Background: Rehabilitation has emerged as a comprehensive approach with a combination of treatment modalities to address the multiple impediments associated with disabilities in intellectually disabled people. Rehabilitation is used to address intellectually disabled peoples’ skill deficits, to improve competencies and to facilitate optimal functioning within the goal of giving the greatest possible measure of social and economic participation, independence, self–reliance and self–determination to intellectually disabled people. The ongoing improvement of rehabilitation services in the public health system therefore remains a continuous challenge; hence the need for further research. Objective: The systematic literature review critically synthesizes and describes the available evidence of the effects of rehabilitation on intellectually disabled people. Method: Literature searches of different electronic databases as well as manual searches of references of primary studies were conducted using selected keywords. The total number of the studies identified from an electronic database search was 1 102. All titles and abstracts were screened for relevance and 40 studies were immediately excluded. From the remaining 1 062 studies, another 993 studies were excluded because they were not relevant to the rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. The abstracts and titles of the remaining 69 studies were screened for a second time to exclude studies not relevant to actual rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. Another two studies were excluded as duplicates. The remaining 67 studies were retrieved as full texts; of these, 40 studies were excluded due to them being written in a foreign language. After all abstracts and texts were thoroughly screened for true relevancy to the review question, a further 20 studies were excluded. The remaining seven full–text studies were selected for critical appraisal because they were relevant to the effects of rehabilitation on intellectually disabled people. Results: These identified studies have the potential to inform clinical practice on the basis of their evidenced interventions that resulted in the improvement of outcomes of rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. Improvement of skills was noted for mildly and moderately intellectually disabled people. Improvement was noted in activities of daily living (ADL), self–care skills, communication skills and cognitive achievements. Conclusions: The study contributes to the comprehensive nursing care of intellectually disabled people by endorsement of the effectiveness of rehabilitation in terms of ADL, self–care skills, communication skills and cognitive achievements. The collected evidence of this study may contribute to the education of more effective nurse practitioners involved in the daily care and rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Background: Rehabilitation has emerged as a comprehensive approach with a combination of treatment modalities to address the multiple impediments associated with disabilities in intellectually disabled people. Rehabilitation is used to address intellectually disabled peoples’ skill deficits, to improve competencies and to facilitate optimal functioning within the goal of giving the greatest possible measure of social and economic participation, independence, self–reliance and self–determination to intellectually disabled people. The ongoing improvement of rehabilitation services in the public health system therefore remains a continuous challenge; hence the need for further research. Objective: The systematic literature review critically synthesizes and describes the available evidence of the effects of rehabilitation on intellectually disabled people. Method: Literature searches of different electronic databases as well as manual searches of references of primary studies were conducted using selected keywords. The total number of the studies identified from an electronic database search was 1 102. All titles and abstracts were screened for relevance and 40 studies were immediately excluded. From the remaining 1 062 studies, another 993 studies were excluded because they were not relevant to the rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. The abstracts and titles of the remaining 69 studies were screened for a second time to exclude studies not relevant to actual rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. Another two studies were excluded as duplicates. The remaining 67 studies were retrieved as full texts; of these, 40 studies were excluded due to them being written in a foreign language. After all abstracts and texts were thoroughly screened for true relevancy to the review question, a further 20 studies were excluded. The remaining seven full–text studies were selected for critical appraisal because they were relevant to the effects of rehabilitation on intellectually disabled people. Results: These identified studies have the potential to inform clinical practice on the basis of their evidenced interventions that resulted in the improvement of outcomes of rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. Improvement of skills was noted for mildly and moderately intellectually disabled people. Improvement was noted in activities of daily living (ADL), self–care skills, communication skills and cognitive achievements. Conclusions: The study contributes to the comprehensive nursing care of intellectually disabled people by endorsement of the effectiveness of rehabilitation in terms of ADL, self–care skills, communication skills and cognitive achievements. The collected evidence of this study may contribute to the education of more effective nurse practitioners involved in the daily care and rehabilitation of intellectually disabled people. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The older person’s component of the population has increased rapidly in recent years due to developments in medicine, technology and other areas of life. Growing older implies a gradual decline in the physical, mental and social functioning of an individual. Older people consequently have to rely on others for assistance, and, in some instances, they are looked after in residential care facilities. These facilities should be sensitive to older person’s culture, religion, ethnicity, privacy, dignity and independence. The aim of this study was to explore older person’s experiences in an economically deprived residential care facility in order to understand what their needs are and how these needs can be met so as to enhance older person’s subjective well–being. Socio–ecological theory and the BBB (Being, Belonging and Becoming) model were used to assess the extent to which the facility promoted the well–being of the residents of the facility. A qualitative research study was undertaken to determine the older person’s experiences of the residential care facility. A purposive sample of eight participants - three black and five white with ages ranging from 65 to 75 - was used in the focus group discussions. Another method, the Mmogo–methodTM, made use of a sample of 23 participants - eight black and 15 white with ages ranging from 65 to 75. The focus group discussions yielded insight into the older person’s experiences of the facility while in the Mmogo–methodTM, a visually projective method, the participants made visual representations of their experiences thereby revealing the deeper meanings of the experiences. The data, both textual and visual, obtained from the focus group discussions and the Mmogo–methodTM, were analysed using thematic content analysis. The trustworthiness of the study was ensured through crystallisation. The study revealed that the older persons in the facility experienced a lack of autonomy, isolation and discrimination. It also appeared that they wanted more contact with people outside the facility. Some of the older persons engaged actively with their environment while others adopted a more passive stance. The study suggests that older persons should be given the opportunity to take decisions regarding certain aspects of their lives. Also, interventions aimed at dealing with personal loss and relational deficiencies and at promoting respect for diversity should be planned and implemented in order to improve the subjective well–being of older persons in residential care facilities. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Intergenerational research aims to promote greater understanding and respect between generations and contribute to building more cohesive communities. Intergenerational relationships form part of our social make–up as they affect social interactions, the use of local spaces, opportunities to take part in public life on an equal basis with others, the degree to which people participate in community life as well as efforts to improve such life. Research indicates that what matters most for young adults and older people is the quality of the interactions taking place between them. Very little is known about the nature of the intergenerational relationships between young adults and older people in an African context. The aim of the study was therefore to explore the intergenerational relationships between young adults and older people in a rural African community. A qualitative research method was used in the study. Two groups of participants were selected though availability sampling method. The group consisted of 11 male participants between 20 to 35 years of age, 6 participants were over the age of 60 (one male and five female). The younger participants were asked to make visual representations of how they perceive the older generation by means of using the Mmogo–method. After the younger participants described their visual representations, the older participants were asked to reflect on the descriptions given by the younger participants. The older people assumed an active listening position while the young adults shared their representations. Informal group discussion was used to facilitate a process of sharing and comparing of perceptions among the participants. The data obtained from the group discussions and applying the Mmogomethod were analysed on the basis of thematic and visual analysis. The trustworthiness of the study was ensured through crystallisation. The results indicate that the relationships between young adults and older people consist of the ambivalent perceptions of the young adults and mostly extreme negative perceptions of older people. As a result, the relationships between the young and old generations seem to be dissatisfying for both generations. Both young and old discover essential tensions in the relationships they create and sustain across generations. Intergenerational tensions may not be so easily identified or concretely observable in everyday behaviour, attitudes, and emotions. But, consistent with the dialectical framework, it is part of all intergenerational relationships at some level. Identifying these underlying tensions is important so that we do not glorify or idealise the interactions of young and old whenever and wherever they occur. Solidarity is not the only outcome of intergenerational relationships; ambivalence as well as conflict is a part of the theory that has often been neglected. In view ofthe importance of intergenerational relationships between the young adults and the older people, intergenerational interventions should be planned to promote the effective negotiation of intergenerational relationships between older persons and the younger generation. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The older person’s component of the population has increased rapidly in recent years due to developments in medicine, technology and other areas of life. Growing older implies a gradual decline in the physical, mental and social functioning of an individual. Older people consequently have to rely on others for assistance, and, in some instances, they are looked after in residential care facilities. These facilities should be sensitive to older person’s culture, religion, ethnicity, privacy, dignity and independence. The aim of this study was to explore older person’s experiences in an economically deprived residential care facility in order to understand what their needs are and how these needs can be met so as to enhance older person’s subjective well–being. Socio–ecological theory and the BBB (Being, Belonging and Becoming) model were used to assess the extent to which the facility promoted the well–being of the residents of the facility. A qualitative research study was undertaken to determine the older person’s experiences of the residential care facility. A purposive sample of eight participants - three black and five white with ages ranging from 65 to 75 - was used in the focus group discussions. Another method, the Mmogo–methodTM, made use of a sample of 23 participants - eight black and 15 white with ages ranging from 65 to 75. The focus group discussions yielded insight into the older person’s experiences of the facility while in the Mmogo–methodTM, a visually projective method, the participants made visual representations of their experiences thereby revealing the deeper meanings of the experiences. The data, both textual and visual, obtained from the focus group discussions and the Mmogo–methodTM, were analysed using thematic content analysis. The trustworthiness of the study was ensured through crystallisation. The study revealed that the older persons in the facility experienced a lack of autonomy, isolation and discrimination. It also appeared that they wanted more contact with people outside the facility. Some of the older persons engaged actively with their environment while others adopted a more passive stance. The study suggests that older persons should be given the opportunity to take decisions regarding certain aspects of their lives. Also, interventions aimed at dealing with personal loss and relational deficiencies and at promoting respect for diversity should be planned and implemented in order to improve the subjective well–being of older persons in residential care facilities. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Intergenerational research aims to promote greater understanding and respect between generations and contribute to building more cohesive communities. Intergenerational relationships form part of our social make–up as they affect social interactions, the use of local spaces, opportunities to take part in public life on an equal basis with others, the degree to which people participate in community life as well as efforts to improve such life. Research indicates that what matters most for young adults and older people is the quality of the interactions taking place between them. Very little is known about the nature of the intergenerational relationships between young adults and older people in an African context. The aim of the study was therefore to explore the intergenerational relationships between young adults and older people in a rural African community. A qualitative research method was used in the study. Two groups of participants were selected though availability sampling method. The group consisted of 11 male participants between 20 to 35 years of age, 6 participants were over the age of 60 (one male and five female). The younger participants were asked to make visual representations of how they perceive the older generation by means of using the Mmogo–method. After the younger participants described their visual representations, the older participants were asked to reflect on the descriptions given by the younger participants. The older people assumed an active listening position while the young adults shared their representations. Informal group discussion was used to facilitate a process of sharing and comparing of perceptions among the participants. The data obtained from the group discussions and applying the Mmogomethod were analysed on the basis of thematic and visual analysis. The trustworthiness of the study was ensured through crystallisation. The results indicate that the relationships between young adults and older people consist of the ambivalent perceptions of the young adults and mostly extreme negative perceptions of older people. As a result, the relationships between the young and old generations seem to be dissatisfying for both generations. Both young and old discover essential tensions in the relationships they create and sustain across generations. Intergenerational tensions may not be so easily identified or concretely observable in everyday behaviour, attitudes, and emotions. But, consistent with the dialectical framework, it is part of all intergenerational relationships at some level. Identifying these underlying tensions is important so that we do not glorify or idealise the interactions of young and old whenever and wherever they occur. Solidarity is not the only outcome of intergenerational relationships; ambivalence as well as conflict is a part of the theory that has often been neglected. In view ofthe importance of intergenerational relationships between the young adults and the older people, intergenerational interventions should be planned to promote the effective negotiation of intergenerational relationships between older persons and the younger generation. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The social displacement enforced by the South African Group Areas Act between 1954 and 1955 was understandably experienced as a destructive process with physical and emotional consequences arising from various types of losses, separation and feelings of helplessness. Although the forced removals affected all the people in the community - also in later years and generations, it seems as if older people are affected the more as they still remember the losses they experienced when they were removed from their homes and their communities, when their heritage and their culture were displaced. The sense of belonging being experienced by older people, who were subjected to these forceful removals, is therefore unclear. In this study the sense of belonging is defined as the effective participation, involvement, contribution and emersion of people when relating to their social, physical, spiritual, emotional and cultural places. In this study older (aged 60 and above) Setswana speaking residents of Ikageng, a community just outside Potchefstroom in the North West Province, South Africa, who were also forcibly relocated from Kloppersville to Ikageng, 10 kilometers away from Kloppersville, were asked to identify places that are important to them in Ikageng and to describe the meanings they attach to these places. In the research, no one identified any places of importance in Ikageng, instead throughout the research they kept on referring to their lives in Kloppersville, their former place of residence, the place where they were forcibly removed from – giving purpose and direction to this study and leading to the question: What are the experiences related to the sense of belonging of Setswana speaking older women who were forcibly relocated during Apartheid in South Africa? The older persons’ experiences of their sense of belonging in the place where they were forcibly relocated to must be understood in relation to the past. A qualitative research approach was used and a narrative research design followed. Two sets of data were gathered and are reported on in this article that focuses on the narrations of 11 older Tswana people from the Day Care Centre for the Aged in Ikageng. Narrative data collection and analysis, as well as a variety of qualitative research methods and media, were used to collect data. These include: focus group discussions, the Mmogo– MethodTM, videos, audio, photographs and observational notes. The thematic analysis of textual data, narrative–oriented inquiry as well as visual data, established trustworthiness of this research through crystallization. By drawing on the deeper symbolic meaning derived through the use of the MmogomethodTM, the study has revealed that the sense of belonging is a relational phenomenon that cannot be understood in absence of the different relational environments. In an African culture the relationship with the current environment resonates with the effects that historical processes, structural abuses, discrimination, racism and devaluation had on individuals whose lives have been uprooted. This study has shown that the older women have a micro–organic relational sense of belonging to the place of relocation and not to the whole context and other relational environments and that they revealed more sense of belonging towards the place where they were relocated from. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The social displacement enforced by the South African Group Areas Act between 1954 and 1955 was understandably experienced as a destructive process with physical and emotional consequences arising from various types of losses, separation and feelings of helplessness. Although the forced removals affected all the people in the community - also in later years and generations, it seems as if older people are affected the more as they still remember the losses they experienced when they were removed from their homes and their communities, when their heritage and their culture were displaced. The sense of belonging being experienced by older people, who were subjected to these forceful removals, is therefore unclear. In this study the sense of belonging is defined as the effective participation, involvement, contribution and emersion of people when relating to their social, physical, spiritual, emotional and cultural places. In this study older (aged 60 and above) Setswana speaking residents of Ikageng, a community just outside Potchefstroom in the North West Province, South Africa, who were also forcibly relocated from Kloppersville to Ikageng, 10 kilometers away from Kloppersville, were asked to identify places that are important to them in Ikageng and to describe the meanings they attach to these places. In the research, no one identified any places of importance in Ikageng, instead throughout the research they kept on referring to their lives in Kloppersville, their former place of residence, the place where they were forcibly removed from – giving purpose and direction to this study and leading to the question: What are the experiences related to the sense of belonging of Setswana speaking older women who were forcibly relocated during Apartheid in South Africa? The older persons’ experiences of their sense of belonging in the place where they were forcibly relocated to must be understood in relation to the past. A qualitative research approach was used and a narrative research design followed. Two sets of data were gathered and are reported on in this article that focuses on the narrations of 11 older Tswana people from the Day Care Centre for the Aged in Ikageng. Narrative data collection and analysis, as well as a variety of qualitative research methods and media, were used to collect data. These include: focus group discussions, the Mmogo– MethodTM, videos, audio, photographs and observational notes. The thematic analysis of textual data, narrative–oriented inquiry as well as visual data, established trustworthiness of this research through crystallization. By drawing on the deeper symbolic meaning derived through the use of the MmogomethodTM, the study has revealed that the sense of belonging is a relational phenomenon that cannot be understood in absence of the different relational environments. In an African culture the relationship with the current environment resonates with the effects that historical processes, structural abuses, discrimination, racism and devaluation had on individuals whose lives have been uprooted. This study has shown that the older women have a micro–organic relational sense of belonging to the place of relocation and not to the whole context and other relational environments and that they revealed more sense of belonging towards the place where they were relocated from. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

People counting system involves the process of counting and estimating the number of people in a scene. The counting system has a number of useful applications, ranging from pedestrian traffic surveillance and monitoring the number of people that enters and leaves shopping malls to commercial buildings, vehicles and a number of other security-related applications. Over the years, significant progress has been made. However, people counting systems still have not overcome a number of challenges such as occlusions, human pose and direction, multiple people detection, varying lighting and weather conditions. The aim of this research is to present an optimal solution that is invariant to the challenges. That is, the outcome of the results will not be affected by the challenges. Also, the solution will handle the trade-off between the counting accuracy and the time it takes to implement the counting process. As a result, a new background subtraction method known as single pixel method is proposed. This is where useful features are collected from each scene using frame difference method. Then, these features are reduced into single pixels. The single pixels are then used to estimate the total number of people in the scene. Furthermore, a virtual-line direction-estimation method is presented where the directions in which the people are heading are estimated prior to counting. AFRIKAANS : Mense-telstelsels behels die proses van die tel en die beraming van die aantal mense op ’n toneel. Die telstelsel het ’n aantal nuttige toepassings wat wissel van voetgangerverkeer toesig en die monitering van die aantal mense wat binnekom en verlaat tot winkelsentrums, kommersiële geboue, voertuie, en ’n aantal ander sekuriteit-verwante programme. Oor die jare is beduidende vordering gemaak. Daar is egter ’n aantal uitdagings wat mense-telstelsels nog nie oorkom het nie, soos afsluiting, menslike inhou en rigting, die opsporing van veelvoudige mense, wisselende beligting en weerstoestande. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om ’n optimale oplossing aan te bied, wat invariant is teen die uitdagings. Met ander woorde, die uitdagings sal nie die resultate affekteer nie. Die oplossing sal ook die uitruil tussen die tel akkuraatheid en die implementeringstyd van die telproses hanteer. As gevolg hiervan, is ’n nuwe agtergrondaftrekkingsmetode, wat bekend staan as ’n enkele beeldelement metode, voorgestel. Dit is waar die nuttige funksies van elke toneel, met behulp van die raamverskilmetode ingesamel word. Dan word hierdie eienskappe in enkele beeldelemente verminder. Die enkele beeldelemente word dan gebruik om die totale aantal mense in die toneel te skat. Verder is daar van ’n virtuele-lyn rigting-skatting metode gebruik gemaak wat die rigtings waarin die mense beweeg vooraf beraam. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

AFRIKAANS : Verstedeliking is ’n verskynsel wat sowel Afrikaners as swart mense in die twintigste eeu in Suid-Afrika geaffekteer het. In sommige opsigte was die traumatiese effek van hierdie gebeure vergelykbaar vir die twee groepe, maar in andere was dit ’n heel ander werklikheid vir Afrikaners om die platteland vir die stad te verruil as vir swart mense. Daar bestaan weinig studies wat ’n gesamentlike blik op die verstedeliking van die twee groepe werp. Hierdie studie doen juis dit deur die representasie in literêre tekste van die stad en die stadslewe deur Afrikaners en swart mense te ondersoek. Die welbekende stad/plattelandopposisie word verken, maar met die klem op die stad soos wat dit in literêre tekste gerepresenteer word. Die term “cultuurtekst” word in hierdie bestudering van representasie aangewend. Die term word deur Maaike Meijer gebruik vir die verskynsel waar bepaalde wyses van representasie rondom ’n onderwerp voortdurend herhaal. Die cultuurtekst is dus ’n denkbeeldige ‘teks’ wat bestaan uit verstarde kodes van representasie (of kulturele skemas, soos wat sy dit ook noem) wat steeds weer in individuele tekste herhaal word. Die doel van die studie is om die bestaan van kultuurtekste oor die verstedeliking van Afrikaners en swart mense aan te toon. Literêre tekste in Afrikaans word bestudeer om ’n stel kulturele skemas te identifiseer wat oor ’n verskeidenheid tekste aangetref word, wat aandui dat ’n kultuurteks oor Afrikanerverstedeliking in hierdie tekste herhaal word. Dieselfde werkwyse word betreffende swart verstedeliking gevolg: Engelse en Zulutekste word bestudeer om bewys te lewer van ’n kultuurteks oor verstedeliking. Laastens word hierdie kultuurtekste oor verstedeliking met mekaar vergelyk, aangesien bepaalde feite rondom Afrikaner/swart verstedeliking pas duidelik word wanneer ’n vergelykende benadering gevolg word. Deur hierdie vergelyking word gevolgtrekkings ENGLISH : Urbanization is a phenomenon that affected both Afrikaners and black people in twentieth century South Africa. In some respects the traumatic effect of these events are comparable for the two groups, but in others the experience of leaving the country for the city was a very different reality for Afrikaners and black people. Few studies have taken a simultaneous look at the urbanization undergone by the two groups. This study does this by investigating the representation in literary texts of the city and city life as experienced by black people and Afrikaners. The well-known opposition of city/country is explored, but with the emphasis on the city as it is represented in literary texts. In studying this representation, the term “cultuurtekst” (cultural text) is employed. The term is used by Maaike Meijer to describe the phenomenon of certain ways of representation around a specific topic being constantly repeated. The cultuurtekst is thus an imaginary ‘text’ consisting of fixed codes of representation (cultural schemes, as she also calls them) that we find being echoed anew in individual texts. The aim of the study is to prove the existence of such a cultuurtekst pertaining to the urbanization of both black people and Afrikaners. In order to achieve this, literary texts in Afrikaans are studied to identify a set of cultural schemes that are found across a variety of texts, thus indicating that a cultuurtekst about Afrikaner urbanization is being repeated in these texts. The same procedure is followed concerning black urbanization: English and Zulu texts are studied to establish evidence of a cultuurtekst about urbanization. Finally, these cultural texts about urbanization are compared with one another, seeing that certain facts about Afrikaner/black urbanization only become truly clear when a comparative approach is followed. From this comparison conclusions are drawn about the similar and different experiences of urbanization and city life for Afrikaners and black people. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Afrikaans / unrestricted