The effect of a large anoxic mass fraction and concentrations of nitrate and nitrite in the primary anoxic zone on low f/m filament bulking in nutrient removal activated sludge systems

Filamentous bulking occurs when filamentous organisms are present in excessive numbers and extend from floes into the bulk solution. They interfere with the compaction and settling of the activated sludge either by producing a very diffuse floe structure or by causing bridging between floes. This results in a sludge with poor settleability i.e., low settling velocity and low solids concentration in the return activated sludge (RAS). In severe cases overflow of the sludge with the effluent occurs. Bulking not only causes these problems in the activated sludge process, but it also causes poor dewaterability of the waste activated sludge. Clearly bulking not only adversely affects the efficiency of the secondary settling tank but also the efficiency of the sludge treatment units at the plant. While controlling or eliminating bulking at plants will certainly be beneficial for sludge handling, by far the most significant impact would be on the activated sludge process itself. It has been estimated that if the sludge settleability could be controlled at Diluted Sludge Volume Indices (DSVI) below 100 me/g, 50 to 100% more wastewater could be treated in existing plants leading to enormous savings (Ekama and Marais, 1986a). This single factor is the principal driving motive behind the research to establish the causes and control of filamentous bulking

The planning system, property markets and the development of affordable housing: case studies from Cape Town

The study investigates the underlying causal mechanisms behind the outcomes in the affordable housing market in South Africa. The rationale for this study is the persistence of unfavourable outcomes in terms of location, density, integration and affordability of affordable housing developments. The post-apartheid government adopted housing policies, supporting planning policies and directed financial investment towards the development of integrated affordable housing at appropriate locations and densities. However, more than 20 years after democracy, there is no evidence that affordable housing is integrated and being developed at higher densities and appropriate locations, despite the principles of densification, integration and the creative use of town planning tools bestowed in the housing policies. This study, using structure and agency theory, investigates how structural variables (planning system and policy framework, resources for housing development and ideological perspectives) influenced the agency of role players in producing the current outcomes in the affordable housing market. The study investigated two interrelated questions. Firstly, how have the ideals of planning incentives, densification and integration reflected in the housing policies influenced the post-apartheid planning systems? Secondly, how do the planning system and other structural variables impact on the property and housing market and how does this, in turn, produce the current outcomes regarding the location, density, integration and affordability of affordable housing. Corresponding to these questions were two hypotheses. The first was that the principles of planning incentives, densification and integration espoused in housing policy have not been sufficiently reflected in the planning system, leading to failure in stimulating the private sector to supply affordable housing. The second hypothesis was that the planning system fails to counteract the tendencies of private developers to locate housing at inappropriate densities and locations. Using the conceptual framework designed from structure-agency theory, this study adopted a comparative case study method to investigate how the interactions of role players with the structural variables led to the outcomes in terms of location, density, integration and affordability of five affordable housing developments in the City of Cape Town metropolitan area. The case studies of affordable housing developments were categorised in terms of the type of developers, tenure options and land ownership. The empirical data were collected using household surveys and semi-structured interviews. A household survey of 395 beneficiaries was conducted in the affordable housing developments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with developers and planning consultants in the private sector, state policy makers and policy-implementers at the City of Cape Town and the provincial Department of Human Settlements, housing activists and housing policy specialists. The study finds that while the principles in housing policies are reflected in the planning system, there is no clear indication on the meaning and expected outcomes, leading to a disjuncture in policy intent, implementation, and failure to stimulate the private sector to supply affordable housing. Furthermore, the study finds that the planning system has lagged behind in providing adequate legislative and planning tools to support the development of affordable housing. The study finds that the planning system and policy framework has constrained the development of affordable housing and failed to successfully curb the tendencies of developers to develop at inappropriate locations and densities. The study finds that while the structural variables such as the resources for housing development and planning system and policy framework impacted on the location, density, integration and affordability of affordable housing; the ideological perspectives of role players have impacted on the roles and distribution of resources towards the development of affordable housing. The study concludes that while the housing policy has been progressive, it is not sufficient to address the challenges in the affordable housing market. It is recommended that policy interventions targeted at enhancing the location, density, integration and affordability be implemented through the three areas that constitute the structural environment, namely the planning and policy framework, resources for housing development, and ideological perspectives of role players in order to impact on the agency of role players to create an environment conducive to the development of integrated affordable housing at higher densities and appropriate locations

Introducing The Representational Measurement Project In Accounting

This study introduces a representational measurement (a theory that establishes measurement in the social sciences) perspective to the accounting concept of measurement. Accounting studies have long sought to establish foundations (theory) of measurement in accounting without success. This is because the accounting concept of measurement is based on the axioms of quantity which ultimately result in the classical theory of measurement and are not suitable for social science disciplines such as accounting, but rather for the natural sciences. The measurement of attributes of social science phenomena does not give rise to a natural concatenation operation, which is pivotal to invoking a theoretical concept of an absolute continuous quantity that forms the basis of the classical theory of measurement. As a result, this study suggests criteria whose development might eventually lead to the construction of representational measurements in accounting

Implications Of The Homomorphism Definition Of Measurement On Accounting Measurement Theory

This study compares the principles of the representational theory of measurement with accounting practices to decipher the reasons creating a gap between accounting measurement practices and the scientific practices of measurement. Representational measurement establishes measurement in social scientific disciplines such as accounting. The discussion in this study focuses on the need for accounting to provide principled arguments to justify its status as a measurement discipline. The arguments made highlight the need for possible modifications of the accounting measurement concept to deal with issues that are at least partially philosophical in nature, such as the concept of error and the passing of value representations from finite to continuum. These problems are primarily conceptual in nature. They indicate that accounting is far from a measurement discipline. Their resolution could require major changes to the accounting concept of measurement

Implications Of The Crisis Of Objectivity In Accounting Measurement On The Development Of Finance Theory

Studies in accounting measurement indicate the absence of empirical relational structures that should form the basis for accounting measurement. This suggests the lack of objectivity of accounting information. Landmarks in the development of finance theory indicate the use of accounting measurement information as a basis for their development. This indicates that subjective accounting information is incorporated in finance theory. Consequently, this questions the status of finance as a universal science for all investigators, and its ability to construct precise models of finance experiences. This paper uses the principles of representational measurement to highlight the implications of subjective accounting information on the development of finance principles and concepts. It shows that finance, is not a universal science and that precise models of finance experiences are currently not constructible

The Role Of Measurement Theory In Supporting The Objectives Of The Financial Statements

This study emphasises the fact that the objectives of the financial statements are not compatible with the principles that establish measurement in the social sciences, and that they therefore cannot be considered to be measurement objectives. The concept of measurement presupposes the comprehension of the principal state and consequently the objectives of a measurement discipline only make measurement sense in the presence of a theory of measurement in which they are contained. Currently, accounting is considered to be a measurement discipline with complete measurement objectives, even in the absence of a measurement theory that incorporates the objectives of the measurement process. In this study the principles of the representational theory of measurement (a theory that establishes measurement in the social sciences) are used to emphasise that the objectives of the financial statements are not measurement objectives unless they are supported by a theory of measurement. Hence the financial statements cannot contain measurement information until a theory of measurement is established that incorporates the objectives of the accounting measurement processes

Hindrance to Benefit from the Potential Sources of Finance to Enhance the Growth of Small and Medium Size Enterprises in South Africa

Small and Medium Size Enterprises are increasing playing an important role in economic development of most countries all over the world nowadays. For these small businesses to grow and be sustainable, they require sufficient capital in the form of financial resources to go operational because the lack of funding or access to finance could hamper their growth. The lack of access to finance has been reported to be one of the major causes of small business failure and discontinuity in South Africa. The purpose of this study is to identify the available sources of financial support for the growth of SMEs in South Africa. The study anticipates to find out why despite government’s effort to offer financial support for the growth of the SME sector, the rate of small business failure and discontinuity in South Africa is still one of the highest in the world. A qualitative methodological approach was utilized and interviews were conducted on SME managers on the subject under investigation. It was found that most SME managers in South Africa are ignorant about available sources of finance offered by government to boost the sector. It is imperative for the relevant authorities to revise and improve on the means and mechanisms used to support SMEs such that all small business managers are aware of the availability of this assistance and where and how to access it. In this regard, the government need to set up education and training facilities in different communities where intending and existing small business managers would be educated on the available sources of finance and how to access this funding to start up and grow their businesses

The underbelly of the Berea: Challenges to orthodox planning for the creation of sustainable suburban neighbourhoods in South Africa

Sustainable neighbourhood development is a global urban planning policy concern for the 21st century. In the global South, these concerns persist alongside increasing population and poverty levels in cities. In South Africa’s established former apartheid neighbourhoods, the challenges of creating sustainable neighbourhoods from the current post-colonial neighbourhood are unclear and contradictory. Former largely mono-functional suburban neighbourhoods of the apartheid period are undergoing changes in form, function and demography. Using the case of Berea suburban neighbourhood in the metropolitan city of eThekwini (Durban), the article explores the responsiveness of orthodox land-use planning to sustainable neighbourhood change from 1994. It focuses on a historical review of orthodox planning vis-à-vis recent policy and land-use change dynamics in the Berea. Data used include a content analysis of the Berea General Plans from 1857, Town Planning Schemes and related documents, purposively selected interviews, observations, GIS mapping of planning applications, and analysis based on South African demographic census data from 2001 to 2011. The article concludes that former largely mono-functional orthodox suburban neighbourhood planning is insufficiently responsive to heterogeneity trends on the Berea

Rethinking The Use Of Causal Theories In Social Sciences: A Focus On Accounting And Finance

This study highlights the problems associated with the use of deterministic models in social scientific disciplines such as accounting and finance. A deterministic theory connotes a self-defining set of physical relations and it yields a set of mathematical functions, parameterized by time, which describes how a set of ideal measure numbers changes with the time parameter while statistical models are used to describe the distribution of variations of concrete measured data from the ideal mathematical law. In this study, it is argued that in disciplines such as accounting and finance there are no appropriately defined ideal mathematical laws. Moreover, it is suggested that phenomena in accounting and finance do not exhibit characteristics that facilitate an appropriate description of deterministic models. If this is the case, it follows that there are no concretely measurable data in these disciplines and consequently these data have variations whose distributions from undefined ideal mathematical laws cannot be described. Hence, it is suggested in this study that linear models can only yield misleading information in accounting and finance unless they are based on concretely measurable relations

ADDRESSING CHALLENGES IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKET: A CRITICAL REALIST PERSPECTIVE

Since the advent of democracy, South African policymakers and researchers have been focusing on housing solutions. The South African affordable housing market has been battling with undesirable outcomes in terms of location, density, integration, and affordability. Housing is a complex multidimensional phenomenon that has been analysed from various perspectives. Various scholars have adopted either mainstream or institutional approaches in trying to explain housing outcomes, through examining the effects of regulations on housing provision. Oftentimes, such analysis has reached unfavourable conclusions on the actual causes of the outcomes in the housing market. The purpose of the article is to present a philosophical, theoretical and conceptual understanding of the study of affordable housing, which is critical in identifying variables for creating interventions to address challenges in the affordable housing market. This article employs a literature-based analysis of the theories and ontological approaches to housing development, key concepts of critical realism, and the relationship to structure-agency theory. Structure-agency theory is then applied to the South African affordable housing market. The challenges experienced by the South African affordable housing market are the same as those in both the developed and the developing world. The current view of the South African affordable housing market is not adequate to address the prevailing challenges. It is argued that a conceptual framework that is guided by a critical realist perspective and structure-agency theory will enable a better understanding of an interdisciplinary study such as that of housing. Such a framework provides insight into the structural dynamics that shape the roles, strategies, interests and decisions of various role players within a particular setting, leading to various outcomes. While this article draws on a critical realist perspective, it provides a platform to identify interventions in the affordable housing market that could influence policy formulation and implementation, and consequently, outcomes. The interventions identified will be limited to specific geographical locations, since there are various social and political factors at play; hence, the interventions cannot be generalised. The interventions identified in the affordable housing market through a critical realist perspective will inform policy implementation on how to provide integrated affordable housing in appropriate locations and at appropriate densities