Browsing by Author "Schutte, D."

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    The air quality perceptions of the residents of Bayview, Mossel Bay
    (NACA, 2014) Schoeman, J.P.; Schutte, D.
    Background: In developing countries, it often occurs that little attention is given to air pollution emissions due to a lack of proper town planning, household combustion processes, energy production and the continuous growth in the transport sector (Norman et al., 2007:783). There is an increase in urban air pollution in most of the major cities of developing countries which is amplified by population growth and industrialization (World Resource Institute, 1998, 1999:1). Air pollution studies are not complete, and may fail if the quality of life and the perceptions of the studied community are not taken into consideration. This paper investigates the air quality perceptions of a high income residency surrounded by industrial activities and Mossel Bay was rated as to have potentially poor air quality by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out in Bayview, Mossel Bay. The perceptions of the respondents were collected by a structured questionnaire. Components of perceptions that were tested included general opinion regarding air quality, visual perceptions of air quality, type of pollutants such as smoke and dust, perceptions regarding the source of air pollution, perceptions regarding the municipal health institution controlling air quality in Bayview, etc. These perceptions were investigated by age, gender, socio-economic status etc.
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    COVID-19: Are community development scientists missing in action or missing the action?
    (Routledge, 2020) Schutte, D.
    While the world waits in anticipation for a vaccine against the Covid-19 virus, controlling the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic is all about managing the movement of people. The lockdown principle introduced in many countries aims to keep people in their respective communities, which also means the closure of many formal to the informal local economies. During these times, politicians all over the world rely heavily on the input of scientists when making decisions. Amongst the scientists who seem to play a central role in this process are epidemiologists and economists. But, if this change process is also about communities and communal life, where are the community development experts? Everybody talks about moving to a “new normal” in our societies. If this is to be true, why are the community development specialists so quiet whilst it is all about restoring our communal life?