The utility of vertical farming for urban renewal: an integrated business model for profitable and sustainable vegetation production
- Authors: Vermeulen, Robert Stanley
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Business -- Models , Sustainable development Urban renewal Urban agriculture
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/23294 , vital:30522
- Description: The global population growth rate is increasing exponentially and is expected to reach nine billion people by 2050. This accelerated population growth and associated increase in food demand, coupled with the trend of decreasing productive agricultural land, present a calamitous food security risk for future generations. The ensuing expansion of agricultural land to supply this food demand leads to irreversible environmental damage including encroachment, climate change and biodiversity extinction. Moreover, rapid urbanisation of the aforementioned over-populace leads to mass unemployment in many major cities and widespread suburbanisation. The concurrence of the latter and former trends creates pockets of urban brown space, unutilised and dilapidated areas that have various consequences. Vertical farming is a system of cultivating crops or food products in buildings, tall structures or vertically inclined surfaces. If applied correctly this method results in substantial increases in crop yield, environmental benefits and reduced pressure on agricultural land. The research problem in this study was to establish how the vertical farming business model can be integrated with urban renewal of brown space to enable profitable and sustainable vegetation production. In order to achieve this objective the following research process was followed: Identification of the factors pertinent for the examination of urban gentrification, vertical farming and business model implementation through the literature review; Identification of approaches for integrating vertical farming applications with urban renewal activities and collective insights from the review of relevant literature; Development of a semi-structured interview guide from the literature review, to determine the extent of perceived utility of vertical farming for revitalisation and to gain valuable insights into strategies for integrating the model; Conducting an empirical study consisting of face-to-face interviews with subject matter experts and/or individuals with experience in the case scope, that were selected through purposive sampling as defined in the research methodology chapter; and Amalgamation and synthesis of the results to develop a proposed integrated model that can be used for urban renewal to create businesses that not only gentrify the urban brown space but that are profitable and provide sustainable development value to the city where it is based. The empirical results obtained from the interviews with respondents were analysed and included in the conceptual framework developed from the examination of secondary data sources. This led to the development of the integrated business model for urban renewal and achievement of the research objectives. The main findings from the research centred on customer segmentation strategy, distribution channels and gentrification through key partnerships. The intricacies of the integrated model and its application are discussed in detail in this research paper.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Guidelines for psychiatric nurses to assist in the care of female patients with bipolar disorder during their admission and stay in a tertiary level psychiatric facility in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Du Plessis, Anneki
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Psychiatric nurses -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Manic-depressive persons -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospitals -- Admission and discharge -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: vital:10072 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021160
- Description: Bipolar disorder is the sixth leading cause of disability in the world among people aged 15-44. Bipolar disorder is a chronic psychiatric disorder with a significant impact on patients’ social, occupational, and general functioning well-being. Patients who are diagnosed with bipolar type 1 disorder are usually admitted to a psychiatric hospital as an involuntary patient which means that they will be cared for in a closed unit. In a critical analysis of the literature it was noted that not much is known of the experiences of patients in psychiatric wards. The researcher used a qualitative approach, with a phenomenological research strategy. An explorative, descriptive and contextual design was utilized to gain more insight into female patients’ lived experiences during their admission and stay in a tertiary level psychiatric institution. The research population was female patients who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and who had recently experienced being admitted to and treated at a tertiary level psychiatric facility where they were treated for this condition. Purposive sampling was utilised to obtain the sample for the study. A pilot study was conducted before the study commenced to ensure the trustworthiness of the findings. The researcher obtained the data via semi-structured interviews as well as field notes and reflective journals. Data was analysed by using Tesch’s method as adopted by Creswell. Once the data had been analysed, a literature control was done in accordance with the findings. Guba’s model of trustworthiness was utilized to ensure that this study was trustworthy and credible. The researcher implemented ethical principles to ensure that no harm was done to the participants during the research study. Finally, guidelines were developed to assist professional nurses to manage patients optimally during their admission and stay in a closed unit of a tertiary psychiatric facility.
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- Date Issued: 2015
The impact of an HIV/AIDS module on the self-efficacy of teachers
- Authors: Gripper, Antoinette Bernadette
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Education , AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:9533 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/737 , AIDS (Disease) -- Education , AIDS (Disease) -- Study and teaching
- Description: In response to the crisis created by the HIV and AIDS pandemic in this country, South African education departments are demanding that educators play a significant role in creating awareness amongst children and adults alike. This task is challenging for teachers who are already working under the pressure of demanding workloads. In order to achieve the intended outcome of AIDS awareness, training of highly efficacious teachers is required. The education module, PSED201, Issues in School and Society, offered as part of a BEd degree for in-service mathematics and science teachers at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, provides one such training opportunity. This study investigates the impact of this module on the self-efficacy of 128 teachers with respect to their role as HIV and AIDS educators. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used and data were collected by means of questionnaires and interviews. The results suggest that there has been an improvement in all four areas of teacher self-efficacy examined in this research. As such, it may be concluded that an important outcome of this intervention has been achieved. As highly efficacious teachers are more likely to influence the behaviour of their learners, the findings of this research should make a meaningful contribution to the debate around AIDS education in South African schools.
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- Date Issued: 2008