scholarly journals Transdisciplinary service-learning for construction management and quantity surveying students

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura F. Pinfold
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Construction Management ◽  
Cooperative Interaction ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Cape Peninsula ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Quantity Surveying ◽  
The Way

The transformation of higher education in South Africa has seen higher education institutions become more responsive to community matters by providing institutional support for service-learning projects. Despite service-learning being practised in many departments at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), there is a significant difference in the way service-learning is perceived by academics and the way in which it should be supported within the curriculum. This article reflects on a collaborative transdisciplinary service-learning project at CPUT that included the Department of Construction Management and Quantity Surveying and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning. The aim of the transdisciplinary service-learning project was for students to participate in an asset-mapping exercise in a rural communal settlement in the Bergrivier municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. In so doing students from the two departments were gradually inducted into the community. Once inducted, students were able to identify the community’s most urgent needs. During community engagement students from each department were paired together. This allowed transdisciplinary learning to happen with the exploration of ideas from the perspectives of both engineering and urban planning students. Students were able to construct meaning beyond their discipline. Cooperation and synergy between the departments allowed mutual, interchangeable, cooperative interaction with community members. Outcomes for the transdisciplinary service-learning project and the required commitment from students are discussed.

Perceived Occurrence of Medication Administration Errors among Nursing Students at a Higher Education Institution in Western Cape, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yousef Abusaksaksa ◽  
Hilda Vember ◽  
RR Marie Modeste
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Medication Administration ◽  
P Value ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Medication Administration Errors ◽  
Significant Difference

The aim of the study was to determine awareness and perception of trends in the occurrence of medication administration errors (MAEs) among nursing students. A descriptive quantitative design was employed on two consecutive days and a self-administrative questionnaire was used to collect data. The validity and reliability of this instrument were tested and established by a pilot study. Responses were collected from 291 nursing students at a higher education institution (HEI) in Western Cape, South Africa. Non-probability proportional quota sampling was used and the data was analysed with IBM SPSS® software. The data was presented in graphs, percentages, means and standard deviation, while inferential statistics was applied. The findings of the study revealed that 85.2% of the respondents were aware of MAE occurrence. There was no significant difference between the respondents’ awareness of MAE occurrence and their year of the study. The significant (p-value < 0.05) subscale for the causes of MAE occurrence was the physician communication subscale (p-value < 0.001). Moreover, the respondents perceived the top item to be using abbreviations instead of writing out the prescription orders completely (p-value < 0.001, mean = 4.85). The respondents disagreed that the pharmacy related subscale and its items were causes of MAE occurrence. In conclusion, the nursing students who participated in the study were aware of MAE occurrence during their practice time. The causes of these errors as indicated by the respondents are mentioned in the article. Therefore, the healthcare institutions as well as HEIs must focus on treating these causes in order to reduce MAE occurrence and enhance patient safety.

No Significant Difference in Service Learninng Online

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Y. McGorry
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Program Outcomes ◽  
Online Delivery ◽  
Leadership And Management ◽  
Business Programs ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Significant Difference

Institutions of higher education are realizing the importance of service learning initiatives in developing awareness of students’ civic responsibilities, leadership and management skills, and social responsibility. These skills and responsibilities are the foundation of program outcomes in accredited higher education business programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. In an attempt to meet the needs of the student market, these institutions of higher education are delivering more courses online. This study addresses a comparison of traditional and online delivery of service learning experiences. Results demonstrate no significant difference in outcomes between the online and face-to-face models.

scholarly journals Foundation for transdisciplinary education at Cape Peninsula University of Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masilonyane Mokhele ◽  
Nicholas Pinfold
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Service Learning ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Cape Peninsula ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
South African Higher Education

South Africa faces a multitude of social, economic and environmental challenges, which require well-considered planning efforts. However, the efficacy of the built environment professions to adequately plan for the current and future populations can to some extent be questioned. Factors that are arguably responsible for the failure of the professions to achieve the desired outcomes include the following: (1) the inability of professionals to comprehensively analyse community problems and (2) although the various professions might work on the same issues, they largely fail to transcend disciplinary boundaries. This state of affairs can in part be linked to the role of higher education, which is in a good position to equip future professionals with the skills required for the analysis of diverse societal problems. In spite of the importance of education and training, there is a paucity of literature that explore ways in which the South African higher education sector instils transdisciplinary thinking and, accordingly, imparts the requisite soft skills to students. Using the case study of Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, the aim of this article was to present efforts that are pursued towards instilling transdisciplinarity in students. The efforts revolve around community service-learning pedagogy, which grants students a platform to work in close collaboration with communities. In the process, students and community members develop an in-depth understanding of the community’s problems and how they could be collectively resolved.

Three new species of Lachenalia (Hyacinthaceae: Massonieae) from Western and Northern Cape, South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Duncan ◽  
T. J. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New Species ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Southwestern Part ◽  
Cape Peninsula ◽  
Northern Cape ◽  
Three New Species

This is the sixth in a series of papers on Lachenalia, towards a revision of the genus. Three new species are described. L. lutea from the southwestern part of the Western Cape, L. cernua from the southern Cape Peninsula and the Worcester Valley of the Western Cape, and L. nardousbergensis from the Bokkeveld Plateau of the Northern Cape, and the Nardousberge and Middelburg Plateaus of the Western Cape.

scholarly journals Community engagement as the organic link with the street: Creating a learning community between the academy and homeless people in Tshwane

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Botha
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Church History ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Context Analysis ◽  
Current Form

Does the current community engagement project, of the Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology at the University of South Africa (UNISA), respond to the conceptual discourse on community engagement? Informed by this question this article’s objective is two-pronged. Firstly, an attempt is made to locate the project’s beginning in a proper historical perspective by engaging the initial ministry of the Department with homeless people. The narrative about the work of a Mennonite couple is told by structuring it around the dimensions of agency (identification or insertion), context analysis, strategies for mission and theological reflection or in simple terms, the reading of the Bible. Secondly, this article proceeds by subjecting both the initial ministry with homeless people and the community engagement project, in its current form, to the scrutiny of three high ranking publications from the Higher Education Quality Committee in collaboration with JET Education Services, the Council on Higher Education and a handbook on service learning in South Africa on the conceptual clarification of service learning and community engagement. As the documents reveal some difference of opinion amongst the experts, the bottom-line is that unless the interaction between the academy and the community (homeless people) is a consistent, sustainable, reciprocal and mutual process aimed at creating a genuine learning community, the project is called into question. A further issue is that the engagement between the parties must find reflection in what is taught – students or learners are to benefit from this – and researched.

Effects of Hazardous Alcohol use on Neurocognition in HIV Positive Individuals

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S639-S639
Author(s):  
G. Spies ◽  
G. Hoddinott ◽  
N. Beyers ◽  
S. Seedat
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Hiv Infection ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Hazardous Alcohol Use ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Hazardous Alcohol

IntroductionThere is significant evidence that HIV is brain degenerative and long-term infection can impair cognitive functioning. In South Africa, alcohol remains the dominant substance of abuse and lifetime alcohol dependence has been found to impair memory, executive function and visuospatial capabilities. The individual liability of alcohol and HIV on neurocognitive function have been well demonstrated, however there is relatively little evidence of the potentially aggravating effects of this dual burden on neurocognitive outcomes.ObjectivesThe present study is ongoing and sought to identify the effects of hazardous alcohol use on neurocognitive functioning in the context of HIV infection.AimsTo describe the association between HIV and harmful alcohol use on neuropsychological test performance in a cohort of adults in the Western Cape of South africa.Methodsparticipants (n = 50) were tested using a battery of neuropsychological tests sensitive to the effects of HIV on the brain. Self-reported alcohol use was recorded using the alcohol use identification test (AUDIT). Results The sample consisted of 47 females and 3 males. All participants were HIV-positive and on antiretroviral therapy. A total of 23 (46%) participants reported no alcohol use and 27 (54%) reported drinking alcohol on the AUDIT.Resultsrevealed a significant difference between groups on the Stroop colour word test, with poorer performance evident among the alcohol users (P = 0.008).ConclusionAlcohol use in the context of HIV infection contributes to poorer executive function. These preliminary data provide evidence for a synergistic relationship between HIV infection and alcohol use.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Bridging the gap between technical and social competencies of urban and regional planning through mobile technology: The case of Cape Peninsula University of Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Pinfold ◽  
Masilonyane Mokhele
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Land Tenure ◽  
Regional Planning ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Social Competencies ◽  
Urban And Regional Planning ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Cape Peninsula

Higher education institutions are entrusted with the responsibility of training future workforces that are well equipped to function in the age of the 4th industrial revolution (4IR). This role is pertinent in light of growing concerns that with the advent of 4IR, mobile technology and robotics would take over certain roles that are currently performed by humans. Using the case of Goedverwacht community service-learning project in the Western Cape province of South Africa, this paper demonstrates ways in which mobile technology is embraced and applied in urban and regional planning education at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). The purpose of the service-learning collaboration between the Goedverwacht community and CPUT was to produce a spatial map depicting property boundaries so that the community could, amongst others, be ready for the imminent land tenure reform processes. With the input and guidance of community members, the map was compiled through the use of mobile and allied technology, including global positioning system-enabled smartphones, drones and mobile geographic information system.

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