Theses and Dissertations
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/519
2024-03-19T11:07:51ZDesigned to disable? Disability- friendliness of Buffalo city municipal amenities in discourse and experience
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/962
Designed to disable? Disability- friendliness of Buffalo city municipal amenities in discourse and experience
Febana, Ziyanda
According to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), the prerequisite of accessibility for people with physical disabilities goes beyond merely ensuring that there are “disabled friendly” resources in a built environment. Accessibility entails the availability of appropriate facilities to accommodate physical disabilities where and when needed. A casual observation of many municipal amenities in South Africa, particularly Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), Eastern Cape, shows that the conceptualisation and design of many public amenities make these amenities "public" only in name and, from a disability point of view, are possibly embedded in a model that is fundamentally exclusionist. Yet few systematic studies have been carried out at the local level to confirm or refute this assumption. Utilising Elinor Ostrom’s adaptation of the concept of common pool resources - a concept which was hitherto restricted to the analysis of shared ecological resources - this study examines the extent to which inclusivity matters within the context of the design and provisioning of municipal amenities that are meant to serve the public. The analysis is based on triangulated data obtained from a mini survey of paraplegic, blind and deaf people, physical observation of the relevant amenities, and key informant interview of officials in relevant BCMM departments. The findings suggest, among other things, that there is a weak perception among municipal officials regarding the rights of people with disabilities and that the perceptions appear to be rooted in a mind-set that regards disability, rather than the ‘engineering’ of the physical (public) space, as the ‘problem’. Even so, the thinking that public infrastructure cannot be ‘altered’ to meet ‘everyone’s needs appears to permeate the municipal bureaucracy. As a result, the Municipality has only attempted to create the bare minimum of accessible environment (catering only for wheelchair users), and this despite the existence of a constitutional mandate that dictates otherwise. The study concludes from these and other findings that for municipal amenities to become common pool resources in the sense advocated by Ostrom and other scholars, a social rather than a medical model of disability must dominate municipal and bureaucratic thinking.
2014-01-01T00:00:00ZAssessing risk perceptions, vulnerability and asset adaptation in the context of climate change : a study of peri-urban and rural East London and Port Elizabeth, South Africa
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/767
Assessing risk perceptions, vulnerability and asset adaptation in the context of climate change : a study of peri-urban and rural East London and Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Apraku, Amos
This study examined climate change risk perceptions, vulnerability and the significance of assets‘ in climate change mitigation and adaptation in rural and peri-urban Eastern Cape, South Africa. It assessed the levels of local climate change awareness and how such awareness was articulated in local discourses, analysed actual risks (and awareness thereof) against those predicted by relevant statutory agencies, and examined the extent to which local residents drew on local knowledge, culture‘and traditional practices (amongst other assets‘) to mitigate their vulnerability and adapt to adverse climatic changes. The study was conceptualised against the background that most climate change risk and vulnerability studies adopt a global‘ and continental‘ focus and ignore localised variations and specificities – which makes it impossible to craft local climate change impact mitigation strategies that make sense. From survey, interview, focus group and observational data, the study found low levels of local awareness about climate change and its associated risks. It revealed that local residents blamed climate change-related phenomena on gods, spirits and other mystical forces. Agriculture, water resources, human settlements, health, ecosystems and biodiversity were found to be the most affected by climate change. A crucial finding was that, besides economic and other class-based assets, indigenous/local knowledge (ideational assets‘) played an important role in the ways local residents adapted themselves to – and in some ways curbed - the adverse impacts of climate change. The study concluded from these findings that households and communities have different degrees of vulnerability to climate change, depending on awareness levels and degrees of access to specific assets‘. However, in the main, climate change impacts in the communities were potentially curbed by culture, with indigenous/local knowledge and related ideational assets being the main index of adaptation and weapon against disastrous impacts. The study extends current knowledge on the significance and contribution of indigenous knowledge systems to climate change impact mitigation and adaptation, particularly in Africa, and demonstrates how local knowledge can contribute to global‘understanding of one of today‘s critical environmental challenges.
2016-01-01T00:00:00ZHIV and AIDS youth peer educators : a study of HIV and AIDS youth peer education in East London and Durban
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/766
HIV and AIDS youth peer educators : a study of HIV and AIDS youth peer education in East London and Durban
Molose, Simxolele
HIV and AIDS youth peer education (YPE) in South Africa is largely studied from the point of view of organized institutions, such as schools and workplaces. Moreover, peer education research is frequently directed at measuring the effectiveness of the programmes, neglecting the role of HIV and AIDS youth peer educators (PEs) in the processes of YPE. The latter situation is what this study aimed to address, as the study explored work of community based peer educators from ELHTA in Duncan Village and Scenery Park in East London and HOPE to educate in Durban, looking at particularly the difference that the PEs in the above programmes make through their work. The data used for this study was collected by the means of in depth interviews and focus group discussion methods. The reason for using the latter methods is to ensure authenticity of the experiences and testimonials of the PEs since the main aim of the study is to explore the impact of community based peer educators‟ work on the outcomes of the YPE in Duncan Village, in East London with a view to ascertain how PEs contribute the success or even failure of the YPE in the above community, since current research in South Africa on community based youth peer education is scant. This study aimed to contribute to the scientific work that expands research on peer education with young volunteers in South African communities, rather than just the existing research which centres largely on schools and workplaces. From this study it was found that youth peer educators play pivotal role in peer education in that peer educators are peer education and peer education is peer educators. Monetary incentives were found to be the major motivating factor in peer education. Furthermore interest to know more about HIV and AIDS, family history of members infected with HIV and lastly interest to be agents of change were among some of the motivating factors. Peer educators were found to be faced with so many challenges; ranging from stigma, denial, and delay in uniform provision, risky working conditions and insults from community members, however, passion for peer education motivates peer educators to remain in their programmes, irrespective of the challenges, thus making unique contribution and keeping the youth peer education structure functional. Youth Peer educators were found to be important assets to their communities and also as they face challenges, they need the support from different organisations within communities and they need to be recognised and be empowered. Peer educators were found to be faced with so many challenges; ranging from stigma, denial, and delay in uniform provision, risky working conditions and insults from community members, however, passion for peer education motivates peer educators to remain in their programmes, irrespective of the challenges, thus making unique contribution and keeping the youth peer education structure functional.
Youth Peer educators were found to be important assets to their communities and also as they face challenges, they need the support from different organisations within communities and they need to be recognised and be empowered.
2015-01-01T00:00:00ZTolerance in intergroup relations: cognitive representations reducing ingroup projection
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11837/676
Tolerance in intergroup relations: cognitive representations reducing ingroup projection
O’sullivan, Clodagh M.
The Ingroup Projection Model (IPM) states that groups evaluate each other according to how prototypical they are of the superordinate category, the category that includes subgroups. The Ingroup Projection Model predicts that members of the ingroup tends to project their own characteristics onto the superordinate category, and thus see themselves as more prototypical of the superordinate category than the outgroup, which increases the likelihood for intergroup discrimination. Research has shown that this tendency of projection appears to be greater in
high-status groups. The phenomenon of ingroup projection is hypothesized to be reduced by undefined cognitive representations of the superordinate category such as a complex representation of the superordinate category and a small-scope prototype. A complex representation of the superordinate category is one that has many distinctive characteristics that are seen as equally prototypical, whereas a small-scope representation includes a few prescriptive norms. The present study tested the reduction effects of complexity and smallscope prototype on ingroup projection using a 2 (Number of dimensions: few vs. many) x 2 (Relatedness of dimensions: orthogonal/independent vs. correlated/related) x 2 (Group: Psychology students vs. Law students) factorial design. The results support the Ingroup Projection Model and related assumptions. However, the results also indicate the importance of the specific characteristics of the intergroup situation.
2008-01-01T00:00:00Z