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Representations of everyday life in post-2000 Zimbabwean short fiction

- Barure, Walter Kudzai

Authors: Barure, Walter Kudzai
Date: 2025-04-02
Subjects: Zimbabwean fiction History and criticism , Zimbabwe Social conditions 21st century , Representation (Philosophy) , Everyday life , Digital storytelling Zimbabwe , Zimbabwean periodicals , Popular magazine
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478478 , vital:78190 , DOI 10.21504/10962/478478
Description: This dissertation explores the dynamic nature of cultural productions and the perpetual flux in everyday experiences within Zimbabwean social and cultural spaces over the past two decades. Amid Zimbabwe’s contemporary techno-economic milieu, there has been a remarkable surge in literary works initially tailored for print readership, then adapted for digital platforms. This shift reflects broader changes in the country’s cultural production, where the interplay between traditional publishing and digital innovation has opened new avenues for literary expression and access. The overarching goal is to investigate the connection between contemporary short fiction in Zimbabwe and the material processes of transformation and reproduction across various historical periods, forms, contexts, and platforms. It focuses on print and digital archives characterised by ephemerality, aesthetic disobedience to established norms, and the deconstruction of conventional narrative structures, motifs, and characters. These creative processes thrive on borrowing, sampling, and remixing elements from orature, novels, short stories, music, and films. The study argues that these adaptive modifications empower writers to experiment flexibly and capitalise on their literary content. It includes an interpretive analysis of short stories written in English by marginalised writers, published in print magazines such as Parade, Moto, and The Sunday Mail Magazine, as well as on digital platforms like blogs and Facebook. The primary objective is to illustrate how contemporary writers use fictional depictions of everyday life to interrogate prevalent themes like survival, circular migration, venality, occultism, and sexuality. The theoretical framework draws on the concepts of everyday living by De Certeau (1984), Newell and Okome (2013), and Adesokan’s (2023) technologies of reuse. These theories underpin the analysis of textual and interpretive practices in print and digital publications. Ultimately, this dissertation underscores the mutable nature of contemporary literary developments in Zimbabwe, ii highlighting their profound implications for writers and readers in an era marked by technological advancements and shifting paradigms of literary consumption. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Literary Studies in English, 2024
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Rethinking development in post-colonial Zimbabwe: the case of the CAMPFIRE Programme in Kanyemba

- Maheve, Neil Batsirai

Authors: Maheve, Neil Batsirai
Date: 2025-04-02
Subjects: CAMPFIRE (Program) , Postdevelopment theory , Rethinking , Kanyemba/Chapoto Ward (Zimbabwe) , Natural resources Management , Community development Zimbabwe Kanyemba/Chapoto Ward
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478537 , vital:78195 , DOI 10.21504/10962/478537
Description: This study is concerned with people’s attitudes towards the Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE). This study is situated in Kanyemba, a ward in Mbire District, Mashonaland Central, Zimbabwe. CAMPFIRE is a community-based natural resource management programme that aims at empowering local communities to sustainably manage and benefit from wildlife and other natural resources within their confines. This study explores people’s attitudes towards development (and CAMPFIRE as a development programme) and how they perceive, engage with, and contest development. There are two subgroups living in Kanyemba: the Chikunda, which is the majority group, and the Tembo Mvura. Rooted in post-development thinking, this study highlights the nuances and ambiguities in people’s attitudes towards development. The study relies on interviews, participant observation, and archival material. The study has three guiding objectives. Firstly, I set out to explore how the Tembo Mvura and Chikunda community members living in Kanyemba perceive and interact with the CAMPFIRE programme and how their views coincide with or diverge from mainstream development discourse. The study discusses the Tembo Mvura and Chikunda definitions and descriptions of development and the two groups’ perspectives and experiences of the CAMPFIRE programme. While the Tembo Mvura have mostly negative attitudes towards CAMPFIRE, their Chikunda neighbours exude both positive and negative attitudes towards development, projecting a sense of joy and appreciation but also disillusionment with development. Secondly, I highlight how Tembo Mvura and Chikunda actively participate in and challenge the CAMPFIRE project and how these interactions can be interpreted within the framework of post-development theory. As I explore these attitudes, I portray the ambivalence evident in people’s simultaneous desire for and dismissal of development. While the people dismiss some aspects of development, they still want some development, hence the ambivalence. Finally, I explore how the residents of Kanyemba have responded to the limitations of CAMPFIRE, what alternatives to development they propose, and what role cultural, historical, economic, and environmental factors play in shaping the communities’ alternatives to development. The residents of Kanyemba have different historical and cultural backgrounds, and I highlight how these have influenced the different alternatives to development proposed by Tembo Mvura and Chikunda. In this regard, I explore the nuanced critiques of development held by residents of Kanyemba, examining how cultural and historical factors influence their selective engagement with different aspects of the CAMPFIRE initiative. This thesis contributes to post-development thinking by arguing that the ambivalence evident in people’s attitudes towards development in Kanyemba makes dismissing development more complicated than some post-development theorists suggest. The findings of the study show that people’s ambivalence towards development emanates from CAMPFIRE’s approach that strips individuals of agency, stifles their voices, and curtails democratic participation in determining their preferences and how they desire to progress. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Political and International Studies, 2025
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Stamping ground: investigating the walkability of Rhodes University students in Makhanda, South Africa

- Padayachee, Huresha

Authors: Padayachee, Huresha
Date: 2025-04-02
Subjects: Walkability , Rhodes University , Campus size South Africa Makhanda , Small cities South Africa Makhanda , College students Social conditions
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479197 , vital:78269
Description: Walkability is an important research topic in the Global South where many people in urban settlements walk because of transport poverty. University students are a subset of the urban population in Makhanda who experience transport poverty and largely rely on walking to navigate the city. The purpose of this study is to measure and spatially analyse walkability and walking patterns in the student community of Makhanda, South Africa. This study has a specific focus on students who reside in the Rhodes University campus, Central Business District (Central), Sunnyside, and Westhill. These specific areas were chosen because, in terms of student residents, these are the most densely populated residential areas in the city, but are also the epicentre of student activity. This research intends to explore the existing walkability within these four study sites through a visual survey using common measures of walkability, digital mapping as well as student perceptions of walkability. The quantitative data collected through visual surveys, digital mapping and participatory mapping will be spatially analysed using GIS (Geographic Information Systems). Results show that walking is the main mode of transportation and students do not have affordable alternatives to walking. The Rhodes University campus is the most walkable area with Central being the second, Westhill being the third, and Sunnyside being the least walkable area. Sidewalk conditions (sidewalk presence, evenness and maintenance) and pedestrian safety and security (pedestrian crossings, crime, security features, lighting, the presence of people, and pedestrian visibility) were rated as the most important walkability factors. Additionally, the more walkable roads are mainly found within the Rhodes University campus and Sunnyside while the less walkable roads are mainly found within Central. Furthermore, the epicentre of student activity is focused on the Rhodes University campus during the week and as the week progresses, the epicentre shifts along with a shift in activity. The Rhodes University campus and Central are where students spent most of their time because the main amenities that student use are found within these areas. This research offers insights into walkability that can be directly applied to urban planning and policy-making. Planners should focus their resources on improving walkability, particularly in sidewalk conditions and pedestrian safety and security. By applying the findings of this research, planners can create more conducive, safer, and comfortable walking environments. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Geography, 2025
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Statistical analysis of travelling ionospheric disturbances during geomagnetic storms

- Mothibi, Matsobane Alex

Authors: Mothibi, Matsobane Alex
Date: 2025-04-02
Subjects: Sudden ionospheric disturbances , Geomagnetic storm , Solar flares , Global Positioning System , Gravity waves
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479138 , vital:78264
Description: This thesis presents observations of medium to large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) originating from high latitudes, and propagating towards the equator and TIDs originating from the equator with a poleward propagation in the African-European sector during geomagnetically disturbed conditions between 2006 and 2022. 196 TID activities propagating over the African-European sector were observed, of these TID activities, 161 and 33 were observed during geomagnetic storms, and simultaneous occurrence of geomagnetic storms and solar flares, respectively. Total electron content perturbations derived from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) observations within a latitude range of 40°S–60°N and longitude ranges of 20°-40°E representing the African-European sector were analysed based on the storm criteria of Dst ≤ -30 nT. The GNSS total electron content (TEC) data were used to obtain the two dimensional (2d) TEC perturbations. The northern hemispheric part of the African sector has limited data coverage which is visualized by a gap around 20°, where there were no data coverage can be observed in the 2d TEC maps. An important result is that large-scale TIDs (LSTIDs) and medium-scale TIDs (MSTIDs) were found to occur predominantly during the main and recovery phases of geomagnetic storms respectively, at least over the African-European sector. During the main phase of storms equatorward LSTID activity was relatively consistent across both hemispheres, with years of solar maximum, between 2013 and 2015, showing higher frequencies of events. Equatorward MSTID activity appeared less frequent overall, particularly in the southern hemisphere (SH), suggesting that equatorward LSTID activity are more prominent during the main phase of geomagnetic storms. Poleward TID activity were more predominant in the recovery phase than the main phase of geomagnetic storms. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Physics and Electronics, 2025
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The effect of Afrocentric missense variations on the structural dynamics of CYP2B6

- Govender, Shaylyn Ashley

Authors: Govender, Shaylyn Ashley
Date: 2025-04-02
Subjects: CYP2B6 , Structural dynamics , Metabolism , Missense mutation , Molecular dynamics
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479108 , vital:78261
Description: Cytochrome P450s are a superfamily of enzymes with over 50 members involved in metabolizing 90% of xenobiotics. Among the these, families 1, 2, and 3 are responsible for approximately 80% of clinical drug metabolism. This study investigates the effect of Afrocentric missense variants on the structural dynamics of CYP2B6. Molecular dynamic simulations reveal that specific variants affect the enzyme’s flexibility and stability, potentially altering catalytic activity and drug binding properties. These findings highlight the importance of considering genetic variants in personalized medicine and drug development. By investigating CYP2B6’s function and structural changes induced by missense variants, this research advances our understanding of the enzyme’s role in drug metabolism. The study utilized computational tools such as GROMACS and AMBER for pre- and post-simulation analysis, with clustering and DSSP used to assess protein structures. Variants I328T, K282R, P428T and R140Q exhibited significant deviations in enzyme dynamics, while other variants caused minor shifts. Overall, the findings provide insight into the relationship between genetic variants and enzyme function, contributing to bioinformatics and molecular modelling approaches in drug discovery. Future studies could explore the structural and fuctional impacts of CYP2B6 bound to substrates such as antimalarials, expanding the investigation to a broader range of missense variants. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Bioinformatics, 2025
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The emergence of classical worlds from a quantum universe

- Hjul, Karl Iver Hansen

Authors: Hjul, Karl Iver Hansen
Date: 2025-04-02
Subjects: Quantum Darwinism , Quantum theory , Science Philosophy , Physics Philosophy , Hilbert space
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479130 , vital:78263
Description: How does a classical world emerge from a quantum world? Can this emergence occur without invoking non-unitary processes such as measurements? Recently, an approach that makes use of just a Hilbert space and the associated Hamiltonian to explain the emergence of a classical world has been proposed. To understand this approach, we will require a clear understanding of the nature of measurements in quantum theory and the different interpretations of it. We then progress onto discussions regarding quantum Darwinism and related _elds of knowledge and how they \bypass" the problem of measurement in quantum theory. Then, we discuss how, using the appropriate choice of factorization of a Hilbert space into a system and an environment and using an acceptable basis observable, we can obtain a quasi-classical state of a system. This approach has previously been applied to study one limit (when interactions dominate the Hamiltonian), but we generalize by applying it to the opposite limit (when interactions are minimal) and suggest a method for the general case (when interactions are neither minimal nor dominant). We then look at Hilbert space fundamentalism, which is the idea that a vector in Hilbert space is the fundamental nature of reality. Hilbert space fundamentalism is a generalized application that takes the idea of the emergence of a classical world from a quantum one and applies it to the Universe as a whole. This leads to the question: could Hilbert space fundamentalism be a candidate for the fundamental theory? Before we evaluate Hilbert space fundamentalism as a candidate fundamental theory, we analyze the theory and inquire as to what makes something a fundamental theory. To understand Hilbert space fundamentalism, we see what a model of the world it predicts looks like. This is done by proposing a mapping from a fundamental Hilbert space to emergent space times utilizing entanglement and the aforementioned recently proposed approach that makes use of Hilbert spaces and Hamiltonians to explain the emergence of classical worlds. To determine if Hilbert space fundamentalism could be a fundamental theory, a set of criteria (completeness in all domains, self-contained, and that speci_c theories emerge from it) is noted. We find that Hilbert space fundamentalism, when viewed through these criteria, cannot be the fundamental theory. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Physics and Electronics, 2025
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The impact of Ghana's entrepreneurial ecosystem on women's entrepreneurial performance: the moderating role of entrepreneurial identity

- Akuamoah Boateng, Irene

Authors: Akuamoah Boateng, Irene
Date: 2025-04-02
Subjects: Entrepreneurship Ghana , Businesswomen Ghana , Identity (Psychology) , Entrepreneurial ecosystem , Women Economic conditions , Women Social conditions
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479559 , vital:78324 , DOI 10.21504/10962/479559
Description: Women business leaders are generating a tremendous impact in their markets, industries and communities through innovation, job creation and economic growth. However, their contributions are often lost in the prevailing narrative that women are over-represented among the poorest and most vulnerable entrepreneurs globally. A review of the extant literature has postulated challenges that women entrepreneurs faced several challenges in the ecosystem in which it operates. Women entrepreneurs have access to limited capital as compared to its men counterparts, fewer opportunities to network and build relationships with other entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors, which affects their access to resources and knowledge. Due to the issue of gender-based stereotypes and biases that women entrepreneurs constantly face, they are unable to meet mentors who can provide them with guidance and support to grow their business. These women-specific challenges have become barriers limiting the growth of women entrepreneurs, however insufficient reports highlight how these hindering factors can create opportunities for the growth of women entrepreneurs. Dwelling on the Process theory, the study explored the impact of Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem on women’s entrepreneurial performance with the moderating role of entrepreneurial identity. The study was a cross-sectional quantitative research design with data collected from 413 women entrepreneurs in the Greater Accra Region using structured questionnaire collected using the survey monkey online tool. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSS v.25 and the PLS-SEM v.4.0. The first objective was examined through 12 hypotheses, while the second was analyzed using 2.The study finds that access to finance has positive and insignificant effect on the entrepreneurial performance of women in Ghana. Likewise, education and training have a negative and insignificant effect on the market and operational performance of women entrepreneurs in Ghana. The results of the study postulated that the availability of infrastructure and resources has a negative but significant effect on both the market and operational performance of Ghanaian women entrepreneurs. The results of the study further reported a positive but insignificant impact of network and social capital on the market performance and operational performance of women entrepreneurs in Ghana. The results of the study in relations to the regulatory environment and women entrepreneurial performance indicates an insignificant relationship between regulatory environment and market performance and regulatory performance whilst cultural and social factors within the Ghanaian ecosystem negatively but significantly influence the entrepreneurial performance of women in Ghana but innovation and knowledge spillover have a positive and significant impact on both the market performance and operational performance. Furthermore, the findings of the study suggest that Ghana's entrepreneurial ecosystem may not have a substantial direct impact on women's entrepreneurial performance in Ghana. Further practical and theoretical implications of the study are discussed in the thesis. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Commerce, Rhodes Business School, 2025
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Beyond prose: Review of 'Poetic Inquiry for the Humanities and Social Sciences: Voices from the South and the North'

- McKenna, Sioux

Authors: McKenna, Sioux
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480817 , vital:78479 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-sajsci-v121-n3-a11
Description: The 54 authors of this book reflect on the use of poetic inquiry at a time when feminist, decolonial, and post-humanist researchers are raising concerns about the ways in which qualitative data collection and dissemination can silence some and reduce the experiences of others by adhering to the often-arbitrary restrictions of academic texts. Poetic inquiry, the authors of this book argue, should be welcoming, invite new perspectives, and make possible alternative interpretations of the social world. Sadly, as Pithouse-Morgan indicates, poetry is often associated with negative rather than positive educational experiences (p.201). For many of us, poetry is about mysterious meanings that our schoolteachers berated us for being too dense to access. While my own interest in poetic inquiry is in how we can use it to create and disseminate research, many authors in this book, such as Hough, Peté and Ndlovu, suggest that poetry can also be used “to teach complex topics from different points of view, make people more self-aware, encourage dialogue and empathy, grow social awareness, and raise ethical questions” (p.169). Badenhorst and McLeod point out that this can be challenging when working in neoliberal universities that turn us into human capital in service of competition and efficiency over social justice and equity. They suggest that poetry can help us to shift to a world “of senses and feeling [that] can provide a way to resist the tendrils of neoliberalism” (p.126).
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Investigating the Transparency of Language for Place Value Understanding Comparing Indigenous Southern African Languages and European-based Languages

- Larkin, Kevin, Vale, Pamela, Ladel, Silke, Westaway, Lise, Graven, Mellony, Kortenkamp, Ulrich

Authors: Larkin, Kevin , Vale, Pamela , Ladel, Silke , Westaway, Lise , Graven, Mellony , Kortenkamp, Ulrich
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/482410 , vital:78648 , https://doi.org/10.1080/18117295.2024.2438452
Description: In this article we investigate the transparency of language in learning place value in either a Southern African indigenous language (isiXhosa, Setswana, Oshiwambo or Emakhuwa) or a European-based language (Afrikaans, English, German or Portuguese). Since language is a key mediator in developing place value understanding, it is important to investigate the ways in which the transparency of various languages may impact place value learning. A review of pertinent literature and an analysis of literal translations of number words (to thousands) of our eight languages lead us to the conclusion that Southern African indigenous languages are more accessible in their meaning, in relation to place value, than the four European-based languages spoken in Southern Africa, which we analysed. We identified two key advantages in the indigenous languages: (i) there was transparency of the ‘places’ in how numbers are named; and (ii) there was logical alignment between the spoken and symbolic representation of numbers. Despite this, many Southern African learners learn mathematics in English, Afrikaans or Portuguese even though this is not their home language (L1). This means that many learners are denied access to the transparency of the place value concepts that exist in their L1 and must manage learning place value, not only in a yet to be learned ‘foreign’ language, but also in one where they must learn to decode the idiosyncratic ‘irregularities’ of the way those languages name numbers. We conclude this article by discussing the implications of these findings for the teaching of place value in Southern African classrooms, in which indigenous learners are often learning in a European-based language that is not their L1.
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Neoliberalism constrains academic freedom

- McKenna, Sioux

Authors: McKenna, Sioux
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480540 , vital:78453 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-sajsci-v121-n3-a18
Description: Positioning the university as a public good that serves people and the planet was a central concern for those responsible for shaping post-apartheid education. Unfortunately, the current neoliberal environment has led to institutional risk aversion. This means that universities are loathe to speak out on issues of social injustice and environmental degradation. And academics often forfeit their freedoms by assuming that top management can speak on behalf of the university. In the Commentary 'Should our universities respond to geopolitical conflicts around the world?'1, Chetty questions when and why a university should speak out on global issues. In particular, Chetty refers to the Israeli-Palestinian war. I leave it to other respondents to tackle the substantive issue of South African higher education's silence on this issue. Instead, I home in on what I see as a common problem in the post-apartheid university. Chetty explains that: He thus understands the university as a complex organisation, as indeed it is. But he repeatedly reveals an understanding of the university as one which is controlled by management. For me, one of the most troubling sentences in the article is this: Universities thrive on a diversity of viewpoints, and so imposing a hegemonic view from the top management often leads to problems in a university setting.
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Our Ocean Is Sacred, You Can't Mine Heaven

- McGarry, Dylan K, McConnachie, Boudina E

Authors: McGarry, Dylan K , McConnachie, Boudina E
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , book chapter
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480205 , vital:78406 , ISBN 9781003381846 , https://doi.org/10.4324/978100338184
Description: ‘Our Ocean Is Sacred, You Can’t Mine Heaven’ was a ground-breaking South African public storytelling initiative that not only emphasised the intrinsic and cultural value of the ocean but also served as a living-customary lore/law classroom. This exhibition challenged conventional archiving, promoting diversity, sovereignty and evolving ‘meaning-making,’ fostering inclusivity and justice-oriented documentation in ocean knowledge. The authors worked alongside Indigenous coastal communities and Small-Scale Fishers (SSF), who were aligned with movements defending the ocean against unchecked Blue Economy expansion in South Africa. The chapter delves into how artist-led practices, strategically embedded with legal research, played a pivotal role in a recent court ruling favouring Indigenous and SSF applicants. This victory renewed attention on ocean heritages in legal processes, highlighting the potential for expanding evidence ‘an-archives.’ The collaboration with coastal communities and SSF against unbridled ocean development used art to secure a court win, reshaping South African law and challenging norms in ocean development. This chapter explores art’s role in legal innovation, contributing to the ongoing struggle for justice and the decolonisation of blue economy narratives and processes in South Africa.
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Shifting from Development to Empowerment Through Eco-Creative Knowledge Transmission

- McConnachie, Boudina E, Porri, Francesca, Wynberg, Rachel

Authors: McConnachie, Boudina E , Porri, Francesca , Wynberg, Rachel
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , book
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/480246 , vital:78410 , ISBN 9781003289838 , https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003289838
Description: Conventional definitions of development can be linked to socio-economic and cultural impositions of the Global North on developing societies. These development frameworks were inherited from the colonial system, which devalued local ways of knowing, being, and developing and continues to do so. Through a transdisciplinary or Boundary Crossing environmental case study that interrogates the use of heritage skills and knowledge for nature-based solutions relating to coastal shore regeneration, this chapter reflects on experiences of knowledge co-creation in the rural Eastern Cape Province setting of South Africa. Through the lens of African Musical Arts, which includes song and dance, storytelling, heritage skills, soundscapes, and more, this research seeks to shift the project perceptions of the scientists, engaged scholars, pracademics, practitioners and community researchers involved, from simple to multi-dimensional viewpoints. Using Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) as catalysts, our goal is to emancipate transmission of knowledge from a developmental to an empowerment framework. Using the diverse disciplinary backgrounds of the authors, this chapter allows for a holistic examination of the development of an Audio Postcards exhibition, while interrogating the project centred on African theories, ecologies, and knowledge development.
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Simplified Taxation in Africa: What We Know – and Need to Know

- Gallien, Max, Hoy, Christopher, Komatsu, Hitomi, Ozer, Ceren, Rogan, Michael, Van den Boogaard, Vanessa

Authors: Gallien, Max , Hoy, Christopher , Komatsu, Hitomi , Ozer, Ceren , Rogan, Michael , Van den Boogaard, Vanessa
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478250 , vital:78168 , DOI: 10.19088/ICTD.2025.012
Description: Most economic operators in Africa are small and informal firms that fall under the purview of presumptive or simplified tax regimes (STRs). These taxes are expected to fulfil a range of functions, from raising revenue to facilitating formalisation and improving revenue authorities' data, and yet their effectiveness and impact are surprisingly under-researched. Meanwhile, emerging evidence suggests that STRs often raise little revenue, disproportionately impact low-income earners, and are inconsistently applied. This policy brief summarises what we know about simplified taxes in Africa, who pays them, and why they matter, while highlighting gaps in existing knowledge. It makes the argument that there is a need for a new policy conversation on simplified taxation, and one that is data-driven and evidence-based.
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The heterogeneous effects of macroeconomic and financial factors on financial deepening in Africa: evidence from a method of moments quantile regression analysis

- Sanga, Bahati, Aziakpono, Meshach J

Authors: Sanga, Bahati , Aziakpono, Meshach J
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/469930 , vital:77308 , https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/jfep-07-2023-0199/full/html
Description: This paper aims to investigate the heterogeneous effects of macroeconomic and financial factors across various distributions of financial deepening in 22 African countries over the past two decades (2000–2019). The paper uses a recent method of moments quantile regression, which accounts for the often overlooked heterogeneity effects. The analysis focuses on the banking sector, which is predominant in Africa, using a broad range of macroeconomic and financial indicators.
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The taxed informal economy: Fiscal burdens and inequality in Accras

- Anyidoho, Nana A, Gallien, Max, Rogan, Michael, Van den Boogaard, Vanessa

Authors: Anyidoho, Nana A , Gallien, Max , Rogan, Michael , Van den Boogaard, Vanessa
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478095 , vital:78154 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106879
Description: The common assumption that informal economies are untaxed has underpinned arguments that they represent an ‘untapped goldmine’ for government coffers. However, there has been limited empirical engagement with this assumption. While some studies have highlighted that many informal businesses pay both formal and informal taxes, there has been little systematic accounting of these payments. Using a novel dataset of 2,700 informal enterprises in the Accra metropolitan area in Ghana, this article presents the first geographically representative account of the nature, distribution and impact of taxation in an urban informal sector. We find that the majority of informal sector operators in this context pay a range of taxes and fees, which together amount to a significant burden, especially for low earners. Two key findings emerge in relation to the structure of these taxes. First, the incidence and burden of tax payments is highly uneven and strongly correlated with visibility to the state, suggesting that taxation is driven more by patterns of state enforcement than the choices of informal operators. Second, taxes and fees are highly regressive, with lower-earning operators paying significantly more in relation to their earnings. These findings have important implications for both our conception of informal businesses and efforts to tax informal businesses in low- and middle-income countries.
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The taxed informal economy: Fiscal burdens and inequality in Accras

- Anyidoho, Nana A, Gallien, Max, Rogan, Michael, Van den Boogaard, Vanessa

Authors: Anyidoho, Nana A , Gallien, Max , Rogan, Michael , Van den Boogaard, Vanessa
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/478084 , vital:78153 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106879
Description: The common assumption that informal economies are untaxed has underpinned arguments that they represent an ‘untapped goldmine’ for government coffers. However, there has been limited empirical engagement with this assumption. While some studies have highlighted that many informal businesses pay both formal and informal taxes, there has been little systematic accounting of these payments. Using a novel dataset of 2,700 informal enterprises in the Accra metropolitan area in Ghana, this article presents the first geographically representative account of the nature, distribution and impact of taxation in an urban informal sector. We find that the majority of informal sector operators in this context pay a range of taxes and fees, which together amount to a significant burden, especially for low earners. Two key findings emerge in relation to the structure of these taxes. First, the incidence and burden of tax payments is highly uneven and strongly correlated with visibility to the state, suggesting that taxation is driven more by patterns of state enforcement than the choices of informal operators. Second, taxes and fees are highly regressive, with lower-earning operators paying significantly more in relation to their earnings. These findings have important implications for both our conception of informal businesses and efforts to tax informal businesses in low- and middle-income countries.
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The use of gabions as an eco-engineering approach to enhance estuarine fish habitats in urbanised waterways

- Seath, Jessica L, Firth, L B, Froneman, P William, Claassens, Louw

Authors: Seath, Jessica L , Firth, L B , Froneman, P William , Claassens, Louw
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/479396 , vital:78297 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.10743
Description: Anthropogenic activities are often concentrated around coastal ecosystems. Harbours and marinas comprising artificial structures with steeper orientations and reduced topographic complexities than natural ecosystems contribute to habitat alteration and biodiversity loss. Ecological engineering aims to mitigate these impacts by integrating ecological principles into coastal development to enhance habitat potential and improve biodiversity. This study investigated the potential of gabions (rock-filled wire mesh baskets) to enhance fish abundance and biodiversity by comparing these structures to conventional seawalls in an urbanised marina in Knysna, South Africa. Remote underwater video systems were used to determine fish diversity, abundance and composition over a 12-month period from August 2020 to August 2021. Overall, a significantly greater abundance and diversity of fish were associated with gabions compared to seawalls. Importantly, the gabions supported an endangered species, the Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis), and two near threatened species recorded only on the gabions. This study highlights the efficacy of using structurally complex gabions as a viable ecoengineering alternative to less complex seawalls to enhance fish habitat.
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Towards a relational understanding of youth lifestyles and wellbeing in climate resilient urban development insights from a seven-city study of young people

- Prendergast, Kate, Hayward, Bronwyn, Aoyagi, Midori, Burningham, Kate, Hasan, M Mehedi, Jackson, Tim, Jha, Vimlendu, Loukianov, Anastasia, Mattar, Helio, Schudel, Ingrid J, Yoshida, Aya

Authors: Prendergast, Kate , Hayward, Bronwyn , Aoyagi, Midori , Burningham, Kate , Hasan, M Mehedi , Jackson, Tim , Jha, Vimlendu , Loukianov, Anastasia , Mattar, Helio , Schudel, Ingrid J , Yoshida, Aya
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/482593 , vital:78669 , https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2025.2454985
Description: Supporting youth wellbeing in low carbon ways is a crucial challenge in cities. Seventy percent of youth will live in urban areas by 2050 and urban sites account for 67–72% of the global share of carbon emissions. Young people’s consumption behaviour including energy use is increasingly identified as a key driver of urban emissions. This paper expands beyond dominant individualised approaches to examining urban youth wellbeing and consumption to interrogate the relational contexts in which young people live, their wellbeing aspirations, and the conditions that enable or lock-in lifestyle emissions. Applying a relational lens and thematic analysis to focus group data collected from 332 youth aged 12–24 years in seven cities of the global South and North, the paper examines experiences shaping youth wellbeing in the context of urban consumption activities. Findings emphasised the complexities of “linked lives”, foregrounding family, peer and community relationships as critical in shaping youth wellbeing and consumption.
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Transformative learning in geography education: international perspectives and practices

- Wilmot, P Dianne, Bednarz, Sarah H, Fatima, Munazza, De la Vega, Alfonso G, Grob, Regula, Mäsgen, Johanna, Wilson, Sophie

Authors: Wilmot, P Dianne , Bednarz, Sarah H , Fatima, Munazza , De la Vega, Alfonso G , Grob, Regula , Mäsgen, Johanna , Wilson, Sophie
Date: 2025
Subjects: To be catalogued
Language: English
Type: text , article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/483010 , vital:78711 , https://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2025.2473104
Description: This paper critically reflects on how transformative learning (TL) is described both conceptually and as a process in the literature in different fields and national contexts. We articulate a definition of TL and justify why geography education is an ideal vehicle for enabling it. This is followed by a series of case studies explaining how TL can be and is being implemented in the curriculum topic of climate change in different countries. The findings of the analysis of the case studies are used to make propositions for further development and enactment of TL in geography education. The insights provided by this paper may help to move the field forward by opening new avenues of research and providing opportunities for cultivating a stronger geography education voice in global discourses about the types of learning required in a time of socio-ecological crisis and rapid societal change. Furthermore, it may provide practical ideas for improving learning and enhancing teaching practices which curriculum developers, learning resource producers, and practitioners may find useful.
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