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Understanding sustainable livelihood strategies of female-headed households: the case of Renosterberg Municipality, Pixley ka Seme District, Northern Cape
No full textThe population of female-headed households in South Africa has significantly risen. The Statistics SA General House Survey (GHS) of 2020 revealed an estimate of 7.2 million or 41.9 percent of these households are headed by women, an increase from 41.8 percent estimated in the 2019 GHS. Studies agree that FHHs are exposed to different livelihoods challenges and experiences. Through a qualitative interview with 22 female participants, this study engaged in an in-depth exploration to understand the challenges faced by female-headed households, investigate the existing livelihood strategies of FHHs, and reflect on relevant mechanisms that respond to difficulties and pressures experienced by female heads. This study utilised a sustainable livelihood approach to focus on a typical South African municipal setting of Renosterberg Local Municipality to explore the challenges and understand the livelihoods strategies used by females heading households to sustain their families. The study results revealed that a combination of factors such as deaths of husbands, husbands leaving families, unemployment and sickness of husbands, deaths of parents and females never marrying contribute to FHHs in Renosterberg Local Municipality. The study established that child support grants and part-time employment are the most significant sources of income in FHHs, and they are constantly experiencing shortages of money, food, clothing and school supplies. The study found that most FHHs are unemployed and often rely on informal jobs and rely on life skills such as hairdressing to earn money to feed their families. Despite these identified challenges, the study realised those female-headed households are eager to improve themselves and expand their sources of income through obtaining skills and further qualifications such as early childhood development certificates, computer training and completing their matric. Others are highly involved in community programmes that enhance their social skills and give them access to different programmes that earn them an income. This study established that FHHs have various coping mechanisms they rely on to sustain their livelihoods. Therefore, the study reflected on the need for more government mechanisms to enhance the skills capacity of female-headed households, increase their employment rate and expand their income support. Therefore, this study explored and discussed the sustainable livelihoods and the survival strategies of FHHs in Renosterberg Local Municipality
Craft metamorphosis: a vocational craft college at the Old Tannery in Wellington Western Cape
No full textThis dissertation seeks to introduce digital fabricated crafts in South-Africa through the development of a craft college at The Old Tannery in Wellington Western Cape. With the investigation of a post-phenomenological approach to this historical site. The Old Tannery provides the perfect opportunity for a new vocational craft college to become a synergy proposed as a way to render an ensemble. A lively educational-commercial space that will attract and serve both locals and tourists. As such, the semi-industrial nature of the site will not interfere with the commercial interests on the rest of the site. Ultimately, the craft college will contribute to the new ensemble by providing many students who could use the other facilities if they wish to do so to start their own businesses. The project aims to have a positive impact within a neglected context by promoting new ways of crafting. This ultimately aims to uplift the local community and allow people from the community to become involved and perhaps start their own trade businesses
Sol Plaatje : a psychobiographical study
No full textIn recent years, interest in psychobiographical research has seen remarkable growth both
internationally and nationally. The number of academically institutionalised
psychobiographies conducted in South African universities have also increased significantly.
South African psychologists may further be motivated by the country’s political history to
embark on the study of significant and exceptional figures who helped shape its history. A
renewed focus on anti-apartheid activists might contribute to a deeper understanding of South
Africa’s troubled past by exploring these individuals’ roles in the journey towards democracy.
Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje (1876-1932) was an enigmatic multilingual novelist, journalist and
leading figure in South Africa’s liberation history. He is best remembered as one of the
founding members of the 1912 South African Native National Congress (SANNC), the
forerunner of the present-day African National Congress (ANC). Sol Plaatje lived through
times of tumultuous political change, yet he consistently demonstrated tenacity and resilience,
often under very trying conditions. His legacy to South African history is widely recognized
and his acumen and determination ensured that he became known for his intolerance of
injustice and disempowerment of the disenfranchised.
Despite the wealth of information available on Sol Plaatje, none of the works provide an in
depth psychological perspective on his life. Therefore, he was selected as the subject for this
psychobiographical study through purposive sampling, in order to provide a psychologically
driven exploration and description of aspects of his life, within his socio-historical context.
This was achieved through the application of two specific psychological frameworks to the
available biographical and historical data collected on Plaatje. The two frameworks employed
in this study are (a) Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development, and (b) the Wheel of
Wellness (WoW) model for holistic wellness. Hence, the primary aim of this study was to
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provide a psychologically-driven exploration and description of Plaatje’s psychosocial
development and his holistic wellness across his lifespan, within his socio-historical context.
The use of two methodological strategies in this study proved meaningful in the extraction
and analysis of data. Firstly, five significant historical life periods were identified, and
prominent salient themes in the collected data were extracted, organised and analysed
according to Alexander’s nine indicators of psychological saliency. In addition, to assist with
the wealth of information available on Plaatje, the researcher posed specific questions to the
data, which enabled the extraction of units of analysis relevant to the aim of the study.
Secondly, the use of two conceptual matrices facilitated the analysis, categorisation,
presentation and discussion of the stages of psychosocial development and the constructs of
holistic wellness within the five historical periods identified on his life.
The eugraphic focus of the two frameworks utilised in this study allowed the researcher to
uncover Plaatje’s life history in terms of healthy development and holistic wellness. Findings
from this study suggested that Plaatje successfully navigated all the psychosocial stages of
development and attained all ego qualities as proposed by Erikson. He exemplified a case
where certain stages were entered before their prescribed period, or where others were revisited
or prolonged, depending on his interaction with his historical setting. Findings from this study
also suggested that Plaatje achieved a relatively high degree of wellness in all the dimensions
of the WoW model across his lifespan. The integrative, holistic approach of both psychological
frameworks highlighted the impact of his political, cultural and historical environment on his
psychosocial development and holistic wellness
Factors influencing the quality of low-income housing in Polokwane Municipality South Africa
No full textRecent South African and international evidence highlights the broad and lasting impacts of households, particularly those on low income, when unable to afford higher income counterparts to live in apartments, maintained public housing, and other high-quality houses. A broad range of low-income houses recently built in South African local municipalities are reportedly defective, due to poor building and construction quality. This study aims to assess and determine the factors influencing high-quality housing positively impacting on the lives of a significant proportion of low-income housing projects. Reasons for and obstacles to quality design, construction quality and the development of low-income housing projects were identified. To assess the research questions, a quantitative survey (n=103) was carried out, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select contractors who were active in low-income housing projects within the Polokwane Municipality. The quantitative data gathered were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine a combination of descriptive and non-parametric statistics of the data computing the frequencies, mean scores and standard deviations. Selected results show that poor-quality and low-income housing projects are perceived to be related to the contractors, builders and construction practitioners not complying with the standards, variously because of insufficient training or accountability to public authorities and end users of low-income houses, i.e., the beneficiaries. The respondents were of the view that house builders and local government authorities could use five factors, namely quality standards, management, involvement of people, process design and process, planning and scheduling to assess non-conformance to quality requirements in low-income housing projects in South Africa. The finding of this study provides a platform for improving the quality of housing design, construction projects, sustainability and an opportunity for local and international design and construction professionals to rethink design in the context of low-income housing projects.Publisher's versio
An explorative approach to the evolving municipal landscape of South Africa: 1993-2020
No full textThe establishment of municipalities in South Africa has been a long and difficult process, which still appears to be evolving 25 years later. In 1994, the new democratic government undertook to restructure the country’s racially segregated administrative structure, by integrating areas to form cohesive municipal entities that would allow for the more efficient management of the municipal areas. However, the demarcation approach was easier to pen on paper than to implement in practice. This article explores the South African spatial reform process from 1993 to 2020, by analysing literature and legislative frameworks, in order to determine how municipalities were demarcated and the challenges they experienced. The study found that the spatial restructuring process was particularly complex, due to limited knowledge of the spatial landscape and the many unresolved spatial administrative issues. The study calls for further research to support the formation of more efficient municipal areas.Publisher's versio
Free energy and enthalpy data of neutral and protonated clusters in the solvent phase
No full textStructures of neutral and protonated acetonitrile in the sol- vent phase are important to describe proton behavior and to calculate thermodynamic quantities related to the solva- tion of ions or molecules in acetonitrile. In this work, we provide data related to the calculation of the solvation free energy and enthalpy of the proton in acetonitrile. We have thoroughly explored the potential energy surfaces (PESs) of neutral and protonated acetonitrile clusters from dimer to heptamer in the solvent phase at both MN15/6–31 ++ G (d,p) and MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ levels of theory. We report the struc- tures and relative stability of neutral and protonated acetoni- trile clusters in the solvent phase at the MN15/6–31 ++ G (d,p) level of theory. In addition, enthalpies and free energies of neutral and protonated acetonitrile are also reported at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ and MP2/CBS levels of theory. Further- more, Cartesian coordinates of the clusters in the solvent phase as optimized at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level of theory are provided as supplementary file. The data provided in this work will be useful for further investigations that would in- volve neutral and protonated acetonitrile clusters. The free energies and enthalpies of the investigated clusters in the solvent phase have been used to compute the solvation free energy and enthalpy of the proton in acetonitrile. For more insights on the solvation free energy and enthalpy of the pro- ton in acetonitrile, see the related main research paper.Published versio
A comparative cost analysis of functional neurological disorder with other neurological disorders in patients admitted at Universitas Academic Hospital Neurology Ward
No full textBackground: There is a lack of published data about functional neurological disorder and related costs incurred on the health care system in South Africa. Aim: To compare the health care costs of functional neurological disorder (FND) to those of other neurological conditions admitted in an inpatient setting. Setting: Universitas Tertiary Academic Hospital, Neurology Department, Free State, South Africa. Method: Secondary data was collected from Meditech for the period of 1 January 2018 until 31 December 2019. All neurology patient records were reviewed to ensure that patients with FND admitted during the study period were correctly identified. A descriptive data analysis was performed with means and standard deviations calculated for all patients included in the analysis. Categorical variables were summarised by frequencies and percentages. P-values were reported as a measure of significance for the main outcome variable, namely cost. Results: A total of 530 patients were admitted during the study period. Every 12th patient with a diagnosis other than FND were chosen as the comparator group. Of the 58 patients included in the study, 29/58 (50%) had a diagnosis of FND and 29/58 (50%) were admitted for other neurological disorders. A median age of 28 years IQR (19-36) was reported for the patients diagnosed with FND and 34 years IQR (25-45) for admissions with comparable neurological diagnoses. Both groups had similar gender representations with 11/29 (37.9%) being male, and 18/29 (62.1%) females. The median length of stay was significantly shorter (p value 0.007) for patients diagnosed with FND. Patients with FND most commonly (41.4%) presented with paraplegia. The average cost for the FND patients was significantly less (p value 0.008) than other neurological disorders. The majority (72.4%) of patients admitted for FND was from a low-income category. Conclusion: Patients admitted at the neurology ward with FND incurred lower costs and had fewer medical comorbidities than patients diagnosed with other neurological
disorders
Locus of control as moderator in the relationship between interpersonal relation behaviour and resilience in the High Reliability Organisation (HRO) environment of aviators
No full textThe technological research and advancements of machines in the 21st century have accelerated the human endeavour into extreme and unusual environments. The establishment of these environments, such as the confined cockpit of an aircraft, has placed noted demands on the human capability to adapt to faster, more complex machines while saturated in an over stimulating environment (Antonovich, 2008; Driskell & Olmstead, 1989). The vast amount of research in this field has led to the enhancement and development of safer, more efficient machines. Consequently aviation is a field where errors occur rarely but where the consequences of any error are extreme. The potential for failure is high, however, the amount of actual occurring failures are low (Baker et al., 2006). This phenomenon qualifies aviation as a High Reliability Organization (HRO) (Baker et al., 2006; Bourrier, 2011; Rochlin, 2011). In the HRO environment the crew serves as the central core of all processes, thus highlighting human essence (Reason, 2001; Wesnser, 2015). Yet shortcomings exist in understanding and improving the social interaction of individuals as part of the crew in the cockpit of the aircraft (John Paul et al., 2010). Human beings are the source of resilience in the complex system of aviation and the reason that things go right (Dekker & Woods, 2010). The capacity to be resilient however is rooted within a bond of secure (close attachment) relationships yet cannot be attributed to one specific factor. These predictors are referred to as protective factors (Prince & Embury, 2013). Fundamental basic human needs, characterised by interactive relation behaviour (Sullivan, 1953) is deemed to be such an important protective factor. However, as much as the dynamic interplay of interpersonal needs are crucial for resilient behaviour when in distress, motivation to satisfy social needs can lead to behaviour that erodes resilience and interferes with preserving the living system. The phenomenon of locus of control (LOC), conceptualised as the belief that a person’s behaviour determines consequences either as an active agent, by being master of their own fate or by a function of chance (Thomas, 2017), may provide information on how to understand and improve the social interactive dynamic of the functioning of the cockpit crew and promote resilience (Woods, 2020). LOC may serve as the motivation for potential behaviour to attain interpersonal need satisfaction (Thomas, 2017). 2 Against this background the aim of this study was to investigate the dynamics of human interaction and human social needs in an HRO. More specifically, the objective was to identify whether there is a significant relationship between resilience and fundamental interpersonal orientation and secondly to determine if the behaviour that results from this orientation is moderated by a pilot’s locus of control. A quantitative research approach, non-experimental type has been employed. A correlational design was utilised (Howell, 2017). The measuring instruments included a biographical questionnaire, Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavioural Scale (FIRO-B), Aviation Safety Locus of Control Scale (ASLOC) and the Inventory to assess Behaviour towards Organisational Resilience in Aviation (I-BORA). Results from this study indicated that only low I-LOC statistically significantly moderates the relationship between interpersonal relation orientation and resilience of aviators in a positive way. The results found that in aviators with a low I-LOC an increase in their overall interpersonal relation orientation will lead to a direct proportional increase in their resilience. Furthermore, the findings indicated that E-LOC does not have a moderating effect on the relationship between interpersonal relation orientation and resilience. The finding emphasises the need for further research on the influence of LOC regarding the relationship between interpersonal behaviour orientation and resilience in the HRO context
Management strategies for the lower berg river aquifer system, Western Cape
No full textThe development of the town of Saldanha is a coastal town in the semi-arid west coast of South Africa was constrained by lack of reliable water resources till the Berg River pipeline that was built in the 1940s to provide water to the military installations. This supply was later turned over to the town, and the area began to grow. Saldanha Bay is one of the few natural harbours in South Africa, and the export of steel in the late 1990s resulted in the development of the Langebaan Road wellfield. The groundwater potential of the coastal aquifer system in the area was discovered in the early 1970s when a number of artesian wells with good water quality were drilled. This led to the declaration of the Saldanha Subterranean Government Water Control Area, which was later expanded. Timmerman did further groundwater exploration in the area for the Department of Water Affairs. The work by Timmerman was very detailed, but some misconceptions about the system was built into the conceptual model, and later the model that was built. Timmerman divided the Lower Berg River aquifer system into four units – the Adamboerskraal, Langebaan Road, Elandsfontein and Grootwater aquifer units. The system consisted of a number of deeply incised palaeochannels into the bedrock that was filled with layers of different Cenozoic deposits. This work remained the foundation of the understanding of the Lower Berg River Aquifer System for many years. After the wellfield became operational in December 1999 discrepancies between the measurements and the Timmerman conceptual model were observed. The artificial recharge test carried out by the CSIR during the winter of 2008 and 2009 raised some more questions. The need to re-evaluate the conceptual model with the additional monitoring data was identified. The improved scientific understanding would be used to develop a management strategy for the management of the groundwater resources in an area. Analysis of the water level data and the groundwater chemistry were done. Time series graphs were plotted, and comparisons were done between data sets. The analysis of the data shows a clear link between the Adamboerskraal and the Langebaan Road aquifer unit, with the palaeochannel below the Berg River. The link between the Langebaan Road and Elandsfontein aquifer units was also established through the groundwater levels and the groundwater chemistry. This is possible through a break in the bedrock high – a palaeochannel connecting the two units – and the shale-granite contact. The link between the Elandsfontein and Grootwater aquifer unit could not be established conclusively. A conceptual model was constructed using the data that was available. The conceptual model included a regional understanding of the Berg River catchment area, with possible recharge from the mountains in Franschhoek through the Colenso Fault System. It also provides a clearer picture of the local situation in the study area. The deposits of Cenozoic layers are not uniform, with the clay layer pinching out at the edges of the palaeochannel, which at times brings the different aquifer layers in direct hydraulic contact. The system thus consists of different layers with unique. characteristics that are interlinked. The Lower Berg River Aquifer System should thus be treated as a complex integrated aquifer system. An action plan for the development of an adaptive management strategy framework was developed with the different components or principles that needed to be included. The site-specific adaptive conditions were taken into consideration and it is recommended that these items be included in the development of the management plan with relevant stakeholders for maximum impact