6,598 research outputs found

    ‘Designing a wellbeing garden’ a systematic review of design recommendations

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    Evidence demonstrates the benefits of gardens for promoting wellbeing. Some gardens are now being designed specifically to promote wellbeing; however, there are currently no evidence-based guidelines or recommendations available for designers to support such endeavours. The present study undertakes a systematic review of garden design literature to: (1) identify the defining characteristics of a garden that promotes wellbeing in non-clinical populations; and (2) summarize existing evaluations of garden designs into recommendations that can promote wellbeing. Online databases were used to identify papers published before October 2022, from which 17 publications were reviewed. This review was conducted following PRISMA and framework for scoping reviews. Results: The defining characteristics of wellbeing gardens centred around six design aspects: accessibility, wayfinding, fostering serenity, multisensory planting, spatial organization, and cultural artefacts. From these, recommendations were developed for garden designers to create wellbeing gardens

    WHY DO REGIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES FAIL? Gendered Institutions and the Maputo Plan of Action

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    In 2005, the African Union (AU) developed a regional policy on sexual reproductive health (SRH) and rights aimed at improving member states’ SRH delivery, the Maputo Plan of Action (MPoA). It initially ran from 2006 to 2015 and was then extended to 2016 to 2030. However, the MPoA’s implementation has been slow and largely ineffective. This thesis explores the factors behind this ineffectiveness despite the apparent commitment to improving SRH delivery on the part of the AU member states as demonstrated by their collective development and adoption of the policy. The thesis addresses reproductive health policy from a social policy perspective and begins its investigation by exploring existing regionalism literature that provides insights into why regionally integrated social policies oftentimes fail. The thesis finds that existing literature highlights specific institutional structures and path dependencies as factors that undermine regionalism’s efforts in social policy. In this thesis, I argue that these explanations, while relevant, offer only part of the story, because they do not consider the gendered character of regional organisations and the impact of this on policy formulation and implementation processes. I address this gap by exploring the role of gendered institutions in the design and delivery of regional social policies using the MPoA as a case study. To develop this analysis, I use Feminist Institutionalism (FI) to study the gendered factors behind the ineffectiveness of the MPoA. Overall, I argue that the design, development and implementation processes of the MPoA are shaped by the gendered institutions of its host organisation, the AU, which undermine its priority setting, strategy development and resource allocation processes by undervaluing and trivialising the needs of women and girls, contributing to weak delivery. These gendered institutions are indicated by the exclusion of women in the AU structure, gendered sharing of roles and responsibilities and unequal opportunities to participate and influence AU processes. The thesis therefore concludes that the MPoA fails to deliver on SRH for women and girls due to the underlying gendered institutions of the AU that shaped the policy and drives in implementation in gendered ways. More broadly, the thesis concludes that regionally integrated social policies oftentimes fail because of the gendered character of regional organisations, which undermines policy formulation and implementation processes

    Resilience and food security in a food systems context

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    This open access book compiles a series of chapters written by internationally recognized experts known for their in-depth but critical views on questions of resilience and food security. The book assesses rigorously and critically the contribution of the concept of resilience in advancing our understanding and ability to design and implement development interventions in relation to food security and humanitarian crises. For this, the book departs from the narrow beaten tracks of agriculture and trade, which have influenced the mainstream debate on food security for nearly 60 years, and adopts instead a wider, more holistic perspective, framed around food systems. The foundation for this new approach is the recognition that in the current post-globalization era, the food and nutritional security of the world’s population no longer depends just on the performance of agriculture and policies on trade, but rather on the capacity of the entire (food) system to produce, process, transport and distribute safe, affordable and nutritious food for all, in ways that remain environmentally sustainable. In that context, adopting a food system perspective provides a more appropriate frame as it incites to broaden the conventional thinking and to acknowledge the systemic nature of the different processes and actors involved. This book is written for a large audience, from academics to policymakers, students to practitioners

    People make Places

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    For centuries Glasgow, as a bucolic fishing village and ecclesiastical centre on the banks of the River Clyde, held little of strategic significance. When success and later threats came to the city, it was as a consequence of explosive growth during the industrial era that left a significant civic presence accompanied by social and environmental challenges. Wartime damage to the fabric of the city and the subsequent implementation of modernist planning left Glasgow with a series of existential threats to the lives and the health of its people that have taken time to understand and come to terms with. In a few remarkable decades of late 20th century regeneration, Glasgow began to be put back together. The trauma of the second half of the 20th century is fading but not yet a distant memory. Existential threats from the climate emergency can provoke the reaction “what, again?” However, the resilience built over the last 50 years has instilled a belief that a constructive, pro-active and creative approach to face this challenge along with the recognition that such action can be transformational for safeguarding and improving people’s lives and the quality of their places. A process described as a just transition that has become central to Glasgow’s approach. Of Scotland’s four big cities, three are surrounded by landscape and sea only Glasgow is surrounded by itself. Even with a small territory, Glasgow is still the largest of Scotland’s big cities and by some margin. When the wider metropolitan area is considered, Glasgow is – like Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool – no mean city. People make Places begins with a review of the concept and complexities of place, discusses why these matter and reviews the growing body of evidence that place quality can deliver economic, social and environmental value. The following chapters focus on the history and evolution of modern Glasgow in four eras of 19th and early 20th century industrialisation, de- industrialisation and modernism in mid 20th century, late 20th century regeneration and a 21st century recovery towards transition and renaissance, and document the process, synthesis and the results of a major engagement programme and to explore systematic approaches to place and consensus building around the principal issues. The second half of the work reflects on a stocktaking of place in contemporary Glasgow, looking at the city through the lenses of an international, metropolitan and everyday city, concluding with a review of the places of Glasgow and what may be learned from them revealing some valuable insights presented in a series of Place Stories included. The concluding chapter sets out the findings of the investigation and analysis reviewing place goals, challenges and opportunities for Glasgow over the decades to 2030 and 2040 and ends with some recommendations about what Glasgow might do better to combine place thinking and climate awareness and setting out practical steps to mobilise Glasgow’s ‘place ecosystem’

    Towards Legislation Responsive to Integrated Watershed Management Approaches and Land Tenure

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    Land tenure affects integrated watershed management approaches in various ways, such as influencing land use and investment in sustainability practices and decisions. However, some land tenure and integrated watershed management relations need more examination, including how the prevailing relevant legislation responds and the needed course of action. In this paper, we provide relevant evidence to support a shift to responsive actions and legislation through (a) examining land tenure scenarios affecting integrated watershed management, including the public–private land tenure co-existence from a watershed perspective; (b) the responsiveness of the prevailing relevant legislation to integrated watershed management and the land tenure scenarios and (c) identifying legislative remedies recommendable for responsiveness. We use qualitative methods to review secondary data sources, including four legislations, and complement them with field survey data. Field experiences are from three sub-catchments in the Lake Victoria basin, each representing a different land tenure system, as case studies. Land tenure links with integrated watershed management in various ways, such as influencing land use decisions. However, underscoring the relationship from the private and public land tenure perspective also indicates a complex and tense spatial relationship. As such, it likely limits adopting sustainable land use and management practices in watersheds as a case. Regardless, the perceptions from the study area indicate the land tenure systems and forms enabling sustainable choices and decisions, despite limitations such as tenure insecurity. The disconnect between integrated watershed management aspirations of ensuring sustainability, the land tenure abilities and the subsequent human practices is mainly institutional, with the relevant legislation indicating a low to moderate level of responsiveness to integrated watershed management approaches and land tenure, thus, abating effectiveness. Therefore, we suggest a shift towards responsive programming and legislation and the adoption of model legislation to support responsiveness replication. We also recommend further studies to assess the legal gaps and feasibility thereof

    A Decision Support System for Economic Viability and Environmental Impact Assessment of Vertical Farms

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    Vertical farming (VF) is the practice of growing crops or animals using the vertical dimension via multi-tier racks or vertically inclined surfaces. In this thesis, I focus on the emerging industry of plant-specific VF. Vertical plant farming (VPF) is a promising and relatively novel practice that can be conducted in buildings with environmental control and artificial lighting. However, the nascent sector has experienced challenges in economic viability, standardisation, and environmental sustainability. Practitioners and academics call for a comprehensive financial analysis of VPF, but efforts are stifled by a lack of valid and available data. A review of economic estimation and horticultural software identifies a need for a decision support system (DSS) that facilitates risk-empowered business planning for vertical farmers. This thesis proposes an open-source DSS framework to evaluate business sustainability through financial risk and environmental impact assessments. Data from the literature, alongside lessons learned from industry practitioners, would be centralised in the proposed DSS using imprecise data techniques. These techniques have been applied in engineering but are seldom used in financial forecasting. This could benefit complex sectors which only have scarce data to predict business viability. To begin the execution of the DSS framework, VPF practitioners were interviewed using a mixed-methods approach. Learnings from over 19 shuttered and operational VPF projects provide insights into the barriers inhibiting scalability and identifying risks to form a risk taxonomy. Labour was the most commonly reported top challenge. Therefore, research was conducted to explore lean principles to improve productivity. A probabilistic model representing a spectrum of variables and their associated uncertainty was built according to the DSS framework to evaluate the financial risk for VF projects. This enabled flexible computation without precise production or financial data to improve economic estimation accuracy. The model assessed two VPF cases (one in the UK and another in Japan), demonstrating the first risk and uncertainty quantification of VPF business models in the literature. The results highlighted measures to improve economic viability and the viability of the UK and Japan case. The environmental impact assessment model was developed, allowing VPF operators to evaluate their carbon footprint compared to traditional agriculture using life-cycle assessment. I explore strategies for net-zero carbon production through sensitivity analysis. Renewable energies, especially solar, geothermal, and tidal power, show promise for reducing the carbon emissions of indoor VPF. Results show that renewably-powered VPF can reduce carbon emissions compared to field-based agriculture when considering the land-use change. The drivers for DSS adoption have been researched, showing a pathway of compliance and design thinking to overcome the ‘problem of implementation’ and enable commercialisation. Further work is suggested to standardise VF equipment, collect benchmarking data, and characterise risks. This work will reduce risk and uncertainty and accelerate the sector’s emergence

    A model for improving quality of care in maternal health facilities in South Africa

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    Reducing maternal mortality ratios (MMRs) and neonatal mortality ratios (NMRs) remains a priority for improving the quality of care in various parts of the world, particularly in developing nations like South Africa. There has been no victory in reducing MMRs and NMRs in different models that were developed, tried, and tested. The study intended to develop a model for improving the quality of care in maternal health facilities in South Africa. The study was conducted in a selected public hospital in Libode in the Eastern Cape province. A purposive sample of fifteen women, five doctors and fifteen midwives was used to conduct in-depth face-to-face individual interviews. Colaizzi’s seven-step analysis framework was used to transcribe, code, and then extract and analyse key themes from the collected data. The main study findings revealed that obstacles to receiving prompt, adequate and quality of care were common problems encountered in a maternal health facility. Both direct and indirect as well as possible contributing factors to poor quality maternal and newborn care were also revealed. These practices increase the risk of maternal and related perinatal deaths. The study findings informed the development of a model for improving quality of care to advance health outcomes in women and newborns in the maternal health facilities in South Africa. The study findings further recommend the proposed model as an initiative to improve the quality of care in health care facilities and reduce maternal and neonatal deaths in the Eastern Cape province.Health StudiesPh. D. (Nursing

    Factors which support school attendance in a low socio-economic peri-urban community in the Western Cape : perspectives of educators and community workers

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    Thesis (MEdPsych)--Stellenbosch University, 2022.ENGLISH SUMMARY: School attendance has the potential to provide a pathway out of poverty for learners who live in and attend primary schools in low socio-economic communities. However, learners’ trajectories in education are often complex and multifaceted, encompassing aspects of resilience, and other contextual, personal, structural, socio-economic factors. This study aimed to explore factors that promote school attendance in a low socio-economic peri-urban community. The study sought to explore factors pertaining to learner absenteeism in the community and which school and community initiatives were in place to address learner absenteeism. This aim was achieved by collaborating with community-based participants and by exploring their experiences and perceptions of school attendance in a low socio-economic peri-urban community. A social constructivist research paradigm underpinned the exploratory study. The exploratory study generated qualitative data which shed light on how the participants constructed their understanding and knowledge of the factors, which promote school attendance through their experiences and reflections. A purposive sample was used to include six participants in the individual semi-structured interviews and five participants in the focus group session. A multi-theoretical lens was used to analyse and interpret the data generated in this study. Nine prominent themes emerged, and these included, the participants’ perceptions of the community, the social challenges within the community, factors that promote and hinder school attendance, the role and involvement of the community, parents and learners, the participants’ experiences of school and community initiatives. In addition, participants offered insight into intervention and prevention strategies. The research findings suggest that learner absenteeism is a common problem among learners in Sunbird community. Based on the participants’ experiences and perceptions, they conveyed several factors that maintain the high rate of learner absenteeism and pointed out factors, such as parental involvement, classroom environment, and community initiatives, that can promote school attendance. Furthermore, they shared their understanding of how role players and both school and community initiatives, can enhance school attendance and effectively address learner absenteeism.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Skoolbywoning het die potensiaal om ‘n weg uit armoede te hĂȘ vir leerders wat primere skole bywoon en in lae sosiale ekonomiese gemeenskappe woonagtig is. Leerders se trajekte in die onderwys is egter dikwels kompleks en veelvlakkig, wat aspekte van veerkragtigheid en ander kontekstuele, persoonlike, strukturele, sosio-ekonomiese faktore insluit. Hierdie studie het ten doel gehad om faktore te ondersoek wat skoolbywoning in 'n lae sosio-ekonomiese buitestedelike gemeenskap bevorder. Die studie het gepoog om faktore te ondersoek wat verband is met leerderafwesigheid in die gemeenskap en watter skool- en gemeenskapsinisiatiewe in plek was, om leerderafwesigheid aan te spreek. Hierdie doelwit was bereik deur met gemeenskapsgebaseerde deelnemers saam te werk en deur hul ervarings en persepsies van skoolbywoning in 'n lae sosio-ekonomiese buitestedelike gemeenskap te verken. 'n Sosiaal-konstruktivistiese navorsingsparadigma het die verkennende studie onderlĂȘ. Die verkennende studie het kwalitatiewe data gegenereer wat lig werp op hoe die deelnemers hul begrip en kennis van die faktore gekonstrueer het, wat skoolbywoning bevorder deur hul ervarings en refleksies. ’n Doelgerigte steekproef is gebruik om ses deelnemers in individuele semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude en vyf deelnemers in die fokusgroepsessie, in te sluit. 'n Multi-teoretiese lens is gebruik om die data wat in hierdie studie gegenereer is te ontleed en te interpreteer. Nege prominente temas het na vore gekom, en dit sluit in die deelnemers se persepsies van die gemeenskap, die sosiale uitdagings binne die gemeenskap, faktore wat skoolbywoning bevorder en belemmer, die rol en betrokkenheid van die gemeenskap, ouers en leerders, die deelnemers se ervarings van skool en gemeenskapsinisiatiewe. Verder, het deelnemers insig in intervensie- en voorkomingstrategieĂ« gebied. Die navorsingsbevindinge dui daarop dat leerderafwesigheid 'n algemene probleem onder leerders in Sunbird-gemeenskap is. Gebaseer op die deelnemers se ervarings en persepsies, het hulle verskeie faktore oorgedra wat die hoĂ« getal van leerderafwesigheid handhaaf en faktore uitgewys, soos ouerbetrokkenheid, klaskameromgewing en gemeenskapsinisiatiewe, wat skoolbywoning kan bevorder. Verder het hulle hul begrip gedeel van hoe rolspelers en beide skool- en gemeenskapsinisiatiewe, skoolbywoning kan verbeter en leerderafwesigheid effektief kan aanspreek.Master

    Quality education

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    This book investigates the intersections between education, social justice, gendered violence and human rights in South African schools and universities. The rich and multifarious tapestry of scholarship and literature emanating from South African classrooms provides a fascinating lens through which we can understand the complex consequences of the economies of education, social justice imperatives, gendered violence on the lives of women and children, and marginalised communities. The scholarship in the book challenges readers to imagine alternative futures predicated on the transformational capacity of a democratic South Africa. Contributors to this volume examine the many ways in which social justice and gendered violence mirrors, expresses, projects and articulates the larger phenomenon of human rights violations in Africa and how, in turn, the discourse of human rights informs the ways in which we articulate, interrogate, conceptualise, enact and interpret quality education. The book also wrestles with the linguistic contradictions and ambiguities in the articulation of quality education in public and private spaces. This book is essential reading for scholars seeking solid grounding in exploring quality education, the instances of epistemic disobedience, the political implications of place and power, and human rights in theory and practice

    Migration Research in a Digitized World: Using Innovative Technology to Tackle Methodological Challenges

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    This open access book explores implications of the digital revolution for migration scholars’ methodological toolkit. New information and communication technologies hold considerable potential to improve the quality of migration research by originating previously non-viable solutions to a myriad of methodological challenges in this field of study. Combining cutting-edge migration scholarship and methodological expertise, the book addresses a range of crucial issues related to both researcher-designed data collections and the secondary use of “big data”, highlighting opportunities as well as challenges and limitations. A valuable source for students and scholars engaged in migration research, the book will also be of keen interest to policymakers
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