Environmental awareness among public authorities and governmental institutions has been a priority initiative for countries in the EU over the last years. The public sector is a major consumer of products and services, while their environmental policies are also at a top. Many EU Member Countries have already implemented EU legislation for greener purchasing in the public sector, while others are now preparing their National Action Plan. However, conscious acceptance of National Policy objectives and adoption of green environmental behavior in all scales of the public sector is a challenge. Researchers are concerned that public authorities and especially those of a small size are still focused on the lowest price as a leading factor in public tenders. Many studies have shown that lack of knowledge is a key determinant for the scarce environmental requirements in public procurements. Under this framework, this thesis explores the determinants that affect the implementation of environmental requirements in public procurements and consequently the environmental awareness of small sized public organizations. This thesis is based on a review of policy documents and a single case study investigation. The single case study was conducted on the Technical Department of a municipality in North Greece and the data sources were engineering projects’ public procurements and interviews from the local authority’s officers.

Many developing countries’ governments have invested heavily in e-service projects. However, there is a lack of clear case material research, which describes the potentialities experienced by governmental organisations. This research examines egovernment service projects and provides insights and learning into how to successfully develop and implement these projects within a developing country, specifically Egypt. The aim of this research is to develop a robust framework to support an efficient e-government system focusing on the case of Egypt. This is achieved by investigating selected completed and on-going successful initiatives and focusing on the barriers to, and the enablers of, these initiatives. As a result, the nature of successful e-governmental services initiatives is determined, and solutions to the possible emerging barriers and challenges are developed. Many lessons are learned to be taken into consideration in repeating the successful experience of other new eservice projects in the Egyptian government. A combination of research methodology approaches has been employed in this research. Firstly, an extensive review of literature took place to summarise and synthesise the arguments of the main factors contributing to the development of e-service research. Secondly, the qualitative approach and the case study are selected as an appropriate methodology for this research, using the semi-structured interview technique to gather data from top level officials who are involved in the Egyptian e-government program. Based on evidence, the cultural barriers group is the main group facing Egyptian e-government progress. On the other hand, the political will and enforcing decisions are the ultimate driving forces for the successful implementation of e-service projects in particular and the egovernment program in Egypt in general. Based on the findings, a framework is developed for explaining the main barriers and enablers of government e-service projects development, and providing solutions for the identified barriers, especially in a developing country environment like Egypt. Also, a process, of e-service projects implementation is proposed. A new enabler (decision enforcement) is found in the Egyptian government context and added to the list of enablers. From a practical point of view, this research provides realistic implications for the decision makers and officials within the Egyptian government involved in the process of planning, developing and implementing e-service projects.

This dissertation seeks to understand the ways in which Pakistani government’s attempts to initiate large-scale infrastructure development projects in Balochistan Province have transformed its social and political landscape. Ethnographically, the study focuses on Gwadar, a small coastal town in Pakistan’s western Balochistan Province to show how colonial and postcolonial projects of progress and development suppress or subsume other kinds of lived geographies and imaginations of place. Keeping in mind the centrality of everyday experiences in generating social forms, this dissertation describes how development, transnationalism, and ethnic identity are (re)configured. It is based on ethnographic encounters that foreground the lived experiences and imaginations of fishermen from Med kinship and occupational group who occupy a subaltern position within the local status hierarchy in Gwadar. On the one hand, the promise of becoming modern citizens of the future mega city incites new desires and longings among those fishermen that facilitate their incorporation into emergent regimes of labor and entrepreneurship. On the other hand, Pakistani security forces have tightened their control over the local population by establishing a cordon sanitaire around Gwadar Port and the town. These mechanisms of control have disrupted local fishermen`s experiences of place and intimate sociality and introduced elements of exclusion, fear, and paranoia. By interrupting the fishermen`s expectations of their rightful place in the city, it compels them to think of alternate ways to confront the state’s development agenda, including peaceful protest and armed struggle. The dissertation concludes, tentatively, that the imposition of political violence by state authorities that accompanies the structural violence of mega infrastructure projects tends to create a mirror effect whereby the victims of development adopt a language of violence and a different idiom of identity. / text

Projects as a work model are becoming more and more popular and also within non-profit organizations. The non-profit organization however, cannot offer monetary rewards as compensation for the time people put in when working within non-profit organizations. They need to find other ways to motivate people to join the non-profit projects but also to remain within these projects. The purpose of this study was to investigate which motivation factors were considered important within two student unions when joining a non-profit project. The purpose was also to investigate how project leaders should act in order to keep their project group motivated within these non-profit projects. To fulfill these purposes we investigated these problems qualitatively, through interviews and quantitatively, through a survey. 16 interviews were performed, seven with project leaders and nine with project workers and the survey resulted in 64 respondents. In the theoretical part, the following motivation theories were used; Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, Vroom’s expectancy theory, Hackman and Oldham’s theory of motivation and McClelland’s need theory. In addition to these theories, theories about non-profit motivation, leadership, and leadership within non-profit organizations were presented along with McGregor’s theory X & Y. These theories formed the basis on which the empirical results were collected along with the interpretations of the results, which showed that some of the theories were more applicable than others. The conclusions of the study showed that the most motivating factors were personal development, new experiences, social belonging as well as gaining merits to put on the résumé. A project leader who was motivating was also someone who was respondent, engaged, positive and who gave feedback, which were all very important for the volunteers’ motivation. / Projekt som arbetsmodell blir alltmer populär även inom den ideella verksamheten. Ideella organisationer har dock inte möjlighet att erbjuda lön som kompensation till människor som engagerar sin tid i den ideella organisationen utan behöver finna andra sätt att motivera människor att dels ansluta sig till de ideella projekten och dels att stanna inom dessa projekt. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka motivationsfaktorer som ideellt engagerade inom två studentkårer ansåg vara viktiga för att gå med i ett ideellt projekt. Syftet var också att undersöka hur projektledare kan gå tillväga för att hålla sin projektgrupp motiverad inom dessa ideella projekt. För att uppnå syftet undersökte vi dessa problem kvalitativt, genom intervjuer samt kvantitativt, genom enkäter. Det genomfördes 16 intervjuer, sju med projektledare och nio med projektarbetare och enkäten resulterade i 64 svar. I teoridelen användes motivationsteorierna Maslows behovshierarki, Herzbergs tvåfaktorteori, Vrooms förväntansteori, Hackman och Oldhams motivationsteori samt McClellands behovsteori. Utöver det presenterades även teorier om ideell motivation, teorier om ledarskap, McGregors teori X & Y samt teorier om ledarskap inom ideell verksamhet. Dessa teorier utgjorde grunden för insamlingen av empirin samt för tolkningen av resultatet, som visade att vissa av teorierna var mer applicerbara än andra. Resultatet av studien visade att de faktorer som var mest motiverande var personlig utveckling, nya erfarenheter, social tillhörighet samt meriter att sätta på sitt CV. En projektledare som var motiverande var även någon som var lyhörd, engagerad, positiv och som gav feedback vilket var viktigt för volontärernas motivation.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This dissertation encompasses the development of a new explorative centre for public fire safety education, within the inner city of Pretoria. This centre would serve as the new Northern Gauteng public hub of the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa (FPASA) The proposal arises from the FPASA's current expansion needs. Their existing facility, based in Boksburg, is fast becoming too small and outdated to cater for the needs of the growing industry. This new facility will function as a public fire safety information hub, dealing with various fields of fire related protection and prevention training, for both private and public participants. This could serve to equip people with the knowledge and experience needed to more adequately protect themselves, their loved ones, as well as their personal belongings from damage or destruction by fire. The site selected for this scheme is situated within the currently dormant Museum Park District of the Pretoria central business district (CBD). The site, as well as its surrounding urban environment provides unique opportunities for the development of a new public-orientated fire safety education centre, which can focus on exposure in a pedestrian rich context. The FPASA's requirements, along with the site chosen for this new facility, provide unique opportunities for the development of a new active public typology within the city. The building should evoke curiosity as well as encourage explorative socio-educational behaviour. Through architectural form, public space, and didactically based educational programmes, this new public facility should attempt to reunite the individual with the built environment, while reaching out to expose the serious issue of fire safety education.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / At present the South African olive oil industry is highly dependent on international imports due to local olive oil producers being unable to meet the local demand. The need for extra virgin olive oil has increased each year since people have become more aware of the health benefits of the product. This dissertation documents the design of an olive oil production facility near the foothills of the Draaiberg mountain range in the Touws River valley. Situated in close proximity to the Touws River railway station, the proposed architectural intervention responds to the current situation of neglected railway towns through the implementation of agri-tourism in the area. Public interest creates a platform for the market to educate the broader public about health benefits, which has caused a gradual, growth in the olive oil industry. This in turn shows that olive oil farms need a public interface, such as an information centre, a shop and tasting room to entice the consumer and create awareness of the quality level of olive oil South Africa has to offer. The aim of this thesis is to design an olive oil production facility, focusing on the production of extra virgin olive oil and relevant alternative products. The facility will not only function as an agricultural olive press for a private farming concern, but will also act as a community press facility to allow for continuous growth in the olive industry. One of the design objectives is to create a space for information and social interaction. The main building's size is informed by the size of the productive landscape and formulas were used to calculate the volume of oil produced per hectare. The production process can be followed by the visitor, giving rise to a linear building typology.

M. Tech. Architecture: Professional / The origins of the Apies River within Fountains Valley, established the foundation of the city of Pretoria as well as the inspiration for this design. The significance of Fountains resides not only in its natural features but also its historical and cultural layers, forming a complex matrix of time and influence. The proposal explores the potential role that architecture plays in the conservation of Pretoria's cultural waterscapes, through the process of fabric renewal and public engagement. The study identifies the need for a hydrological research and conservation facility within Fountains Valley, unifying the significance of the site which stems from natural features as well as historical and cultural layers. Fountains Valley currently forms a place with cultural value, leisure and recreation opportunities, and an escape from the busy city. The proposed intervention consists of a cultural waterscape that creates a new relationship between people and nature. The future built landscape will be a platform and catalyst which researches, informs, and preserves Pretoria's natural spaces and aims to facilitate the integration of a hydro-logical research facility within a cultural recreational park.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / Worldwide there is a growing interest in traditional ways, in turning to local skills and craftsmanship. This type of low technology is an antidote to the technologically advanced society we live in today. This dissertation entails the design and research of a facility for creative vocational enhancement in the Pretoria City Centre and responds to the need for the implementation of craft centres to promote self-employment amongst the underprivileged local communities of Pretoria. The design will have a strong focus on urban rejuvenation and activation of the old Pretoria Central Business District and aims to draw local commuters and tourists towards the proposed centre to enable it to be in a constant state of activity.

M.Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This study aims to re-activate a green space within a well-established urban setting. It is in an attempt to restore a lost connection between the urban dweller and the natural environment. This renewed connection could be considered a key to facilitate a form of healing within an existing urban context.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / This thesis encompasses the research and subsequent building design of a Design Centre in Sunnyside Pretoria that specializes in the Applied Arts. This educational training facility will form part of a larger arts precinct. This can be achieved by integrating the immediate surrounding areas in a similar manner as that of Arts on Main in Johannesburg. The proposed project is located in an existing (but not fully developed) arts and design precinct in Sunnyside known as Oeverzicht Arts Village. The anchor facility of this complex will be the Design Centre, offering training and education in Industrial and Product Design, Fashion and Footwear Design, Cabinet making or Joinery, as well as other related arts for approximately 240 students. In light of the above approach, the project also entails the design of the surrounding public spaces, as well as the design of the complex as a precinct within the urban context. The site is located on a prominent corner where Berea, Sunnyside and the Central Business District intersect; it is located on the Nelson Mandela corridor which is one of the main arterial routes that feed the city. There is a cluster of residential buildings that were retained from the 1950's when most of the Sunnyside residential buildings were demolished to accommodate high-rise residential developments. These houses have a unique character within the urban context, which is currently obscured because of their scale compared to the surrounding buildings. The placing of the new development on the corner of the site gives it the necessary historical prominence within the current urban context.