-Africa. Trends of political apathy in the two countries are ascertained using historical investigation. Data, especially secondary, are obtained from textbooks, journals, newspapers etc. Contents analysis helps in data presentation using statistical tools of classification and tabulation for evaluative purposes. This research recommended that political elite should exercise citizens’ mandate with transparency, honesty and responsibility and that dividends of democracy should be visible in the areas of poverty alleviation and employment generation. A free, fair, and credible electoral process devoid of political violence, thuggery and militarisation, would go a long way in revamping young citizens’ interests in political and electoral processes in both countries.
Rebranding of the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park in South Africa : reflections on benefits and challenges for the former of St Lucia.
(Kamla-Raj Enterprises., 2013) Chellan, Noel.; Mtshali, Mdu.; Khan, Sultan.
Post-apartheid South Africa has witnessed an explosion of both national and international ecotourism given its many years of restrictions on the movement of people in the past. Much of its biodiversity has been commodified through branding and re-branding in order to capture a fair share of the international ecotourism market. The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, located in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal, was the centre of land claim contestations by the local inhabitants who have been removed from the park due to colonial occupation and later apartheid segregation policies. Locals who have been victims of forced removals from the Park staked a claim to be co-consumers of development and financial benefits accruing from this natural asset. Despite many unfinished challenges facing the politics of the Park, in 2007 the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park was re-branded as the iSimangaliso Wetland Park (iSWP) to market it as an indigenous and local product. One of the rationales for rebranding was the assumption that its previous name competed against another international tourist destination located in the Caribbean. Given the multi-faceted nature of the Wetland Park as a place product, the paper tests out the extent to which this re-branding from a globalised to a localised ecotourism name destination has reproduced itself in terms of benefits, both tangibles and intangibles in the all White town of St Lucia.
The social, economic and environmental impacts of ecotourism : case studies of the St. Lucia area and the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg region in South Africa.
(2005) Chellan, Noel.; Bob, Urmilla.
The study focuses on two World Heritage sites in KwaZulu-Natal (uKhahlambaDrakensberg Park and the Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park). It sets out to critically examine the social, economic and political aspects of natural heritage in the context of sustainability and contestation. How these heritage landscapes are managed, and in particular how decisions regarding its use and identity are taken, is the central issue under investigation. In particular, this research examines the how an understanding of stakeholder perceptions allows current management strategies to be assessed for their effectiveness and relevance to the stakeholders in the regions and the development of new management strategies which are relevant to stakeholder needs. In this regard, a central concern is to identify and evaluate the degree of participation in resource management, conservation and in direct ecotourism activities links to the heritage sites. Stakeholders will vary in their ability to influence decision-makers and they are also unlikely to gain or lose out equally from particular courses of action. These are all issues which need full consideration in approaches to sustainable tourism management. This study focused on the following stakeholders: neighbouring rural communities, tourists, accommodation personnel and tour operators. Questionnaire surveys were administered to each of the stakeholder groups identified above. Furthermore, participatory exercises (venn diagrams, resource mapping and problem ranking exercises) were conducted with focus groups. The study reveals heterogeneity within and between communities under study in relation to socio-economic aspects and perceptions regarding the Parks and levels of participation in activities linked to the Parks. In relation to heritage sites, the questions of ownership, transparency and accountability are particularly important. The study of ecotourism impacts and their management offers many opportunities to reflect on the importance of sustainability. The impacts, as outlined by the findings of the study, provides the opportunity for the implementation of biodiversity strategies linked to the establishment of conservation priorities, mobilising and establishing partnerships, identifying biodiversity threats and benefits, and providing incentives to conserve.
States of (be)longing : the politics of nostalgia in transition societies.
(2012) Nikitin, Vadim.; Chellan, Noel.
South Africa and Russia achieved two of the most remarkable political transformations in modern history, yet significant numbers of their citizens feel a longing for aspects of the old regimes. While there have been some studies of nostalgia among older Russians and South Africans, the following is the first comparative qualitative examination of the phenomenon among young members of the countries’ inaugural “born free” generations: those who came into the world just before or after the fall of Apartheid and Communism, and have had little or no experience of life prior to regime change. Its purpose is to examine how and why young people growing up in post-authoritarian transition societies experience, and long for, the past. I conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with seven South African and five Russian youths, recruited through purposive sampling, who reflected on the ways in which the recent past impacts their lives, self-perceptions and socio-political identities. While they differed in some areas, respondents from both countries identified several broadly shared areas of nostalgia, clustering around a perceived loss of community, moral values, personal safety and social trust; and a concomitant rise in individualism, materialism and anomie. Employing a Marxian engagement with symbolic interactionism and interpretative phenomenological analysis, I analyse their transcribed testimonies in light of the relevant scholarship on nostalgia, social memory and transition studies, alongside theories of post-modernity and critical sociology. I conclude that their nostalgia may be the product of Russia and South Africa’s belated and compressed transition from “modern” to “post-modern” societies; a rebellion against the harsh transition to a Baumanian “liquid” life characterised by economic precariousness and the fraying of social bonds; and/or an expression of profound ambivalence that struggles to reconcile nostalgic regrets about the risks and human costs of globalised capitalist polyarchy, with a hunger to exploit the freedom and opportunities it offers.