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Old institution meets new technology : GIS for quantifying church roles

Thesis (MA)-- tellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa today is facing many social and welfare problems. Three of which are very
prominent: named HIV/Aids; unemployment; and sexual and/or violent crimes against
woman and children. With churches being some of the biggest and most influential nongovernmental
organizations in the country, government is increasingly acknowledging that
churches have a very important role to play in order to help curb social and welfare problems
in the community. One inhibiting factor keeps churches from playing the role that government
is expecting of them: the roles and expected roles of churches have not been quantified
sufficiently.
A geographical information system was chosen to help in this process of quantification.
Previous studies related to GIS being used by social and welfare services showed that this
software give these service agencies a powerful new way to analyse services in relation to
clients and the communities in which they operate. The crux throughout the study is the
process by which it is shown how a GIS can be used and is central from the process of data
gathering, storing and manipulation of the gathered data, deriving information from it,
through to communicating and visualising the obtained results.
Key words: geographical information systems; GIS; ArcGIS; Statistica; Microsoft
Access; church; NGO; social services; social problems; welfare services; welfare problems;
data base; data base management systems; geodatabase; Factor Analysis; quantification / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hedendaagse Suid Afrika is daar 'n menigte van sosiale en maatskaplike probleme. Drie
van die prominentste van die probleme is MN/Vigs, werkloosheid en seksuele en/of
geweldsmisdade teen vroue en kinders. Kerke is van die grootste en mees invloedryke nieregeringsorganisasies
in Suid Afrika. Die regering besef al meer dat kerke 'n belangrike rol
kan speel in die aanspreek van die sosiale en maatskaplike probleme van die land. Daar is
egter 'n inhiberende faktor wat kerke daarvan weerhou om diƩ rol te speel wat die regering
van hul verwag; en dit is die feit dat die rol wat kerke speel, en die rol wat die publiek verwag
kerke moet speel, nog nie gekwantifiseer is nie.
'n Geografiese inligting stelsel is gekies om te help in die proses van kwantifisering. Vorige
studies waar daar gekyk is na die gebruik van GIS deur sosiale en maatskaplike dienste het
aangedui dat die sagteware hierdie dienste 'n effektiewe en innoverende wyse gee waardeur
hul dienste ontleed en gemonitor kan word. In die studie word gewys hoe 'n GIS gebruik kan
word en sentraal is in die prosesse van data insameling, stoor en manipulasie van die
ingesamelde data, hoe data omgesit word in inligting en laastens die kommunikasie en
visualisering van die resultate wat verkry word.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/53535
Date12 1900
CreatorsMans, Gerbrand
ContributorsZietsman, H. L., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies.
PublisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
Languageen_ZA
Detected LanguageUnknown
TypeThesis
Format64 pages : illustrations
RightsStellenbosch University

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