The significance of townhouse interiors to support home-owners' extended selves : the case of home-owners in Tshwane

Housing can be used to satisfy man's needs on all five levels as identified by Maslow, although in the context of Tshwane, South Africa, housing decisions are especially guided by a great need for safety as well as status. Townhouse living offers a secure living environment for residents, while simultaneously providing an adequate status living option that is generally accepted by the public. Along with several advantages townhouse living provides, there are also significant negative aspects. The main consideration for this study is the fact that all of the units in a given complex look either the same or very similar, leaving no room for differentiation amongst the units. This can become problematic, since theory suggest that all people have a need to be unique, and when placed in a situation where they are perceived as being highly similar to others, as in a townhouse complex, people will tend to act in a counter-conforming manner. The only viable option available to the residents lies in the interior of their homes. Much has been published to date concerning the need to be unique and the expression thereof within the clothing environment, but only limited research has been done to explore townhouse residents‟ need to express their extended selves in the interior of their homes. The study involved 182 respondents of both genders, who lived in townhouse complexes in Tshwane. They completed a structured questionnaire, which investigated who was responsible for decisions regarding the interior design and décor of their homes, identified their most valued objects, as well as the reason why it is regarded as such, whether or not they restricted guests to their social zones of their homes, as well as whether they portrayed their social selves to onlookers, their level of need for uniqueness, their buyer behaviour, the source of interior inspirations and lastly, a section on the overall satisfaction they might have with residing within a townhouse complex. One qualitative section, the identification and motivation on their valued objects, was included to gain insight into what type of objects are regarded as valuable, supported by motivations on why it is regarded as valuable. Data collection was especially time consuming, since it was difficult to gain access to townhouse complexes. Convenient snowball sampling proved to be the only option viable to collect the data. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics as well as factor analysis. Respondents indicated that interior professionals were seldom, if ever, asked to assist with the design and décor of their homes and that furniture was their most valued interior objects for social, rather than private reasons. Respondents furthermore indicated that they wished to restrict guests to the social zones of their homes as far as possible and that those respondents who resided in their homes for less than five years preferred their social selves to be displayed, while respondents who resided in their homes for more than five years chose to display a limited version of their personal selves as well. Respondents showed an average inkling to express their extended selves in a counter conforming manner, with the creative choice counter conforming motivation being the most popular option. Their buyer behaviour supported their need for uniqueness, in that the objects purchased for the interior of their homes had to be aesthetic and original. The most prominent source of interior inspiration originated from interior shows and thereafter the respondent's family. The majority of interior shows guide and encourage the viewer to attempt the design and décor of their homes themselves, which may serve as an indication on why so few respondents made use of services provided by designers and decorators. The respondents agreed that, due to the fact that the exteriors appear the same or similar, greater attention is given to the interior of their homes, and that more unique products are sought to compensate for the lack of uniqueness in the complex. About half of the respondents did state, however, that presented with the option again, they would still choose to reside in a townhouse complex. Findings of this study will contribute to existing literature and will be useful to property developers, retail industry, interior designers and decorators in terms of marketing opportunities for their products, be it mass customization (property developers and retailers) or individual customization (interior designers and decorators) to tailor a product that will provide the illusion of uniqueness to potential consumers. CopyrightDissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Consumer Scienceunrestricte

Investigating the formation of giant {Pd72}Prop and {Pd84}Gly macrocycles using NMR, HPLC and mass spectrometry

The formation of giant polyoxometalate (POM) species are relatively underexplored as their self-assembly process is complex due to the rapid kinetics. Polyoxopalladates (POPds) are a class of POMs based on Pd, the largest of which is the {Pd84}Ac wheel, and the slower kinetics mean the system is more amenable to systematic study. Here, we show it is possible to follow the assembly of two types of Pd-wheel; the {Pd84}Gly the smaller {Pd72}Prop wheel formed using glycolate and propionate ligands respectively. We analyzed the formation of {Pd72}Prop and {Pd84}Gly using mass spec-trometry (SEC-HPLC-MS and preparative desalting followed by MS). This was accompanied by studies that followed the chemical shift differences between the outer/inner ligands and the free ligand in solution for the {Pd84}Ac, {Pd72}Prop, and {Pd84}Gly species using NMR; this showed it was possible to track the formation of the wheels. Our findings confirm that the macrocycles assemble from smaller building blocks which react together to form the larger species over a period of days. These findings open the way for further structural derivatives and exploration of their host-guest chemistry

Influence of anatomic landmarks in the virtual environment on simulated angled laparoscope navigation

Background - The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the presence of anatomic landmarks on the performance of angled laparoscope navigation on the SimSurgery SEP simulator. Methods - Twenty-eight experienced laparoscopic surgeons (familiar with 30º angled laparoscope, >100 basic laparoscopic procedures, >5 advanced laparoscopic procedures) and 23 novices (no laparoscopy experience) performed the Camera Navigation task in an abstract virtual environment (CN-box) and in a virtual representation of the lower abdomen (CN-abdomen). They also rated the realism and added value of the virtual environments on seven-point scales. Results - Within both groups, the CN-box task was accomplished in less time and with shorter tip trajectory than the CN-abdomen task (Wilcoxon test, p0.05). In both groups, the CN tasks were perceived as hard work and more challenging than anticipated. Conclusions - Performance of the angled laparoscope navigation task is influenced by the virtual environment surrounding the exercise. The task was performed better in an abstract environment than in a virtual environment with anatomic landmarks. More insight is required into the influence and function of different types of intrinsic and extrinsic feedback on the effectiveness of preclinical simulator training.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin

Townhouse residents' use of interior products in the social zones of their homes as a demonstration of their need for uniqueness

Town houses or cluster homes refer to housing developments where the exterior fac¸ade of adjacent units are architecturally identical or very similar. A pertinent disadvantage of this type of tenure is that residents are not allowed to alter the exterior of their homes to reflect personal differences. This study focussed on the probability that residents in these type of townhouses would make intentional effort to demonstrate their uniqueness through counter-conforming choice of interior objects for the social areas of their homes where guests are received and entertained. The study involved 182 respondents who lived in townhouses in a major urban area in South Africa who were recruited through convenient snowball sampling. Findings indicate that townhouse residents’ interior product decisions are predominantly of a creative counter conformity nature which is the safer alternative than avoidance of similarity or unpopular choice counterconformity practices that might evoke criticism from peers or reference groups. Interior product choices are therefore predominantly cautious and aimed to evoke the admiration of others rather than critique. A positive outcome of this study in terms of future research is confirmation of the usefulness of the measuring instrument, which was originally developed for clothing research. Findings are insightful for property developers, interior designers, interior decorators and retailers in terms of consumer facilitation and the appropriate marketing of interior products.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1470-64312017-01-31hb2016Consumer ScienceStatistic

Pushing play in primary : findings from three case study classes

This paper explores the practicalities of implementing play-based pedagogy in early primary. Using a practitioner enquiry paradigm, data were collected during M.Ed research projects in three primary schools and presented via case study methodology. A multi-method approach was adopted, including interviews with practitioners, observations and pedagogically-designed consultation with children. The paper presents four findings: 1 Play in primary was heterogenous and context specific; 2.Teachers had considerable sway over the place of play in the classroom; 3. Children appeared engaged when they were leading their learning and playing, making the need for more play-based opportunities fundamental. 4. Lack of confidence, training, resourcing and the need to 'cover' the curriculum were apparent barriers to play pedagogy in Primary

Female Consumers’ Involvement in Intentional Non-Sustainable and Unintentional Sustainable Apparel Decisions: An Emerging Market Perspective

This study is aimed at determining consumers’ sustainable apparel involvement in the purchasing or disposing of apparel in an emerging market context (EMC). Consumers in developed countries show increased interest in sustainable apparel behaviour, contrary to emerging markets such as South Africa, which is indicative of the lowest level of sustainable apparel consumption. An exploratory descriptive qualitative research design was used to determine consumers’ involvement and was facilitated through eleven digitally recorded small focus groups with female apparel shoppers who make use of a custom-made apparel designers. The findings reveal intentional non-sustainable apparel decisions manifest through eco-uninvolved instore purchases and once-off commissioned designer apparel orders. Unintentional sustainable apparel behaviour is characterised by (1) in-store apparel purchases: signifying quality clothing, observed in the material and stitching, resulting in clothing items worn for longer and handed down from generation to generation, sensitivity to the origin of the garment and (2) apparel disposal behaviour such as (a) keeping apparel as cleaning material and repurposing into wearable apparel; (b) permanent disposal through handing down items and (c) temporary disposal through exchanged items. Applying the Elaboration Likelihood Model, it was possible to explain the lack of elaborated involvement in sustainable apparel practices resembling the peripheral route of the model. Unintentional sustainable practices have not been identifi ed in the South African context, indicating the valuable contribution consumers in an emerging market context (EMC) can make if better awareness is created by the government and the retail sector specifi cally to address intentional non-sustainable purchasing behaviours in future

Global citizens: Who are they?

A growing desire to instigate global citizenship programmes in Higher Education (HE) has led to the development of optional structured opportunities for students to engage in prosocial activities. One of the challenges facing such programmes is to demonstrate and plan for the personal growth of those students. This paper reports the dispositional, prosocial and attitudinal characteristics; knowledge and skills; and perceptions of social justice that students who undertake these activities bring to their initial participation. The findings indicate, that in comparison to a control group, the students differ significantly in a number of important ways (e.g. conscientiousness, extraversion, openness; Machiavellianism, prosocial behaviour; self-esteem; skills relating to social action and tolerance and understanding and their concern regarding social problems). However, consideration should be given to the ways in which those students can be developed within a framework for social justice. Further, recruitment procedures for citizenship programmes in general should encourage the participation of a more diverse group of students than currently appears to be the case

Disavowing 'the' prison

This chapter confronts the idea of ‘the’ prison, that is, prison as a fixed entity. However hard we, that is, prison scholars including ourselves, seek to deconstruct and critique specific aspects of confinement, there is a tendency to slip into a default position that envisions the prison as something given and pre-understood. When it comes to prison our imagination seems to clog up. It is the political solution to its own failure, and the preferred metaphor for its own representation