scholarly journals Legal issues concerning mine closure and social responsibility on the West Rand

Author(s):  
Francois Durand ◽  
Mariette Liefferink ◽  
Elize S Van Eeden

Mining and, especially, gold and uranium mining have played a major role in the economy, history, and demography of South Africa. The contribution of the mines to the economy of South Africa over the past century has been overvalued, while the social injustices and negative environmental impacts that accompanied mining have been underplayed or ignored by the mining houses and government. The environmental situation has worsened significantly over the past few years due to the abandonment and pending closure of most of these mines. A reluctance is perceived on the part of the mining companies, and even government, to take responsibility for the damage caused by pollution, ecological degradation, and impact on human health by mining. Instead, the current informal policy appears to take smaller companies to court on minor environmental injustices to, perhaps, impress the broader public, while one of the biggest environmental concerns is stylishly treated. The inability of government to address the damage by mines effectively is in conflict with the National Water Act, the National Environmental Management Act, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Act, the National Nuclear Regulator Act, and the Constitution of South Africa. The authors propose a multidisciplinary approach to address water-related environmental injustices on the West Rand and Far West Rand. We also describe the application of the National Environmental Management Act of South Africa (Act No. 107 of 1998) in the Wonderfonteinspruit and Tweelopiespruit Catchments and the current water quality situation.

1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-146
Author(s):  
Artemis Leontis

Reflection on the history of the novel usually begins with consideration of the social, political, and economic transformations within society that favored the “rise” of a new type of narrative. This remains true even with the numerous and important studies appearing during the past ten years, which relate the novel to an everbroadening spectrum of ideological issues—gender, class, race, and, most recently, nationalism. Yet a history of the genre might reflect not just on the novel’s national, but also its transnational, trajectory, its spread across the globe, away from its original points of emergence. Such a history would take into account the expansion of western markets—the growing exportation of goods and ideas, as well as of social, political, and cultural forms from the West—that promoted the novel’s importation by nonwestern societies. Furthermore, it could lead one to examine the very interesting inverse relationship between two kinds of migration, both of which are tied to the First World’s uneven “development” of the Third. In a world system that draws out natural resources in exchange for technologically mediated goods, the emigration of laborers and intellectuals from peripheral societies to the centers of power of the West and the immigration of a western literary genre into these same societies must be viewed as related phenomena.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 52-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalind Hurworth ◽  
Eileen Clark ◽  
Jenepher Martin ◽  
Steve Thomsen

This article reviews the use of photographs as data within the social sciences as well as defining related terminology used over the past century. It then examines the use of photos as stimuli for talking about health settings before presenting three recent case studies where photo-interviewing has been used successfully in health evaluation and research. Advantages and limitations of the method are considered.


Author(s):  
Rimma M. Khaninova ◽  

Introduction. In the genre system of Kalmyk poetry, the literary fable appeared in the 1930s. When it came to master the genre, Kalmyk poets mainly focused on the traditions of Russian fable of the 19th–20th centuries, primarily on I. A. Krylov’s works which they eagerly translated. The Kalmyk authors were the least likely to rely on traditions of Eastern literature — whether Indian, Tibetan, or Oirat Mongolian — since those sources written in Tibetan, Classical Mongolian and Clear Script (Kalm. todo bichiq) were virtually unavailable to them, and not all poets had knowledge of the scripts. National folklore, including myths, animal tales, household tales, aphoristic poetry (proverbs, sayings, riddles), to a certain extent contributed to the creation of plots and motifs, a gallery of images ― people and the animal world ― in the Kalmyk literary fable. The appeal to the fable was determined by the tasks of cultural construction in Kalmykia, the satirical possibilities of the genre designed to scourge social vices and human shortcomings, contribute to the correction of morals, facilitate education of a person in the new society. Attention to the fable in 20th-century Kalmyk poetry was not that universal and constant, by the end of the century it was no longer in demand and never revived further. The Kalmyk literary fable has been little studied so far, with the exception of several recent articles by R. M. Khaninova, which determines the relevance of this study. Goals. The article aims to study zoopoetics of text of the animalistic fable in Kalmyk poetry of the past century through examples of selected works by Khasyr Syan-Belgin, Muutl Erdniev, Garya Shalburov, Basang Dordzhiev, Timofey Bembeev, and Mikhail Khoninov. Methods. The work employs a number of research methods, such as the historical literary, comparative, and descriptive ones. Results. The animalistic fable is not the leading one in the general genre system of Kalmyk poetry of the past century, including among fables with human characters. It usually includes characters of the steppe fauna whose figurative characteristics are manifested in Kalmyk folklore. The social satire and political orientation of the fables are actualized by modern reality, actual international situation and events. The paper reveals a relationship between the animal fable and — Kalmyk folklore and the Russian fable tradition. Most of the fables have not yet been translated into Russian. Conclusions. In terms of national versification patterns, the study of the Kalmyk poetic animal fable has identified such synthetic forms as fable-fairy tale, fable-proverb, and fable-dream. The genre definition is not always specified by the authors, a moral usually concludes each quatrain-structured narrative. Genre scenes, monologues, and dialogues contribute to an in-depth reading of the context, symbolism of images, and semantic code.


Author(s):  
Michael Kidd

Despite the broadening of locus standi in environmental cases by both Section 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and Section 32 of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, two recent cases suggest that the pre-constitutional approach to locus standi still holds sway in our Courts.  Moreover, failure to recognise the environmental right in Section 24 of the Constitution may be an impediment to applicants' ability to bring an interdict application successfully.  Correct use of the relevant constitutional provisions ought to obviate such problems, but alternatives are suggested.  In the course of the article, it is suggested that the rule in Patz v Greene is no longer relevant and should be consigned to the history books.


Obiter ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Vinti

This note examines the interplay between the twin provisions of section 48 of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (57 of 2003) (NEMPA Act) and section 48 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (28 of 2002) (MPRDA), in respect of the concept of a “protected area”. In essence, section 48(1) of the NEMPA Act read with section 48(1) of the MPRDA, prohibit “prospecting” in “protected areas”. However, section 48(1)(b) of the NEMPA Act and section 48(2) of the MPRDA, permit “prospecting” in “protected environments” and in any land “reserved in terms of any other any law”, if written authorisation is acquired under specific strict conditions. “Prospecting” is defined as intentionally searching for any mineral through any method which disturbs the surface or subsurface of the earth, including any portion of the earth that is under the sea or under other water; or in or on any residue stockpile or residue deposit, in order to establish the existence of any mineral and to determine the extent and economic value thereof; or in the sea or other water on land (s 1 read with s 17 of the MPRDA). This issue of the relationship between section 48 of the NEMPA Act and section 48 of the MPRDA has yet to be appropriately adjudicated on by the courts and thus, this paper will assess the implications of their inevitable interaction and suggest an approach that the courts could take in the assessment of a prospecting licence granted in respect of a “protected area”.


Author(s):  
Changming Duan ◽  
Kristen Sager

Empathy, one of the most studied and most multidisciplinary theoretical constructs, has garnered the attention of scholars from psychology as well as the social and biological sciences. The scholarship of empathy has developed significantly in the past century, with the most notable knowledge emerging in the areas of the neuroscience of empathy and the interplay between race/culture and empathy in recent decades. The positive psychology of empathy also continues to occupy researchers, as the links between empathy and individual and societal health abound. Future empathy research by socially and scholastically responsible scientists must overcome a long history of Euro-ethnocentric biases and integrate social justice into the understanding of this important construct. The scholarship and application of empathy will continue to be an important source of positivity for humans and for society as a whole.


2011 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Friesner ◽  
Donald Hackney ◽  
Matthew McPherson ◽  
Dan Axelsen

Urban History ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Meller

This paper juxtaposes two key themes: the concept of citizenship and ideas on urban renewal over the past century. The aim is to explore the interaction of cultural changes and the physical environment of cities. The concept of citizenship represents a cultural response to social change which itself has changed dramatically over the past century. Urban renewal has taken many forms. Yet behind all the growing technical expertise in dealing with the physical environment, there are specific social responses to the city which legitimize action. By looking at citizenship and urban renewal together, it is possible to establish a perspective on how the urban environment has been manipulated over the past century, often in ways which have barely interfaced with the social demands of many sections of the community.


2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Deborah V. Dolan

Practitioners of psychiatry and psychology have played an important role in the sterilization of tens of thousands of Americans throughout the past century. This article examines a number of questions relating to the origin and continuation of sterilization as a treatment and preventive. What social and medical beliefs lead to the use of sterilization as a treatment and preventive for both the individual and society? What ills are being treated and prevented? Who becomes a candidate for sterilization? To what degree are ethical concerns raised, and what is the response to these concerns? And finally, Who is the client—the individual, potential children, or society?—and how do practitioners distinguish the interest of the individuals from that of their potential children and society?


2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley W. Trimble

Historical data and artifacts, as commonly used in historical geography, can provide powerful tools for dating geomorphological processes over the past century or more and applications can range from months to millennia. Investigations in geomorphology and environmental management can be greatly enhanced by the use of historical techniques. The approach is useful for tracing human-induced changes as well as for those occurring naturally. Several primary techniques are introduced in this essay.


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