Towards a thriving youth culture: a framework for the development and empowerment of rural unemployed youth in Mhlontlo Municipality, South Africa
- Authors: Mugabe, Tanaka Candida
- Date: 2020-12
- Subjects: Port Elizabeth (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55053 , vital:49026
- Description: The basis for youth employment and development in rural areas encapsulates transformation which brings about freedom in terms of economic growth as well as social stability. nevertheless, research provides evidence that one of the complex dilemmas in South Africa and across the globe is youth unemployment. Statistics South Africa in 2019 estimated that 70,9% of the total number of unemployed citizens are youths, with consequences that have a far-reaching impact on their quality of life and future prospects; thus, a social problem that requires urgent redress. In addition, there is evidence that youth unemployment is more prominent in rural than urban areas. It is for this reason that this study focused on the lived experiences of unemployed youth in Mhlontlo Municipality, a rural locality in South Africa to better understand the complexity and multifaceted unemployment phenomenon. Youth unemployment requires an understanding of its nature; especially, when considering and/or implementing interventions. Although the youth may share common denominators such as their culture, being unemployed and have a need for development and empowerment, youths experience their world as individuals and differently. Ensuring positive development and thriving requires insightful understanding about lived experiences of unemployed youths, as well as the immediate effect and long-standing impact caused by the nature of interaction between youths and their broader ecological environment. The research findings in this thesis highlight that whether as a source (self) or re-source (cocreator) of human capital, unemployed youth have the capacity to thrive and/or to enable thriving. Thus, an intervention initiative should create a culture of thriving; the latter, both a means and end, irrespective of the adversity in which unemployed youths find themselves. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-12
- Authors: Mugabe, Tanaka Candida
- Date: 2020-12
- Subjects: Port Elizabeth (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55053 , vital:49026
- Description: The basis for youth employment and development in rural areas encapsulates transformation which brings about freedom in terms of economic growth as well as social stability. nevertheless, research provides evidence that one of the complex dilemmas in South Africa and across the globe is youth unemployment. Statistics South Africa in 2019 estimated that 70,9% of the total number of unemployed citizens are youths, with consequences that have a far-reaching impact on their quality of life and future prospects; thus, a social problem that requires urgent redress. In addition, there is evidence that youth unemployment is more prominent in rural than urban areas. It is for this reason that this study focused on the lived experiences of unemployed youth in Mhlontlo Municipality, a rural locality in South Africa to better understand the complexity and multifaceted unemployment phenomenon. Youth unemployment requires an understanding of its nature; especially, when considering and/or implementing interventions. Although the youth may share common denominators such as their culture, being unemployed and have a need for development and empowerment, youths experience their world as individuals and differently. Ensuring positive development and thriving requires insightful understanding about lived experiences of unemployed youths, as well as the immediate effect and long-standing impact caused by the nature of interaction between youths and their broader ecological environment. The research findings in this thesis highlight that whether as a source (self) or re-source (cocreator) of human capital, unemployed youth have the capacity to thrive and/or to enable thriving. Thus, an intervention initiative should create a culture of thriving; the latter, both a means and end, irrespective of the adversity in which unemployed youths find themselves. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-12
Beneath the shadow of a fig tree: Exploring the Intersections of Memory, Architecture and Narrative through the Design of a Memoryscape for South End, Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Patsalos, Daniella
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Architecture, Domestic -- Designs and plans , Architecture -- South End, Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59116 , vital:60265
- Description: Operating within the fluctuating boundaries shared between memory, architecture and narrative, the following treatise explores the possibilities of magical realism as an architectural mode for the expression of hybrid realities, hidden narratives and imaginative worlds. Magical realism, in its essence, creates space for the interactions of diversity and the disruption or transgression of accepted categorical boundaries. As such, it facilitates the fusion or familial co-existence of possible worlds, spaces, systems or ideas that would be, in some contexts, incongruous, making it a useful medium for the voice of postcolonial cultures. Magical realism is subversive in nature, adopting an in-betweenness and all-at-onceness that resists, or rather inverts, conventional perceptions of what is ‘magic’ and what is ‘real’. In testing the potentialities of an architectural interpretation of magical realism, the project assumes a collective form as a magical realist memoryscape, representative of the tangible and intangible narratives that constitute the selected site of South End, Port Elizabeth. More than just the merging of the ideas of memory and landscape, a memoryscape is expressive of the interdependent, entangling manifestations of place and remembrance while also portraying an unravelling of the stories, mythic narratives, materialities and metaphysical phenomena of space. A memoryscape is therefore the point of homogenisation at which the concepts of memory, culture, emotion, narrative and landscape converge. South End was once a spirited and multicultural community faced with the involuntary trauma of displacement and loss as a result of the Group Areas Act of 1950 and the destructive ideologies of the Apartheid regime. Thus, drawing upon the themes of dreams, nightmares, memories and consciousness, the memoryscape is composed of a series of four metaphorical ‘cities’ that translate the chronologies, traces, ruins, embodied experiences and subjective iconographies into architectural realities that reflect a true cartography of the South End narrative. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Patsalos, Daniella
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Architecture, Domestic -- Designs and plans , Architecture -- South End, Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59116 , vital:60265
- Description: Operating within the fluctuating boundaries shared between memory, architecture and narrative, the following treatise explores the possibilities of magical realism as an architectural mode for the expression of hybrid realities, hidden narratives and imaginative worlds. Magical realism, in its essence, creates space for the interactions of diversity and the disruption or transgression of accepted categorical boundaries. As such, it facilitates the fusion or familial co-existence of possible worlds, spaces, systems or ideas that would be, in some contexts, incongruous, making it a useful medium for the voice of postcolonial cultures. Magical realism is subversive in nature, adopting an in-betweenness and all-at-onceness that resists, or rather inverts, conventional perceptions of what is ‘magic’ and what is ‘real’. In testing the potentialities of an architectural interpretation of magical realism, the project assumes a collective form as a magical realist memoryscape, representative of the tangible and intangible narratives that constitute the selected site of South End, Port Elizabeth. More than just the merging of the ideas of memory and landscape, a memoryscape is expressive of the interdependent, entangling manifestations of place and remembrance while also portraying an unravelling of the stories, mythic narratives, materialities and metaphysical phenomena of space. A memoryscape is therefore the point of homogenisation at which the concepts of memory, culture, emotion, narrative and landscape converge. South End was once a spirited and multicultural community faced with the involuntary trauma of displacement and loss as a result of the Group Areas Act of 1950 and the destructive ideologies of the Apartheid regime. Thus, drawing upon the themes of dreams, nightmares, memories and consciousness, the memoryscape is composed of a series of four metaphorical ‘cities’ that translate the chronologies, traces, ruins, embodied experiences and subjective iconographies into architectural realities that reflect a true cartography of the South End narrative. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Exploring "DIGITAL ECOLOGY" as a tool for environmental conservation through : The design of a virtual eco-pack for Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Edmayr, Alexandra Charlotte
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Conservation of natural resources -- Port Elizabeth , Human ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59018 , vital:60256
- Description: This treatise deals with the design of a new Virtual Eco-Park and humankind's relationship to the natural world. The cultural institution of captivity has been positive and negative for the study and conservative approaches of fauna and flora. While this has had benefits, it has resulted in a dominated mindset over the 'other'. This treatise looks at the zoo and aquarium as an outdated educational platform and proposes a new perspective. This treatise explores 'digital ecology' as a tool of theoretical application. The intention is to provide environmental conservation. The design will use the virtual medium for a new immersive experience instead of the 'live exhibit'. The 'digital ecology' is also seen as spatial stacking of layers. Using Timothy Lukes theories on the three natures, this thesis applies this theory in a post-anthropocentric way by its role in generating the Virtual Eco-Park. The layers are terrestrial as an ecosystem, the territorial as the built environment and the digital as the immersive experience. These components form the skeleton of the application to the site. The Port Elizabeth manganese ore and tank farm and the surrounding area has been a dump and polluted landscape for forty years. This treatise, in its entirety, has set up an urban framework that promotes a reconnection to the ecological systems in Port Elizabeth. The 'digital ecology' and the Virtual Eco Park as a 'building' intends to regenerate/ reestablish an old industrial landscape into a new park. The building is designed to become a component of the landscape and not an object on the landscape. The result of this research will result in a final design that hosts immersive experience—bringing the 'true wild' into the urban landscape by replacing the 'tamed natural'—thereby solving the Anthropocene of the Zoo building type by reframing it as the virtual eco-park of nature. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Science, School of Environmental Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Edmayr, Alexandra Charlotte
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Conservation of natural resources -- Port Elizabeth , Human ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59018 , vital:60256
- Description: This treatise deals with the design of a new Virtual Eco-Park and humankind's relationship to the natural world. The cultural institution of captivity has been positive and negative for the study and conservative approaches of fauna and flora. While this has had benefits, it has resulted in a dominated mindset over the 'other'. This treatise looks at the zoo and aquarium as an outdated educational platform and proposes a new perspective. This treatise explores 'digital ecology' as a tool of theoretical application. The intention is to provide environmental conservation. The design will use the virtual medium for a new immersive experience instead of the 'live exhibit'. The 'digital ecology' is also seen as spatial stacking of layers. Using Timothy Lukes theories on the three natures, this thesis applies this theory in a post-anthropocentric way by its role in generating the Virtual Eco-Park. The layers are terrestrial as an ecosystem, the territorial as the built environment and the digital as the immersive experience. These components form the skeleton of the application to the site. The Port Elizabeth manganese ore and tank farm and the surrounding area has been a dump and polluted landscape for forty years. This treatise, in its entirety, has set up an urban framework that promotes a reconnection to the ecological systems in Port Elizabeth. The 'digital ecology' and the Virtual Eco Park as a 'building' intends to regenerate/ reestablish an old industrial landscape into a new park. The building is designed to become a component of the landscape and not an object on the landscape. The result of this research will result in a final design that hosts immersive experience—bringing the 'true wild' into the urban landscape by replacing the 'tamed natural'—thereby solving the Anthropocene of the Zoo building type by reframing it as the virtual eco-park of nature. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Science, School of Environmental Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Expressions of “Local” and “Global” Identity: The Design of an International Convention Centre for Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Pretorius, Hanri
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Convention facilities -- Port Elizabeth , Architecture -- Designs and plans
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59128 , vital:60266
- Description: Convention centres are highly flexible business and leisure gathering spaces where memorable experiences happen indoors. These centres are usually surrounded by perfectly manicured landscaping, strategically placed hotels in the immediate area, and an abundance of fashionable restaurants aimed at creating a lifestyle experience that will ensure that clients return. This convention centre experience can be found in almost every city that has a convention centre. These centres’ designs have become universal and their focus is aimed at outdoing one another to create a more iconic building to attract more people and host more events. This design treatise will focus on how to localise convention centre design to create a place for not only indoor experiences but outdoor experiences as well, to create a multifaceted design that will cater for convention centre activities as well as for its surrounding community, thus ensuring the creation of an urban catalyst that promotes the creation of a vibrant public gathering space. The research and process to achieve this is thus documented. The document consists of two distinct parts. The first part provides insight into the theoretical position taken which provides a lens through which all other research is viewed. The second comprises the design process rooted within the theoretical position that was established in Part 1. Together, the research as well as the design process will lead to a refined design outcome presented as a set of architectural drawings and a computerised model. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Pretorius, Hanri
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Convention facilities -- Port Elizabeth , Architecture -- Designs and plans
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59128 , vital:60266
- Description: Convention centres are highly flexible business and leisure gathering spaces where memorable experiences happen indoors. These centres are usually surrounded by perfectly manicured landscaping, strategically placed hotels in the immediate area, and an abundance of fashionable restaurants aimed at creating a lifestyle experience that will ensure that clients return. This convention centre experience can be found in almost every city that has a convention centre. These centres’ designs have become universal and their focus is aimed at outdoing one another to create a more iconic building to attract more people and host more events. This design treatise will focus on how to localise convention centre design to create a place for not only indoor experiences but outdoor experiences as well, to create a multifaceted design that will cater for convention centre activities as well as for its surrounding community, thus ensuring the creation of an urban catalyst that promotes the creation of a vibrant public gathering space. The research and process to achieve this is thus documented. The document consists of two distinct parts. The first part provides insight into the theoretical position taken which provides a lens through which all other research is viewed. The second comprises the design process rooted within the theoretical position that was established in Part 1. Together, the research as well as the design process will lead to a refined design outcome presented as a set of architectural drawings and a computerised model. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Investigating Architecture Related to Animals in Captivity Through the Design of a Rhino Sanctuary in the Kruger National Park
- Authors: Kaene, Hansen Mark
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Kruger National Park (South Africa) , Rhinoceroses
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59040 , vital:60258
- Description: Throughout history, animals have been domesticated and held captive in the interests of man. Animal captivity dates back to Ancient Egypt, however, as humanity has developed and further understood animals, their nature, importance and habitational needs, we have been able to appreciate and respect the value of each living thing that shares our planet alongside us. Humanity has progressed in its realisation that, our own species, is not so much superior to all living things, as it is one small, but very dominant part, of a larger system. This furthered understanding has altered the nature of animal captivity, no longer serving only the purposes of entertainment and observation, but also the interests of safeguarding and protecting our natural environment and all those that reside within it. The emergence of new technologies has advanced man’s ability to study and observe animals within their natural habitat, allowing study of the animals free of the limitations and impact of captivity on their psychological state. Harmful cultural beliefs and black market trade, have depleted the planet’s animal populations at an alarming rate, to the point that we can no longer sit idle while our rich natural resources and ecosystems are being devastated solely for economic gain. The efforts, interventions and support offered by African governments have fallen short in terms of the protection and rehabilitation of one of our continent’s most iconic large fauna, the rhinoceros. The war against illegal poaching has been taken up by private individuals. The cost of such efforts, however, weighs heavily on those who attempt to tackle the situation. To address these challenges, wildlife sanctuaries have developed safe havens for animals that have fallen victim to the illegal black-market trade. The design, construction and establishment of rhino sanctuaries is subject to specific legislation and prescribed regulations and standards for meeting the habitational requirements of the various sub-species of rhino. From an architectural standpoint, the narrative of an archi-type for ‘sanctuary’ has not yet been fully developed, as the high costs to private owners of game farms keeping rhinos - for those who have taken it upon themselves to provide for their shelter and enclosure - necessitate that such be undertaken using the most cost-effective means and approach through which to attain regulatory compliance. This treatise explores the narratives of the idealistic architectural approach to designing enclosures for the safeguard of wildlife species. Sanctuaries are designed to accommodate species-specific needs. The species of focus is the African black rhinoceros, the numbers of which, alongside its family of other sub-species, have been devastated by poachers and the black market trade to point of near extinction. The treatise explores the narratives of the ‘restrictive’ and ‘non-restrictive’ senses of animals in captivity through the programme of a sanctuary for black rhino. The aim of the treatise is to understand the specific requirements relating to a species’ natural habitat, and to adopt these principles in the design of an enclosure type that provides security and rehabilitation facilities within a non-stressful and safe environment through architectural intervention. The approach finds anchor in the narrative concerned with those conditions idealistic for a ‘cultural environment’ in which man and animal may dwell together in mutual harmony. This narrative focuses on the phenomenon of the natural versus the man-made, in order to understand meaning, identity and place within the programme of architectural design for wildlife. The Kruger National park exists as the largest natural reserve on the African continent and is situated at the frontlines of the illegal black market trade of rhino horn. This provides an ideal context within which the treatise explores the animal enclosure conceptually and towards serving the needs and requirements for the re-release of a rhino back into its natural habitat post-injury. The architectural intervention is to understand place, meaning and identity through the spatial implications of indigenous Sotho patterns and principles – those of a people whose understanding of context and culture have shaped the orientation of traditional settlements within a natural landscape. The physical form of the architectural intervention is derived from the existing natural materials found within the context of the treatise study, and from making use of affordable, eco-friendly methods and modes of construction. The treatise aspires to identify a new strategy and architectural type for the design of a wildlife sanctuary for poached and orphaned black rhino within an African context. II. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Kaene, Hansen Mark
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Kruger National Park (South Africa) , Rhinoceroses
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59040 , vital:60258
- Description: Throughout history, animals have been domesticated and held captive in the interests of man. Animal captivity dates back to Ancient Egypt, however, as humanity has developed and further understood animals, their nature, importance and habitational needs, we have been able to appreciate and respect the value of each living thing that shares our planet alongside us. Humanity has progressed in its realisation that, our own species, is not so much superior to all living things, as it is one small, but very dominant part, of a larger system. This furthered understanding has altered the nature of animal captivity, no longer serving only the purposes of entertainment and observation, but also the interests of safeguarding and protecting our natural environment and all those that reside within it. The emergence of new technologies has advanced man’s ability to study and observe animals within their natural habitat, allowing study of the animals free of the limitations and impact of captivity on their psychological state. Harmful cultural beliefs and black market trade, have depleted the planet’s animal populations at an alarming rate, to the point that we can no longer sit idle while our rich natural resources and ecosystems are being devastated solely for economic gain. The efforts, interventions and support offered by African governments have fallen short in terms of the protection and rehabilitation of one of our continent’s most iconic large fauna, the rhinoceros. The war against illegal poaching has been taken up by private individuals. The cost of such efforts, however, weighs heavily on those who attempt to tackle the situation. To address these challenges, wildlife sanctuaries have developed safe havens for animals that have fallen victim to the illegal black-market trade. The design, construction and establishment of rhino sanctuaries is subject to specific legislation and prescribed regulations and standards for meeting the habitational requirements of the various sub-species of rhino. From an architectural standpoint, the narrative of an archi-type for ‘sanctuary’ has not yet been fully developed, as the high costs to private owners of game farms keeping rhinos - for those who have taken it upon themselves to provide for their shelter and enclosure - necessitate that such be undertaken using the most cost-effective means and approach through which to attain regulatory compliance. This treatise explores the narratives of the idealistic architectural approach to designing enclosures for the safeguard of wildlife species. Sanctuaries are designed to accommodate species-specific needs. The species of focus is the African black rhinoceros, the numbers of which, alongside its family of other sub-species, have been devastated by poachers and the black market trade to point of near extinction. The treatise explores the narratives of the ‘restrictive’ and ‘non-restrictive’ senses of animals in captivity through the programme of a sanctuary for black rhino. The aim of the treatise is to understand the specific requirements relating to a species’ natural habitat, and to adopt these principles in the design of an enclosure type that provides security and rehabilitation facilities within a non-stressful and safe environment through architectural intervention. The approach finds anchor in the narrative concerned with those conditions idealistic for a ‘cultural environment’ in which man and animal may dwell together in mutual harmony. This narrative focuses on the phenomenon of the natural versus the man-made, in order to understand meaning, identity and place within the programme of architectural design for wildlife. The Kruger National park exists as the largest natural reserve on the African continent and is situated at the frontlines of the illegal black market trade of rhino horn. This provides an ideal context within which the treatise explores the animal enclosure conceptually and towards serving the needs and requirements for the re-release of a rhino back into its natural habitat post-injury. The architectural intervention is to understand place, meaning and identity through the spatial implications of indigenous Sotho patterns and principles – those of a people whose understanding of context and culture have shaped the orientation of traditional settlements within a natural landscape. The physical form of the architectural intervention is derived from the existing natural materials found within the context of the treatise study, and from making use of affordable, eco-friendly methods and modes of construction. The treatise aspires to identify a new strategy and architectural type for the design of a wildlife sanctuary for poached and orphaned black rhino within an African context. II. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Investigating the Buddhist Monastery as Type through The Design of a Vihara in Pinelands, Cape Town
- Authors: Van Zyl, Adam
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Buddhist monasteries -- Pinelands -- Cape Town , Buddhist architecture -- Pinelands -- Cape Town
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59160 , vital:60269
- Description: This treatise begins with an interest in the architectural typology of the Vihara - the Buddhist monastery. Through an investigation of the monastery type, an appropriate theoretical lens is identified. The core architectural function of the monastery is the creation of sacred space. Four constituent elements of sacred space are identified and are taken throughout the treatise as a set of values through which investigation is directed and design decisions are made. Through investigation of the typical monastery context, it becomes possible to identify an appropriate site. An urban farmland in Cape Town, in the heart of the South African Buddhist community is identified. Design drivers emerge through researching mapping and visiting the site. It is through a synthesis of all the information learned, that a single, core gesture is developed. The aim is to design a building to serve the local monastic Buddhist community. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Van Zyl, Adam
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Buddhist monasteries -- Pinelands -- Cape Town , Buddhist architecture -- Pinelands -- Cape Town
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59160 , vital:60269
- Description: This treatise begins with an interest in the architectural typology of the Vihara - the Buddhist monastery. Through an investigation of the monastery type, an appropriate theoretical lens is identified. The core architectural function of the monastery is the creation of sacred space. Four constituent elements of sacred space are identified and are taken throughout the treatise as a set of values through which investigation is directed and design decisions are made. Through investigation of the typical monastery context, it becomes possible to identify an appropriate site. An urban farmland in Cape Town, in the heart of the South African Buddhist community is identified. Design drivers emerge through researching mapping and visiting the site. It is through a synthesis of all the information learned, that a single, core gesture is developed. The aim is to design a building to serve the local monastic Buddhist community. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Investigating the Contemporary Role of Traditional Civic Building Types through The Design of a Public Library in Hlotse Town,Leribe,Lesotho
- Authors: Falatsi, Sera E.
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Sustainable architecture -- Hlotse Town -- Lesotho , Industrialized building -- Hlotse Town -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/58983 , vital:60253
- Description: This treatise aims to design a public library in a small town of Hlotse, Leribe, Lesotho and to investigate the role of a public contemporary building in a city. This came after realising that there are no public facilities that act as places of civic entertainment or formal community encores but, rather they perform specific functions while public interactions take place in informal courtyards in town and in open spaces. This treatise explores the issues involved in the desighn of a public library, first by investigating on the transition of public libraries, moving from transitional to relational libraries then exploration of criteria to be a civic icon. The research conducted further touches on how technology impacted the architectural design as well as public libraries’ role. This together with the site context and Hlotse culture ( of sense of collection) has provided a unique response in developing an architectural design. Precedent studies are selected based on the nature of this treatise’s aim and the contexts which they are situated in, relevent to Hlotse. Architectural intervention will focus on creating a public positive urban space connecting the site, informal market and the taxi rank as well as responding to the lack of greenspaces. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Falatsi, Sera E.
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Sustainable architecture -- Hlotse Town -- Lesotho , Industrialized building -- Hlotse Town -- Lesotho
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/58983 , vital:60253
- Description: This treatise aims to design a public library in a small town of Hlotse, Leribe, Lesotho and to investigate the role of a public contemporary building in a city. This came after realising that there are no public facilities that act as places of civic entertainment or formal community encores but, rather they perform specific functions while public interactions take place in informal courtyards in town and in open spaces. This treatise explores the issues involved in the desighn of a public library, first by investigating on the transition of public libraries, moving from transitional to relational libraries then exploration of criteria to be a civic icon. The research conducted further touches on how technology impacted the architectural design as well as public libraries’ role. This together with the site context and Hlotse culture ( of sense of collection) has provided a unique response in developing an architectural design. Precedent studies are selected based on the nature of this treatise’s aim and the contexts which they are situated in, relevent to Hlotse. Architectural intervention will focus on creating a public positive urban space connecting the site, informal market and the taxi rank as well as responding to the lack of greenspaces. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Investigating the Regeneration of Post-industrial landscapes: The Design of a Brick Manufacturing Facility at Dimbaza, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Williams-Jones, Zeni
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Regeneration -- Dimbaza, Eastern Cape , Post-industrial landscape -- Dimbaza, Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59183 , vital:60271
- Description: This treatise was born out of a response to ecological concerns surrounding the abandoned post-industrial sites in Dimbaza, Eastern Cape. These sites are not only derelict and abandoned, but also highly contaminated, negatively impacting both natural and urban environments. In light of this, the treatise deals with the issue of regenerating one specific such site: the site of the former Dimbaza foundry (formerly the working foundry of Dimbaza Foundries (Pty) Ltd). This is undertaken with an emphasis on creating an ecologically sound and sustainable future and providing guidance on equitable systems that incorporate societal needs with the integrity of nature. The current derelict state of the industrial sector of Dimbaza provides the foundations for an investigation into an architectural intervention that is regenerative in nature. The Dimbaza foundry site, which is contaminated by large amounts of waste products from previous industrial activities, was chosen to exemplify this regenerative ethos. The proposed regenerative plan is twofold, whereby the buried industrial waste product is mined and subsequently used as an additive in the production of clay bricks. This brick manufacturing facility is seen as a temporary intervention, designed to remediate the contaminated land and restore the site to a productive landscape. Furthermore, by promoting value creation in each and every part of the system, one is able to minimise waste and the continual usage of raw materials. Research into the particulars of the mining and manufacturing processes facilitates an informed architectural intervention that contributes to the spatial economy and lends itself to permanence and ephemerality. Furthermore, through an understanding of the physical, spatial, and historic qualities, insights were drawn into the remediation of brownfields and future possibilities for the site. In other words, remembrance of what had come before, inspires the after. The reprogramming or redevelopment of the architectural intervention plays an integral part in preventing a repeat of the repetitive industrial cycle of construction and destruction which adversely affects both the human and natural environment. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Williams-Jones, Zeni
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Regeneration -- Dimbaza, Eastern Cape , Post-industrial landscape -- Dimbaza, Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59183 , vital:60271
- Description: This treatise was born out of a response to ecological concerns surrounding the abandoned post-industrial sites in Dimbaza, Eastern Cape. These sites are not only derelict and abandoned, but also highly contaminated, negatively impacting both natural and urban environments. In light of this, the treatise deals with the issue of regenerating one specific such site: the site of the former Dimbaza foundry (formerly the working foundry of Dimbaza Foundries (Pty) Ltd). This is undertaken with an emphasis on creating an ecologically sound and sustainable future and providing guidance on equitable systems that incorporate societal needs with the integrity of nature. The current derelict state of the industrial sector of Dimbaza provides the foundations for an investigation into an architectural intervention that is regenerative in nature. The Dimbaza foundry site, which is contaminated by large amounts of waste products from previous industrial activities, was chosen to exemplify this regenerative ethos. The proposed regenerative plan is twofold, whereby the buried industrial waste product is mined and subsequently used as an additive in the production of clay bricks. This brick manufacturing facility is seen as a temporary intervention, designed to remediate the contaminated land and restore the site to a productive landscape. Furthermore, by promoting value creation in each and every part of the system, one is able to minimise waste and the continual usage of raw materials. Research into the particulars of the mining and manufacturing processes facilitates an informed architectural intervention that contributes to the spatial economy and lends itself to permanence and ephemerality. Furthermore, through an understanding of the physical, spatial, and historic qualities, insights were drawn into the remediation of brownfields and future possibilities for the site. In other words, remembrance of what had come before, inspires the after. The reprogramming or redevelopment of the architectural intervention plays an integral part in preventing a repeat of the repetitive industrial cycle of construction and destruction which adversely affects both the human and natural environment. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Investigating the use of Biophilic Principles in Rehabilitative Environments: The Design of a New Correctional Facility for Nelson Mandela Bay
- Authors: De villiers, Jaun
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Correctional institution -- Nelson Mandela Bay , Rehabilitation technology
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59005 , vital:60255
- Description: South African correctional facilities are riddled with issues such as overcrowding and high recidivism rates. Recidivism refers to the tendency of a convicted criminal to re-offend once released. This is mainly due to the lack of rehabilitative programmes and infrastructure to aid in rehabilitating a convict to not reoffend and to earn an honest living. With unemployment being a significant factor in South Africa, society intentionally makes it more difficult to find employment if one has a criminal record. We should consider the fact that today’s prisoners are tomorrow’s neighbours. Therefore rehabilitation in correctional facilities should be the most important part of the incarceration programme (Cox, 2013). Many South African prisoners experience conditions such as being locked up for 23 hours a day in a cell crammed with two to three times more the number of inmates the facility is capacitated for with little to no access to the natural environment. Thomas Ouard, architect and PhD at the Nantes School of Architecture in France, indicated that there is a direct relationship between a prisoner’s psychological health and the surroundings perceived by the prisoner on a daily basis and that the opportunity to experience landscapes and vegetation, even though large windows, can significantly aid the mental health of inmates (Ouard, 2015). Additionally, Dr Söderlund, the current chairperson of Biophilic Cities Australia, proved through her research that physiological evidence indicates that biophilic principles applied in prisons, through patterns of vegetative areas and organic architectural patterns, can greatly aid in rehabilitating prisoners and can contribute to relaxation, stress relief, and feelings of refuge and peace (Söderlund & Newman, 2017). There are four levels of security in South African prisons: supermaximum, maximum, medium, and minimum-security. Generally, medium- and minimum-security prisons attempt to explore rehabilitative programmes the most. South African prison facilities are often located on the outskirts of a town, which causes difficulties for family and friends to visit inmates. The facilities also struggle with expenses regarding access to essential services, lack of operational medical staff, costly transfers of prisoners, and procurement of supplies and food stock (United Nations Office for Project Services [UNOPS], 2016). However, 21st-century prisons contain modern technologies and advanced security systems that allow modern correctional facilities to be incorporated into an urban environment (Ricci, 2006). This treatise therefore aimed to establish a 21st-century mediumsecurity prison in an urban environment that incorporates principles of biophilia as constituent to rehabilitation. The facility will be focused on rehabilitation in order to reduce recidivism, and, ultimately, in the long run, will lead to a facility that is populated within its capacity. To meet the aim of this study, the following objectives were set: to establish a set of architectural principles and theories that will act as design drivers focused on the rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals, and to reduce the operational costs of the design of a new correctional facility. This can be achieved by amending the facility with an urban agricultural component through biophilic principles to explore horticultural therapeutic activities that will aid in rehabilitating convicts and aid as an additional food supply, which can also be a form of income for the facility. The project includes sustainable and regenerative approaches that respond to the environment and provide additional infrastructure to the facility in terms of water, gas, and electricity. It is important to note that it will be nearly impossible for one new correctional facility to address all the difficulties that South African facilities face. However, the facility intends to act as a new paradigm of knowledge that can be applied to future facilities in South Africa. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: De villiers, Jaun
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Correctional institution -- Nelson Mandela Bay , Rehabilitation technology
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59005 , vital:60255
- Description: South African correctional facilities are riddled with issues such as overcrowding and high recidivism rates. Recidivism refers to the tendency of a convicted criminal to re-offend once released. This is mainly due to the lack of rehabilitative programmes and infrastructure to aid in rehabilitating a convict to not reoffend and to earn an honest living. With unemployment being a significant factor in South Africa, society intentionally makes it more difficult to find employment if one has a criminal record. We should consider the fact that today’s prisoners are tomorrow’s neighbours. Therefore rehabilitation in correctional facilities should be the most important part of the incarceration programme (Cox, 2013). Many South African prisoners experience conditions such as being locked up for 23 hours a day in a cell crammed with two to three times more the number of inmates the facility is capacitated for with little to no access to the natural environment. Thomas Ouard, architect and PhD at the Nantes School of Architecture in France, indicated that there is a direct relationship between a prisoner’s psychological health and the surroundings perceived by the prisoner on a daily basis and that the opportunity to experience landscapes and vegetation, even though large windows, can significantly aid the mental health of inmates (Ouard, 2015). Additionally, Dr Söderlund, the current chairperson of Biophilic Cities Australia, proved through her research that physiological evidence indicates that biophilic principles applied in prisons, through patterns of vegetative areas and organic architectural patterns, can greatly aid in rehabilitating prisoners and can contribute to relaxation, stress relief, and feelings of refuge and peace (Söderlund & Newman, 2017). There are four levels of security in South African prisons: supermaximum, maximum, medium, and minimum-security. Generally, medium- and minimum-security prisons attempt to explore rehabilitative programmes the most. South African prison facilities are often located on the outskirts of a town, which causes difficulties for family and friends to visit inmates. The facilities also struggle with expenses regarding access to essential services, lack of operational medical staff, costly transfers of prisoners, and procurement of supplies and food stock (United Nations Office for Project Services [UNOPS], 2016). However, 21st-century prisons contain modern technologies and advanced security systems that allow modern correctional facilities to be incorporated into an urban environment (Ricci, 2006). This treatise therefore aimed to establish a 21st-century mediumsecurity prison in an urban environment that incorporates principles of biophilia as constituent to rehabilitation. The facility will be focused on rehabilitation in order to reduce recidivism, and, ultimately, in the long run, will lead to a facility that is populated within its capacity. To meet the aim of this study, the following objectives were set: to establish a set of architectural principles and theories that will act as design drivers focused on the rehabilitation of incarcerated individuals, and to reduce the operational costs of the design of a new correctional facility. This can be achieved by amending the facility with an urban agricultural component through biophilic principles to explore horticultural therapeutic activities that will aid in rehabilitating convicts and aid as an additional food supply, which can also be a form of income for the facility. The project includes sustainable and regenerative approaches that respond to the environment and provide additional infrastructure to the facility in terms of water, gas, and electricity. It is important to note that it will be nearly impossible for one new correctional facility to address all the difficulties that South African facilities face. However, the facility intends to act as a new paradigm of knowledge that can be applied to future facilities in South Africa. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Legitimizing repressed knowledge systems in the post- colonial city through the design of an indigenous afro- pharmacy in central, Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Mlenzana, Mihle
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Traditional ecological knowledge -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59095 , vital:60263
- Description: This thesis explores the possibility of marrying repressed African indigenous knowledge systems with the abrasive, post- colonial environment that is Central, such that an African identity is represented in a built environment that was shaped and formed by European influences. This is aligned with the African renaissance paradigm. Set in the backdrop of Central, Port Elizabeth’s disparaged CBD, the study culminates in a successful and appropriate architectural design for an Afro- indigenous pharmacy and a vernacular architecture for Port Elizabeth. The design process will take cues from the social, economic, political, physical and urban CBD context of the chosen site, such that the final proposal is practical and usable by the public for which it is intended, while simultaneously being environmentally sensitive. Furthermore, the research aims to shed light upon the importance of urban regeneration through the repurposing of an abandoned Brownfield site into a productive landscape and a sustainable enterprise. The qualitative methodological approach is followed to gather primary data, which is obtained by visiting existing herbalist practices and conventional pharmacies in Port Elizabeth, and will be used as case studies from which interpretations and information will be drawn. Secondary data in the way of precedence studies of urban growing facilities that make use of hydroponic systems, along with precedence studies of commercial pharmacies, is also gathered and used as reference material on how they respond to the urban hubs in which they exist. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Mlenzana, Mihle
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Traditional ecological knowledge -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59095 , vital:60263
- Description: This thesis explores the possibility of marrying repressed African indigenous knowledge systems with the abrasive, post- colonial environment that is Central, such that an African identity is represented in a built environment that was shaped and formed by European influences. This is aligned with the African renaissance paradigm. Set in the backdrop of Central, Port Elizabeth’s disparaged CBD, the study culminates in a successful and appropriate architectural design for an Afro- indigenous pharmacy and a vernacular architecture for Port Elizabeth. The design process will take cues from the social, economic, political, physical and urban CBD context of the chosen site, such that the final proposal is practical and usable by the public for which it is intended, while simultaneously being environmentally sensitive. Furthermore, the research aims to shed light upon the importance of urban regeneration through the repurposing of an abandoned Brownfield site into a productive landscape and a sustainable enterprise. The qualitative methodological approach is followed to gather primary data, which is obtained by visiting existing herbalist practices and conventional pharmacies in Port Elizabeth, and will be used as case studies from which interpretations and information will be drawn. Secondary data in the way of precedence studies of urban growing facilities that make use of hydroponic systems, along with precedence studies of commercial pharmacies, is also gathered and used as reference material on how they respond to the urban hubs in which they exist. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Memory in the Ecosystem of the City: The Design of a Funerary Landscape in Shark River Valley, Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Ritchie, Brittney
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Archaeological landscape -- Port Elizabeth , Cemeteries , Shark River Valley, Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59139 , vital:60267
- Description: This thesis evolved from an inherent fascination with the architecture of funerary landscapes. Funerary structures can be regarded as the first architectural interventions and provide a fundamental perspective of how societies dealt with death and its meaning. Architecture has manifested in this type for many years, for many reasons and in many different expressions. Monolithic burial mounds of the Neolithic age, the pyramids of Giza and the mausoleums of the classical era are typical examples of funerary landscapes. The architecture of contemporary funerary landscapes, however, does not display characteristics similar to those of their predecessors. Contemporary funerary landscapes appear to be dissociated from their environment and motivated by efficiency rather than any attempt to reflect and embrace the deeper processes of death and mourning. Subsequently, these landscapes lack identity and the notion of meaning, appearing derelict, dull and forgotten by society. There is a common approach, particularly in South Africa, of displacing these landscapes to the peripheries of cities, further exacerbating the divide between society and the roles and rituals of death. This approach is a paradox to the ecological paradigm of our time. In order to address this issue and understand funerary landscapes as type, this study firstly explored various relevant theoretical aspects as well as examples of successful funerary landscapes around the world. The typical cemetery with its inherent problems provided an opportunity for this study to respond constructively through an architectural design, taking into consideration the function of the funeral, the process of grief and the concern of re-integrating the funerary landscape into the ecosystem of the city. Then, an appropriate site was chosen in the city of Port Elizabeth for the design of a funerary landscape. In order to explore the established set of principles, this thesis proposed a funerary landscape as a place of both memorial and recreation within a delicate ecosystem in an underutilised urban park of Port Elizabeth; Shark River Valley. This design aimed to integrate with both the natural environment and the surrounding built fabric, encouraging interaction with the rich cultural and natural heritage the city has to offer. The ambition is for this funerary landscape to become a narrative journey, framing a series of experiences which will bring people together, reconciling society and encourage them to embrace and cope with death in a meaningful way. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Ritchie, Brittney
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Archaeological landscape -- Port Elizabeth , Cemeteries , Shark River Valley, Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59139 , vital:60267
- Description: This thesis evolved from an inherent fascination with the architecture of funerary landscapes. Funerary structures can be regarded as the first architectural interventions and provide a fundamental perspective of how societies dealt with death and its meaning. Architecture has manifested in this type for many years, for many reasons and in many different expressions. Monolithic burial mounds of the Neolithic age, the pyramids of Giza and the mausoleums of the classical era are typical examples of funerary landscapes. The architecture of contemporary funerary landscapes, however, does not display characteristics similar to those of their predecessors. Contemporary funerary landscapes appear to be dissociated from their environment and motivated by efficiency rather than any attempt to reflect and embrace the deeper processes of death and mourning. Subsequently, these landscapes lack identity and the notion of meaning, appearing derelict, dull and forgotten by society. There is a common approach, particularly in South Africa, of displacing these landscapes to the peripheries of cities, further exacerbating the divide between society and the roles and rituals of death. This approach is a paradox to the ecological paradigm of our time. In order to address this issue and understand funerary landscapes as type, this study firstly explored various relevant theoretical aspects as well as examples of successful funerary landscapes around the world. The typical cemetery with its inherent problems provided an opportunity for this study to respond constructively through an architectural design, taking into consideration the function of the funeral, the process of grief and the concern of re-integrating the funerary landscape into the ecosystem of the city. Then, an appropriate site was chosen in the city of Port Elizabeth for the design of a funerary landscape. In order to explore the established set of principles, this thesis proposed a funerary landscape as a place of both memorial and recreation within a delicate ecosystem in an underutilised urban park of Port Elizabeth; Shark River Valley. This design aimed to integrate with both the natural environment and the surrounding built fabric, encouraging interaction with the rich cultural and natural heritage the city has to offer. The ambition is for this funerary landscape to become a narrative journey, framing a series of experiences which will bring people together, reconciling society and encourage them to embrace and cope with death in a meaningful way. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Strategies for the Regeneration of Degraded Rural Landscapes: The Design of a “Padstal” on the Crossing of Route 62 and the Seweweekspoort Pass, Klein Karoo
- Authors: Conradie, Inge
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Historic rural landscapes -- Klein Karoo , Landscape architecture
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/58994 , vital:60254
- Description: The livelihood of subsistence farmers of the Little Karoo sister towns, Zoar and Amalienstein, face many challenges such as the lack of economic opportunity, unemployment and drought that ultimately leads to poverty. This dissertation investigates the potential of a collective tourism and agricultural cooperative programme, which regenerates the rural landscape into a productive one through an architectural intervention. By developing a productive landscape that ignites rural livelihoods, the challenges can be transformed into opportunities for these impoverished communities. Research into agave-based agroforestry as a driver to combat global warming will aim to establish staple household security. It will be a means of inserting informal farm production into the tourism market through the built environment. The productive landscape, driven from an agave-based agroforestry and livestock feeding model, utilises the living and natural systems existing on the site. Together with regenerative architecture, it will structure the “building blocks” of the Agave-‘padstal’. The strategic position of this ‘padstal’, on the crossing of the Cape Route 62 and the SeweweekspoortPass, would create a node of destination. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Conradie, Inge
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Historic rural landscapes -- Klein Karoo , Landscape architecture
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/58994 , vital:60254
- Description: The livelihood of subsistence farmers of the Little Karoo sister towns, Zoar and Amalienstein, face many challenges such as the lack of economic opportunity, unemployment and drought that ultimately leads to poverty. This dissertation investigates the potential of a collective tourism and agricultural cooperative programme, which regenerates the rural landscape into a productive one through an architectural intervention. By developing a productive landscape that ignites rural livelihoods, the challenges can be transformed into opportunities for these impoverished communities. Research into agave-based agroforestry as a driver to combat global warming will aim to establish staple household security. It will be a means of inserting informal farm production into the tourism market through the built environment. The productive landscape, driven from an agave-based agroforestry and livestock feeding model, utilises the living and natural systems existing on the site. Together with regenerative architecture, it will structure the “building blocks” of the Agave-‘padstal’. The strategic position of this ‘padstal’, on the crossing of the Cape Route 62 and the SeweweekspoortPass, would create a node of destination. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
The Architecture of “Set and Setting” in Psychedelic Psychotherapy: The Design of a Mental Health Care Facility in Diepsloot, Johannesburg
- Authors: Mcilroy, Glen
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Sustainable architecture -- Diepsloot -- Johannesburg , Mental health facilities -- Diepsloot -- Johannesburg
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59084 , vital:60262
- Description: Diepsloot, Johannesburg, one of South Africa’s unique post-apartheid settlements, could be described as an island of poverty and strife amidst a sea of wealth and economic growth. The area, which began as a temporary settlement for displaced families in a time of radical change in the South African political landscape, was previously made up of large expanses of open space used for recreation, and is now an overcrowded settlement with major housing shortages and infrastructural insufficiencies. With some of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, Diepsloot shows a community rife with social issues, further exacerbated by substandard living conditions. This pervasive violence against women was shown to be perpetuated by men who have themselves been victims of violence in one form or another. With no known manner in which to seek assistance in dealing with their own traumas, perpetuate a cycle of violence through indeterminable generations. Undeniably a community in need of mental healthcare, Diepsloot currently has no facilities of this type, and little is known about the opportunity for seeking psychiatric assistance amongst members of the community. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Mcilroy, Glen
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Sustainable architecture -- Diepsloot -- Johannesburg , Mental health facilities -- Diepsloot -- Johannesburg
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59084 , vital:60262
- Description: Diepsloot, Johannesburg, one of South Africa’s unique post-apartheid settlements, could be described as an island of poverty and strife amidst a sea of wealth and economic growth. The area, which began as a temporary settlement for displaced families in a time of radical change in the South African political landscape, was previously made up of large expanses of open space used for recreation, and is now an overcrowded settlement with major housing shortages and infrastructural insufficiencies. With some of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, Diepsloot shows a community rife with social issues, further exacerbated by substandard living conditions. This pervasive violence against women was shown to be perpetuated by men who have themselves been victims of violence in one form or another. With no known manner in which to seek assistance in dealing with their own traumas, perpetuate a cycle of violence through indeterminable generations. Undeniably a community in need of mental healthcare, Diepsloot currently has no facilities of this type, and little is known about the opportunity for seeking psychiatric assistance amongst members of the community. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
The design of a waste recycling facility for the waste pickers of Arlington Landfill, Port Elizabeth: recognising the needs of unacknowledged stakeholders in the circular waste economy
- Authors: Blake, Sean Smit
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Recycling (Waste, etc.) -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59150 , vital:60268
- Description: At this very moment, this very second, in the backstreets and upon high, vast wastelands, something is in motion. Often on the periphery of our daily thoughts, or not at all, this very motion never ceases to exist- it simply cannot afford to. Waste, our modern day global issue, has reached a critical point, causing us to now venture into uncharted territories. We produce unspeakable amounts of waste per annum creating compounding social and environmental problems, and in the process we create a particular physical object, an altered landscape known as a landfill. The landfill environment is where this treatise chooses to position itself, but looks further into the existing community of individuals who perform the task of recycling. Waste pickers, an unmatched motion and dynamic within our broad waste landscape, remain largely unacknowledged in the role they play in the circular waste economy, subsequently creating the core concern for this treatise. Hence, the building type responsible, a waste recycling facility, that looks to identify and address the needs that these individuals require to safely carry out their pivotal role within the setting of Arlington Landfill in Port Elizabeth. Therefore, this treatise looks to uncover and bring to light a day in the life of a waste picker, through an architectural intervention seeking to become more than an object on the landscape. The treatise looks to break away from a static architectural object by applying the overall lens guided by ‘Anti-Object’ written by Kengo Kuma, therefore concerning itself with an overarching process of creating an emerging anti-object architecture, embodying the subtitles and characteristics of the waste pickers of Arlington Landfill. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Blake, Sean Smit
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Recycling (Waste, etc.) -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59150 , vital:60268
- Description: At this very moment, this very second, in the backstreets and upon high, vast wastelands, something is in motion. Often on the periphery of our daily thoughts, or not at all, this very motion never ceases to exist- it simply cannot afford to. Waste, our modern day global issue, has reached a critical point, causing us to now venture into uncharted territories. We produce unspeakable amounts of waste per annum creating compounding social and environmental problems, and in the process we create a particular physical object, an altered landscape known as a landfill. The landfill environment is where this treatise chooses to position itself, but looks further into the existing community of individuals who perform the task of recycling. Waste pickers, an unmatched motion and dynamic within our broad waste landscape, remain largely unacknowledged in the role they play in the circular waste economy, subsequently creating the core concern for this treatise. Hence, the building type responsible, a waste recycling facility, that looks to identify and address the needs that these individuals require to safely carry out their pivotal role within the setting of Arlington Landfill in Port Elizabeth. Therefore, this treatise looks to uncover and bring to light a day in the life of a waste picker, through an architectural intervention seeking to become more than an object on the landscape. The treatise looks to break away from a static architectural object by applying the overall lens guided by ‘Anti-Object’ written by Kengo Kuma, therefore concerning itself with an overarching process of creating an emerging anti-object architecture, embodying the subtitles and characteristics of the waste pickers of Arlington Landfill. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
The Implementation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Contemporary Healthcare Facilities: The Design of a Research Hospital for Mbombela Systems
- Authors: Marule, Neo Allan
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Ethnoscience -- Mbombela , Traditional ecological knowledge --- Mbombela
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59062 , vital:60260
- Description: The following treatise emerged from the issue of a lack of research hospitals that deal with Indigenous medicinal herbal plant remedies as a more holistic approach to health and healing. Indigenous knowledge systems from South Africa emphasize the patients’ psychological, biological, spiritual, and sociological well-being as directly impacting the patient’s healing process. Over the years, there has been a lack of research and the promotion of the use of Indigenous medicinal herbal plant remedies in South Africa’s existing “western” healthcare system. Existing “western” healthcare facilities (hospital) infrastructure in South Africa places minimal emphasis on spiritual, psychological, biological, and sociological well-being, which is observed in South Africa’s Indigenous knowledge healthcare system, that has existed before the establishment of “western” healthcare system in South Africa. Architecturally, this treatise aims to generate a research hospital design that has an understanding of South Africa’s Indigenous knowledge healthcare system, which directly impact the architecture and which is unique (critical regionalism) to the region of Mbombela city. Furthermore, it uses health and wellness principles as the drivers, along with biophilic design principles, to achieve a more holistic and integrated environment for patients and working staff. These architectural theories use a holistic approach to healthcare that has been in practice for several years in the indigenous knowledge healthcare system within South Africa. Critical regionalism is investigated as a theoretical model that will be used to generate a unique architecture for Mbombela city. The concept of the Indigenous knowledge healthcare system and the physical and spatial implications are examined on how they affect architecture. Furthermore, health and wellness theories and principles, along with biophilic design principles, are investigated as the theoretical and conceptual framework that will inform the design of innovative research-based hospitals for Mbombela city. Investigations on hospitals, (plant) research facilities and conservatory are examined via architectural precedents studies that will inform the understanding of the nature of the new building type and its various spatial and physical issues. An appropriate precinct and site within Mbombela city have been identified based on a list of site selection criteria and contextual analysis of the precinct. Furthermore, analysis of the contexts at various scale and understanding the climatic conditions of Mbombela city will facilitate the generation of contextual constraints and informants that will inform the building's design. This treatise will conclude with a design proposal for a new innovative research hospital for the city of Mbombela that is established from understanding the city’s unique architectural character, understanding the concept of traditional Indigenous healing knowledge system, and health and wellness, biophilic principles that support the holistic approach to healing which is found in Indigenous healing knowledge system. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Marule, Neo Allan
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Ethnoscience -- Mbombela , Traditional ecological knowledge --- Mbombela
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59062 , vital:60260
- Description: The following treatise emerged from the issue of a lack of research hospitals that deal with Indigenous medicinal herbal plant remedies as a more holistic approach to health and healing. Indigenous knowledge systems from South Africa emphasize the patients’ psychological, biological, spiritual, and sociological well-being as directly impacting the patient’s healing process. Over the years, there has been a lack of research and the promotion of the use of Indigenous medicinal herbal plant remedies in South Africa’s existing “western” healthcare system. Existing “western” healthcare facilities (hospital) infrastructure in South Africa places minimal emphasis on spiritual, psychological, biological, and sociological well-being, which is observed in South Africa’s Indigenous knowledge healthcare system, that has existed before the establishment of “western” healthcare system in South Africa. Architecturally, this treatise aims to generate a research hospital design that has an understanding of South Africa’s Indigenous knowledge healthcare system, which directly impact the architecture and which is unique (critical regionalism) to the region of Mbombela city. Furthermore, it uses health and wellness principles as the drivers, along with biophilic design principles, to achieve a more holistic and integrated environment for patients and working staff. These architectural theories use a holistic approach to healthcare that has been in practice for several years in the indigenous knowledge healthcare system within South Africa. Critical regionalism is investigated as a theoretical model that will be used to generate a unique architecture for Mbombela city. The concept of the Indigenous knowledge healthcare system and the physical and spatial implications are examined on how they affect architecture. Furthermore, health and wellness theories and principles, along with biophilic design principles, are investigated as the theoretical and conceptual framework that will inform the design of innovative research-based hospitals for Mbombela city. Investigations on hospitals, (plant) research facilities and conservatory are examined via architectural precedents studies that will inform the understanding of the nature of the new building type and its various spatial and physical issues. An appropriate precinct and site within Mbombela city have been identified based on a list of site selection criteria and contextual analysis of the precinct. Furthermore, analysis of the contexts at various scale and understanding the climatic conditions of Mbombela city will facilitate the generation of contextual constraints and informants that will inform the building's design. This treatise will conclude with a design proposal for a new innovative research hospital for the city of Mbombela that is established from understanding the city’s unique architectural character, understanding the concept of traditional Indigenous healing knowledge system, and health and wellness, biophilic principles that support the holistic approach to healing which is found in Indigenous healing knowledge system. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Towards the provision of relevant, Secondary schools building types through the design of a high schools STEM Centre in Zwide, Nelson Mandela Bay
- Authors: Burger, Sean
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Landscape architecture -- Nelson Mandela Bay
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59194 , vital:60279
- Description: The topic of education in South Africa has always been an area of much debate and contention. The quality of education environments provided in townships in generally always lacking as these facilities are composed of a standardized set of functions. As a result of a budget constraints and poor resources management, most schools lack the required specialised facilities to provide for a full learning experience. With a focus on the development specialised skills in the field of science, mathematics technology and engineering, learners attending these schools are unable to complete with those ore more affluent schools , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Burger, Sean
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Landscape architecture -- Nelson Mandela Bay
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59194 , vital:60279
- Description: The topic of education in South Africa has always been an area of much debate and contention. The quality of education environments provided in townships in generally always lacking as these facilities are composed of a standardized set of functions. As a result of a budget constraints and poor resources management, most schools lack the required specialised facilities to provide for a full learning experience. With a focus on the development specialised skills in the field of science, mathematics technology and engineering, learners attending these schools are unable to complete with those ore more affluent schools , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 2020-09
Translating subjugated narratives in post- colonial city texts: The design of a memorial literary resource Centre near Sophiatown, Johannesburg
- Authors: Mazibuko, Nibonge
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Postcolonialism -- Sophia town -- Johannesburg , Apartheid and architecture
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59072 , vital:60261
- Description: The reality of a singular narrative is that it at its core it is exclusionary. A singular narrative is undemocratic as it asserts for dominance rather than forbearance. Through the key writings of theorists Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja the built environment can be seen as a communicative text expressing the higher-level concerns and ideologies of that particular society. In the context of contemporary post-apartheid South African the cities previously entrenched colonial ideologies and systems continue to dominate and to exclude other narratives and expressions, particularly those of previously marginalised voices, from the greater expression of the democratic city text promoting a singular widely accepted narrative. This disparity has been a concern for many architects and built environment professionals who have had to grapple with the question of what is a democratic, authentic and cosmopolitan African identity within the registers of public architecture. The realities are that to ignore this question would be to allow the continual silencing and perpetuation of injustice against those who are marginalised by the residual effects of the apartheid regime. This exclusion from participation within the development of urban environments is dealt with in this treatise from the perspective of physical expression and representation in the exploration of elevating various narratives, stories, typologies for example within the same city text to reflect a more cosmopolitan, democratic narrative. Another area the treatise deals with is the spatial dimension in challenging local level colonial entrenchments of spatial injustice that continue to work to the disadvantage of the urban poor through an understanding of how these are distilled from higher levels. The Sophiatown/Westbury precinct in the western areas of Johannesburg is seen as one such area which continues to suffer from firstly the residual effects of apartheid segregationist planning as well as an embedded physically un-commemorated history which was erased from the physical realm of the city text through demolition during the apartheid regime and replaced with a newbuilt fabric and a new community of people as a stratospheric layer covering what used to be a vibrant, multicultural and hence highly anti-apartheid precinct. The treatise deals with the challenging and un-layering of this entrenched spatial injustice which is a concept defined and qualified in the writing of theorists Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja. Ideas and themes expressed by Johnathan Alfred Noble on discovering and expressing cosmopolitan identities and narratives within the South African city text are explored to formulate a non-conclusive modus operandi in the scope expressing suppressed and embedded narratives and liberating them into the story and fabric of the built environment as apart of the wider ongoing conversation of redressing the wrongs of the past in rescripting post-colonial urban spaces. The architectural design dovetails from Nobles ideas regarding expression and representation and becomes like a perforated canvas over the site area which allows the emergent spatial and programmatic conditions of the site to interweave with the characteristics and attributes of the old Sophiatown/Westbury precinct to become a dynamic urban catalyst which liberates the legacy of the area into the physical realm of the city. The study was undertaken through desktop research, literature reviews and first-hand observations and analysis within the qualitative research paradigm. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
- Authors: Mazibuko, Nibonge
- Date: 2020-09
- Subjects: Postcolonialism -- Sophia town -- Johannesburg , Apartheid and architecture
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59072 , vital:60261
- Description: The reality of a singular narrative is that it at its core it is exclusionary. A singular narrative is undemocratic as it asserts for dominance rather than forbearance. Through the key writings of theorists Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja the built environment can be seen as a communicative text expressing the higher-level concerns and ideologies of that particular society. In the context of contemporary post-apartheid South African the cities previously entrenched colonial ideologies and systems continue to dominate and to exclude other narratives and expressions, particularly those of previously marginalised voices, from the greater expression of the democratic city text promoting a singular widely accepted narrative. This disparity has been a concern for many architects and built environment professionals who have had to grapple with the question of what is a democratic, authentic and cosmopolitan African identity within the registers of public architecture. The realities are that to ignore this question would be to allow the continual silencing and perpetuation of injustice against those who are marginalised by the residual effects of the apartheid regime. This exclusion from participation within the development of urban environments is dealt with in this treatise from the perspective of physical expression and representation in the exploration of elevating various narratives, stories, typologies for example within the same city text to reflect a more cosmopolitan, democratic narrative. Another area the treatise deals with is the spatial dimension in challenging local level colonial entrenchments of spatial injustice that continue to work to the disadvantage of the urban poor through an understanding of how these are distilled from higher levels. The Sophiatown/Westbury precinct in the western areas of Johannesburg is seen as one such area which continues to suffer from firstly the residual effects of apartheid segregationist planning as well as an embedded physically un-commemorated history which was erased from the physical realm of the city text through demolition during the apartheid regime and replaced with a newbuilt fabric and a new community of people as a stratospheric layer covering what used to be a vibrant, multicultural and hence highly anti-apartheid precinct. The treatise deals with the challenging and un-layering of this entrenched spatial injustice which is a concept defined and qualified in the writing of theorists Henri Lefebvre and Edward Soja. Ideas and themes expressed by Johnathan Alfred Noble on discovering and expressing cosmopolitan identities and narratives within the South African city text are explored to formulate a non-conclusive modus operandi in the scope expressing suppressed and embedded narratives and liberating them into the story and fabric of the built environment as apart of the wider ongoing conversation of redressing the wrongs of the past in rescripting post-colonial urban spaces. The architectural design dovetails from Nobles ideas regarding expression and representation and becomes like a perforated canvas over the site area which allows the emergent spatial and programmatic conditions of the site to interweave with the characteristics and attributes of the old Sophiatown/Westbury precinct to become a dynamic urban catalyst which liberates the legacy of the area into the physical realm of the city. The study was undertaken through desktop research, literature reviews and first-hand observations and analysis within the qualitative research paradigm. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment, and Technology, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-09
The experiences of users of the Griffiths III
- Authors: Le Roux, Johan
- Date: 2020-07
- Subjects: Child development -- Testing , Psychological tests
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51287 , vital:43260
- Description: The Griffiths III was published in 2016 and has since then been used internationally by practitioners. The Association for Research in Infant and Child Development (ARICD) is currently planning and reviewing, refining, and improving the 2016 version of this assessment tool. Part of this process is to obtain feedback from all the key role players in the Griffiths III. The purpose of the present study was to explore and describe how users of the Griffiths III experience the measure. A qualitative methodology was utilised, and an exploratory-descriptive design was employed. A questionnaire was created by the ARICD and distributed to all 217 registered users of the Griffiths III. A total of 72 registered Griffiths users, who were using the Griffiths III at that stage, completed and returned the questionnaires to the ARICD. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to extract themes. The findings of the study revealed four overarching themes, namely 1) the purpose and use of the Griffiths III; 2) domains, content, and structure of the Griffiths III; 3) psychometric properties, standardisation, and norms; and 4) merits, limitations, and improvements. Based on the findings, recommendations were made regarding the revision of the Griffiths III. These recommendations relate to a specialised version for children with an autism spectrum disorder, psychometric properties, school readiness elements, universality of the scales, administration time, diagnosis and screening, cost, specific items, and report writing. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Health Sciencess, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-07
- Authors: Le Roux, Johan
- Date: 2020-07
- Subjects: Child development -- Testing , Psychological tests
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51287 , vital:43260
- Description: The Griffiths III was published in 2016 and has since then been used internationally by practitioners. The Association for Research in Infant and Child Development (ARICD) is currently planning and reviewing, refining, and improving the 2016 version of this assessment tool. Part of this process is to obtain feedback from all the key role players in the Griffiths III. The purpose of the present study was to explore and describe how users of the Griffiths III experience the measure. A qualitative methodology was utilised, and an exploratory-descriptive design was employed. A questionnaire was created by the ARICD and distributed to all 217 registered users of the Griffiths III. A total of 72 registered Griffiths users, who were using the Griffiths III at that stage, completed and returned the questionnaires to the ARICD. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to extract themes. The findings of the study revealed four overarching themes, namely 1) the purpose and use of the Griffiths III; 2) domains, content, and structure of the Griffiths III; 3) psychometric properties, standardisation, and norms; and 4) merits, limitations, and improvements. Based on the findings, recommendations were made regarding the revision of the Griffiths III. These recommendations relate to a specialised version for children with an autism spectrum disorder, psychometric properties, school readiness elements, universality of the scales, administration time, diagnosis and screening, cost, specific items, and report writing. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Health Sciencess, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-07
A study on staff provisioning using the Peter Morkel Model with reference to a selected school in the Amathole East District
- Authors: Qaba, Loyiso Siyabulela
- Date: 2020-04
- Subjects: Port Elizabeth (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55161 , vital:49171
- Description: The Post-Provisioning Model (PPM) is a Resource Allocation Model (RAM) used by the Department of Education to optimize the distribution of available educator resources to public schools. The Department of Education adopted the PPM to distribute the total available posts to all public schools in an “equitable, transparent and resource-efficient manner. The PPM is a formula-driven model that primarily allocates educators, as human capital, to public schools based on learner enrolment numbers. In addition to allocating teaching staff, the PPM allocates the School Management Team (SMT) to each school. The outcome of the PPM formula is called the Post-Provisioning Norm (PPN). The implementation of the PPM has presented various challenges in the management of public schools. The primary aims of this study were to investigate any possible weaknesses of the PPM and to critically evaluate and explore school managers’ views of the PPM in the management of public schools. For the purposes of this study a probability sampling procedure was used. The participants were chosen from the principals within the Department of Education in Amathole East District. The literature review undertaken and the field research findings in the fourth chapter revealed that there is a gap between the ideals of the PPM and its implementation. It was found that there was a poor understanding of the technical aspects of the PPM formula among senior managers of public schools. There is evidence of equitable quantitative distribution of posts through the PPM. However, it was discovered that the PPM does not take into account the distribution of qualified educators. Hence, some of the allocated posts in public schools were often filled by under-qualified or non-qualified staff. The appointment of qualified educators was skewed. Further findings of this study revealed, amongst others, the inability of the PPM to provide for and promote the needs of a diverse curriculum in rural areas, and the inability to factor in and balance the variable that some public schools raise more money in school fees, which enables the advantaged schools to employ additional educators. The primary recommendations of this study are that principals be trained, on an annual basis, on the workings of the PPM and that the South African Schools Act No.84 of 1996 should be amended to grant authority to the Head of Department of the province to appoint and deploy qualified educators to public schools. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-04
- Authors: Qaba, Loyiso Siyabulela
- Date: 2020-04
- Subjects: Port Elizabeth (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55161 , vital:49171
- Description: The Post-Provisioning Model (PPM) is a Resource Allocation Model (RAM) used by the Department of Education to optimize the distribution of available educator resources to public schools. The Department of Education adopted the PPM to distribute the total available posts to all public schools in an “equitable, transparent and resource-efficient manner. The PPM is a formula-driven model that primarily allocates educators, as human capital, to public schools based on learner enrolment numbers. In addition to allocating teaching staff, the PPM allocates the School Management Team (SMT) to each school. The outcome of the PPM formula is called the Post-Provisioning Norm (PPN). The implementation of the PPM has presented various challenges in the management of public schools. The primary aims of this study were to investigate any possible weaknesses of the PPM and to critically evaluate and explore school managers’ views of the PPM in the management of public schools. For the purposes of this study a probability sampling procedure was used. The participants were chosen from the principals within the Department of Education in Amathole East District. The literature review undertaken and the field research findings in the fourth chapter revealed that there is a gap between the ideals of the PPM and its implementation. It was found that there was a poor understanding of the technical aspects of the PPM formula among senior managers of public schools. There is evidence of equitable quantitative distribution of posts through the PPM. However, it was discovered that the PPM does not take into account the distribution of qualified educators. Hence, some of the allocated posts in public schools were often filled by under-qualified or non-qualified staff. The appointment of qualified educators was skewed. Further findings of this study revealed, amongst others, the inability of the PPM to provide for and promote the needs of a diverse curriculum in rural areas, and the inability to factor in and balance the variable that some public schools raise more money in school fees, which enables the advantaged schools to employ additional educators. The primary recommendations of this study are that principals be trained, on an annual basis, on the workings of the PPM and that the South African Schools Act No.84 of 1996 should be amended to grant authority to the Head of Department of the province to appoint and deploy qualified educators to public schools. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-04
An assessment of professional development for public service employees: a case study of the Eastern Cape office of the premier
- Authors: Nzoyi, Lindokuhle
- Date: 2020-04
- Subjects: Performance--Management (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55118 , vital:49121
- Description: Professional development in the public service sector has attracted increased interest of researchers over the years. It has been tipped to bolster the quality of public services, which is often frowned upon, especially in the developing world. Thus, this study was carried out with the aim of establishing the perceptions of managers at the Office of the Premier (OTP) regarding the need for a comprehensive framework to enhance service delivery. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach that was based on the use of semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method. Public officials who work in the OTP were interviewed to determine the challenges encountered by the government department in an effort to improve their performance management. The findings of the study revealed that the OTP has various developmental and training programmes in place to equip its officials to enhance their skills, competences and Knowledge which includes the Leadership programmes and Change Management that aims at linking management and employees to improve performance of the organisation. The findings showed that there is a need for a learning organisation within the OTP, as stipulated in the Senge model. The OTP also needs to conduct regular staff training, which is of paramount importance for improving competence and performance in the delivery of services. The study concluded by proposing the need to establish a learning environment that will provide opportunities for employees to be capacitated with relevant skills development programmes. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-04
- Authors: Nzoyi, Lindokuhle
- Date: 2020-04
- Subjects: Performance--Management (South Africa) , Eastern Cape (South Africa) , South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/55118 , vital:49121
- Description: Professional development in the public service sector has attracted increased interest of researchers over the years. It has been tipped to bolster the quality of public services, which is often frowned upon, especially in the developing world. Thus, this study was carried out with the aim of establishing the perceptions of managers at the Office of the Premier (OTP) regarding the need for a comprehensive framework to enhance service delivery. The study adopted a qualitative case study approach that was based on the use of semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection method. Public officials who work in the OTP were interviewed to determine the challenges encountered by the government department in an effort to improve their performance management. The findings of the study revealed that the OTP has various developmental and training programmes in place to equip its officials to enhance their skills, competences and Knowledge which includes the Leadership programmes and Change Management that aims at linking management and employees to improve performance of the organisation. The findings showed that there is a need for a learning organisation within the OTP, as stipulated in the Senge model. The OTP also needs to conduct regular staff training, which is of paramount importance for improving competence and performance in the delivery of services. The study concluded by proposing the need to establish a learning environment that will provide opportunities for employees to be capacitated with relevant skills development programmes. , Thesis (MPA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2020
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020-04