This research falls within the scope of the Thusano project to evaluate families concerning a variety of aspects of which this research specifically focuses on crime. Crime therefore is an act that must take place contradictory to the judicial system. The aim of the research is to determine the causes of the perceptions of the community with regard to crime, to identify the crimes that occurs most and to determine how crime in this community can be reduced. Through this research it was found that an increase has occurred with reference to certain crime categories, such as violent crime, women abuse and house theft. The community is of opinion that heavier punishment will lead to prevention of crime and to more job opportunities. Alcohol abuse also plays a large role in the assaults that take place during weekends. Furthermore they believe that, with the assistance of the police and the community, crime can decrease. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This research falls within the scope of the Thusano project to evaluate families concerning a variety of aspects of which this research specifically focuses on crime. Crime therefore is an act that must take place contradictory to the judicial system. The aim of the research is to determine the causes of the perceptions of the community with regard to crime, to identify the crimes that occurs most and to determine how crime in this community can be reduced. Through this research it was found that an increase has occurred with reference to certain crime categories, such as violent crime, women abuse and house theft. The community is of opinion that heavier punishment will lead to prevention of crime and to more job opportunities. Alcohol abuse also plays a large role in the assaults that take place during weekends. Furthermore they believe that, with the assistance of the police and the community, crime can decrease. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

No description available.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / In order to address the inequalities created by the apartheid regime between local authorities, various legislative and support mechanisms were put in place which were not always implemented effectively and efficiently. For this reason, the amalgamation of the previous racially based local authorities from 843 to 283 was introduced in terms of the Local Government Transition Act (LGTA) of 1995 and in particular the Local Government Municipal Demarcation Act of 1998. This reduction in the number of municipalities may have reduced the level of administration disruption but gave rise to institutions still being plagued by inequitable service delivery which impacted negatively on disadvantaged communities (Williams, 2000: 167). This has resulted in sporadic outbreaks of violence and protests all over the country more especially in the disadvantaged areas. In search for solutions to curb these violent protests this study was conducted to investigate the state of service delivery in the disadvantaged areas of the City of Cape Town. Langa as the oldest township in the City was selected for this purpose. As a result a questionnaire, in addition to statistics of Langa as well as interviews with important stakeholders was conducted. The data collected from these sources serve as the basis of the findings of this report. The findings establish that the majority of the residents in Langa more especially those from the formal areas are dissatisfied with the levels of service delivery. A range of factors such as intergovernmental relations, mismanagement and corruption and political infighting have been responsible for policies not being effectively implemented. However important strides have been made with regard to services most notably in the provision of electricity, water and sanitation. This is demonstrated by those respondents who indicated that they are reasonably satisfied with the levels of service delivery, most of whom were drawn from the informal rather than formal settlement areas. The findings, however, indicate that these residents are in a minority. For this reason the report concludes that the majority of the disadvantaged community of Langa is not satisfied with services due to the City of Cape Town’s failure to implement policies effectively and effciently. As a result the report not only addresses the achievements and failures of the City of Cape Town but also makes recommendations to ensure that policies are implementedeffectively and efficiently. This report firstly provides a brief introduction, background as well as the main guidelines of the research. Secondly, the report details the key issues of the research as well as those policy and legislation which relate to service delivery provisions. Thirdly, the report sketches background details of both the City of Cape Town and Langa. Fourthly the report provides a description of the findings of the report. Fifthly the report provides an analysis by way of discussing the achievements, limitations and challenges facing service delivery in Langa. Lastly, based on the conclusions derived as a result of the research, the study proposes various recommendations to speed up service delivery.

For the past few decades researchers, development agencies and government have focussed on the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve the socio-economic status of people in underdeveloped rural communities. In recent years there has been remarkable recognition of the importance of developing systems that address the specific needs of rural communities. Education, health, commerce, government and agriculture are amongst the needs of rural communities that could well be addressed by these systems. System development is a complex process and studies have shown that if poorly conducted, the process could lead to the failure of the system being developed. Due to differences in context and application, the processes followed in the development of the rural community systems need to differ from those of commercial applications. One such difference is the choice of the Information System Development Methodology (SDM) used. Following a methodical approach to Information Systems development is important as it improves discipline, standardization and monitoring of a quality system. There are hundreds of SDM available for use during development and choosing the wrong SDM has been linked to problems such as systems being delivered late, being over budget or not meeting the needs of the users. Developing systems for disadvantaged communities is different from developing system for organisations or even affluent communities. Some of the challenges that developers encounter include lack of structure, poor computer literacy, and poor infrastructure. Lack of user involvement during system development has been linked to system failures. A Living Labs approach to socio-economic development is aimed at involving multiple stakeholders towards improving the living standards. Developing Community Information Systems aimed at solving varying community problems is one of the objectives of the Living Labs. There are only few CISs that are fully operational from South African Living Labs, and a number of systems developed are not in use. Poor user involvement and lack of use of system development are some of the reasons for system failures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use and effectiveness of System Development Methodologies when developing community information systems aimed at socio-economic development of disadvantaged communities. To achieve the objectives of this study, an interpretive, multiple case study research was conducted in three Living Labs around South Africa. To improve the chances for success during the development of Community Information Systems for use by disadvantage communities, this study proposes a framework for evaluating use and effectiveness of SDMs. The second output of the Study is an SDM framework that could be adopted specifically for Living Labs which adopts an agile approach and prototyping. These frameworks takes into account the social attributes of people in disadvantaged communities, the nature of the living lab, the nature of the systems being developed and the role of the users in the systems being developed. / PhD (Computer Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

For the past few decades researchers, development agencies and government have focussed on the use of Information and Communication Technologies to improve the socio-economic status of people in underdeveloped rural communities. In recent years there has been remarkable recognition of the importance of developing systems that address the specific needs of rural communities. Education, health, commerce, government and agriculture are amongst the needs of rural communities that could well be addressed by these systems. System development is a complex process and studies have shown that if poorly conducted, the process could lead to the failure of the system being developed. Due to differences in context and application, the processes followed in the development of the rural community systems need to differ from those of commercial applications. One such difference is the choice of the Information System Development Methodology (SDM) used. Following a methodical approach to Information Systems development is important as it improves discipline, standardization and monitoring of a quality system. There are hundreds of SDM available for use during development and choosing the wrong SDM has been linked to problems such as systems being delivered late, being over budget or not meeting the needs of the users. Developing systems for disadvantaged communities is different from developing system for organisations or even affluent communities. Some of the challenges that developers encounter include lack of structure, poor computer literacy, and poor infrastructure. Lack of user involvement during system development has been linked to system failures. A Living Labs approach to socio-economic development is aimed at involving multiple stakeholders towards improving the living standards. Developing Community Information Systems aimed at solving varying community problems is one of the objectives of the Living Labs. There are only few CISs that are fully operational from South African Living Labs, and a number of systems developed are not in use. Poor user involvement and lack of use of system development are some of the reasons for system failures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use and effectiveness of System Development Methodologies when developing community information systems aimed at socio-economic development of disadvantaged communities. To achieve the objectives of this study, an interpretive, multiple case study research was conducted in three Living Labs around South Africa. To improve the chances for success during the development of Community Information Systems for use by disadvantage communities, this study proposes a framework for evaluating use and effectiveness of SDMs. The second output of the Study is an SDM framework that could be adopted specifically for Living Labs which adopts an agile approach and prototyping. These frameworks takes into account the social attributes of people in disadvantaged communities, the nature of the living lab, the nature of the systems being developed and the role of the users in the systems being developed. / PhD (Computer Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Studies of the association between race/ethnicity and juvenile court outcomes have found that minority youth often receive disadvantaged outcomes compared to similarly situated Whites, and that community context may condition this relationship. Sampson and Laub's (1993) revised conflict perspective is one theoretical model that can potentially explain the social control of youth throughout juvenile justice proceedings. One of the main propositions of Sampson and Laub's (1993) perspective is that communities characterized by underclass poverty and racial inequality will impose greater social control on youth referred to the juvenile court, especially Blacks and youth charged with a drug offense because they are perceived as a threatening population to middle-class values and standards. The current research drew upon Sampson and Laub's (1993) macrolevel theory of inequality and social control to examine the juvenile court outcomes of White, Black, and Hispanic youth from all counties in a Northeast state from 2000-2010. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling (HGLM) was employed to examine the relationship between disadvantaged community characteristics (underclass poverty, racial inequality, ethnic inequality) and juvenile court outcomes; especially if race/ethnicity, drug offending, and type of drug offense (possession versus distribution) tempered these relationships. The results indicate that disadvantaged community characteristics did not directly impact the social control of youth, but individual and joint effects of race/ethnicity and drug offending resulted in greater social control for Black and Hispanic youth of various drug offending combinations. In particular, the effect of race/ethnicity on social control was greater for Hispanic youth compared to Blacks. Depending on the stage examined, the relationship between race/ethnicity, drug offending, and juvenile court outcomes were conditioned by disadvantaged community characteristics. Based on the findings, empirical and theoretical implications are provided that focus on the applicability of Sampson and Laub's (1993) perspective to more recent court outcomes, as well as prevention and intervention programs that focus on decreasing the presence of minority youth in the juvenile justice system. Directions for future research are highlighted to provide greater insights into the circumstances surrounding case outcomes and under what situations community context and race/ethnicity matter in the treatment of youth within the juvenile court.

This thesis introduces an adaptive re-use approach to the remains of a former industrial site located along the River Douro in Porto, Portugal to reconnect individuals with communities and the past with the present by encouraging a return to local culture through art, craft, and small scale design intervention. A design approach that engages with the act of making can establish areas for creative collaborative activities, developing a sense of community, channeling value-creation mechanisms and fostering local economic development. The site can serve as a catalyst for larger art projects along the waterfront, improving other abandoned sites and connecting the site to the Ribeira. Beyond aesthetisizing the alienated area of the District of Aleixo in Porto, Portugal, the proposed architectural interventions can be significant in tying people back to their local history and culture in a contemporary way, creating an environment that encourages learning, engagement and facilitates collective place-making.

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore, the nature and the extent of parental involvement in the career development of young adolescents through the perceptions of disadvantaged young adolescents. The two-fold goals were to identify the role of parents and the awareness of other barriers in the career development of young adolescents. Therefore, qualitative research method of semi-structured interviews was applied to fourteen volunteers (eight boys and six girls) from a Secondary School at Mabopane Township in the North West Province. In accordance with previous trends, parental involvement was revealed by young adolescents to be an important factor and was further categorised as constructive and destructive parental involvement. Furthermore, the effects of parental involvement in the development of the young adolescents’ career self-concept and self-efficacy were revealed. Destructive parental involvement and low household incomes were identified as career barriers. Most young adolescents demonstrated a strong resilience in overcoming these barriers. The study also illustrated a dire need for attention to and funding of career programmes aimed at empowering disadvantaged parents and young adolescents. Keywords: Parents, parental involvement, career, career development, young adolescents, disadvantaged communities, career barriers, career counselling, career self-concept and self-efficacy.

To belong somewhere is a basic human need. It is necessary for the psychological well-being of children to feel that they belong to a family, group and community and that they are loved and appreciated for who they are. A lack of a sense of belonging may cause children to find acceptance and belonging in destructive behaviour or groups. Children from fractured families who live in disadvantaged communities face more challenges than children who have easy access to education, health services and emotional support systems. Caregivers in these circumstances have a daily battle to survive and to keep their children safe. They do not always have the necessary knowledge to be aware of the children’s emotional needs, or the ability and means to fulfil in these needs. Social workers who render services to these families do not always have the time or aids to assist the children to enhance their sense of belonging or to enable the caregivers to strengthen the bond between them and the children. The overall goal of this study was to determine how bibliotherapeutic techniques can be utilised by caregivers and social workers to enhance a sense of belonging in children in their middle childhood years from fractured families in disadvantaged communities. In order to reach this goal, the way in which children from fractured families in disadvantaged communities experienced their sense of belonging was explored, as well as how the children, their caregivers and social workers perceived the social capital in the community. The content of a strategy that focuses on the uses of bibliotherapeutic techniques for children in fractured families from disadvantaged communities in order to enhance their sense of belonging was also determined, as well as ways in which such a strategy could be implemented by the social workers and the caregivers. The research findings suggested that children did not always have a sense of belonging with their primary caregivers and that the caregivers were unaware of the emotional needs of the children. The children expressed a need for playful interactions, nurturing and to listen to stories with their caregivers. Due to the caregivers’ lack of insight in the emotional needs of the children and illiteracy in some cases, a training programme that focussed on the importance of a sense of belonging and practical ways in which they can interact with the children to strengthen the emotional bond between them, was created and tested. The caregivers and children were able to identify schools, neighbours and churches as potential social capital in the community. Ways in which the social capital in the community could be utilised were suggested. Bibliotherapeutic techniques for the use of social workers to enhance a sense of belonging in the children were compiled and then tested by social workers. Both the training program and the bibliotherapeutic techniques proved to be useful and effective and will be disseminated for the use of social workers in their services with children and caregivers in disadvantaged communities. / Thesis (PhD (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.