Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture (Professional))--Tshwane University of Technology, 2011. / The Department of Justice has sanctioned regional courts to hear divorce cases which were traditionally only heard in the High Court. This address the accessibility to civil services. Four branch courts in Gauteng have been upgraded to full service courts, including Mamelodi. These law reforms will increase the case load for the already over-extended court in Mamelodi, and the dissertation will aim to resolve accommodation short comings and bring the facilities in alignment with full service court standards. As a society we all are affected by or benefit from the protection the law offers. The buildings that facilitate these legal processes are a particularly challenging type of civic complex. The aim is thus not to design a new type of complex merely replacing existing models for the sake of changing existing typologies into something more modern, but rather to offer a proposal motivated by sustainability and guided by the belief that a building which embodies social outcomes should be designed to be a regional response with sensitivity to current conditions.

This research project seeks to gain insight into the sociolinguistic realities of Mamelodi and Atteridgeville, two residential areas that resort under the Tshwane Metropolitan Council's jurisdiction (formerly known as the Greater Pretoria Metropolitan Area) - including reference to language use, knowledge, behaviour, status and attitudes. A questionnaire reflecting the principles of inter-methodological cross-validation was developed as research instrument in order to attain a sociolinguistic profile of the areas under investigation. The gathering, analysis, and verification of the research results took place against the background of extensive literature study, as well as the implementation of both quantitative (interpretation and analysis of numerical data) and qualitative (questionnaire format resembling a structured interview) methods. Other general aims of this research project are to provide local decision-makers with information that might aid the language planning process, and to provide a future basis for comparison to identify the occurrence of potential sociolinguistic change. The planning and implementation of a local language policy cannot occur in isolation, and it is therefore necessary to set the background against which language-related decisions are made - on local and international level. The challenges faced by the South African government are inseparably linked to matters evolving around the role of language in governance, education, economy and development. It will be argued that South Africa formally committed itself to multilingualism by entrenching it in the Constitution and in the proposed Languages Bill. It will furthermore be argued that languages have a market value and are thus to be regarded as economic resources. If the national ideals are to be met in terms of democratically developing the nation, all citizens must have equal access to all the rights and privileges of the country. In order to realise the strategic goals listed in the proposed South African Languages Bill, namely to facilitate individual empowerment and national development, and to facilitate economic development via the promotion of multilingualism, it is thus imperative that the Tshwane Municipal Council implements and enforces language policies that reflect these goals. Since municipalities must take into account the language usage and preferences of their residents and at least use two official languages - the logical conclusion is that a plan of language policy implementation should be supported and institutionalised by means of legislation and other measures. The Tshwane Metropolitan Council, and all other municipal structures - by implementing reality-based language policies that meet the developmental needs of its citizens by promoting and investing in multilingualism - will ascertain equal access to knowledge and skills. The ultimate purpose of this whole debate surrounding language planning and policy implementation in a multilingual African state is not merely to arrive at a theoretical linguistic solution, but rather to meet the socio-economic developmental needs of its people. / Thesis (DPhil (Linguistics))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Afrikaans / unrestricted

This thesis traces the inception and evolution of a combined collaborative action research project and living theory action research project. Six academic staff members attempted to improve our practice of generating locally relevant research in a university psychology clinic. This process impacted not only on the lives of the participants, but facilitated the enactment of the three tasks of universities and so influenced the lives of the student and residential communities to whom we had a responsibility. This thesis explores two research questions that formed the first part of the study, namely: “How can we improve the functioning of Itsoseng Psychology Clinic?” and “How can we increase our research output?” The second part of the study was a self-study action research project in which I examined my attempts to improve my academic practice by inquiring into my practice of facilitating the collaborative action research project as a peer support initiative. In the form of my living theory, this thesis therefore also explored my answers to the questions: “How can I facilitate a peer support research initiative?” and “How can I improve my academic practice through facilitating such an initiative?” I take a macro-level view of the relationship between a university and surrounding communities and discuss within the South African context three discernable mandates or tasks that universities fulfil: teaching, research and community engagement. I discuss the relevance of this study to psychology and specifically university psychology clinics as potential interface between the university and the surrounding community when enacting community engagement as the third academic task. I also discuss the implications of this study to action research methodology and the concept of transformation in emancipatory research. The main argument of my living theory of my academic practice is that the formation and nurturing of a regular, supportive and critical audience in the form of peer support research meetings contributed to the transformation of resources into assets when we worked towards improving the service delivery and local relevance of a university psychology clinic. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Psychology / unrestricted

The persistence and enormity of the housing backlog facing the poorest of the poor is an indication of the gravity of the housing crisis in Gauteng. The challenge exists despite government efforts to provide low-cost housing and formalize informal settlements. Against the background of this persistent need, this study investigates the City of Tshwane Municipality’s response to informal settlements in Mamelodi Phase 3, Gauteng. Participants from Mamelodi Phase 3 and officials from the City of Tshwane Municipality were purposively sampled. Research findings indicated that informal settlements in Mamelodi are caused by various factors, which include movement from rural to urban areas, movement from other provinces to Gauteng and natural population growth. Furthermore, the persistence of the informal settlements is caused by poverty. Most people continue to live in informal settlements since they cannot access financial assistance from the banks as per the National Credit Regulation (NCR). Corruption is also a formidable problem as some informal settlement dwellers alleged that officials of the City of Tshwane Municipality allocated houses in contravention of set procedures. This research shows that the City of Tshwane’s informal upgrading policies have failed in terms of providing adequate housing. Further, the housing policy has not succeeded in creating long-term sustainability in the delivery of low-cost housing to deal with the problems of the informal settlements. Although the City of Tshwane has implemented the Re aga Tshwane, which involves a wide range of policies, programmes and strategies to address the developmental challenges facing dwellers in informal settlements, more is required. On this basis, it is recommended that proper consultation with the community should be held to improve the lives of people in informal settlements in line with Section 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996), regarding every person’s right to have access to adequate housing. / Public Administration and Management / M.B.A. (Public Administration)

Text in English / The training of psychotherapists not only determines what new therapists learn about the practice of therapy, but influences significantly their identity and the development of a professional self. This dissertation explores the professional development of a trainee therapist, taking into consideration the training context and training approach, the trainee's unique training needs and the influence of own interactional style. The study was undertaken from an action research perspective, therefore emphasising solving a problem in the field and feeding this information back into the system during the course of the research project. The researcher describes how the training context (in this case, the Agape Healing Community in Mamelodi, South Africa), the training approach (systemic family therapy), and his personal style shaped his professional sense of self. He found however, that it was the process of action research which encouraged movement from feelings of inadequacy to competence in his professional development. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Text in English / The training of psychotherapists not only determines what new therapists learn about the practice of therapy, but influences significantly their identity and the development of a professional self. This dissertation explores the professional development of a trainee therapist, taking into consideration the training context and training approach, the trainee's unique training needs and the influence of own interactional style. The study was undertaken from an action research perspective, therefore emphasising solving a problem in the field and feeding this information back into the system during the course of the research project. The researcher describes how the training context (in this case, the Agape Healing Community in Mamelodi, South Africa), the training approach (systemic family therapy), and his personal style shaped his professional sense of self. He found however, that it was the process of action research which encouraged movement from feelings of inadequacy to competence in his professional development. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

M.A. (History) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

This study explores trainees' experiences of power dynamics within a ritualised training context, with reference to the three major aspects of the study: training, ritual and power. The psychotherapeutic training took place at Agape, a community-based counselling service in Mamelodi, whose theoretical approach to training included a mixture of postmodern, ecosystemic and African traditions. A substantial literature survey examines the major concepts and issues related to the research subject, such as psychotherapeutic training approaches, the philosophies and theories that may inform training procedures, ritual practices in psychotherapy, and organisational and power aspects of psychotherapeutic training. The research process was executed using the qualitative, interpretive research methodology. A sample of six of the trainees who had completed their training at this placement was interviewed, and two of the trainers. The researcher's reflections on her own training experiences are woven into the material. Using the interview technique and through asking a series of open-ended questions, the researcher obtained an account of the subjective, sacralised training interactions at Agape. Themes were identified that had emerged during the interview process. In brief, the themes referred to trainees' theoretical and practical experiences in the training placement, how they made sense of the sacralised therapeutic experiences, and comments on their relationship with trainers and fellow trainees. The most common theme that emerged was that of power. The end product of this study portrays the trainees' understandings of power within a sacralised psychotherapeutic context and their responses to this. This study makes explicit the links between ritualisation and power within an evaluative psychotherapeutic training context, and the consequences of this for training. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The study examined and explored the psychological significance of shaving hair as a ritual during mourning within the Ndebele culture in Mamelodi, Pretoria. The focus was on rituals performed or conducted during the mourning process that will be useful in an attempt to reach a state of healing and restoration. The study explored what meaning the participants attach to the rituals. Through this exploration; a deeper understanding of the value of rituals was developed. The qualitative research method, particularly Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used. Snowball sampling was used to identify participants who had lost their loved and who had gone through mourning for more than six months. In total, ten participants were interviewed for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the mother tongue of the participants in order to allow them to express themselves in the most ultimate way they know and understand. Thematic content analysis was used to extract themes that were dominant across participants. The study was useful as it could be incorporated into the study of psychology specifically from the African epistemological standpoint. Even though the rituals might be practiced amongst the black African community, there is not much literature that focuses mainly on the specific rituals and their significance. This study could also be useful in terms of exposing this knowledge to persons who might not be exposed to this specific ritual of shaving hair due to cultural differences. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The study examined and explored the psychological significance of shaving hair as a ritual during mourning within the Ndebele culture in Mamelodi, Pretoria. The focus was on rituals performed or conducted during the mourning process that will be useful in an attempt to reach a state of healing and restoration. The study explored what meaning the participants attach to the rituals. Through this exploration; a deeper understanding of the value of rituals was developed. The qualitative research method, particularly Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used. Snowball sampling was used to identify participants who had lost their loved and who had gone through mourning for more than six months. In total, ten participants were interviewed for this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in the mother tongue of the participants in order to allow them to express themselves in the most ultimate way they know and understand. Thematic content analysis was used to extract themes that were dominant across participants. The study was useful as it could be incorporated into the study of psychology specifically from the African epistemological standpoint. Even though the rituals might be practiced amongst the black African community, there is not much literature that focuses mainly on the specific rituals and their significance. This study could also be useful in terms of exposing this knowledge to persons who might not be exposed to this specific ritual of shaving hair due to cultural differences. / Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)