scholarly journals Water Purification in South Africa: Reflections on Curriculum Development Tools and Best Practices for Implementing Student-Led Sustainable Development Projects in Rural Communities

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Eric Harshfield ◽  
Ana Jemec ◽  
Ofhani Makhado ◽  
Elias Ramarumo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Water Purification ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
University Of Virginia ◽  
The University

This paper presents a sustainable development project in which University of Virginia students collaborated with University of Venda faculty, Global Sustainability Club students, and local community members to address water problems in a village in the Venda region of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. The cohort’s goal was to implement a sustainable and contextually appropriate water purification and distribution system. The authors present the design and constructed process for a slow sand filtration system intended to provide clean drinking water to most households in the community. They present and analyze the successes, failures, and ethical dilemmas encountered throughout project execution. Also, the authors assess the project based on three evaluation criteria for service learning projects and explore possibilities for follow-up through the collaboration between the University of Virginia and the University of Venda. The paper ends with a reflection examining aspects of engineering community engagement projects including site assessments prior to project implementation, project timeframes, and crosscultural institutional collaborations.

scholarly journals Potential of ecotourism as a mechanism to buoy community livelihoods: the case of Musina Municipality, Limpopo, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azwindini Isaac Ramaano
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Factor ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
First Case

PurposeThis study evaluates prospects of using ecotourism industry to advance community livelihoods in Musina Municipality, Limpopo, South Africa.Design/methodology/approachUsing questionnaire surveys, interviews primarily, supplemented by focus group discussions and interviews, primary data has been collected reflective of the potentiality of ecotouristic activities in Musina Municipality. To a lesser extent, field observations contribute to these primary sources. Extra insights are obtained through documentary reviews (secondary sources). Data is analyzed using quantitative statistical techniques supplemented by qualitative approaches.FindingsThe study confirmed substantial ecotourism potential of the Musina Municipality and that this potential is manifest irrespective of geographic and demographic factors. However, the study reports a low current ecotourism impact in the Musina Municipality with consequential minimal benefits accruing to the enhancement of the standard of living in the local community. An inference is made that the key gap area impeding the realization of ecotourism potential in the Musina Municipality is the absence of a well-articulated tourism strategy linked to the sustainable economic development of the communities involved. Several fruitful initiatives for ecotourism consonant with local factor endowments are proposed.Originality/valueAlthough, taken in topical isolation, matters of community livelihoods and sustainable development have been increasingly coming to the forefront of research on tourism, few studies have taken a holistic approach predicated on the integration of community livelihood and sustainable development roles of various forms of ecotourism in community development within many rural areas. This study represents the first case study employing an integrated approach to analyze ecotouristic potential of rural Musina Municipality, one of the driest areas in the far North of Limpopo Province, South Africa, characterized by low standard of living juxtaposed with high touristic potential.

scholarly journals Visual technology for the autonomous learning of mathematics

Pythagoras ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 0 (72) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Linneweber‐Lammerskitten ◽  
Marc Schäfer ◽  
Duncan Samson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Autonomous Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Issues ◽  
Video Clips ◽  
Visual Technology ◽  
Short Video ◽  
African Context ◽  
Design Production ◽  
The University

This paper describes a collaborative research and development project between the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and Rhodes University in South Africa. The project seeks to establish, disseminate and research the efficacy and use of short video clips designed specifically for the autonomous learning of mathematics. Specific to the South African context is our interest in capitalising on the ubiquity of cellphone technology and the autonomous affordances offered by mobile learning. This paper engages with a number of theoretical and pedagogical issues relating to the design, production and use of these video clips. Although the focus is specific to the contexts of South Africa and Switzerland, the discussion is of broad applicability.

scholarly journals Collaborative Autoethnography: An Approach to Deliver Learning Objectives of a Community-Engaged Research Course for Health Science Undergraduates during Pandemic Times

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angie Mejia
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
University Of Minnesota ◽  
Engaged Learning ◽  
Community Agencies ◽  
Community Engaged Research ◽  
The University

Community Collaborative is an upper-division, community-engaged course at the University of Minnesota Rochester geared to health science majors. Each term, several groups of undergraduates collaborate on service-learning or research-based projects for local community agencies working on issues of health. A process was implemented to meet one learning objective in the syllabus (introduction to qualitative data methods) as a response to pandemic-imposed limitations on community-engaged learning activities at UMR. The hope was for one group of students to meet these objectives by engaging in a collaborative autoethnography instead of collecting data in the community.

scholarly journals Climate Change and Food Insecurity Dynamics in the Rural Limpopo Province of South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1(J)) ◽  
pp. 22-32
Author(s):  
Abiodun Olusola Omotayo
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Household Heads

In the developing nations of the world, poor gross domestic product growth has shown serious vacuum to be filled in order to achieve the sustainable development goals. In that regard, this research article intends to contribute to the sustainable development goals of the United Nation’s goal by explaining the rural food insecurity in the light of climate change dynamic in some selected rural communities of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The data employed in the study were collected from 120 randomly selected rural household heads. Data were analysed with descriptive (frequency, mean etc.) and inferential statistics (Principal component Analysis (PCA), Tobit and Probit Regression) which were properly fitted (P<0.05) for the set research objectives. Descriptive results indicate that the average age of the respondents was 52 years with 60% of the household heads being married and a mean household size of 5.The study concluded that there is climate change effect and food insecurity in the study area and therefore recommended among others that the government of South Africa should endeavour to implement a more rural focused food securityclimate change policies in order to relieve the intensity of food insecurity situations among these disadvantaged rural dwellers of the province as well as to entrench a policy of long term development of agriculture. Finally, the study emphasized that the rural farming households should be enlightened through proper extension services to carry out climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in alleviating the food insecurity situation in the rural communities of the province. 

scholarly journals Finding and Defining Champions in a Rural Adult Education Intervention in Limpopo, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowan Thompson ◽  
Busisiwe Alant
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Women Mentors ◽  
Out Of School

This paper presents the outcomes of a community-based information communications technology (ICT) and basic adult education (BAE) nutrition training intervention for out-of-school young mothers (YMs) in a resource-limited rural village in eastern Limpopo Province, South Africa. YMs have been identified as a vulnerable and priority group for human development. Out-of-school YMs are often trapped in a cycle of poverty because they lack the resources and qualifications to compete outside their village environment. Implementation of the project's objectives to improve the nutritional and vocational skills education of the YMs was tracked to observe its empowering effect and the effectiveness of the community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) methodology in the implementation of the BAE. Voluntary sampling was used to purposively focus on seven of the 20 selected unemployed YMs between the ages of 18-30 years from this community. The findings revealed that the collaborative CBPAR approach enabled YMs to be empowered in their local community through active participation in the planning, trialling implementation, reflection, observation, and evaluation of the ICT and BAE nutrition course as an out-of-school adult learning experience. During these stages, some YMs displayed what may be considered "champion" behaviours such as higher levels of motivation in class, inviting others to the class, helping peers, regular attendance, and willingness to volunteer locally to access and assist with the facilitation of future courses. This study points to champions acting as catalysts to enable YMs and their older women mentors to fill different roles in the development and delivery of community-based BAE.

scholarly journals Community Driven Development of Rocket Stoves in Rural South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne De Chastonay ◽  
Michael Bugas ◽  
Shreya Soni ◽  
Robert Swap
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Primary School ◽  
South African ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Ripple Effect ◽  
Engaged Scholarship ◽  
University Of Virginia ◽  
African Community ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The University

This paper presents a sustainable cook stove project made possible by a partnership between a United States university and a South African community.  Faculty and students from the University of Virginia and the Mashamba Primary Presidential School collaborated to produce a cleaner and more sustainable method of cooking. The Rocket Stove, a high efficiency stove that uses wood as fuel, was adapted and implemented in the Mashamba Primary Presidential School in 2010 through a collective effort from both the University and Mashamba.  Since then, University of Virginia students have revisited Mashamba and are now working closely with the primary school to determine the positive and negative impacts the cookstoves have instilled on the community. As collaboration between the University of Virginia and Mashamba Primary School continues and more knowledge about the integration of the stoves is revealed, the partners hope to disseminate information about the Rocket Stove to other portions of the region.  The following is a story about the implementation of the rocket stove within a community. It is also a story of how service learning and engaged scholarship can produce a sustainable solution impacting what development means to a community, creating a ripple effect within an entire region.

scholarly journals Service-Learning Projects in University Degrees Based on Sustainable Development Goals: Proposals and Results

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 7940
Author(s):  
Paula M. Castro ◽  
Ana Ares-Pernas ◽  
Adriana Dapena
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
The University ◽  
Learning Projects

We present several Service-Learning projects developed considering Sustainable Development Goals to provide the students skills for the support of a sustainable society. This project begins with collecting initial impressions from surveys and reflections to know both the students’ expectations and their degree of involvement in the development of a sustainable society. Next, the students design academic projects taking into account the needs of the specific collective to which the Service-Learning activity is oriented. When this design has finished, such projects are developed with the users and the activity is evaluated. During 2019–2020, these projects were done with four entities oriented to people either with Asperger’s syndrome, Down syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease or mental health illnesses. A total of 35 and 10 students, respectively, from the Bachelor’s Degree of Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development and from the Master’s Degree in Professorship of High School have participated in this experience. We analyze the results from the perspective of the different agents involved, considering both qualitative and quantitative metrics. The results show that both users and staff are satisfied with this collaboration between the university and their entities. Moreover, this experience clearly has contributed to a better personal and professional student’s development.

COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Experience for Residential Students at a Large Four-Year Public University

2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e4
Author(s):  
Meredith E. Hayden ◽  
Diane Rozycki ◽  
Kawai O. Tanabe ◽  
Marsh Pattie ◽  
Laurie Casteen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Support Services ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Public University ◽  
Rapid Identification ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
University Of Virginia ◽  
Wraparound Services ◽  
The University

Rapid identification and management of students with COVID-19 symptoms, exposure, or disease are critical to halting disease spread and protecting public health. We describe the interdisciplinary isolation and quarantine program of a large, public university, the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. The program provided students with wraparound services, including medical, mental health, academic, and other support services during their isolation or quarantine stay. The program successfully accommodated 844 cases during the fall 2020 semester, thereby decreasing exposure to the rest of the university and the local community. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 16, 2021: e1–e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306424 )

Creating Authentic Preservice Art Teaching Experiences through Service-Learning

2017 ◽  
pp. 116-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Marzilli Miraglia
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Visual Arts ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Teaching Experiences ◽  
Community Agencies ◽  
Art Teaching ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
Service Learning Projects ◽  
The University

This chapter contextualizes the literature on service-learning and outlines ways to design, conduct and evaluate service-learning projects by identifying strengths, weaknesses, capacity and sustainability of service-learning programs, and clarifies goals, objectives, and values of service-learning pre-practica for preservice art education candidates. The examples describe a service-learning based program for preservice art teachers that provided authentic teaching experiences in the field, or in situ. In addition, this project sought to foster a better understanding of, and commitment to, the visual arts and provide meaningful service to local community agencies through the introduction, development, and implementation of service-learning visual arts courses in the university curriculum.

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