A Case Study of Non-Violent Property Crime Victimisation in a South African Urban Residential Neighbourhood: Exploring the Excessive Use of Force and Destruction Caused by Burglars to Gain Entry to Victims’ Properties

Commentators frequently report on the high prevalence of violent crime in South Africa and often label the country as one of the most violent in the world, with a subculture of violence and criminality. This paper focuses on a different perspective, reporting on the excessive use of force and destruction caused by offenders in South Africa to gain entry to victims’ properties in the execution of non-violent property crimes, in a particular residential burglary. Literature on property crimes has been considering the aggravating circumstances of violent property crimes. However, the use of excessive force and destruction caused by burglars to gain access to victims’ properties in the execution of residential burglary remains relatively untested in the literature. In this light, the purpose of this study is to describe the unprecedented levels of force used and destruction caused by burglars to gain access to victims’ properties during residential burglary victimisation in an urban residential neighbourhood in Johannesburg, South Africa. A qualitative research approach is followed. A case study design was used to select an urban residential neighbourhood in Johannesburg as a case study. A data set of (n = 1 431) crimes were purposively selected by means of non-probability sampling. Qualitative and quantitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. This paper offers valuable insight into the forceful and destructive conduct of burglars in the selected neighbourhood and contributes to the body of knowledge by providing an improved understanding of target hardening as a preventive measure against residential burglary victimisation as well as on methods of entry used by burglars in incidents of residential burglary. The results of reported non-violent property crime victimisation incidences by this community’s neighbourhood watch scheme suggest that residential burglars in the selected neighbourhood are uncharacteristically forceful and ravage in their actions since they frequently revert to extreme use of force and destruction, disproportionate to the crime perpetrated. It is concluded that this radical degree of force used and destruction caused by residential burglars to gain entry to victims’ properties in the execution of non-violent property crimes is not typically associated with residential burglary as compared to countries internationally

The determination of body surface area

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The influences on the two inner city housing projects of the Bo Kaap and District Six in Cape Town that were built between 1938 and 1944

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-81).This study examines the social, political, and architectural influences that shaped the two Cape Town inner city housing projects in the Bo Kaap and District Six that were built after the introduciton of the Slums Act of 1943, between 1938 and 1944. During this period there there were changes in the hegemonic perceptions of the city. The eradication of slums served as a catalyst for spatial change and the dislocation of lived space as the city sought to re-create itself as a modern, rationally planned metropolis. The civic authorities and architects appeared to use the criteria of the modernist discourse as a mechanism to wield social control on marginalised members of society; creating mechanisms of removal, exclusion, surveillance and control based on ethnicity. This reflects the perceptions of the French philosopher, Foucault regarding power and control

Negotiating modernism in Cape Town: 1918-1948 : an investigation into the introduction, contestation, negotiation and adaptation of modernism in the architecture of Cape Town

In the early twentieth century modernism radically changed the world, affecting all aspects of life. Twentieth century modernism incorporated new inventions that changed the modes of travel, it restructured methods of production and the way in which people lived, worked and played. This radical change was to be reflected in all sectors, and was particularly manifested physically in architecture. Modernism demanded a radical shift from an architecture that had been slowly evolving from nineteenth century eclecticism, overlaid with reactionary concerns for the overwhelming impact of industrialisation on society and on the built fabric of cities. It sought to identify new ways of dealing with these issues and finding new methods of spatial production and ultimately creating a new means of architectural aesthetic expression that came to be referred to as the Modern Movement. The response to the radical change implied in modernism resulted in a process of negation and contestation, leading through negotiation to a mediated compromise before an ultimate acceptance

Functional network correlates of language and semiology in epilepsy

Epilepsy surgery is appropriate for 2-3% of all epilepsy diagnoses. The goal of the presurgical workup is to delineate the seizure network and to identify the risks associated with surgery. While interpretation of functional MRI and results in EEG-fMRI studies have largely focused on anatomical parameters, the focus of this thesis was to investigate canonical intrinsic connectivity networks in language function and seizure semiology. Epilepsy surgery aims to remove brain areas that generate seizures. Language dysfunction is frequently observed after anterior temporal lobe resection (ATLR), and the presurgical workup seeks to identify the risks associated with surgical outcome. The principal aim of experimental studies was to elaborate understanding of language function as expressed in the recruitment of relevant connectivity networks and to evaluate whether it has value in the prediction of language decline after anterior temporal lobe resection. Using cognitive fMRI, we assessed brain areas defined by parameters of anatomy and canonical intrinsic connectivity networks (ICN) that are involved in language function, specifically word retrieval as expressed in naming and fluency. fMRI data was quantified by lateralisation indices and by ICN_atlas metrics in a priori defined ICN and anatomical regions of interest. Reliability of language ICN recruitment was studied in 59 patients and 30 healthy controls who were included in our language experiments. New and established language fMRI paradigms were employed on a three Tesla scanner, while intellectual ability, language performance and emotional status were established for all subjects with standard psychometric assessment. Patients who had surgery were reinvestigated at an early postoperative stage of four months after anterior temporal lobe resection. A major part of the work sought to elucidate the association between fMRI patterns and disease characteristics including features of anxiety and depression, and prediction of postoperative language outcome. We studied the efficiency of reorganisation of language function associated with disease features prior to and following surgery. A further aim of experimental work was to use EEG-fMRI data to investigate the relationship between canonical intrinsic connectivity networks and seizure semiology, potentially providing an avenue for characterising the seizure network in the presurgical workup. The association of clinical signs with the EEG-fMRI informed activation patterns were studied using the data from eighteen patients’ whose seizures and simultaneous EEG-fMRI activations were reported in a previous study. The accuracy of ICN_atlas was validated and the ICN construct upheld in the language maps of TLE patients. The ICN construct was not evident in ictal fMRI maps and simulated ICN_atlas data. Intrinsic connectivity network recruitment was stable between sessions in controls. Amodal linguistic processing and the relevance of temporal intrinsic connectivity networks for naming and that of frontal intrinsic connectivity networks for word retrieval in the context of fluency was evident in intrinsic connectivity networks regions. The relevance of intrinsic connectivity networks in the study of language was further reiterated by significant association between some disease features and language performance, and disease features and activation in intrinsic connectivity networks. However, the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) showed significantly greater activation compared to intrinsic connectivity networks – a result which indicated that ATL functional language networks are better studied in the context of the anatomically demarked ATL, rather than its functionally connected intrinsic connectivity networks. Activation in temporal lobe networks served as a predictor for naming and fluency impairment after ATLR and an increasing likelihood of significant decline with greater magnitude of left lateralisation. Impairment of awareness served as a significant classifying feature of clinical expression and was significantly associated with the inhibition of normal brain functions. Canonical intrinsic connectivity networks including the default mode network were recruited along an anterior-posterior anatomical axis and were not significantly associated with clinical signs

Nurse educators’ views on implementation and use of high-fidelity simulation in nursing programmes

Background. Clinical skills development of student nurses is a concern in nursing education owing to limited clinical exposure and learning opportunities. High-fidelity simulation as a teaching-learning strategy creates an environment where student nurses develop clinical skills through interactive participation.Objectives. The aim of this research study was to explore nurse educators’ views of high-fidelity simulation as an educational approach in nursing programmes.Methods. A qualitative descriptive design was used. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews. Data saturation occurred within 19 interviews. The population consisted out of 33 (N=33; n=19) nurse educators. Direct content analysis was done using Hsieh and Shannon’s approach. The study was conducted at a South African private higher education institution.Results. Five main themes were identified. The nurse educators had not been exposed to or had limited experience with high-fidelity simulation. Limited resources and/or the lack of nurse educators trained in high-fidelity simulation were identified. The nurse educators agreed that high-fidelity simulation would contribute to the enhancement of clinical skills development and theory and practice integration.Conclusion. High-fidelity simulation is not implemented owing to limited equipment or experience in using the equipment optimally. The nurse educators see high-fidelity simulation as a solution and valuable training method where clinical skills are developed before the student nurse is exposed to the private clinical environment

Contested modernism : post Slums Act public housing in Cape Town

Following the introduction of the Slums Act by Central Government in 1934, the Cape Town City Council embarked on an ambitious public housing project linked to slum clearance being undertaken in the inner city areas of the Bo Kaap and District Six. The housing was intended for the people displaced by the clearances and provided an opportunity for the city to create racially segregated residential areas for Coloured people in addition to the already established African residential area of Langa. The city council adopted modernist design principles and aesthetics for these housing schemes, despite the fact that their approach to housing for White housing remained focused on conservative detached houses. It appears that they were willing to experiment with modernism for those they viewed as ‘Other’ as they tentatively engaged with the modernist discourse. This paper examines the situation that existed in Cape Town in relation to international trends and relates these to the actual projects.Modernismo impugnado: después de la Ley de barrios de tugurios de vivienda pública en Cape Town Tras la introducción de la Ley de barrios de tugurios por el Gobierno Central en 1934, el Ayuntamiento de Cape Town se embarcó en un ambicioso proyecto de vivienda pública vinculada a la remoción de los barrios de tugurios que se realizan en el centro de las ciudades de Bo Kaap y Distrito Seis. La vivienda estaba destinada a las personas desplazadas por los espacios y una oportunidad para la ciudad para crear zonas residenciales segregadas racialmente a las personas de color, además de la ya establecida la zona residencial de África de Langa. El ayuntamiento aprobó los principios de diseño modernista y la estética de estos planes de vivienda, a pesar del hecho de que su enfoque de la vivienda para la vivienda Blanco siguió centrándose en los conservadores viviendas unifamiliares. Parece que estaban dispuestos a experimentar con el modernismo para aquellos que veían como ‘Otros’ ya que tentativamente comprometido con el discurso modernista. Este documento examina la situación que existía en Cape Town en relación con las tendencias internacionales y los relaciona con los proyectos reales

Students’ experiences and perceptions of racial prejudice and discrimination on social networking sites

The present study set out to enhance the understanding of racial prejudice and discrimination on social networking websites or ‘sites’ from the perspective of university students. The research focused on discovering the perceived determinant factors of online racial prejudice and discrimination, as well as the impact social networking sites have on such behaviour. A qualitative research design was selected, which utilised the grounded theory method to explore and describe the experiences and perceptions of the eight participants recruited by means of purposive sampling. The aim of the study was achieved through individual semi-structured interviews and a concept definition questionnaire as data collection tools. The findings were compared to major extant theories and literature to determine whether existing explanations for the occurrence of this online behaviour is sufficient to account for this phenomenon. Using an iterative process of thematic analysis, the findings revealed several perceived factors that contribute to this behaviour. It was found that social networking site users, in all their psychological, psychosocial and cognitive attributes, are the primary source for this behaviour. Moreover, online racial prejudice and discrimination is initiated by the use of these platforms and their facilitative features, which has a perceived negative impact on social and racial relations. Grounded in the research data, an explanatory theory was formulated of individuals’ perceived behaviour on social networking sites, specifically pertaining to racial prejudice and discrimination, as well as to how this negatively manifests and causes racial division in society

Oratio: A Non-Lawyer's Views on the Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage of 2013

The South African Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) recently published for comments a Revised White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage (the White Paper) dated 4 June 2013.[1] The White Paper contains a new vision of arts and culture and is intended to replace the existing White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage dated 4 June 1996 (the 1996 White Paper).[2] The publication of a revised white paper on cultural matters after 17 years is definitely not unwelcome but in this case a number of issues which need to be raised come to the fore.  Department of Arts and Culture 2013 http://www.bit.ly/1aLmfy7. The comments were due by 25 July 2013. The author was involved in the drafting of the 1996 White Paper (Department of Arts and Culture 1996 http://www.dac.gov.za/content/white-paper-arts-culture-and-heritage).  &nbsp

South African host city volunteers' experiences of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™

The 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) World Cup (WC) would be the first time that a FIFA WC would be hosted on the African continent. This study was aimed at describing the South African City of Tshwane (COT) general volunteers’ experiences of volunteering at the 2010 FIFA WC. The FIFA Volunteer Programme consists of two groups of volunteers: Local Organising Committee (LOC) volunteers and each Host City (HC) volunteers. The COT volunteers are HC volunteers from the Tshwane Metropolitan Area (TMA). Volunteers are active in a variety of different contexts, namely in the community, volunteers at sport clubs or schools and also at mega sport events. Volunteers make it possible to host a mega sport event because they provide their time and effort without expecting remuneration or they receive a stipend amount. The existing literature of volunteers at mega sport events investigated what motivated volunteers to participate as well as how satisfied the volunteers were with the experience. The aim of this study was to describe COT general volunteers’ experiences of preparing (preparation phase) for the 2010 FIFA WC; COT general volunteers’ experiences during (participation phase) the 2010 FIFA WC, as well as the South African COT general volunteers’ experiences on their involvement (reflection phase) at the 2010 FIFA WC was described. The methodology employed in this study was Descriptive Phenomenology and the Duquesne Phenomenological Research Method was used to analyse the material. The differences between Descriptive Phenomenology and Interpretive Phenomenology were described. The material consisted of a written account as well as an interview, which was based on the essences that were portrayed in the written accounts. There were five participants — three spectator services volunteers and two rights protection volunteers. All of the participants were female. The findings of this study were divided into the preparation phase, participation phase and the reflection phase. In the preparation phase the COT general volunteers described two essences namely, the application process and training. In the participation phase the COT general volunteers experienced four essences namely, the working of shifts, interaction with volunteers, interaction with supervisors and lastly interaction with tourists. In the reflection phase the volunteers described two experiences, growth and value. This research project contributes to sport psychology because this study describes the experiences of volunteers at the 2010 FIFA WC.Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Psychologyunrestricte