Sabinet | Mense se ervarings in &apos;n natuurlike omgewing in die Vredefortkoepel, Suid-Afrika : implikasies vir ruimtelike ontwikkeling
n Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe - Mense se ervarings in &apos;n natuurlike omgewing in die Vredefortkoepel, Suid-Afrika : implikasies vir ruimtelike ontwikkeling - : navorsings- en oorsigartikel
Author Vera Roos, Hendri Coetzee and Karen Puren
Source : Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe, Volume 51, Issue 1, Mar 2011, p. 68 - 85
Keyword(s) : Contentment, Curiosity, Emosionele en fisiese veiligheid, Emotional and physical safety, Hoop, Hope, Human-environment interaction, Mens-omgewinginteraksie, Noordwes-Universiteit, Nuuskierigheid, Ontvlugting, Sense of escape, Spiritualiteit, Spirituality and Tevredenheid
Mense beleef kognitiewe, gevoels- en spirituele ervarings wanneer hulle in interaksie met natuurlike omgewings verkeer. Die meeste navorsing oor mense se interaksie met natuurlike omgewings fokus op die gesondheidsvoordele wat dit inhou. Daar is weinig inligting beskikbaar oor navorsing waar die insigte van gedragswetenskaplikes en ruimtelike beplanners gekombineer word om mense se interaksies in natuurlike omgewings te ondersoek ten einde die implikasies vir die ontwikkeling van natuurlike omgewings te bespreek. Die doel van die navorsing was om die spontane reaksies wat mense in &apos;n natuurlike omgewing ervaar en uitgedruk het, te beskryf en om voorstelle te maak wat deur stads- en streekbeplanners geraadpleeg kan word wanneer riglyne vir ontwikkeling voorgestel word. &apos;n Intrinsieke gevallestudie is gebruik en 12 deelnemers is deur middel van doelgerigte steekproefneming by die navorsing betrek. Kwalitatiewe navorsing is gebruik en data is deur middel van foto&apos;s, fokusgroepgesprekke en indiepte individuele onderhoude ingesamel en tematies ontleed. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat mense kognitiewe, affektiewe en spirituele ervarings in die natuurlike omgewing beleef het. Voorts is ook bevind dat uiteenlopende ervarings oor dieselfde omgewing ervaar is. Die nodigheid hiervan vir stads- en streekbeplanners is dat hulle moet kennis neem van die sensitiewe aard van die verhouding tussen mense en die natuurlike omgewing, aangesien dit belangrike implikasies het vir mense se geestesgesondheid. Verder word voorgestel dat die oënskynlike teenstrydige aard van die persoonlike betekenisse wat mense uit hulle interaksie met die natuurlike omgewing ontwikkel, nie geïgnoreer moet word in die beplanning van ontwikkelings nie, maar eerder deur middel van innoverende prosesse van openbare deelname, verreken moet word.
People&apos;s experiences in a natural environment in the Vredefort Dome, South Africa : implicactions for spatial development
Humans are holistic beings who engage with natural environments on a cognitive, affective and spiritual level. Research has indicated a clear link between physical and mental health and experiences of nature. When people are alienated from nature due to limited opportunities to visit pristine natural environments, increasing development and the ubiquitous availability of technology, psychological health decreases, whilst emotional and even physical health problems emerge. Little information is available on how human behavioural sciences, such as psychology, and spatial disciplines, such as urban and regional planning, can work together to optimise human-nature interaction - especially in rural nature contexts. A close link exists between people and natural environments. Since most of the research on human-nature interaction focuses on restorative interventions to deal with abnormal behaviour, or on broad trends for large groups of people, it is not clear what the spontaneous experiences of people&apos;s interaction with natural environments, comprise. The purpose of this study was to explore spontaneous experiences in natural environments with the aim to discuss implications for spatial development purposes.
A qualitative research method was used to obtain the data. An intrinsic case study design was used and 12 participants were requested to share their experiences of their interaction with nature. Participants received cameras and maps and were free to walk the farm. They were asked to photograph anything they came across and regarded as important. Afterwards all participants were requested to participate in a focus group discussion. Participants were requested to share the meaning and the relevance of the photo&apos;s they took. Two sets of data were obtained and both the textual and visual data were subsequently analysed thematically. The findings showed that the participants&apos; interactions with pristine natural environments emerged on cognitive, affective and spiritual levels. They expressed experiences such as a sense of escape (cognitive freedom); curiosity, hope and feelings of calmness (affective dimension); as well as feeling closer to God (spiritual experiences) in their interaction with nature. The findings also revealed diverse meanings that people hold regarding their interaction with the natural environment. The relevance that the findings might hold for spatial disciplines, such as urban and regional planning, is an indication of the need to be sensitive to the different relational dimensions that emerge when people interact with natural environments. Development should aim to protect the sensitive nature of the meanings that people attach to the natural environment. In addition, it was found that the seeming discrepancy between personal meanings attached and the views of spatial disciplines can be overcome by negotiation - which should be part of informed public participation. Suggestions are made to explore innovative public participation methods to obtain relevant and useful information about the personal meanings that people attach to natural environments.
Persistent Link : https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC20217