M.A. (Social Work) / The research resulted from the lack of reliable and valid measurement instruments on community functioning. Operationalization of community functioning is complicated by the general character of widely used theories es related to communities in South Africa. Measurement is severely hampered by insufficient conceptualization. In the exploration of social service theory, the Living System Theory was selected as the theoretical underpinning for the research. Living System Theory offers a framework for processes and structures to critically and systematically describe, analyse, explain and interpret communities. Operationalization of community functioning was greatly expedited by the selection of the Living System Theory in view of its detailed description and universal character. In this study the term community from the Living System Theory, is conceptualized to In new synthesis and is also analysed systematically. In the systematic analyses of a community it was concluded that six relevant assessment areas occur in community context, namely: physical structures; transport; communication; decision-making; policy; and product/service. All six identified assessment areas were analysed systematically, but for the purposes of this study only decision-making was operationalized...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10903 |
| Date | 24 April 2014 |
| Creators | Delport, Catharina Sophia Louisa |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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