The question of the determinants of the fertility transitions of countries from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has been widely debated in the field of demography. Some scholars have investigated individual-level variables like contraceptive use, delayed age at marriage and participation of women in the labour force. Other scholars have used cultural factors to understand fertility change and patterns in SSA.

‘The mind-body problem’ is the problem of how to understand conscious awareness within a world made up of physical things. But I argue that any view according to which it is meaningful to use different terms to refer to ‘the mind’ and ‘the body’ must be a dualist view; and that dualism is not a satisfactory metaphysical position. A strong case can be made for the claim that even those who profess to be opposed to dualism can often still be described as ‘closet’ dualists. Much typical ‘consciousness’ research concerns what David Chalmers calls ‘the easy problems of consciousness’. My own view is that almost all of Chalmers’ ‘easy problems’ could better be characterized as ‘problems to do with (‘conscious’) sense perception, and with cognition’. However, perception and cognition are very often not ‘conscious;’ therefore, I argue, approaching conscious experience by means of investigating perception or cognition is problematic. Just like perceptual and cognitive processes, psychological processes can take place without being (introspectively) ‘conscious’. I explain how Freud’s account of unconscious psychological processes enables him to understand psychical processes as similar in kind to other natural (physical) processes; and I dismiss a number of complaints from critics who have misunderstood Freud’s naturalist project. On the Freudian view, which I endorse, it is problematic to equate ‘what is mental’ with ‘what is conscious’. The considerations against conflating ‘the mind’ with ‘consciousness,’ I argue, are just as relevant within philosophy as they are in the context of psychoanalysis. The condition hydranencephaly (in which children are born with part of their brain missing) provides good evidence that we should not approach the mind-body by examining the functioning of the cerebral cortex – which goes against the prevalent ‘corticocentric’ view of ‘consciousness’. Whereas Mark Solms claims that hydranencephaly is problematic to the Freudian view, I argue that Freud’s view is well-suited to accommodating cases of hydranencephaly. Finally, I argue that, rather than talking about ‘the mind-body problem,’ we should use a biological naturalist framework to help us understand why there is no such problem. If we are able to free ourselves from our dualist intuitions, something along the lines of Panksepp’s ‘affect-centric’ view – which incorporates several commitments that are central to Freudian theory – is just what we need to help us understand the truly physical nature of conscious awareness.

The thesis, A Critical Analysis of the Oversight Role and Function of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) in Promoting Accountability in South Africa’s Public Sector, looks at the underlying problem of financial mismanagement in the public sector in relation to public accountability in South Africa. This problem has manifested in growing wasteful, irregular and fruitless expenditure in a post-apartheid era confronted by a multitude of social-economic challenges.

Muslim religious leaders are commonly accused of adopting a conservative interpretation of Islam that guides the way in which they counsel married women on their rights to divorce and how they should address violence in the marital context. They have also been viewed as favouring male-dominant positions, protecting abusive husbands and adopting a reconciliation-at-all-cost approach.

Low literacy levels have been argued to partially contribute to poor health literacy and poor health outcomes. Low health literacy refers to the inability to apply health information in pursuit of good health. While several strategies have been used to assist persons with low literacy to understand health information, these strategies have been focused primarily on improving medication taking in persons with low literacy.

The goal of the study was to explore how environmental and community sustainability can be promoted for informal settlement communities in Namibia and South Africa. The study employed an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design, which as such combined qualitative and quantitative research approaches in two successive study phases.

Waste to energy technologies have been presented as one of the avenues to improve the management of solid waste whilst promoting clean and healthy urban environments through the recovery of waste and generation of electricity. Research suggests that with the right investment in technologies and institutional changes, waste can potentially become a resource that can contribute to the Socio-economic development of cities.

The study conceptualises self-writing through the lived experiences of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Assata Shakur. The specific focus is on three themes, namely: torture, authorisation, and liberation. These themes are discussed through narrative and thematic analysis that aims at emphasising how the text can be analysed through meaning, symbols and patterns.

Tshipikwa tshihulwane tsha ino ngudo ho vha u talutshedza na u saukanya ncjila dzine vhariwali vha vhanna vha Qirama dza Tshivencja vha shumisa ngadzo nyambedzano u bveledza vhaanewa vha vhafumakadzi uri hu tutuwedzwe vhadzulapo u vha sasaladza na u vha sathula hune vha cjiwana vhe hone zwitshavhani. Kha manwalwa a Tshivencja, vhaliwe vhanwali vha bugu dza Qirama vha anzela u sa bveledza vhaanewa vha vhafumakadzi nga ncjila i si yone.

Curriculum transformation within Higher Education in South Africa is an ongoing process. This thesis explores pedagogy for theological education at a South African University, using Ethnographical Phenomenology. Key concepts include, Pedagogy, reimagine, intercultural and coloniality.