Recidivism in children after completion of rhythm of life diversion programme in Chris Hani Eastern Cape
- Authors: Zimba, Thanduxolo
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Grahamstown (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/27651 , vital:69380
- Description: One of the recommendations made by the South African Law Commission (SALC) (1997) when discussing the issue of child justice was that the justice system should aim to promote the well-being of the child and deal with the child in an individualised way. This dissertation discusses recidivism in children after completing the Rhythm of Life (ROL) diversion programme which aims at diverting children who conflict with the law away from criminal procedures to programmes that assist in behaviour modification. The study is inspired by the need to uncover the effectiveness of the programme and the challenges encountered when it is delivered. It is further motivated by the need to expose the reasons why children return to the criminal justice system after having attended the ROL diversion programme. Additionally, it seeks to gain perspectives of the probation officers’ and parents’ insights on the observed changes after the attendance of the programme. The study utilised a qualitative methodology with an interpretive and descriptive paradigm, which used in-depth interviews and focus groups as a method of data collection. The participants of the study were children who completed the ROL diversion programme, parents or guardians of children who completed the ROL diversion programme, and probation officers implementing the programme. The data was analysed and presented following the following four themes, i.e., factors contributing to recidivism by children after completion of the ROL diversion programme, diversion programme content, and completion of the diversion programme and the effectiveness of the ROL diversion programme. The literature consulted was broken up into; the historical development of diversion programmes and the inherent legislative framework, the magnitude and extent of recidivism of children after completion of the ROL diversion programme, and the factors which contribute to recidivism by children after completion of the ROL diversion programme. The reviewed literature further scrutinised the global, regional, and South African perspectives on managing young people, and lastly reviewed the benefits and challenges of diversion programmes in general. The study used the social learning theory as a theoretical framework to explain and discuss recidivism and the effectiveness of diversion programmes. This is a general approach to psychology and regards criminal behaviour as no different from any kind of behaviour as it is learned through the processes of observation, imitation and vicarious reinforcement and punishment. The findings of the study revealed that the impact of absent and or lack of father figures in the family influenced the children to get involved in criminal activities. The findings further indicated that probation officers face various challenges when facilitating the programme, such as substance abuse by children, lack of resources and functional aids, and the language as the facilitator guide is written in English. It was also discovered that parents from the sample used an authoritarian style of parenting, which exerts high expectations from children while providing little in the way of feedback and nurturance. Lastly, the findings indicated that the ROL diversion programme does modify the behaviour of children on completion. However, the main challenge is the environment the children return to after completion as it is assumed as a contributing factor to committing the crime. One of the recommendations is to strengthen parenting programmes and to introduce a programme for parents or guardians of children with serious behavioural challenges, another recommendation is the development of a risk assessment tool for young people, to assist probation officers in holistically dealing with children. Additionally, probation service practitioners should be provided by the government with the necessary resources to ensure that aftercare services are rendered effectively and efficiently. The researcher lastly recommends that probation officers conduct an intervention evaluation after the programme to identify children who could not understand the content of the programme so that additional methods of intervention could be employed such as casework. The study had the following conclusions; risk factors such as lack of parental support, substance abuse, peer pressure and bereavement were causes for re-offending in the children interviewed; the programme manual presents a challenge in terms of language, because the manual is written in English, and not all children can understand English; the issue of restorative justice was overlooked by probation officers when dealing with children when they re-offended. The study also concluded that the ROL diversion programme is effective to a certain extent, depending on how the children utilize the skills acquired from the programme, and as the parents reflected that they observed a change in their children’s behaviour post-diversion, while children also expressed that they learnt valuable life skills which made them resilient. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
- Authors: Zimba, Thanduxolo
- Date: 2022-09
- Subjects: Grahamstown (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/27651 , vital:69380
- Description: One of the recommendations made by the South African Law Commission (SALC) (1997) when discussing the issue of child justice was that the justice system should aim to promote the well-being of the child and deal with the child in an individualised way. This dissertation discusses recidivism in children after completing the Rhythm of Life (ROL) diversion programme which aims at diverting children who conflict with the law away from criminal procedures to programmes that assist in behaviour modification. The study is inspired by the need to uncover the effectiveness of the programme and the challenges encountered when it is delivered. It is further motivated by the need to expose the reasons why children return to the criminal justice system after having attended the ROL diversion programme. Additionally, it seeks to gain perspectives of the probation officers’ and parents’ insights on the observed changes after the attendance of the programme. The study utilised a qualitative methodology with an interpretive and descriptive paradigm, which used in-depth interviews and focus groups as a method of data collection. The participants of the study were children who completed the ROL diversion programme, parents or guardians of children who completed the ROL diversion programme, and probation officers implementing the programme. The data was analysed and presented following the following four themes, i.e., factors contributing to recidivism by children after completion of the ROL diversion programme, diversion programme content, and completion of the diversion programme and the effectiveness of the ROL diversion programme. The literature consulted was broken up into; the historical development of diversion programmes and the inherent legislative framework, the magnitude and extent of recidivism of children after completion of the ROL diversion programme, and the factors which contribute to recidivism by children after completion of the ROL diversion programme. The reviewed literature further scrutinised the global, regional, and South African perspectives on managing young people, and lastly reviewed the benefits and challenges of diversion programmes in general. The study used the social learning theory as a theoretical framework to explain and discuss recidivism and the effectiveness of diversion programmes. This is a general approach to psychology and regards criminal behaviour as no different from any kind of behaviour as it is learned through the processes of observation, imitation and vicarious reinforcement and punishment. The findings of the study revealed that the impact of absent and or lack of father figures in the family influenced the children to get involved in criminal activities. The findings further indicated that probation officers face various challenges when facilitating the programme, such as substance abuse by children, lack of resources and functional aids, and the language as the facilitator guide is written in English. It was also discovered that parents from the sample used an authoritarian style of parenting, which exerts high expectations from children while providing little in the way of feedback and nurturance. Lastly, the findings indicated that the ROL diversion programme does modify the behaviour of children on completion. However, the main challenge is the environment the children return to after completion as it is assumed as a contributing factor to committing the crime. One of the recommendations is to strengthen parenting programmes and to introduce a programme for parents or guardians of children with serious behavioural challenges, another recommendation is the development of a risk assessment tool for young people, to assist probation officers in holistically dealing with children. Additionally, probation service practitioners should be provided by the government with the necessary resources to ensure that aftercare services are rendered effectively and efficiently. The researcher lastly recommends that probation officers conduct an intervention evaluation after the programme to identify children who could not understand the content of the programme so that additional methods of intervention could be employed such as casework. The study had the following conclusions; risk factors such as lack of parental support, substance abuse, peer pressure and bereavement were causes for re-offending in the children interviewed; the programme manual presents a challenge in terms of language, because the manual is written in English, and not all children can understand English; the issue of restorative justice was overlooked by probation officers when dealing with children when they re-offended. The study also concluded that the ROL diversion programme is effective to a certain extent, depending on how the children utilize the skills acquired from the programme, and as the parents reflected that they observed a change in their children’s behaviour post-diversion, while children also expressed that they learnt valuable life skills which made them resilient. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-09
Recreating a wetland at an abandoned saltworks : towards a rehabilitation plan
- Authors: Wasserman, Johan
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Gqeberha (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52146 , vital:43450
- Description: A saltworks at Swartkops Estuary was abandoned in 2018. While operational, the saltworks hosted some of the largest breeding colonies of several shorebird species in southern Africa and hosted thousands of Palearctic migrant waterbirds annually. The abandonment of the saltworks has resulted in the loss of the artificially managed hydrological regime and therefore the wetland function and habitat value of the site, and the rich and diverse avifauna that once occurred at the site have not returned. The rehabilitation of the saltworks as a wetland that functions as a waterbird sanctuary is currently being organised, and this research aimed to create a plan for implementing and monitoring the rehabilitation. In order to do so, the baseline environmental condition of the abandoned saltworks was established, the possible rehabilitation interventions necessary for rehabilitating the site were assessed, and the potential ecological implications of any interventions were investigated. The assessment of the saltworks’ baseline condition revealed that the site is now characterised by vast expanses of dry hypersaline sediment with sparse patches of monospecific vegetation and depauperate avifauna. The once rich and diverse waterbird communities have all but disappeared since the site was abandoned and are unlikely to return unless a managed hydrological regime is reinstated. Furthermore, it is improbable that salt marsh vegetation will cover the abandoned saltworks primarily due to the high sediment salinity that will persist unless the saltpans are flooded. The area will likely remain barren with little ecological value if no rehabilitation action is taken. Two potential rehabilitation options for reinstating a hydrological regime at the saltworks were identified: (1) pumping estuary water into all of the saltpans; or (2) pumping estuary water into some of the saltpans, while allowing the largest one to be filled with stormwater. Both options were deemed to be feasible; however, the second option will likely have lower running costs. The use of stormwater to fill the one saltpan is expected to result in brackish conditions initially, while the saltpans filled with estuary water would have salinity levels ranging from euhaline to slightly hypersaline. Both the stormwater and estuary water are rich in inorganic nutrients – the estuary water is rich in both dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), while the stormwater has an exceptionally high DIN content. This raised concerns of creating eutrophic wetlands with detrimental conditions such as algal blooms and a hypoxic water column. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Environmental Sciences, 2021
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- Authors: Wasserman, Johan
- Date: 2021-04
- Subjects: Gqeberha (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/52146 , vital:43450
- Description: A saltworks at Swartkops Estuary was abandoned in 2018. While operational, the saltworks hosted some of the largest breeding colonies of several shorebird species in southern Africa and hosted thousands of Palearctic migrant waterbirds annually. The abandonment of the saltworks has resulted in the loss of the artificially managed hydrological regime and therefore the wetland function and habitat value of the site, and the rich and diverse avifauna that once occurred at the site have not returned. The rehabilitation of the saltworks as a wetland that functions as a waterbird sanctuary is currently being organised, and this research aimed to create a plan for implementing and monitoring the rehabilitation. In order to do so, the baseline environmental condition of the abandoned saltworks was established, the possible rehabilitation interventions necessary for rehabilitating the site were assessed, and the potential ecological implications of any interventions were investigated. The assessment of the saltworks’ baseline condition revealed that the site is now characterised by vast expanses of dry hypersaline sediment with sparse patches of monospecific vegetation and depauperate avifauna. The once rich and diverse waterbird communities have all but disappeared since the site was abandoned and are unlikely to return unless a managed hydrological regime is reinstated. Furthermore, it is improbable that salt marsh vegetation will cover the abandoned saltworks primarily due to the high sediment salinity that will persist unless the saltpans are flooded. The area will likely remain barren with little ecological value if no rehabilitation action is taken. Two potential rehabilitation options for reinstating a hydrological regime at the saltworks were identified: (1) pumping estuary water into all of the saltpans; or (2) pumping estuary water into some of the saltpans, while allowing the largest one to be filled with stormwater. Both options were deemed to be feasible; however, the second option will likely have lower running costs. The use of stormwater to fill the one saltpan is expected to result in brackish conditions initially, while the saltpans filled with estuary water would have salinity levels ranging from euhaline to slightly hypersaline. Both the stormwater and estuary water are rich in inorganic nutrients – the estuary water is rich in both dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), while the stormwater has an exceptionally high DIN content. This raised concerns of creating eutrophic wetlands with detrimental conditions such as algal blooms and a hypoxic water column. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Environmental Sciences, 2021
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2021-04
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »