Urban environmental benefits of green energy : a review of landfill gas to electricity technologies in eThekwini, South Africa

Abstract: In the quest to ameliorate the negative developments emanating from a heavy reliance on fossil fuels, there has been a surge in the development, adoption and utilisation of renewable energy technologies all over the world. Adopting a case study and phenomenological research design and applying qualitative approaches, this study focuses on the environmental benefits directly emanating from the development, adoption and application of innovative technologies in renewable energy generation and supply. In particular it assesses the experiences of municipal solid waste-to-energy technologies in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. The results reveal that the innovative projects have resulted not only in improved municipal solid waste management, but more importantly improved urban environmental conservation. The paper concludes by recommending the scaling up of such innovative projects within South Africa and the adoption and application of these best practices to other African countries

Microfinance institutions and urban housing in Addis Ababa: challenges and prospects for sustainable poverty alleviation

This study focuses on the performance of micro finance institutions (MFIs) in sustainable housing poverty reduction for the majority urban poor in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. The paper assesses the impact, challenges and prospects of MFIs in transforming the urban poor residents’ livelihoods through the provision of Housing Microfinance (HMF) loan product. From available data, Addis Ababa Credit and Savings Institution (AdCSI), an MFI with a customer base of 120 000, diversified its product lines to include the HMF loan product in 2006. Although findings indicate that the loan is popular with most urban poor residents, MFIs are failing to meet the demand mainly due to lack of loanable funds. As a way forward, the government through partnerships with the private sector needs to integrate MFIs into the broader financial system so as to address the financial needs of the low income people who can not be covered by commercial banks, particluarly in accessing the money to pay the 20% down payment for condominium houses. Similarly, most MFIs operating in the city need to diversify their loan products to include housing loans to tap into the lucrative market by extending the HMF loan to their clients. Keywords: Micro Finance Institutions, Micro and Small enterprises, Housing, Urban Poverty, Outreach, Challenges, Responses, Realities, Addis Ababa

Addressing the factors responsible for the misunderstanding of Technology Education with other subject fields

Technology Education was introduced and rolled out in South African schools in 1998. It has been twenty years since its implementation, yet it is being confused with other traditional subjects. Therefore, even though it is expected that Technology Education should be known for what it is exactly, it is still misunderstood, misconceived and misrepresented. There are factors that contribute towards its misunderstanding (a failure to understand it), misconception (incorrect opinion caused falsely thinking about or understanding it) and misrepresentation (giving a false or misleading account of its nature), such as it being confused with Engineering Education, Educational Technology, Science Education and Technical Vocational Education and Training. Misunderstanding Technology Education causes its misconception and misrepresentation; hence, in this article I use misunderstanding to cover misconception and misrepresentation as well. There is no dedicated literature (at least in South Africa), dealing with this problem in detail; only piecemeal definitions contained in studies about Technology Education exist. Hence, this article explores factors leading to the misunderstanding of Technology Education. As part of addressing this problem, the article builds on the Meaningful Learning in Technology Education Framework to accommodate a more expanded understanding of Technology Education that may help to defuse its misunderstanding. The article contributes knowledge in the scholarship of the understanding Technology Education – if Technology Education scholars, teachers and the broader readership do not have a clear understanding of Technology Education, how can those who are being taught the subject, i.e. the learners, be expected to understand it

Unpacking the impact of public transport infrastructure investments on transformations in the City of Johannesburg

Abstract: In the age of smart cities and globalisation, smart mobility is not only a vital component in the physical functionality of cities but also an economic and social performance of the modern urban centres. Urban transformations that are taking place in South African cities exhibit a strong shift towards the adoption of smart cities concepts that entail smart governance, mobility, economy, living, environment and people; hence prioritizing the economy and the society’s needs. There have been massive innovative public transport systems developments in the City of Johannesburg since 2010, which are the rapid Gautrain, Gaubus and Rea Vaya bus as a way of complimenting the already existing Putco bus, Metro bus and Metro rail services. Paradoxically, the impact of such innovations particularly on socioeconomic development of the City of Johannesburg has not been highlighted conclusively in existing literature. Consequently, this paper seeks to explore and highlight socio-economic benefits of innovative public transportation systems in communities focusing on the City of Johannesburg. To comprehend this, the study used a mixed approach of qualitative, quantitative and spatial investigation. Questionnaires, key informant interviews, maps from ArcGIS software as well as crowd sourced data from Echo-Echo software were applied. This helped to reveal the socio-economic impact, developmental trends as well as perceptions of commuters using the innovative public transit systems. Research results revealed that innovative public transit systems contribute to socio-economic benefits however, a lot still needs to be done to improve their impacts on ordinary citizens and residents in the City of Johannesburg. Pursuant to that, the paper ends by recommending that there is need for strong linkages between innovative and sustainable public transportation development and socio-economic imperatives within communities and societies

Postgraduate supervision support in Open Distance and E-learning: Supervisors’ and key stakeholders’ views

This descriptive case study explores the support that supervisors in the College of Education (CEDU) at the University of South Africa (UNISA) give to Ethiopian doctoral students. It is important to inquire into supervisors’ views about the support that they give to students as part of their supervision especially in the open distance and e-learning (ODeL) higher education context. Twelve supervisors who are or have supervised Ethiopian doctoral students were selected by convenience sampling and interviewed individually to gather their views about the support they give (or have given) to their students. Supervisors’ views were augmented by other key stakeholders’ views to deepen the understanding of support. The findings reveal that supervisors, though faced with unique challenges, made efforts to support students emotionally, academically, and by being the extended hand of UNISA when students could not access certain services or resources. Doctoral students who are faced with contextual challenges can succeed if they are given proper support which is motivated by mutual respect between the supervisor and student. The study can also benefit supervisors in African universities to reflect on the support that they give to their students, especially in the situations that are posed by the students’ circumstances

Identifying locations suitable for innovative urban public transport integration in Gauteng province

Abstract: Globally, integrated urban public transport has been used as a solution to improve public transport services and reduce private cars reliance which assist to reduce traffic congestion on the roads. In South Africa, Gauteng province, is challenged with traffic congestion on roads during certain peak hours daily. In Gauteng province, the government developed innovative urban public transport systems to improve the state of reliability and frequent movement of urban public transport which are the BRT system and the Gautrain system. However, there is still lack of reliability and seamless travelling. Therefore, this paper aims to explore locations where innovative urban public transport systems (BRT system and Gautrain system) can be integrated in the province. The study adopted qualitative research design that facilitated the gathering and analysis of spatial data and qualitative data from the innovative urban public transport officials, commuters and the GIS data (BRT and Gautrain shapefiles). Results revealed that there are numerous locations that can be integrated where commuters can switch from one urban public transport system to the next in order to improve travelling by public transport. The study concluded that this level of integration can create seamless travelling in the province and easy access to different modes of public transport. The study recommends that the identified locations need to receive attention as most commuters of these innovative UPT systems are located around these areas and the use of the created model in the study

MIXED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT, INCLUSIVITY, AND URBAN SUSTAINABILITY NEXUS IN THE CITIES OF THE GLOBAL SOUTH: A SYSTEMATIC BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW

Faced with significant challenges, the creation of urban environments in the Global South that foster socio-economicdevelopment and upward mobility, access to economic opportunities, efficient use of scarce resources, and socialcohesion is fundamental in achieving global and regional sustainability objectives. The South African urban context,in need of significant spatial transformation, mixed housing development, and the elements inherent to its inclusivity,has been identified as an instrument to stimulate social, economic, and environmental sustainability in a divided andfragmented environment. These developments are characterised by heterogeneous housing typologies, medium-to high-density residential layouts, provision of public amenities, and unique neighbourhood designs. In additionto potential challenges related to mixed use development, there is also uncertainty regarding the ability of saiddevelopments to foster broad urban sustainability. Accordingly, this research investigates the interface betweenmixed housing development, inclusivity, and urban sustainability, with the objective to determine their relationshipand the extent to this has been studied in the developing country context. The method used to achieve the objectivesof the research is a systematic bibliometric review of existing publications on mixed housing development. Findingsindicate that there is limited research on the direct link between mixed housing development, urban sustainability, andinclusivity, especially in the context of the Global South. In addition, existing mixed housing development researchhas a transdisciplinary character with various research clusters, and that research on related themes have gainedprominence in recent years. The findings motivate further study of the relationship between the mentioned themesin the South African, and by extension, developing country context, and that broad policy perspectives ought to beconsidered in future research initiatives

Assessing the quality of the integrated tutor model for student support in Open Distance Learning

The demand for university education has put pressure on institutions of higher learning to provide access and quality student support because increased access to higher education should not compromise the quality of student support services. Tutorial support in Open Distance Learning (ODL) is one of the support services used by institutions to ensure increasing academic access and participation. An Integrated Tutor Model (ITM) has been used for this purpose at the University of South Africa (Unisa). However, the quality of the ITM-based tutor support services is not yet known. The aim of this qualitative exploratory study was to assess the quality of tutorial support services offered through the ITM at Unisa. The ITM model is the integration of the face-to-face and online tutor systems adopted by Unisa. Students who were involved in the tutorials of the first and second semesters in 2022 were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). We learned that the students hold positive views about the quality of tutorials in terms of time management and the quality of recordings on Microsoft Teams, the tutors who offer the modules and the communication that they receive from the tutors. There were however challenges that the students faced such as load-shedding and network-related and personal issues. The tutors mitigated these challenges by sending the students the recordings of the sessions. The study shares knowledge about the tutors’ skills and creativity in the use of the ITM to provide quality support toward student learning in an ODL higher institutional environment

Tutors' views on the integrated tutor model in open distance learning

The facilitation of learning by tutors is a worldwide phenomenon that is supported by most open and distance learning (ODL) institutions. It is a strategy employed to achieve academic success. This qualitative intrinsic case study explored the views of tutors at the University of South Africa (Unisa) about the implementation of the Integrated Tutor Model (ITM) which supports student learning. The successes, challenges and impact of the ITM on the tutors’ delivery of tutorials are not fully known. Therefore, the findings of this study will highlight the successes, challenges and impact of the ITM which Unisa can use to improve the model. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews with six tutors who were purposively selected from Unisa’s Gauteng region. The findings revealed successes and challenges of the ITM that affect the support that is due to the students via tutorage. These findings explain the application of the ITM that can assist Unisa in strengthening or reviewing both the tutor system and the model

Elders Decry the Loss of Ubuntu

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted on the issues surrounding ubuntu. It addresses the questions: What is ubuntu? What has happened to ubuntu? Five elders were selected from Akasia in the north of Pretoria and interviewed. Several themes emanating from the findings reveal challenges that ubuntu faces in response to the question of what has happened to ubuntu. The elders’ definition of ubuntu places children at the centre, that is, ubuntu is the way children relate to the elderly in terms of respect that they must show. In conclusion I suggest an ubuntu mode in figure 1, which is opposed to the individualism mode in figure 2. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p6