1,720,970 research outputs found
Socially engaged creative practices : a transdisciplinary study of Woza Moya
No full textSubmitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Visual and Performing Arts, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2021.Woza Moya is an arts and craft community organisation which was officially established in 2002.
It is one of two economic empowerment projects of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust in KwaZulu-Natal which were initiated to form part of the Trust’s context-specific holistic health care
approach. While Woza Moya sells a diverse range of products, it is well known for the Woza
beadwork style. The Director of the project coined that term as a tribute to the custom of naming
beadwork styles in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The present study investigates the socially
engaged creative beadwork practices at Woza Moya. The study is framed by transdisciplinarity
and presents eight vignettes that analyse the design and creation processes. The study is
positioned in the interpretivist paradigm and draws upon transdisciplinary discourse from scholars
such as Nicolescu (2010), McGregor (2015) as well as Ross and Mitchell (2018) and others.
The study focuses on integration and collaboration, which are considered core
characteristics of the transdisciplinary methodology (Morin 1999; Nicolescu 2010). Vignettes are
promoted as a clear and rich way of deepening our understanding of collaborative, heterogeneous
and complex design processes. The use of transdisciplinarity as a framework contributes to tracing
both open and hidden activities which form part of the design process, and which embrace the
transdisciplinary logic of inclusion and transformation, where creative designs form part of a
holistic community care model.
These vignettes are analysed according to themes. The themes which straddle the
vignettes are: (1) interplay of beading, time and bodily pain, (2) creativity as contagious and viral,
(3) men’s active role in beadmaking with women as mentors to men, (4) increased community
action, (5) transformed and deepened understanding of others, (6) the ikhaya metaphor for the
agora, zone of non-resistance and space of the included middle, and (7) building a home as
progress and improvement. These themes combine to form a rich and descriptive rendering of
the design and creation process.
The central thesis presented in this study is that arts and craft community organisations
such as Woza Moya are sites of strong and transformative transdisciplinarity (Ross and Mitchell
2018), which fits with McGregor’s (2015) call for transdisciplinary entrepreneurship.
A study of domestic paraffin stove design factors in South Africa
Get PDFM.Tech.The majority of low income households in South Africa are based in either informal settlements or low cost housing. These households use paraffin as their primary fuel source for cooking and heating. The objective of this study was to identify design factors that should inform paraffin stove design. These factors include the design process, the problem context, the problem identification, the understanding of stove safety and interface issues through laboratory testing, understanding the user through user testing and developing recommendations from the research of these factors. The four main problems associated with paraffin usage as identified in this research are unsafe stoves, fires caused by these appliances, the high levels of emissions given off by these appliances in small enclosed households and issues related to the storage of paraffin that leads to the accidental ingestion of paraffin. The outcome of this research includes a set of findings and recommendations which were compiled to inform the design of future paraffin stoves. Finally, this study reflects on a commercial design process that was used to develop a series of design solutions for the Paraffin Safety Association of South Africa’s paraffin stove design competition in 2005
Individual response to social environment in the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell
No full textThesis (M.A.) -- University of Stellenbosch, 1994.Elizabeth Gaskell’s novels strike an exceptionally fine balance between the depiction of the characters’ social environment and a portrayal of individual development within this environment.
In Mary Barton the detailed narrative descriptions of the Manchester workers’ poverty and suffering, as well as the dramatisation of the alienation between rich and poor, serve to establish the social environment which causes the downfall of an essentially good man. The perceptive characterisation of John Barton as a passionate, resolute, questioning man and the step-by-step tracing of his mental, physical and moral deterioration lend credibility to his response. His daughter, Mary, becomes the first of Mrs Gaskell’s heroines to demonstrate the inner power of women. Her growth towards self-knowledge and her capacity for strong independent action enable her to confront society to save both her beloved and her father. The reconciliation between Barton and the man whose son he assassinated symbolises a recognition of shared humanity between masters and men, which promises future improvements in this society. North and South reveals a dynamic interaction between individuals and their environment. Environment is now portrayed mainly through the consciousness of the central character, Margaret Hale, who reluctantly settles in the industrial North. She influences individuals from both the working class and the ranks of the wealthy industrialists, leading them to co-operation rather than conflict in the workplace. In turn, Margaret’s superior attitude towards this society, stemming from her genteel southern background, is modified by her contact with the spirited people of the North. The public theme of industrial strife is closely interwoven with the story of Margaret and Thornton’s personal power struggle, during which she learns more about herself and about the importance of human relationships. The protagonists’ eventual love union, like the reconciliation between employer and worker, suggests a balance of strengths and is therefore an advance on the rather paternalistic personal and material relationships with which Mary Barton concludes.
The social environment of Mrs Gaskell’s last, marginally incomplete novel, Wives and Daughters, is a conservative pre-industrial rural community with a complex network of relationships. The spirit of discovery and inspiration of the era just preceding the first Reform Bill and the advent of railways is beginning to manifest itself in the challenges to tradition by the younger generation of this community. Through the development of Molly Gibson, who becomes the victim of the community’s conservatism, Mrs Gaskell dramatises the question of individuals’ duty to others and to accepted authority, as set against their right to self-realisation.
In Mrs Gaskell’s novels social environment is clearly more than a backdrop to the action: it has an active shaping role in the lives of individuals. Through her work the author therefore advocates conditions that will ensure harmonious social relationships and allow individual fulfilment.Master
Product design and action research: the lnterdesign 2005 workshop on Sustainable Rural Transport
No full textExamining the viability of rural manufacturing, the existing structures of rural manufacturing practices reflect the prevailing conditions under which production takes place and therefore contain features which are fundamentally appropriate to their context. An approach to intervention is therefore proposed which capitalizes on existing skills, practices and social relationships, and it is shown that by working with existing structures and skills rather than undermining them, the sustainability of the enterprises which are developed is greatly enhanced
Article collectif dans la revue Communication et langages
No full textOur appeal was published in the French journal Communication & langages, as part of its issue "Sciences en danger, revues en lutte". The collective article, which may be of interest to everyone, independent of their discipline or their research and teaching themes, is as follows: Babou Igor, Brulon Soares Bruno, du Plessis Hester et al., « Protéger les Lettres et les Sciences humaines et sociales « critiques » », Communication & langages, 2020/2 (N° 204), p. 31-42. URL: https://www.cairn.info..
Evaluating the effectiveness of Advanced Programme Mathematics in preparing learners for university mathematics
Get PDFENGLISH ABSTRACT: In today’s hi-tech global economy the fields of science, technology and engineering are becoming increasingly and undeniably central to economic growth and competitiveness, and will provide many future jobs. Qualifications in Mathematics are crucial gateways to further education and will provide access to the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries.
This study focuses on the optional course in Mathematics, called Advanced Programme Mathematics (APM), which is offered and assessed by the Independent Examination Board in the final three years of high school in South Africa.
At present, the South African school system does not adequately prepare students for the transition from school to university Mathematics, and APM has been designed to address this gap. The research question set by this study is: To what extent does the APM course succeed in preparing learners for the rigour of first-year Mathematics in the STEM university programmes?
The sample group of 439 students was selected from the 2013 cohort of first-year Mathematics students at Stellenbosch University. First, an analysis of the relevant curricula was undertaken, and then an empirical investigation was done to determine the differences in performance between first and second semester examinations of first-year university Mathematics students who took APM, and those who did not. This was followed by an investigation by means of a questionnaire into the perceptions of students on how effective APM was in easing the transition from school to university Mathematics. The research was designed according to the Framework for an Integrated Methodology (FraIM) of Plowright (2011).
From an extensive international literature study, it appears that APM is definitely a predictor of post-secondary success. Since no formal research has been recorded to support this claim, this study aims to provide a sound answer to whether APM is advantageous. The effect size results of this study show that APM marks of students explain 68% of the achievement in first-semester university Mathematics when combined with NSC Mathematics marks in a general regression model. There is a significant difference between the marks of students who took APM and those who did not in first-semester university Mathematics, specifically across the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Mathematics mark categories of 80-100%.
APM course-taking leads to confidence in Mathematics, which combined with good domain knowledge of calculus, ease the transition from school to university Mathematics.
The study recommends that not only students who intend pursuing a career in the STEM industries should take the APM course, but also those who intend to apply for admission to any other tertiary studies, as the cognitive and other skills provided by APM will give them the required edge to perform well in higher education. Schools are called upon to provide access to APM for mathematically gifted students, and teachers and guidance counsellors should encourage learners to enrol for AMP. This will enable them to share in the manifold academic and personal benefits accruing from the course, and to help alleviate the critical shortage of graduates in careers requiring a strong Mathematics background in South Africa.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die hoë-tegnologie-wêreldekonomie van vandag word die gebiede van wetenskap, tegnologie en ingenieurswese toenemend en onmiskenbaar die kern van ekonomiese groei en mededingendheid wat in die toekoms baie werkgeleenthede sal bied. Kwalifikasies in Wiskunde open beslis baie deure na verdere opleiding en verleen toegang tot die Wetenskap-, Tegnologie- Ingenieurswese- en Wiskunde-industrieë.
Hierdie studie fokus op die opsionele kursus in Wiskunde, genaamd Gevorderde Program Wiskunde (GPW), wat deur die Onafhanklike Eksamenraad aangebied en geassesseer word in die laaste drie jaar van hoërskoolonderrig in Suid-Afrika.
Tans berei die Suid-Afrikaanse skoolstelsel nie studente genoegsaam voor vir die oorgang van skool- na universiteitswiskunde nie en GPW is ontwerp om hierdie gaping te oorbrug. Die navorsingsvraag wat hierdie studie stel, is: In watter mate slaag die GPW-kursus daarin om leerders voor te berei vir die streng vereistes van eerstejaar-Wiskunde in die Wetenskap-, Tegnologie- Ingenieurswese- en Wiskunde-universiteitsprogramme?
Die toetsgroep van 436 studente is gekies uit die 2013-groep eerstejaar-Wiskundestudente aan Stellenbosch Universiteit. Aanvanklik is ᾽n analise van die relevante leerplanne onderneem, waarna ᾽n empiriese ondersoek gedoen is om die verskille in prestasie in die eerste en tweede semester eksamens vas te stel tussen eerstejaar-Wiskundestudente op universiteit wat wel GPW geneem het en diegene wat dit nie geneem het nie. Dit is gevolg deur ᾽n ondersoek deur middel van ᾽n vraelys na die persepsies van studente oor hoe effektief GPW was om die oorgang van skool- na universiteitswiskunde te vergemaklik. Die navorsing is ontwerp op grond van ‘n model vir ‘n geïntegreerde metodologie van Plowright (2011).
Dit blyk uit ᾽n uitgebreide studie van internasionale literatuur dat GPW definitief ᾽n voorspeller van post-sekondêre sukses is. Aangesien geen formele navorsing om hierdie aanspraak te ondersteun nog op skrif gestel is nie, poog hierdie studie om ᾽n deurdagte antwoord te verskaf op die vraag of GPW wel tot voordeel van studente is. Die effek grootte resultate van hierdie studie dui aan dat die GPW-punte van studente 68% van prestasie in Wiskunde in die eerste semester op universiteit verduidelik as dit in ᾽n algemene regressiemodel met die Nasionale Senior Sertifikaat (NSS) punte gekombineer word. Daar is ᾽n beduidende verskil tussen die Wiskundepunte van studente wat GPW geneem het en diegene wat dit nie geneem het nie in die eerste semester op universiteit, veral in die NSS-Wiskundepuntekategorieë van 80-100%.
Om die GPW-kursus te neem, lei tot selfvertroue in Wiskunde, wat saam met ᾽n goeie kennis van die Differensiaalrekening-domein, die oorgang van Wiskunde vanaf skoolvlak na universiteitsvlak vergemaklik.
Op grond van die studie beveel die navorser aan dat nie slegs studente wat ᾽n loopbaan in Wetenskap-, Tegnologie- Ingenieurswese- en Wiskunde-rigtings wil volg, die GPW-kursus behoort te volg nie, maar ook diegene wat vir toelating tot enige ander tersiêre studie wil aansoek doen, aangesien die kognitiewe en ander vaardighede wat GPW ontwikkel, hulle die nodige voorsprong sal bied om goed te vaar in verdere studie. Skole word aangemoedig om toegang tot GPW aan wiskundig begaafde leerlinge te verskaf en onderwysers en loopbaanraadgewers behoort leerlinge aan te moedig om vir GPW in te skryf. Sodoende kan hulle deel in die vele akademiese en persoonlike voordele wat die kursus bied, en help om die kritieke tekort aan gegradueerdes in die studierigtings waar ‘n sterk Wiskunde agtergrond ‘n vereiste is, te help verlig.Master
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