The aim of this research is to examine the role of practice in collaboration between designers and African craft producers in order to develop a different methodology for future exchanges that can be more sustainable and equitable. It looks to determine how craft and design practices can act as tools for communication and exchange, to examine how to foster meaningful collaboration when the relationship of those involved is inequitable and to develop a co-creation methodology for practice, capitalising on the differing skills, experiences and cultures of those involved. The research explores collaboration through making with two Cape Town based, craft businesses - Imiso Ceramics and Kunye - investigating the interactions that occur between the collaborators. A critical contextual review reveals the majority of such partnerships are instigated from the top down with an emphasis on product development. This study proposes that the focus is shifted to one that is human-centred, where the process of collaboration between the people involved is foregrounded. By strengthening the collaborative relationships and giving all participants an equal voice, the process becomes more productive, with product development an inherent result. Using a practice based, participatory design methodology, the work draws on the African notion of ubuntu, which speaks of people's interconnectedness. Applying the cross-disciplinary practices of all three collaborators, products are developed, provoking a dialogue that challenges the designer's role in the developing world. The research culminates in an exhibition of the journey, conversations, issues and outcomes that occurred throughout. The exhibition provides an opportunity to provoke a conversation with the stakeholders, listening to their experiences and gaining their feedback on the work presented. Practical exercises for participatory design in future cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary contexts are presented.

This bachelor thesis will explore the possibilities in which game creators will be able to expand and enlarge their digital world and give the players the illusion that there is more to it than just the realm of the playable main character. This will be done through the usage of rhizomatic connections, ubuntu philosophy, multiple stories, and mystique. We hope that these keywords will hold the key to making a more interesting world for video games in which the world will seem wide, exiting and with a rich history similar to how the real world appears. We live life as one character but we know that there is more to the world than just ourselves and the environment we live our daily lives in. / Detta kandidatarbete kommer att utforska möjligheter till hur spelskapare ska kunna göra för att expandera, utveckla, och förstora sina digitala världar för att ge spelarna en illusion av att det finns mer till den digitala världen än endast huvudkaraktären och den del av världen där spelets historia utspelar sig. Vi vill utforska detta genom rhizomatiska kopplingar, ubuntu filosofi, multipla historier, och mystik. Vi hoppas på att dessa nyckelord ska erhålla nyckeln till att skapa mer intressanta världar för videospel där världen verkar vid och spännande, samt tronar på en rik och händelsefull historia likt hur vi ser den verkliga fysiska världen. Vi lever som en karaktär, ofta i en liten del av världen men vi vet att det finns mer där ute än endast våra egna liv och de platser där detta liv utspelar sig.

The term Open Source Software (OSS) has been around for a long time in the world of computer science. Open source software development is a process by which we can manufacture economical and qualitative software and its source could be re-use in the improvement of the software. The success of OSS relies on several factors, e.g. usability, functionality, market focus etc. But in the end how popular the software will be measured by the number of users downloading the software and how much the software is usable to the users. Open Source Software achieve the status for stability, security and functionality. Most of this software has been utilized by expert level users of IT. But from the general users or the non-computer user’s point of view the usability issues of Open source software has been faced the most criticism [25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30]. This factor i.e. the usability issues of general user is also responsible for the limited distribution of the open source software [24]. The development process should apply the “user-centered” methodology [25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30]. In this thesis paper the issues of usability in OSS development and how the usability of open source software can be improved will be discussed. Beside this I investigate the usability quality of free Open Source Linux-based operating system Ubuntu and try to find out the usability standards of this OSS.

With the growing need for efficiency, cost reduction, reduced disposition of outdated electronics components as well as scalable electronics components, and also reduced health effects of our daily usage of electronics components. Recent trend in technology has seen companies manufacturing these products thinking in the mentioned needs when manufacturing and virtualizations is one important aspect of it. The need to share resources, the need to use lesser workspace, the need to reduce cost of purchase and manufacturing are all part of achievements of virtualization techniques. For some people, setting up a computer to run different virtual machines at the same time can be difficult especially if they have no prior basic knowledge of working in terminal environment and hiring a skilled personnel to do the job can be expensive. The motivation for this thesis is to help people with little or no basic knowledge on how to set up virtual machine with Ubuntu operating system on XEN hypervisor.

This thesis presents the different ways that have been achieved to improve and widen the interaction possibilities between LiveLab users. LiveLab is a virtual laboratory used at IDA (Institutionen för datavetenskap / The Department of Computer and Information Sciences) at Linköpings Universitet. This virtual laboratory is a virtual machine running an Kubuntu Linux 1 distribution thanks to VMware 2 Player. It was created at the HCS (Human-Centered Systems) division of IDA. Aiming to be used in more and more courses, LiveLab may present a lack of certain functionalities. Thus thesis tries to shows how the development of applications may fulfil this lack.

The African Initiated Churches (AICs) are the custodians of the African Traditional Religion (ATR). In the South African census, the AICs are classified as Christian. Africans claim that long before the Christian faith came through missionaries there was some form of worship of God by Africans. This means Africans practiced ATR outside Christianity and after Christianity came through missionaries, they started practising it as Christians One of the reasons given for the Africans moving out of the missionary churches to start their own was a search for an African identity. There was a hunger for a place where the African culture could be accommodated. One of the features of African culture is the worship of ancestors. The question of monotheism encountering polytheism does arise in this kind of discussion. The doctrine of the Trinity is uniquely Christian. There is a historical background concerning the teaching and the foundation thereof. As the AICs responded to a situation, so did the Early Church Fathers who faced question of monotheism encountering polytheism. There was a need to redefine Jewish monotheism within the Christian faith in reference to the event of Jesus Christ. The Church Fathers struggled to defend and grappled with the Christian faith with reference to the scriptures in the light of Jesus Christ. They took the gospel from the Jewish setting into the Greek setting. Their efforts benefited the church throughout history. One may say the writings and the teachings of the early church stood the test of time. One may also say the writings and the teachings were based on the solid foundation being of Jesus Christ and the authority of the scriptures. Juxtaposition is the approach employed in this thesis. Two traditions are being critically assessed based on the notion of Perichoresis by the Cappadocian Church Fathers and the notion of Ubuntu in the ATR. Chapter one deals with the theological background with specific focus on the African church and contextualisation. Chapter two, deals with the debate concerning the position and nature of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It also investigates the origin of the Nicene Creed. Chapter three investigates the terminology within the doctrine of the Trinity, while Chapter four explores the term ecumenical and communion with reference to Ubuntu. Chapter five analyses the work of Zizioulas, and the conclusion attempts to find an appropriate approach for the African church. Therefore the study concludes that the reference for Ubuntu should be found in the relationship with God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and not in the veneration and worship of the ancestors. The benefits of the relationship with God through Jesus supersede all other relationship with any deity in the now and the future. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Dogmatics and Christian Ethics / unrestricted

The underlying premise explored is whether the right to gender equality as interpreted and imposed within the confines of dominant western ideologies of liberal legalism could create the space for meeting the particular needs of (South) African women and men who wish to live out their dreams and desires differently. Modernist discourses mask the political, social and economic power of law and are crucial for the maintenance of the status quo. This adherence to formal rules, extant legal texts and a legalistic culture is violently exclusionary and thus it is necessary to enter into critical discourses that lead to transformative jurisprudence and thought. Different voices have been silenced by these ideologies and it is essential that the stories of women and other outsiders are listened to in order to (re)introduce new futures and new possibilities to South Africans struggling to find a home for themselves in the post apartheid context. The recognition of more ethical approaches to law creates the space to move beyond liberal legalism to post liberal interpretations of the law, the Constitution and the right to gender equality. I therefore focus on exploring the inter relationships between the ethic of care, ethical feminism, ubuntu, and storytelling, which may render judg(e)ments less rigid and exclusionary, and make it more possible to ensure that we can ‘do things a different, a better, way’. Since 1994 the Constitutional Court has formulated a substantive test for equality infringements. This approach, although widely supported, continues to ignore the contextuality of situations and narratives. For this reason I submit that ethical feminist discourses and the insistence on attention to minor, marginal and subversive narratives can teach us much about ourselves and those that we deem to be 'different' from ourselves. Adopting a 'minor' jurisprudence such as the jurisprudence of care formulated in this thesis allows us to reconsider what is and to dream of what is yet to be. In such a way, sites of (legal) resistance are created and maintained, where the 'feminine' (as the beyond, and not 'lack') operates as a locus of change. The equality courts created by the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act could be utilised as spaces of non violent and ethical judgment where the other before the law is seen as unique, considered with care, and thus freed from oppression. The aim of this research is not to conceptualise and categorise a new metanarrative or meta jurisprudence, but to introduce to the reader other ways of listening, seeing and being ways which are less violent, less exclusionary, and more accommodating of difference and diverse experiences of oppression and subordination. Furthermore, the aim is to challenge current legal traditions and to develop new thinking around an indigenous and ethical interpretation of gender equality. Copyright 2005, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Bohler-Muller, N 2005, Developing a new jurisprudence of gender equality in South Africa, LLD thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-06152006-123856 / > / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Jurisprudence / Unrestricted

Since the dissolution of apartheid, corporate governance in South Africa has evolved from being a soft mainly ethical issue to a hard knowledge-based technological issue, recognised as pivotal to the success and revitalisation of the country’s capital markets and, ultimately, the prospects of the corporate economy. These high stakes have produced a succession of measures aimed at transforming corporate governance in the economy. As such, South Africa’s corporate managers are consistently faced with the seemingly unassailable obstacle of discerning and implementing technologically progressive and culturally/racially unbiased management strategies/systems. The focus of this thesis is the latter of these two obstacles. Ubuntu acts as the scope via which the issues embedded within the incumbent management strategies/systems are viewed. Ubuntu philosophy embodies a socio-cultural framework that applies to all individuals and institutions throughout the continent. It embodies collectivism and teamwork, creation of synergies and competitive advantages, humanist leadership styles and maturity, consensus in decision-making systems, effective communication, and community-based corporate social responsibility. Ubuntu is pervasive in almost all parts of Southern African continent – it is integrated into all aspects of day-to-day life throughout the region. This thesis reviews and analyses some of the lessons that can be learned through the inception of African management, more specifically Ubuntu management, within South Africa’s corporate sphere. This thesis aims to prove that there exists a need for a new South African corporate management system, one which is able to harmoniously integrate the incumbent, western-orientated management strategies and systems with one of African origins.

This research covers the story of four persons from different backgrounds brought together by their faith in God, fellowship in the same church, residing in the same community and sharing the experience of living with HIV and AIDS: either as infected and/or affected individually. I am one of these persons due to the fact that I lost my sister to HIV and AIDS, thus I am affected. Though I only appear in the story as the researcher, it is my own loss that made it possible for me to empathise with my co-researchers. While one co-researcher was affected due to the fact that her husband was infected, became ill and died of HIV and AIDS-related sicknesses, the other two women were both infected by their husbands and at the same time were affected because they had to nurse the same husband who infected them. This was one of the cruelest moments in their lives but they forgave their husbands and cared for them to the end. In order for my research to reach the holistic insight into these women’s stories, I used the postfoundationalist practical theology approach. The reason for this is that this approach is contextual and relevant to people’s everyday life. One does not have to import knowledge to try to solve problems emanating from a particular context, but one needs to engage the locals and from that engagement, people start to reflect positively on their problems. Other lessons learnt is that one needs more than just a religious experience to play a role in solving the problem of HIV and AIDS; one needs more of the other disciplines to work together. In places like Mozambique, HIV and AIDS is not regarded as one of the health problems, but is classified as an interdepartmental or multi-sectoral problem. This means that HIV and AIDS do not affect only the Health Department, but all the departments. As such, each department is expected to have its own HIV and AIDS budget. It is here that I propose the Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT) composed of professionals from different disciplines working together to help solve the problem at hand. HIV and AIDS also help us to revisit our own understanding of God. While some people see the pandemic as the punishment from God for promiscuity, the truth is that we are all created in His image and this loving God does not destroy His own creation through HIV and AIDS. In His loving care, He reaches out to the unreached and cares for all His people: whether they are infected with HIV and AIDS, cancer or just are as healthy as they could be. The process of this research has empowered and enabled me to contribute to those who are infected and affected to be resilient and to stand, having hope in the goodness of God, working with others to bring a lasting solution to those infected and affected. Being resilient helps one to reclaim the marred Image of God in oneself and to reflect that image to impact onto our communities. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Fourteen years into democracy, South Africans yet need to transform into a truly united society. Transformation entails meaningful change and requires new mindsets, behaviours and worldviews. In this country, such change hinges on interaction and communication between all South Africans to facilitate insight into the unfamiliar lifeworlds and beliefs of others. In 2005 Dr. Steve Booysen, Group Chief Executive of the Absa Group, initiated an internal choir festival as a platform for social interaction and team building of staff across all cultures, age groups and post levels in the bank. This happened in the process of the Barclays Bank investment of billions of rands that would translate to its controlling share in Absa. Recognising the merge as a potential threat to the morale of the Absa work force, Booysen envisaged the choir project as a means to support staff during this phase of transformation in the bank. This study links theories relating to organisational development and the inherent power in music and musicking for positive change. The questionnaire (administered in three interventions between 2006 and 2008) was the primary instrument for obtaining data for this study. Absa’s choir project (the first of its kind in South Africa and possibly elsewhere in the world) offers unique possibilities for investigating the positive effects of musicking, and in particular choral singing, within a corporate environment. For optimal functioning, societies rely on their citizens to trust each other and share a civic culture. With the exception of the Indian community, choral singing is a practised tradition across all cultures in South Africa and thus presents a possible vehicle to promote healing and nation building in post-Apartheid South Africa. Genuine communication between citizens from all cultural backgrounds could help liberate South Africans of superficial prejudgments of each other. Where the inability to speak the others’ language(s) inhibits authentic communication, choral singing proffers unique opportunities for shared communicative experiences. Should choral singing prove to be an appropriate key to unlock such experiences for South Africa of differing cultural and language backgrounds, then choral singing is of great value to this society. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Music / unrestricted