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Saul ponders, from Muizenberg, South Africa, what research would be like without the internet.
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Scholar's Journal
Going off to South Africa to study the investment decisions of large corporations always seemed like a daunting task. And this was not made any easier when my laptop was stolen while in Victoria Station, London on my way to South Africa. So, I arrived in Johannesburg without my computer and massive amounts of data that, thankfully, I had backed up before leaving the USA, except that the backup was still in the USA and anyway I didn’t have a computer.
So, after getting over the initial shock of no computer, and realizing that that was how it was going to be for the summer I set to work at getting hold of the few contacts that I had in the country. I managed to secure several interviews with academics in both Johannesburg and Durban.
I spent roughly ten days in Johannesburg meeting with several academics and catching up with old friends. I then flew off to Durban where I was greeted at the airport by one of my thesis advisors. This was good as I had never been to Durban and did not know my way around the city. I spent four days in Durban meeting with several academics from the local university and research institute. These were good interviews and I continued to gain interesting insights into my project, though things were not clear as to where exactly I was heading with the project. Suffice to say that is the story of research.
After my four days in Durban I flew down to Cape Town where my mother and grandmother, whom I had not seen in two and a half years, greeted me at the airport. That was very exciting and involved much catching up and plenty of hugs. I spent a couple days getting myself situated, seeing old friends and visiting family. I then kicked back into research gear.
I had the good fortune of having access to a computer with DSL at my mom’s friend’s house right next door. That rocked. I spent many hours digging up articles and sourcing people to talk with. I managed to meet with several more academics at research groups scattered around the city of Cape Town. I also went to the local business school at the University of Cape Town and utilized their library. This was a very fruitful visit as I found several very interesting articles. I also attended a three-day conference on African Finance, which yielded a great contact; the chief economist of the Industrial Development Corporation – a large development agency owned by the government.
When my time finally came to an end in Cape Town, I said my teary eyed good-byes and headed back up to Johannesburg.
I spent the next several weeks meeting with many different journalists, academics and government officials. It was a tiring process, that ended every day with me completely exhausted and spacing out in front of the TV, but I managed to gather massive amounts of information.
I then headed back to the Bay to see my lovely wife and to rest in my own bed for the first time in three months.
The project has morphed a fair amount over the summer. It is now focusing on the role that government has played in the investment drive. I am exploring how the political and economic projects of development have met in a way that is focused on developing a new black capitalist class in South Africa. The government’s project of Black Economic Empowerment is an important part of facilitating and financing the outward expansion of both state-owned enterprises and the private sector.
There will be much more to follow…..
