284
UCT RESEARCH REPORT 2012
Sustainable Societies (Research) Unit (SSU)
explores
the social and institutional dimensions of economic
development and the interaction between human society
and the natural world. Focus areas include: winners and
losers in South African economic growth and the interplay
between ecological and economic concerns. The SSU was
previously known as the Social Surveys Unit and still works
on a number of survey projects, including the Cape Area
Panel Study.
Centre Statistics
Professors, associate professors and lecturers, with
departmental appointments
7
Research and Contract Staff
4
Administration and Clerical Staff
5
Total
56
Research fields and staff
Professor Robert Mattes (also in the
Department of Political Studies)
Director of the Centre for Social Science Research; Director
of Democracy in Africa Research Unit; public opinion;
democratisation; electoral behaviour; social identity;
legislatures; survey research
Professor Nicoli Nattrass (also in the School
of Economics)
Director of the AIDS and Society Research Unit; AIDS;
unemployment; inequality; social and economic policy;
AIDS policy, AIDS denialism; AIDS conspiracy theory,
defending HIV science
Professor Jeremy Seekings (also in the
Department of Sociology)
Director of CSSR; political sociology (race and class;
social attitudes, voting behaviour and political protest);
comparative politics and political economy of public policy
(especially education and welfare policy); democratic
theory
Associate Professor Rajen Govender (also in
the Department of Sociology)
Political behaviour, political deviance and political activism;
welfare economics and the capability approach; household
poverty dynamics; applied fiscal impact assessment;
research methodology and advanced quantitative methods
Dr Beatrice Conradie (also in the School of
Economics)
Director of Sustainable Societies Unit; biodiversity and
predators; farm labour markets; women in agriculture; wine
industry mechanisation; irrigation farming; sustainability
issues and environmental certification
Dr Elena Moore (also in the Department of
Sociology)
Sociology of the family, family policy, gender and intimacy,
intergenerational relations, feminist theories, biographical
research methods.
Dr Pedro Wolf (also in the Department of
Psychology)
Evolutionary psychology
Dr Joanne Wreford
Research Fellow; relationships between Traditional African
Healing (TAH) and biomedicine in HIV/AIDS interventions;
TAH and HIV/AIDS; children, TAH and treatment for
HIV/AIDS; traditional male circumcision/medical male
circumcision and HIV/AIDS
Dr Elizabeth Gummerson
Post-doctoral research fellow: Demography and public
policy (class, race, gender and policy effects on mortality
and morbidity) poverty/inequality policies and their effect
on health and wellbeing; education and health behaviour.
Dr Kevin ONeil
Post-doctoral research fellow; International migration;
migration and development; immigrant integration; migration
policy; xenophobia; education and support for democracy.
Dr Collette Schulz-Herzenberg
Post-doctoral research fellow: Elections, public opinion and
voter behaviour; politics, groups and identity; party politics;
democratization theory; legislative studies; corruption and
governance.
Mr Nathan Geffen
Manager, GroundUp: HIV and TB science and human
rights, epidemiology particularly agent-based simulation
of epidemics, parallel computer algorithms.
Contact Details
Postal address: Centre for Social Science Research,
University of Cape Town, Private Bag, Rondebosch, 7701
Tel: +27 21 650 4656
Fax: +27 21 650 4657
Web: http://www.cssr.uct.ac.za
UCT General enquiries: +27 21 650 9111
UCT web: http://www.uct.ac.za
Research Output
Authored Books
Nattrass, N.J. 2012. The Aids Conspiracy: Science Fights
Back. 216pp. Johannesburg: WITS University Press. ISBN
978186814562.