Exposure to violence puts children at risk for developing a variety of problems, including depression, anxiety, and conduct problems. The extent to which children's individual, family, school, and peer group characteristics influence resilient responses to violence exposure was investigated amongst Grade 6 students living in a high-violence community in Cape Town. The majority (68.44%) reported both witnessing and being a victim of violence. Both witnessing and victimisation by violence were found to be positively associated with anxiety and depression, but only victimisation was positively associated with conduct problems. Peer delinquency was positively associated with both depression and conduct problems. Involvement in conventional after-school activities was negatively associated with anxiety, and school support was negatively associated with both depression and conduct problems. No association was identified between parent support and any of anxiety, depression, or conduct problems. However, this latter finding may be related to measurement problems, or to participants' reports that they were most likely to be victimised in their homes (rather than at school or in the neighbourhood). While this study is limited by its cross-sectional nature, it implies that key sites for intervention are after-school activities, school support, peer delinquency, and home life.

The global decline of large carnivores demands effective and efficient methods to monitor population status, particularly using non‐invasive methods. Density is among the most useful metrics of population status because it is directly comparable across space and time. Unfortunately, density is difficult to measure reliably, especially for mobile, cryptic species. Recently, efforts have turned to approximating density based on its relationship to more readily estimable indices of occurrence. However, the relationship between density and such indices is contingent on several key assumptions that field studies often violate. Recent research has shown that these relationships are unreliable where sampling units are not independent, as is often the case when estimating density or occurrence of large carnivores. Here, we use the largest data set thus far collected for leopards (Panthera pardus)—88 camera‐trap surveys undertaken in 24 protected areas between 2013 and 2018—to explore how density and other population characteristics relate to parameter estimates in occupancy and Royle–Nichols abundance models. We show how home‐range size confounds underlying relationships, with larger home ranges inflating the proportion of area used (PAU) and resulting in double counting in abundance models. Relativizing estimates of occupancy and abundance by home‐range size improved their relationship with density, but the relationship remained weak and largely uninformative for management. Our findings illustrate the pitfalls of using the PAU or abundance as implicit proxies for density and highlight the challenges of assessing population status for wide‐ranging, cryptic species across fragmented landscapes.

A web‐based national questionnaire survey of the opinions of registered South African quantity surveyors was undertaken to establish their levels of job satisfaction. Issues explored included demographic factors; factors influencing job satisfaction; choice of career; gender and race in the workplace; and harassment and discrimination at work. Generally, it can be said that South African quantity surveyors like their jobs. Respondents tended to be poorly informed about career prospects when embarking on their careers and, although salary was a main driver in respect of career choice, many quantity surveyors ‘drifted’ into the career. However, most respondents claimed that they would choose the same career again. Important factors influencing job satisfaction for quantity surveyors were found to include: personal satisfaction in doing the work; a low degree of supervision; participating in decision‐making; undertaking challenging and creative work; and receiving recognition for achievements. Not all motivators were present in the respondents' workplaces, particularly participation in decision making and receiving regular feedback on performance. Women quantity surveyors perceive the profession to be male dominated, especially with regard to attitudes towards maternity leave and flexible working hours. The findings provide a valuable basis for indicating how quantity surveying firms can create an environment more conducive to enhancing job satisfaction of professional staff.