public function getDirectories()
    {

        // initialize the array with the directories
        $directories = array();

        // iterate over the directory keys and read the configuration values
        foreach (DirectoryKeys::getServerDirectoryKeys() as $directoryKey) {
            $directories[$directoryKey] = $this->getSystemConfiguration()->getParam($directoryKey);
        }

        // return the array with the directories
        return $directories;
    }