Browsing by Author "Cattell, Keith S"
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- ItemOpen AccessEvaluating social environments : a case study of residential satisfaction in elderly shared-housing settings in Cape Town, South Africa(2016) Ndagire, Susan; Cattell, Keith SThe need for supportive non-conventional housing environments that encourage cohesion, conflict resolution, independence, self-disclosure, organisation, residential influence and physical comfort, amongst elderly residents is becoming critical, yet the evaluation of existing elderly housing settings is often overlooked. The aim of the research was to identify residents' perceptions of the social climate in shared housing settings, a non-conventional housing initiative being undertaken by non-profit organisations for the low-income elderly population group in Cape Town, South Africa. A case research study involved 45 participants living in 7 of the 13 shared houses affiliated to the Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH) organization. Using the Sheltered Care Environmental Scale (SCES), participants answered 63 'Yes / No' questions aimed at revealing their opinions of the social climate in the shared homes. The initial findings detected overall satisfaction amongst most residents regarding interfacing social dynamics, suggesting high levels of perceived independence, self-disclosure and residential influence. Mixed results were generally observed regarding interfacing social dynamics related to levels of physical comfort, organization in the homes, cohesion and conflict resolution. The findings suggest that the shared housing concept advanced by the Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH) organisation has been able to successfully promote a sense of cohesion, conflict resolution, independence, self-disclosure, organisation, residential influence and physical comfort amongst residents, thereby playing a vital role in residents' experience of residential satisfaction in these homes.
- ItemOpen AccessAn investigation into the mechanisms that are steering large property owning organisations to implement green building features(2012) Nurick, Saul; Cattell, Keith SCorporate social and environmental responsibility (CSR/CER) are terms that are often used to brand a company in a positive light. This does not necessarily mean that every organisation implements social and environmental initiatives with the same degree of vigour and commitment. South African property owning organisations are becoming increasingly aware that being socially and environmentally responsible can encompass the design and operation of their buildings. It is for this reason that these types of organisations are searching for ways to implement green building initiatives in their property portfolios. The implementation of environmentally friendly/green initiatives is viewed as Socially Responsible Property Investments (SRPI). Green building initiatives are slowly being adopted by some property owning organisations in South Africa, especially after the formal establishment of the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) in 2007. Implementation of green building initiatives have been met with multiple barriers by property owning organisations, such as lack of education by the professional team with regards to cost of green features and the processes involved in gaining green certification. Three prominent property owning organisations in Cape Town, two corporate and the other an academic institution were chosen as suitable case studies and analysed. Multiple respondents were interviewed for each case study and asked questions regarding their social and environmental initiatives and to what degree, if at all, they are attempting to implement green building features in their buildings. These questions were used to compare the organisation's actions to the content of its CSR policy. It was found that the adoption of green building initiatives was based on the type of property owning organisation, be it corporate or non-corporate. The property owning type has resulted in differing motives for implementation of green initiatives; however there are some common motives regardless of the company type, such as the financial feasibility of implementing said initiatives. The final results of this research revealed that although there is a small gap between a property owning company's CSR policy to that of its stated social and environmental initiatives, the gap between the CSR policy and its green building initiatives is still relatively large.