HIV-related stigma amongst service staff in Grahamstown: a comparison of Hi-Tec security guards and Rhodes catering in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mazorodze, Tasara
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: AIDS phobia -- Research -- South Africa -- Grahamstown HIV infections -- Employees -- Research -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Employees -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3016 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002525
- Description: Despite the acknowledged reality that HIV-related stigma is a major barrier to effective HIV prevention and treatment, and perhaps because it is complex in nature, few local empirical scales have been developed to measure stigma and to be able evaluate the impact of anti-stigma interventions. Whilst the development of two recent South African HIV-related stigma scales can be celebrated as a major breakthrough, the reliability and validity of these scales across contexts remains largely unknown. This research project employs these two local, and competing, HIV-related personal stigma scales - the first developed by Kalichman et al. (2005) and the second developed by Visser, Kershaw, Makin and Forsyth (2008)-to compare the psychometric properties of the scales and to obtain a measure of HIV-related stigma with a sample of 246 service staff employed at either Rhodes University Catering Division or the Hi-Tec Security company, both organisations located in Grahamstown, a small town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Both organisations are major employers of semi-skilled workers in this local context. The results suggest that the Visser et al. scale (2008) reports slightly better psychometric properties than the Kalichman et al. (2005) scale for this sample. Furthermore, the security guards appear to be more stigmatising than the caterers, and it is suggested that this might be a consequence of the combined influences of normative occupational roles and workplace context. Results also show that participants who practices safe sex, know someone with HIV and/or who have been tested for HIV show lower levels of HIV-related stigma. Finally, personal stigma scores are generally lower than attributed stigma scores, which might offer a useful point of intervention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Mazorodze, Tasara
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: AIDS phobia -- Research -- South Africa -- Grahamstown HIV infections -- Employees -- Research -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Employees -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3016 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002525
- Description: Despite the acknowledged reality that HIV-related stigma is a major barrier to effective HIV prevention and treatment, and perhaps because it is complex in nature, few local empirical scales have been developed to measure stigma and to be able evaluate the impact of anti-stigma interventions. Whilst the development of two recent South African HIV-related stigma scales can be celebrated as a major breakthrough, the reliability and validity of these scales across contexts remains largely unknown. This research project employs these two local, and competing, HIV-related personal stigma scales - the first developed by Kalichman et al. (2005) and the second developed by Visser, Kershaw, Makin and Forsyth (2008)-to compare the psychometric properties of the scales and to obtain a measure of HIV-related stigma with a sample of 246 service staff employed at either Rhodes University Catering Division or the Hi-Tec Security company, both organisations located in Grahamstown, a small town in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Both organisations are major employers of semi-skilled workers in this local context. The results suggest that the Visser et al. scale (2008) reports slightly better psychometric properties than the Kalichman et al. (2005) scale for this sample. Furthermore, the security guards appear to be more stigmatising than the caterers, and it is suggested that this might be a consequence of the combined influences of normative occupational roles and workplace context. Results also show that participants who practices safe sex, know someone with HIV and/or who have been tested for HIV show lower levels of HIV-related stigma. Finally, personal stigma scores are generally lower than attributed stigma scores, which might offer a useful point of intervention.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Lumberjacks and hoodrats: negotiating subject positions of lesbian representation in two South African television programmes
- Authors: Donaldson, Natalie
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Lesbianism on television -- Research -- South Africa , Lesbians -- Research -- South Africa , Gay rights -- Research -- South Africa , Television actors and actresses -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2964 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002473 , Lesbianism on television -- Research -- South Africa , Lesbians -- Research -- South Africa , Gay rights -- Research -- South Africa , Television actors and actresses -- Research -- South Africa
- Description: With the inclusion of sexual orientation in the Equality clause of the post-Apartheid constitution which demands equal rights and protection for all individuals regardless of sexual orientation, South Africa has been praised as one of the most liberal countries in the world. Because of this legal equality, gay and lesbian experiences have become a lot more visible in every day South African lives. This includes visibility in South African television programmes and film. Today, a number of South African produced television programmes have included at least one lesbian character in their storyline and many LGBTIQ activist organisations have deemed this increased visibility as a positive step for LGBTIQ rights. However, discriminatory discourses such as same-sex sexualities as 'un-African ' and unnatural, which often result in brutal hate crimes against LGBTIQ individuals (such as corrective rape), contribute to the social and cultural intolerance of same-sex sexualities. South African research into the lives of lesbian women has often related lesbian experience to that of gay men or has focused on lesbian women as victims of corrective rape and oppressive practices at the hands of the dominant heteronormative culture. This research was a discursive reception study, using three focus group discussions with self-identified lesbian audiences (black and white). The study explored how this audience received (interpreted/talked about) the available fictional representations of 'black' lesbian women and 'white' lesbian women in three clips from two South African television programmes, Society and The Mating Game. Using Wetherell's (1998) critical discursive psychology approach, this research focused on examining the 1) Subject positions made available in/by these representations; 2) Interpretive repertoires used by the audience in appropriating and/or negotiating and/or reSisting these subject positions; and 3) Ideological dilemmas experienced by participants in this negotiation process. The predominant subject positions made available in these representations were differentiated according to binary racial categories of white lesbian women and black lesbian women. For example, participants positioned white lesbian women as "lumberjacks" and "tomboys" while black lesbian women were positioned as "township lesbians" and "hood rats". In working with these subject positions, participants drew on interpretative repertoires of othering and otherness as well as interpretative repertoires of survival. In negotiating with these subject positions and others found in the discussions, ideological dilemmas often arose when participants found themselves having to draw on interpretative repertoires which extend from a heteronormative discourse. These kinds of interpretative repertoires included religion, nature, and compromise which contradicted and created a troubled position when used in relation to the participants' lesbian sexualities. Therefore, when the ideological dilemma and troubled position became apparent, participants had to work to repair the troubled position by justifying their use of these heteronormative interpretative repertoires.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Donaldson, Natalie
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Lesbianism on television -- Research -- South Africa , Lesbians -- Research -- South Africa , Gay rights -- Research -- South Africa , Television actors and actresses -- Research -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2964 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002473 , Lesbianism on television -- Research -- South Africa , Lesbians -- Research -- South Africa , Gay rights -- Research -- South Africa , Television actors and actresses -- Research -- South Africa
- Description: With the inclusion of sexual orientation in the Equality clause of the post-Apartheid constitution which demands equal rights and protection for all individuals regardless of sexual orientation, South Africa has been praised as one of the most liberal countries in the world. Because of this legal equality, gay and lesbian experiences have become a lot more visible in every day South African lives. This includes visibility in South African television programmes and film. Today, a number of South African produced television programmes have included at least one lesbian character in their storyline and many LGBTIQ activist organisations have deemed this increased visibility as a positive step for LGBTIQ rights. However, discriminatory discourses such as same-sex sexualities as 'un-African ' and unnatural, which often result in brutal hate crimes against LGBTIQ individuals (such as corrective rape), contribute to the social and cultural intolerance of same-sex sexualities. South African research into the lives of lesbian women has often related lesbian experience to that of gay men or has focused on lesbian women as victims of corrective rape and oppressive practices at the hands of the dominant heteronormative culture. This research was a discursive reception study, using three focus group discussions with self-identified lesbian audiences (black and white). The study explored how this audience received (interpreted/talked about) the available fictional representations of 'black' lesbian women and 'white' lesbian women in three clips from two South African television programmes, Society and The Mating Game. Using Wetherell's (1998) critical discursive psychology approach, this research focused on examining the 1) Subject positions made available in/by these representations; 2) Interpretive repertoires used by the audience in appropriating and/or negotiating and/or reSisting these subject positions; and 3) Ideological dilemmas experienced by participants in this negotiation process. The predominant subject positions made available in these representations were differentiated according to binary racial categories of white lesbian women and black lesbian women. For example, participants positioned white lesbian women as "lumberjacks" and "tomboys" while black lesbian women were positioned as "township lesbians" and "hood rats". In working with these subject positions, participants drew on interpretative repertoires of othering and otherness as well as interpretative repertoires of survival. In negotiating with these subject positions and others found in the discussions, ideological dilemmas often arose when participants found themselves having to draw on interpretative repertoires which extend from a heteronormative discourse. These kinds of interpretative repertoires included religion, nature, and compromise which contradicted and created a troubled position when used in relation to the participants' lesbian sexualities. Therefore, when the ideological dilemma and troubled position became apparent, participants had to work to repair the troubled position by justifying their use of these heteronormative interpretative repertoires.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Relational processes enabling the balancing of academic work and motherhood: a grounded theory study with academic women at a South African university
- Authors: Poulos, Tessa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Working mothers -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Women in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Work and family -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Rhodes University -- Employees Motherhood -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Sex role in the work environment -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3038 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002547
- Description: Through the use of contextual data, this research study aims to explicate a theory about the experiences of academic women, who are also mothers, employed at a South African University. The research is interpretive in nature as it explores the women's accounts of the conflicts they face in striving to satisfy the demands of both their scholarly work and family responsibilities within multiple intersecting factors related to their personal/familial circumstances, and the strategic processes they engage in to manage the balance between these competing roles. The study followed a constructivist grounded theory design in an attempt to test the hypothesis (emerging from a prior pilot study) that the most significant enabling factors at work in the lives of these women comprise various relational support processes. The findings indicate that balancing academic work and mothering is a delicate activity that is sensitive to a number of facilitating as well as hindering factors. The participants revealed that they experience work-family role-conflict as a result of competing desires to dedicate themselves fully to both of these roles. The relational factors most prominently cited as being critical to enabling a work-family balance include the presence of a supportive partner, a support structure in the home in the form of an employed domestic helper, and the support derived from a 'shared experience' with other working mothers. Non-relational factors emanating from the unique quality of life afforded to mothers by employment within the particular case institution also emerged as being significantly enabling of a work-family balance for this group of academic mothers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Poulos, Tessa
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Working mothers -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Women in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Work and family -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Rhodes University -- Employees Motherhood -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Sex role in the work environment -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3038 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002547
- Description: Through the use of contextual data, this research study aims to explicate a theory about the experiences of academic women, who are also mothers, employed at a South African University. The research is interpretive in nature as it explores the women's accounts of the conflicts they face in striving to satisfy the demands of both their scholarly work and family responsibilities within multiple intersecting factors related to their personal/familial circumstances, and the strategic processes they engage in to manage the balance between these competing roles. The study followed a constructivist grounded theory design in an attempt to test the hypothesis (emerging from a prior pilot study) that the most significant enabling factors at work in the lives of these women comprise various relational support processes. The findings indicate that balancing academic work and mothering is a delicate activity that is sensitive to a number of facilitating as well as hindering factors. The participants revealed that they experience work-family role-conflict as a result of competing desires to dedicate themselves fully to both of these roles. The relational factors most prominently cited as being critical to enabling a work-family balance include the presence of a supportive partner, a support structure in the home in the form of an employed domestic helper, and the support derived from a 'shared experience' with other working mothers. Non-relational factors emanating from the unique quality of life afforded to mothers by employment within the particular case institution also emerged as being significantly enabling of a work-family balance for this group of academic mothers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The development and implementation of a mental toughness training programme for young cricketers
- Authors: Pattison, Stuart
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Cricket -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket -- Training -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket players -- Mental health -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Mental discipline , Toughness (Personality trait) , Success -- Psychological aspects , Personal coaching -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , School sports -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3037 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002546 , Cricket -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket -- Training -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket players -- Mental health -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Mental discipline , Toughness (Personality trait) , Success -- Psychological aspects , Personal coaching -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , School sports -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Description: Modern research being conducted on Mental Toughness is now shifting away from efforts aimed at developing definitions for the construct and instead moving toward efforts at understanding its development. This particular research study focuses on the development and implementation of a Mental Toughness programme designed specifically for, and tailored exclusively to, the needs of schoolboy cricket at Kingswood College in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The programme development was an intricate process and the research procedure was guided by the Organisational Development Process model. Data from a focus group as well as various individual interviews were integrated with currently existing Mental Toughness literature and theory to devise this particular Mental Toughness programme. The programme entails educating the athletes on six specific mental skills and incorporates elements of practical application as well as awareness of the importance and influence of Mental Toughness and mental training in a sporting sphere. The programme took the form of mental skills workshops held over a three week period. An analysis was conducted post-programme to document the experience of the athletes as a result of exposure to the programme. Results drawn from the array of analysis procedures were used to help identify the level of success of the Mental Toughness intervention as well as help validify current Mental Toughness models. In addition to highlighting the benefits as a result of the programme experience, various recommendations were drawn in order to shed light on the programme limitations and assist future researchers with understanding the intricacies behind better and more efficient programme implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Pattison, Stuart
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Cricket -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket -- Training -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket players -- Mental health -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Mental discipline , Toughness (Personality trait) , Success -- Psychological aspects , Personal coaching -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , School sports -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3037 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002546 , Cricket -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket -- Training -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Cricket players -- Mental health -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Mental discipline , Toughness (Personality trait) , Success -- Psychological aspects , Personal coaching -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , School sports -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Description: Modern research being conducted on Mental Toughness is now shifting away from efforts aimed at developing definitions for the construct and instead moving toward efforts at understanding its development. This particular research study focuses on the development and implementation of a Mental Toughness programme designed specifically for, and tailored exclusively to, the needs of schoolboy cricket at Kingswood College in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. The programme development was an intricate process and the research procedure was guided by the Organisational Development Process model. Data from a focus group as well as various individual interviews were integrated with currently existing Mental Toughness literature and theory to devise this particular Mental Toughness programme. The programme entails educating the athletes on six specific mental skills and incorporates elements of practical application as well as awareness of the importance and influence of Mental Toughness and mental training in a sporting sphere. The programme took the form of mental skills workshops held over a three week period. An analysis was conducted post-programme to document the experience of the athletes as a result of exposure to the programme. Results drawn from the array of analysis procedures were used to help identify the level of success of the Mental Toughness intervention as well as help validify current Mental Toughness models. In addition to highlighting the benefits as a result of the programme experience, various recommendations were drawn in order to shed light on the programme limitations and assist future researchers with understanding the intricacies behind better and more efficient programme implementation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The mindful therapist: an interpretive phenomenological analysis of mindfulness meditation and the therapeutic alliance
- Authors: Gillitt, Tarryn
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Meditation -- Therapeutic use Psychotherapy Counseling psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2982 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002491
- Description: The aim of this study was to present and understand therapists’ experiences of the impact of their mindfulness meditation practice on their role in the therapeutic alliance. The topic emerged in response to extant research recommendations and researcher observations of the compatibility between mindfulness meditation outcomes and the demands on therapists for establishing effective alliances with clients. The study adopted an interpretive phenomenological analysis strategy located within the qualitative paradigm, and thus a small sample of therapists practicing mindfulness meditation were selected and interviewed on their experiences using semi-structured interviewing. Data were analysed for meaning units, which were then interpreted inductively and hermeneutically and categorized into superordinate themes. Three superordinate themes within participants’ experiences of how their mindfulness meditation practice impacts upon their role in the alliance were determined, namely: ‘self-care’; ‘insight into the structure of selfhood’; and ‘immediate mindfulness meditation during therapy’. This study found these experiences capacitated participants with compassionate interpersonal affects used for creating secure bonds with clients; skills for accurate empathic understanding; and skills and attitudes for working collaboratively with clients. Should future research confirm these findings, mindfulness meditation may be used as a tool to developed alliance formation abilities for therapists in training. Importantly, findings from this project called for a more comprehensive integration of theoretical positions on the construct of mindfulness meditation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Gillitt, Tarryn
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Meditation -- Therapeutic use Psychotherapy Counseling psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2982 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002491
- Description: The aim of this study was to present and understand therapists’ experiences of the impact of their mindfulness meditation practice on their role in the therapeutic alliance. The topic emerged in response to extant research recommendations and researcher observations of the compatibility between mindfulness meditation outcomes and the demands on therapists for establishing effective alliances with clients. The study adopted an interpretive phenomenological analysis strategy located within the qualitative paradigm, and thus a small sample of therapists practicing mindfulness meditation were selected and interviewed on their experiences using semi-structured interviewing. Data were analysed for meaning units, which were then interpreted inductively and hermeneutically and categorized into superordinate themes. Three superordinate themes within participants’ experiences of how their mindfulness meditation practice impacts upon their role in the alliance were determined, namely: ‘self-care’; ‘insight into the structure of selfhood’; and ‘immediate mindfulness meditation during therapy’. This study found these experiences capacitated participants with compassionate interpersonal affects used for creating secure bonds with clients; skills for accurate empathic understanding; and skills and attitudes for working collaboratively with clients. Should future research confirm these findings, mindfulness meditation may be used as a tool to developed alliance formation abilities for therapists in training. Importantly, findings from this project called for a more comprehensive integration of theoretical positions on the construct of mindfulness meditation.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
A narrative analysis of young black South African women's stories about the recent divorce of their parents
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Divorce -- South Africa Divorce -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa Children of divorced parents -- South Africa Families -- South Africa Divorce therapy -- South Africa Adolescent psychotherapy -- South Africa Youth, Black -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychology -- Biographical methods -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002520
- Description: The global rise in divorce since the 1960s has brought into question the idealised view of the nuclear family which has for centuries been awarded special status in western societies and has been regarded as the primary social institution. According to contemporary research parental divorce has become a reality for every one in six children in South Africa. Until recently, little consideration had been given to how divorce affects black South African families, as it was considered to be an occurrence which only took place in white, mainly middle-class, families. The proportion of black South African couples divorcing has been increasing over the past decade, and in 2008 was said to contribute to 35% of all divorce in South Africa. Most research to date on the children of divorce has focused on young white children and adolescents and is largely concerned with those who have found parental divorce particularly difficult, and are manifesting adjustment and other behavioural problems. The research which has been done on the effects of parental divorce on young adults focuses mainly on clinical studies with middle-class families based either in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This research, using an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach, explores the stories which young black South African adult women between the ages of 18 and 25 tell, to give account to the ways in which recent parental divorce has affected their lives, views on family life, and what it has meant to them. The use of an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach allows for a process of rupture, acceptance and re-storying to be accounted for, as the participant’s narrative shifts from past, to present and the future. Five young black women from a South African university each participated in two narratively sequenced semi-structured interviews based on McAdams’ personal narratives protocol, which includes six core themes, namely: Key Events, Significant People, Stresses and Problems, Personal Meanings and Life-Lessons, Future Script, and Life Theme. Crossley’s narrative analysis was then used to identify emergent themes and images in each individual narrative, after which they were woven together into a coherent story linked to previous literature. This study found that divorce involves a highly complex transition and reconfiguration process perhaps not fully accounted for in the existing idea and images associated with it. Despite being young adult women who had moved away from home and were engaged in their own lives, it became apparent that parental divorce was still a difficult and complicated experience, but that it is possible to tell both pessimistic and optimistic stories of parental divorce and its consequences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Lotter, Jaclyn Oehley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Divorce -- South Africa Divorce -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa Children of divorced parents -- South Africa Families -- South Africa Divorce therapy -- South Africa Adolescent psychotherapy -- South Africa Youth, Black -- Counseling of -- South Africa Psychology -- Biographical methods -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3011 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002520
- Description: The global rise in divorce since the 1960s has brought into question the idealised view of the nuclear family which has for centuries been awarded special status in western societies and has been regarded as the primary social institution. According to contemporary research parental divorce has become a reality for every one in six children in South Africa. Until recently, little consideration had been given to how divorce affects black South African families, as it was considered to be an occurrence which only took place in white, mainly middle-class, families. The proportion of black South African couples divorcing has been increasing over the past decade, and in 2008 was said to contribute to 35% of all divorce in South Africa. Most research to date on the children of divorce has focused on young white children and adolescents and is largely concerned with those who have found parental divorce particularly difficult, and are manifesting adjustment and other behavioural problems. The research which has been done on the effects of parental divorce on young adults focuses mainly on clinical studies with middle-class families based either in the United States or in the United Kingdom. This research, using an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach, explores the stories which young black South African adult women between the ages of 18 and 25 tell, to give account to the ways in which recent parental divorce has affected their lives, views on family life, and what it has meant to them. The use of an experience-centred, life-story narrative approach allows for a process of rupture, acceptance and re-storying to be accounted for, as the participant’s narrative shifts from past, to present and the future. Five young black women from a South African university each participated in two narratively sequenced semi-structured interviews based on McAdams’ personal narratives protocol, which includes six core themes, namely: Key Events, Significant People, Stresses and Problems, Personal Meanings and Life-Lessons, Future Script, and Life Theme. Crossley’s narrative analysis was then used to identify emergent themes and images in each individual narrative, after which they were woven together into a coherent story linked to previous literature. This study found that divorce involves a highly complex transition and reconfiguration process perhaps not fully accounted for in the existing idea and images associated with it. Despite being young adult women who had moved away from home and were engaged in their own lives, it became apparent that parental divorce was still a difficult and complicated experience, but that it is possible to tell both pessimistic and optimistic stories of parental divorce and its consequences.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
An empirical phenomenological investigation of procrastinating behaviour
- Authors: Barratt, Neal Anthony
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Procrastination Self-actualization (Psychology) Cognitive psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2929 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002438
- Description: A qualitative empirical phenomenological study was undertaken to determine the self-experience of procrastinating behaviour. Five students each gave an account of an occasion when they procrastinated. The resultant protocols were analysed and the Situated Structure of each individual’s experience was reported. From these, the General Structure of procrastinating behaviour was determined. A further, novel step was added to the standard methodology, whereby ‘themes’ were extracted from participant protocols and a ‘Composite Reality’ of everyday-life procrastination was rendered. Participants’ accounts suggest they are concerned the results of intellectual tasks they undertake will be seen as equivalent to their quality of being-as-an-individual: poor work results will be interpreted by important-others as evidence of participants’ poor quality of self – which is to be avoided. This study suggests that procrastination is a ploy used by individuals to avoid criticism, by deflecting assessment of their capacity to complete a task well, to instead, what they are capable of when only a limited time is available. Conclusions drawn by the important-others of participants’ true ability are thereby confounded. The results achieved in the phenomenological study were compared with others originating from various quantitative studies, and considerable overlap was found. The experiential richness of the phenomenological results point to a worthwhile methodological strategy for future procrastination research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Barratt, Neal Anthony
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Procrastination Self-actualization (Psychology) Cognitive psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2929 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002438
- Description: A qualitative empirical phenomenological study was undertaken to determine the self-experience of procrastinating behaviour. Five students each gave an account of an occasion when they procrastinated. The resultant protocols were analysed and the Situated Structure of each individual’s experience was reported. From these, the General Structure of procrastinating behaviour was determined. A further, novel step was added to the standard methodology, whereby ‘themes’ were extracted from participant protocols and a ‘Composite Reality’ of everyday-life procrastination was rendered. Participants’ accounts suggest they are concerned the results of intellectual tasks they undertake will be seen as equivalent to their quality of being-as-an-individual: poor work results will be interpreted by important-others as evidence of participants’ poor quality of self – which is to be avoided. This study suggests that procrastination is a ploy used by individuals to avoid criticism, by deflecting assessment of their capacity to complete a task well, to instead, what they are capable of when only a limited time is available. Conclusions drawn by the important-others of participants’ true ability are thereby confounded. The results achieved in the phenomenological study were compared with others originating from various quantitative studies, and considerable overlap was found. The experiential richness of the phenomenological results point to a worthwhile methodological strategy for future procrastination research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Beyond coming out: lesbians' stories of sexual identity in the context of a historically white university
- Authors: Gibson, Alexandra Farren
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lesbianism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Homosexuality -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Coming out (Sexual orientation) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Sexual behavior Rhodes University College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social conditions College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Conduct of life College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social life and customs Homosexuality and education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Gender identity in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Discourse analysis, Narrative -- Psychological aspects Discursive psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002490
- Description: Substantial contributions have been made by lesbian and gay developmental theorists in understanding the development of lesbian and gay sexual identities, or what has come to be known as the coming out process. “Coming out of the closet” has become a central metaphor, in western contexts, for the recognisable process gay men and lesbians undergo in order to claim a relatively stable and enduring sexual identity, while overcoming obstacles such as heterosexism. Lesbians’ sexual identities are examined in this thesis through a Foucauldian lens which is fused with a narrative-discursive perspective. The aim of this study is not to trace a progressive development of identity, but rather to consider how lesbians in this study are located within a specific context, namely, a historically white university in post-apartheid South Africa, and how their identities are dynamic products of ever-shifting socio-historical spaces. Eight lesbians’ stories are analysed using the narrative-discursive method, which allows for a consideration for how the construction and negotiation of identities is shaped and constrained by social and discursive conditions. The women in this study do utilise the concept of coming out to some extent in their stories, but this narrative does not entirely account for their experiences. Instead, these women’s accounts reflect the way in which they personally experience heterosexism, and how they constantly negotiate their sexual identities within certain social and geographical spaces. When the nuances of lesbians’ contexts are taken into account, it becomes clear that claiming a lesbian identity is more than just about “coming out”, and rather about an on-going process of identity management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Gibson, Alexandra Farren
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Lesbianism -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Homosexuality -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Coming out (Sexual orientation) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Sexual behavior Rhodes University College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social conditions College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Conduct of life College students -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Social life and customs Homosexuality and education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Gender identity in education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Discourse analysis, Narrative -- Psychological aspects Discursive psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2981 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002490
- Description: Substantial contributions have been made by lesbian and gay developmental theorists in understanding the development of lesbian and gay sexual identities, or what has come to be known as the coming out process. “Coming out of the closet” has become a central metaphor, in western contexts, for the recognisable process gay men and lesbians undergo in order to claim a relatively stable and enduring sexual identity, while overcoming obstacles such as heterosexism. Lesbians’ sexual identities are examined in this thesis through a Foucauldian lens which is fused with a narrative-discursive perspective. The aim of this study is not to trace a progressive development of identity, but rather to consider how lesbians in this study are located within a specific context, namely, a historically white university in post-apartheid South Africa, and how their identities are dynamic products of ever-shifting socio-historical spaces. Eight lesbians’ stories are analysed using the narrative-discursive method, which allows for a consideration for how the construction and negotiation of identities is shaped and constrained by social and discursive conditions. The women in this study do utilise the concept of coming out to some extent in their stories, but this narrative does not entirely account for their experiences. Instead, these women’s accounts reflect the way in which they personally experience heterosexism, and how they constantly negotiate their sexual identities within certain social and geographical spaces. When the nuances of lesbians’ contexts are taken into account, it becomes clear that claiming a lesbian identity is more than just about “coming out”, and rather about an on-going process of identity management.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Concussion in contact sport: investigating the neurocognitive profile of Afrikaans adolescent rugby players
- Authors: Horsman, Mark
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Afrikaner students -- Intelligence testing Sports -- Psychological aspects Rugby football injuries Neural computers Neuropsychological tests Brain -- Concussion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2994 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002503
- Description: A number of computerised tests have been especially developed to facilitate the medical management of the sports-related concussion. Probably the most widely used of these programmes is the ImPACT test that was developed in the USA and that is registered with the HPCSA for use in the South African context. A recent Afrikaans version of the test served as the basis of the present study with the following objectives: (i) to collect Afrikaans ImPACT normative data on a cohort of Afrikaans first language adolescent rugby players with Model C education for comparison with existing South African English first language adolescent rugby players with Private/Model C schooling, and (ii) to investigate the pre-versus postseason ImPACT neurocognitive test profiles of this cohort of Afrikaans first language adolescent rugby players versus equivalent noncontact sports controls. The results for Part 1 of the study generally demonstrate poorer performance in respect of the Afrikaans cohort, which is understood to be the result of poorer quality of education. The results for Part 2 demonstrated failure of the rugby group to benefit from practice on the ImPACT Visual Motor Speed composite score to the same extent as the control group. It is argued that this apparent cognitive vulnerability in the rugby group is due to lowered cognitive reserve capacity in association with long term exposure to concussive and sub-concussive injury.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Horsman, Mark
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Afrikaner students -- Intelligence testing Sports -- Psychological aspects Rugby football injuries Neural computers Neuropsychological tests Brain -- Concussion
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2994 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002503
- Description: A number of computerised tests have been especially developed to facilitate the medical management of the sports-related concussion. Probably the most widely used of these programmes is the ImPACT test that was developed in the USA and that is registered with the HPCSA for use in the South African context. A recent Afrikaans version of the test served as the basis of the present study with the following objectives: (i) to collect Afrikaans ImPACT normative data on a cohort of Afrikaans first language adolescent rugby players with Model C education for comparison with existing South African English first language adolescent rugby players with Private/Model C schooling, and (ii) to investigate the pre-versus postseason ImPACT neurocognitive test profiles of this cohort of Afrikaans first language adolescent rugby players versus equivalent noncontact sports controls. The results for Part 1 of the study generally demonstrate poorer performance in respect of the Afrikaans cohort, which is understood to be the result of poorer quality of education. The results for Part 2 demonstrated failure of the rugby group to benefit from practice on the ImPACT Visual Motor Speed composite score to the same extent as the control group. It is argued that this apparent cognitive vulnerability in the rugby group is due to lowered cognitive reserve capacity in association with long term exposure to concussive and sub-concussive injury.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Negotiating sexuality in Grahamstown East: young black women's experiences of relationships in the context of HIV risk
- Authors: Clüver, Frances Rose Mannix
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: HIV infections -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Man-woman relationships -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Intimacy -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Sex -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Youth, Black -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Sexual behavior HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Youth, Black -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes Reproductive health -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Health education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Youth, Black -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Health and hygiene Phenomenological psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2951 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002460
- Description: Adolescent sexual health has been identified as a significant health and development problem facing South Africa. Limited amounts of research on sexual interactions have been undertaken, with information on adolescents’ romantic relationships being particularly scarce. Qualitative research needs to foster an understanding of the dynamics of sexual interactions in specific settings, and with emphasis in the past on cognitive health psychology models, very little is thus known about how adolescents negotiate and make sense of their sexual experiences. This highlights the need to investigate the complexities of human sexuality in a contextual manner. In response, this study explores the lived experiences of four young black women as they negotiate their agency and sexuality in a local context. By way of in-depth qualitative interviews, which were analysed for recurrent themes using interpretative phenomenological analysis, this project examines the participants’ experiences regarding sex, relationships, communication, sexual health care, as well as HIV and pregnancy prevention. The results reveal that communication about sexuality in the participants’ homes was limited if not absent altogether. When seeking sexual health care, they found clinic nurses to be judgemental and rude. Regarding sexuality and HIV education, the participants stressed the need for outside educators to teach in more practical ways to increase efficacy. In their dating relationships, most participants revealed their boyfriends had a great deal of influence over their sexual initiation. Unwanted pregnancy surfaced as a greater fear than HIV in their accounts due to pressure to finish their education and attain well-paying jobs in the future. The participants felt unable to stop their boyfriends’ infidelity and had limited agency when facing sexual demands. Their accounts revealed that they negotiate their agency in an atmosphere of coercion and the threat of rape. However, areas of agency included their consistent condom use even when facing pressure to have unprotected sex, and their active accessing of sexual health services for hormonal contraception. These insights serve to better inform sexual and reproductive health education and intervention programmes for young women. Moreover, educators, researchers and programme developers alike may gain useful insights from the personalised accounts derived from this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Clüver, Frances Rose Mannix
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: HIV infections -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Man-woman relationships -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Intimacy -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Sex -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Youth, Black -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Sexual behavior HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Youth, Black -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Attitudes Reproductive health -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Health education -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Youth, Black -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Health and hygiene Phenomenological psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2951 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002460
- Description: Adolescent sexual health has been identified as a significant health and development problem facing South Africa. Limited amounts of research on sexual interactions have been undertaken, with information on adolescents’ romantic relationships being particularly scarce. Qualitative research needs to foster an understanding of the dynamics of sexual interactions in specific settings, and with emphasis in the past on cognitive health psychology models, very little is thus known about how adolescents negotiate and make sense of their sexual experiences. This highlights the need to investigate the complexities of human sexuality in a contextual manner. In response, this study explores the lived experiences of four young black women as they negotiate their agency and sexuality in a local context. By way of in-depth qualitative interviews, which were analysed for recurrent themes using interpretative phenomenological analysis, this project examines the participants’ experiences regarding sex, relationships, communication, sexual health care, as well as HIV and pregnancy prevention. The results reveal that communication about sexuality in the participants’ homes was limited if not absent altogether. When seeking sexual health care, they found clinic nurses to be judgemental and rude. Regarding sexuality and HIV education, the participants stressed the need for outside educators to teach in more practical ways to increase efficacy. In their dating relationships, most participants revealed their boyfriends had a great deal of influence over their sexual initiation. Unwanted pregnancy surfaced as a greater fear than HIV in their accounts due to pressure to finish their education and attain well-paying jobs in the future. The participants felt unable to stop their boyfriends’ infidelity and had limited agency when facing sexual demands. Their accounts revealed that they negotiate their agency in an atmosphere of coercion and the threat of rape. However, areas of agency included their consistent condom use even when facing pressure to have unprotected sex, and their active accessing of sexual health services for hormonal contraception. These insights serve to better inform sexual and reproductive health education and intervention programmes for young women. Moreover, educators, researchers and programme developers alike may gain useful insights from the personalised accounts derived from this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Neurocognitive and symptom profiles of concussed and nonconcussed provincial rugby players over one season
- Authors: Clark, Susan Beverley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Rugby football injuries Brain -- Concussion -- Complications Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects Brain damage Neuropsychological tests Rugby Union football players
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2950 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002459
- Description: Neurocognitive and symptom profiles of concussed and nonconcussed adult provincial rugby union players were investigated over one rugby season, including early season (baseline), intermittent postconcussion, and end of season testing. In a non-equivalent quasi-experimental design, nonconcussed (n = 54) and concussed (n = 17) rugby groups were compared with demographically equivalent noncontact sport controls (n = 37, and n = 17, respectively). Measures included the ImPACT cognitive and symptom composites, and the WMS-III Visual Reproduction and Verbal Paired Associates subtests. The independent and dependent comparative analyses in respect of both nonconcussed and concussed groups, provided cross-validation of poorer acute and/or chronic neuropsychological outcomes for the rugby groups on the ImPACT Reaction Time, Visual Motor Speed, Impulse Control and Symptom composites, and the WMS-III Verbal Paired Associates. The finding of significantly poorer scores on Verbal Paired Associates up to 24 days post concussion for the rugby players versus controls, was longer than the 7 – 10 day recovery period frequently cited in the literature. The overall implication of the study is that even in a group with high cognitive reserve such as these provincial level athletes, there may be prolonged acute recovery, as well as permanent deleterious neuropsychological consequences of cumulative concussive injury in association with a sport such as rugby. Accordingly, the move towards careful individualised postconcussion monitoring of neurocognitive functioning is endorsed, including early identification of any significant permanent reductions in cognitive reserve. Sensitivity of the ImPACT test might be enhanced via inclusion of a verbal associate learning task.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Clark, Susan Beverley
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Rugby football injuries Brain -- Concussion -- Complications Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects Brain damage Neuropsychological tests Rugby Union football players
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2950 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002459
- Description: Neurocognitive and symptom profiles of concussed and nonconcussed adult provincial rugby union players were investigated over one rugby season, including early season (baseline), intermittent postconcussion, and end of season testing. In a non-equivalent quasi-experimental design, nonconcussed (n = 54) and concussed (n = 17) rugby groups were compared with demographically equivalent noncontact sport controls (n = 37, and n = 17, respectively). Measures included the ImPACT cognitive and symptom composites, and the WMS-III Visual Reproduction and Verbal Paired Associates subtests. The independent and dependent comparative analyses in respect of both nonconcussed and concussed groups, provided cross-validation of poorer acute and/or chronic neuropsychological outcomes for the rugby groups on the ImPACT Reaction Time, Visual Motor Speed, Impulse Control and Symptom composites, and the WMS-III Verbal Paired Associates. The finding of significantly poorer scores on Verbal Paired Associates up to 24 days post concussion for the rugby players versus controls, was longer than the 7 – 10 day recovery period frequently cited in the literature. The overall implication of the study is that even in a group with high cognitive reserve such as these provincial level athletes, there may be prolonged acute recovery, as well as permanent deleterious neuropsychological consequences of cumulative concussive injury in association with a sport such as rugby. Accordingly, the move towards careful individualised postconcussion monitoring of neurocognitive functioning is endorsed, including early identification of any significant permanent reductions in cognitive reserve. Sensitivity of the ImPACT test might be enhanced via inclusion of a verbal associate learning task.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Psigobiografiese persoonlikheidsbeskrywing van Generaal Christiaan de Wet
- Authors: Henning, Riana
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: De Wet, Christiaan Rudolf, 1854-1922 Psychology -- Biographical methods Psychoanalysis Big Five model Politicians -- Psychology South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1836-1909 South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2990 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002499
- Description: Hierdie is 'n psigobiografiese studie van Generaal Christiaan Rudolph de Wet. 'n Psigobiografiese studie is die bestudering van 'n persoon se volledige lewe met die doel om die persoon beter te verstaan. Psigobiografiese navorsing maak gebruik van psigologiese teorieë wat aangewend word om die biografiese data van 'n persoon se lewe te beskryf en moontlik ook te verklaar. Die individu wat bestudeer word, is gewoonlik 'n bekende, invloedryke, navolgenswaardige, interessante of modelfiguur. Daar is tans 'n oplewing in die veld van psigobiografiese studies, maar daar word nog steeds nie genoeg in die akademiese veld gedoen om psigobiografiese studies te bevorder nie. De Wet (1854-1922) is vir hierdie studie gekies omdat hy 'n interessante, dog komplekse figuur was. Hy het veral tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog in 1899-1902 bekendheid verwerf. As 45-jarige man het De Wet in die Anglo-Boereoorlog geveg en vinnig opgang as 'n militêre leier gemaak. Sy vindingryke ontsnappingspogings het die Britse magte hoofbrekens besorg. Wat De Wet verder uniek maak, is dat hy met net drie maande skoolopleiding in die parlement gedien het, as president verkies is, die hoogste gesag in die Verdedigingsmag gehad het en 'n boek oor sy oorlogsherinneringe geskryf het. Alhoewel daar akademiese werke oor De Wet bestaan, is daar tot op hede nog geen psigobiografiese studie oor hom gedoen nie. Die doel van die studie was om die mens agter die legende na vore te bring. Daar is ook gepoog om moontlike antwoorde en verklarings op onbeantwoorde vrae te gee. Die studie het van beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe data gebruik gemaak en kan as 'n psigobiografiese gevalstudie beskryf word. Die Vyf-faktor model van Costa en McCrae (1992) is op die biografiese data van De Wet toegepas om sodoende sy persoonlikheidseienskappe te beskryf. Die bevindinge het interessante persoonlikheidseienskappe van De Wet deur middel van die Vyf-faktor model aan die lig gebring. Volgens die kwalitatiewe navorsingsbevindinge was De Wet 'n vyandige, aksie-gedrewe, bevoegde, prestasie-strewende, selfgedissiplineerde, warm, openhartige, saggeaarde en beskeie persoon. Die kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe data-ontledings het uiteenlopende persoonlikheidskenmerke by De Wet geïdentifiseer. Die grootste verskille het by die fasette warmte, openhartigheid en altruïsme voorgekom. Die waarde van die studie is dat 'n wetenskaplike persoonlikheidsontleding van De Wet gedoen is. Dit is ook die eerste studie waar 'n teoretiese model op De Wet se persoonlikheid toegepas is. Alhoewel die studie sekere tekortkominge toon, beklemtoon dit terselfdertyd die wenslikheid daarvan om alternatiewe modelle te gebruik tydens die ontleding van persoonlikheidskenmerke. Die studie dui ook op die behoefte aan verdere navorsing, byvoorbeeld soortgelyke ontledings en vergelykings van die persoonlikhede van ander militêre bevelvoerders (De la Rey, Smuts, Beyers, Hertzog).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Henning, Riana
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: De Wet, Christiaan Rudolf, 1854-1922 Psychology -- Biographical methods Psychoanalysis Big Five model Politicians -- Psychology South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1836-1909 South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2990 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002499
- Description: Hierdie is 'n psigobiografiese studie van Generaal Christiaan Rudolph de Wet. 'n Psigobiografiese studie is die bestudering van 'n persoon se volledige lewe met die doel om die persoon beter te verstaan. Psigobiografiese navorsing maak gebruik van psigologiese teorieë wat aangewend word om die biografiese data van 'n persoon se lewe te beskryf en moontlik ook te verklaar. Die individu wat bestudeer word, is gewoonlik 'n bekende, invloedryke, navolgenswaardige, interessante of modelfiguur. Daar is tans 'n oplewing in die veld van psigobiografiese studies, maar daar word nog steeds nie genoeg in die akademiese veld gedoen om psigobiografiese studies te bevorder nie. De Wet (1854-1922) is vir hierdie studie gekies omdat hy 'n interessante, dog komplekse figuur was. Hy het veral tydens die Anglo-Boereoorlog in 1899-1902 bekendheid verwerf. As 45-jarige man het De Wet in die Anglo-Boereoorlog geveg en vinnig opgang as 'n militêre leier gemaak. Sy vindingryke ontsnappingspogings het die Britse magte hoofbrekens besorg. Wat De Wet verder uniek maak, is dat hy met net drie maande skoolopleiding in die parlement gedien het, as president verkies is, die hoogste gesag in die Verdedigingsmag gehad het en 'n boek oor sy oorlogsherinneringe geskryf het. Alhoewel daar akademiese werke oor De Wet bestaan, is daar tot op hede nog geen psigobiografiese studie oor hom gedoen nie. Die doel van die studie was om die mens agter die legende na vore te bring. Daar is ook gepoog om moontlike antwoorde en verklarings op onbeantwoorde vrae te gee. Die studie het van beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe data gebruik gemaak en kan as 'n psigobiografiese gevalstudie beskryf word. Die Vyf-faktor model van Costa en McCrae (1992) is op die biografiese data van De Wet toegepas om sodoende sy persoonlikheidseienskappe te beskryf. Die bevindinge het interessante persoonlikheidseienskappe van De Wet deur middel van die Vyf-faktor model aan die lig gebring. Volgens die kwalitatiewe navorsingsbevindinge was De Wet 'n vyandige, aksie-gedrewe, bevoegde, prestasie-strewende, selfgedissiplineerde, warm, openhartige, saggeaarde en beskeie persoon. Die kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe data-ontledings het uiteenlopende persoonlikheidskenmerke by De Wet geïdentifiseer. Die grootste verskille het by die fasette warmte, openhartigheid en altruïsme voorgekom. Die waarde van die studie is dat 'n wetenskaplike persoonlikheidsontleding van De Wet gedoen is. Dit is ook die eerste studie waar 'n teoretiese model op De Wet se persoonlikheid toegepas is. Alhoewel die studie sekere tekortkominge toon, beklemtoon dit terselfdertyd die wenslikheid daarvan om alternatiewe modelle te gebruik tydens die ontleding van persoonlikheidskenmerke. Die studie dui ook op die behoefte aan verdere navorsing, byvoorbeeld soortgelyke ontledings en vergelykings van die persoonlikhede van ander militêre bevelvoerders (De la Rey, Smuts, Beyers, Hertzog).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Three's a crowd: the process of triadic translation in a South African psychiatric institution
- Authors: Slabbert, Meggan
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mental health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospitals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Translating and interpreting -- Psychological aspects , Translating and interpreting -- Social aspects , Content analysis (Communication) , South Africa -- Languages -- Translating and interpreting , Intercultural communication -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Culture conflict -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication and culture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Physician and patient -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3056 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002565 , Mental health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospitals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Translating and interpreting -- Psychological aspects , Translating and interpreting -- Social aspects , Content analysis (Communication) , South Africa -- Languages -- Translating and interpreting , Intercultural communication -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Culture conflict -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication and culture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Physician and patient -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Mental health care in South Africa has long been governed by inequalities (Foster & Swartz, 1997). During apartheid, those who did not speak English and Afrikaans could not access mental health services in the same way as those who did (Foster & Swartz, 1997). One main reason for this is the majority of mental health practitioners could not, and were not required to speak languages other than English and Afrikaans (Swartz, 1991). The South African mental health literature suggests that language and communication must be prioritised if there is to be an improvement in mental health care services for those individuals who do not speak English and Afrikaans (Bantjes, 1999; Drennan & Swartz, 1999; Swartz & Drennan, 2000; Swartz & MacGregor, 2002). Drawing on Prasad's (2002) interpretation of Gadamer's critical hermeneutic theory and utilising thematic networks analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001), this study investigated the process of translated clinical assessment interviews within a psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape Province within South Africa. Results of the study revealed that contextual factors, issues concerning linguistic and cultural heritage, clinicians' role expectations regarding translators' role performance, as well as relational dynamics regarding individual levels of control and influence within the translation triad, all impacted on the effectiveness of communication, translation and service provision. These fmdings are supported by literature on the theory and practice of translation that identifies these issues as prominent (Robinson, 2003). Specific recommendations regarding the formalisation of translation practices within the hospital setting, as well as the familiari~ation of clinical practitioners and psychiatric nurses with the intricacies of translation processes are offered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Slabbert, Meggan
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Mental health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospitals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Translating and interpreting -- Psychological aspects , Translating and interpreting -- Social aspects , Content analysis (Communication) , South Africa -- Languages -- Translating and interpreting , Intercultural communication -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Culture conflict -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication and culture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Physician and patient -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3056 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002565 , Mental health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Psychiatric hospitals -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Translating and interpreting -- Psychological aspects , Translating and interpreting -- Social aspects , Content analysis (Communication) , South Africa -- Languages -- Translating and interpreting , Intercultural communication -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Culture conflict -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication and culture -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Physician and patient -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Communication in medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Mental health care in South Africa has long been governed by inequalities (Foster & Swartz, 1997). During apartheid, those who did not speak English and Afrikaans could not access mental health services in the same way as those who did (Foster & Swartz, 1997). One main reason for this is the majority of mental health practitioners could not, and were not required to speak languages other than English and Afrikaans (Swartz, 1991). The South African mental health literature suggests that language and communication must be prioritised if there is to be an improvement in mental health care services for those individuals who do not speak English and Afrikaans (Bantjes, 1999; Drennan & Swartz, 1999; Swartz & Drennan, 2000; Swartz & MacGregor, 2002). Drawing on Prasad's (2002) interpretation of Gadamer's critical hermeneutic theory and utilising thematic networks analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001), this study investigated the process of translated clinical assessment interviews within a psychiatric hospital in the Eastern Cape Province within South Africa. Results of the study revealed that contextual factors, issues concerning linguistic and cultural heritage, clinicians' role expectations regarding translators' role performance, as well as relational dynamics regarding individual levels of control and influence within the translation triad, all impacted on the effectiveness of communication, translation and service provision. These fmdings are supported by literature on the theory and practice of translation that identifies these issues as prominent (Robinson, 2003). Specific recommendations regarding the formalisation of translation practices within the hospital setting, as well as the familiari~ation of clinical practitioners and psychiatric nurses with the intricacies of translation processes are offered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Attitudes and perceptions towards TB in Grahamstown East in a time of HIV/AIDS
- Authors: Ndoro, Tinashe T. R
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , HIV (Viruses) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Health surveys -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:3030 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002539 , Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , HIV (Viruses) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Health surveys -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Description: Tuberculosis (TB) has become a serious South African health problem because it is the most common opportunistic disease that leads to death in people with HIV/AIDS. Due to the airborne nature of the disease it can easily be spread to anyone including healthy people. A lack of compliance to treatment by TB patients explains why prevalence rates of the disease are high and why there is an emergence of drug resistant strains such as XDR-TB and MDR-TB. Information on existing knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding TB can provide a crucial foundation for the development of educational programmes and interventions aimed at reducing the further spread of the disease. This study aimed at understanding the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards TB and relating these to the current prevalence of HIV/AIDS. A face-to-face interview survey was conducted among adult Grahamstown East residents (n=1020). The Health Belief Model (Rosenstock et al., 1994) and Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory formed the theoretical framework of the data collection and analysis. The data generated from the field work was first descriptively analysed providing frequency tables. Thereafter cross tabulations were calculated for relevant items using independent variables, namely gender, level of education, and experience of dealing with TB. The results of the study show that, in general, knowledge concerning TB was sufficient to provide a foundation for the adoption of healthier behaviours in the female respondents. Few of the respondents reported feeling personally susceptible although the majority of the respondents acknowledged the severity of the disease. The cues to action lacked the influence to persuade people to adopt positive health related behaviours. The perceived benefits of adopting preventative behaviour were not very influential in the adoption of healthier behavioural changes in the respondents. Disease stigma regarding the dual association of TB and HIV/AIDS was the main barrier for the adoption of healthier behavioural attitudes. Perceived self-efficacy in preventative behaviours was generally low in the less educated respondents. Recommendations regarding areas for future research and change interventions are provided.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Ndoro, Tinashe T. R
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , HIV (Viruses) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Health surveys -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:3030 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002539 , Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , HIV (Viruses) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Tuberculosis -- Prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Tuberculosis -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Public opinion , Health surveys -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Description: Tuberculosis (TB) has become a serious South African health problem because it is the most common opportunistic disease that leads to death in people with HIV/AIDS. Due to the airborne nature of the disease it can easily be spread to anyone including healthy people. A lack of compliance to treatment by TB patients explains why prevalence rates of the disease are high and why there is an emergence of drug resistant strains such as XDR-TB and MDR-TB. Information on existing knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding TB can provide a crucial foundation for the development of educational programmes and interventions aimed at reducing the further spread of the disease. This study aimed at understanding the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards TB and relating these to the current prevalence of HIV/AIDS. A face-to-face interview survey was conducted among adult Grahamstown East residents (n=1020). The Health Belief Model (Rosenstock et al., 1994) and Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory formed the theoretical framework of the data collection and analysis. The data generated from the field work was first descriptively analysed providing frequency tables. Thereafter cross tabulations were calculated for relevant items using independent variables, namely gender, level of education, and experience of dealing with TB. The results of the study show that, in general, knowledge concerning TB was sufficient to provide a foundation for the adoption of healthier behaviours in the female respondents. Few of the respondents reported feeling personally susceptible although the majority of the respondents acknowledged the severity of the disease. The cues to action lacked the influence to persuade people to adopt positive health related behaviours. The perceived benefits of adopting preventative behaviour were not very influential in the adoption of healthier behavioural changes in the respondents. Disease stigma regarding the dual association of TB and HIV/AIDS was the main barrier for the adoption of healthier behavioural attitudes. Perceived self-efficacy in preventative behaviours was generally low in the less educated respondents. Recommendations regarding areas for future research and change interventions are provided.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Constructing the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education: a discourse analysis using Q-methodology
- Authors: McKenzie, Judith Anne
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 Learning disabled -- Education -- South Africa Discourse analysis -- Methodology Discourse analysis Children with mental disabilities -- Education -- South Africa Q technique Special education -- South Africa Children with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa Right to education Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3017 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002526
- Description: The education of intellectually disabled (ID) people is constructed within mass education systems as a problem requiring specialised intervention, separation from “normal” school contexts and the application of professional expertise. A social model of disability resists these practices from a human rights perspective and underpins an inclusive education approach. In this study, a post-structuralist disability studies theoretical framework, drawing particularly on the work of Foucault, was used to examine discourses that construct the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education. The study was conducted in Buffalo City, South Africa at a time when an inclusive education policy is being implemented in the country. The research questions were: What discourses are deployed in the representation and educational practices of those identified as ID? What are the effects of these discourses in constructing the ID subject and associated educational practice? The study utilises Q-methodology, a factor analytic method that yields whole patterns of responses for analysis. A process of sorting selected statements along the dimension of agree to disagree was completed by three groups of participants, namely adults with ID, parents of people with ID and professionals working with ID. Discourses of representation and of educational practice were identified through statistical and interpretive analysis, following the discourse analysis school of Q-methodology. The findings of this study reveal the operation of power in a medico-psychological gaze that makes ID visible and supervises disability expertise within education. Representations of ID suffused with religious notions support the exercise of pastoral power by disability experts. Human rights discourses in education can marginalise ID people if applied uncritically. Fixed notions of impairment constrain an intellectually disabled subject who is vulnerable and incompetent. This study argues instead for a theory of (poss)ability, underpinned by an understanding of the situational and shared nature of competence and a fluid conception of impairment. Human rights should be supplemented by an ethics of care and belonging in the community (ubuntu). A research agenda supporting this effort would examine the ways in which ID people work on themselves as subjects (subjectivisation) and explore the potential for resistance in this process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: McKenzie, Judith Anne
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984 Learning disabled -- Education -- South Africa Discourse analysis -- Methodology Discourse analysis Children with mental disabilities -- Education -- South Africa Q technique Special education -- South Africa Children with disabilities -- Education -- South Africa Right to education Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3017 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002526
- Description: The education of intellectually disabled (ID) people is constructed within mass education systems as a problem requiring specialised intervention, separation from “normal” school contexts and the application of professional expertise. A social model of disability resists these practices from a human rights perspective and underpins an inclusive education approach. In this study, a post-structuralist disability studies theoretical framework, drawing particularly on the work of Foucault, was used to examine discourses that construct the intellectually disabled person as a subject of education. The study was conducted in Buffalo City, South Africa at a time when an inclusive education policy is being implemented in the country. The research questions were: What discourses are deployed in the representation and educational practices of those identified as ID? What are the effects of these discourses in constructing the ID subject and associated educational practice? The study utilises Q-methodology, a factor analytic method that yields whole patterns of responses for analysis. A process of sorting selected statements along the dimension of agree to disagree was completed by three groups of participants, namely adults with ID, parents of people with ID and professionals working with ID. Discourses of representation and of educational practice were identified through statistical and interpretive analysis, following the discourse analysis school of Q-methodology. The findings of this study reveal the operation of power in a medico-psychological gaze that makes ID visible and supervises disability expertise within education. Representations of ID suffused with religious notions support the exercise of pastoral power by disability experts. Human rights discourses in education can marginalise ID people if applied uncritically. Fixed notions of impairment constrain an intellectually disabled subject who is vulnerable and incompetent. This study argues instead for a theory of (poss)ability, underpinned by an understanding of the situational and shared nature of competence and a fluid conception of impairment. Human rights should be supplemented by an ethics of care and belonging in the community (ubuntu). A research agenda supporting this effort would examine the ways in which ID people work on themselves as subjects (subjectivisation) and explore the potential for resistance in this process.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Discourses around abortion in a low-income community in the Western Cape
- Authors: Bowes, Tanya-Ann
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects , Abortion -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Patriarchy -- South Africa , Abortion -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Male domination (Social structure)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSci
- Identifier: vital:2939 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002448
- Description: Since the introduction of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1996, research concerning abortion has primarily focused on public health issues or on the personal experience of women. The cultural and social context within which women experience a termination of pregnancy and in which services are offered has received less attention. The purpose of this study was to analyse public discourses around abortion in a low-income community in the Western Cape. Focus groups were used to gather data from three women’s and three men’s groups. The findings suggest that the agenda of pro-life discourses in this community is not always to defend the life of the fetus. Rather these discourses serve to protect, preserve and maintain the power of the traditional nuclear family, headed by the husband, over women’s reproduction and sexuality. Religious and moral arguments serve to disguise the gender issues at stake. However, instances also occurred where TOP was supported if the husband participated in the decision-making process. Therefore, his presence normalised abortion. Thus, the prevailing public discourses around abortion in this community either support or negate abortion in order to further the agenda of patriarchy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Bowes, Tanya-Ann
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects , Abortion -- Religious aspects -- Christianity , Patriarchy -- South Africa , Abortion -- South Africa -- Western Cape , Male domination (Social structure)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSocSci
- Identifier: vital:2939 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002448
- Description: Since the introduction of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1996, research concerning abortion has primarily focused on public health issues or on the personal experience of women. The cultural and social context within which women experience a termination of pregnancy and in which services are offered has received less attention. The purpose of this study was to analyse public discourses around abortion in a low-income community in the Western Cape. Focus groups were used to gather data from three women’s and three men’s groups. The findings suggest that the agenda of pro-life discourses in this community is not always to defend the life of the fetus. Rather these discourses serve to protect, preserve and maintain the power of the traditional nuclear family, headed by the husband, over women’s reproduction and sexuality. Religious and moral arguments serve to disguise the gender issues at stake. However, instances also occurred where TOP was supported if the husband participated in the decision-making process. Therefore, his presence normalised abortion. Thus, the prevailing public discourses around abortion in this community either support or negate abortion in order to further the agenda of patriarchy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Dominant and non-dominant group's perceptions of the government-led economic transformation process in South Africa: report
- Authors: Dlamini, Thobile G. K
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Group identity -- South Africa Post-apartheid era -- South Africa South Africa -- Ethnic relations Social change -- South Africa South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1994- South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2963 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002472
- Description: The enormous social, economic, and political government-led societal transformation South Africans have experienced over the past 15 years have brought about numerous societal and identity changes. The aim of the present study was to explore how dominant (White participants) and non-dominant (Black participants) groups experiencing the government-led societal transformation process deal with perceptions of intergroup differences based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) and related field research. Social Identity Theory predicts that in the presence of intergroup differences group members irrespective of their status position will apply identity management strategies to either improve or maintain their status position. The relationships between perceptions of intergroup relations and identity management strategies as proposed by Social Identity Theory were tested studying 170 second year Rhodes University psychology students. Sixty participants indicated themselves as Black South Africans (representing non-dominant group) and 110 participants identified themselves as White South Africans (dominant group). The results revealed that dominant and non-dominant groups differ systematically regarding the functional interaction between beliefs about the intergroup situation and identity management strategies. The results of the study indicate too, that ingroup identification differentiates between individual and collective strategies irrespective of the group’s status position.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Dlamini, Thobile G. K
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Group identity -- South Africa Post-apartheid era -- South Africa South Africa -- Ethnic relations Social change -- South Africa South Africa -- Social conditions -- 1994- South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1991-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2963 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002472
- Description: The enormous social, economic, and political government-led societal transformation South Africans have experienced over the past 15 years have brought about numerous societal and identity changes. The aim of the present study was to explore how dominant (White participants) and non-dominant (Black participants) groups experiencing the government-led societal transformation process deal with perceptions of intergroup differences based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986) and related field research. Social Identity Theory predicts that in the presence of intergroup differences group members irrespective of their status position will apply identity management strategies to either improve or maintain their status position. The relationships between perceptions of intergroup relations and identity management strategies as proposed by Social Identity Theory were tested studying 170 second year Rhodes University psychology students. Sixty participants indicated themselves as Black South Africans (representing non-dominant group) and 110 participants identified themselves as White South Africans (dominant group). The results revealed that dominant and non-dominant groups differ systematically regarding the functional interaction between beliefs about the intergroup situation and identity management strategies. The results of the study indicate too, that ingroup identification differentiates between individual and collective strategies irrespective of the group’s status position.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Ethical decision-making in the therapeutic space : a psychoanalytic view
- Authors: Silove, Melanie
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Decision making -- Moral and ethical aspects , Psychotherapy -- Moral and ethical aspects , Psychotherapists -- Professional ethics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3273 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020873
- Description: This study examined the ethical decision-making process as it transpired in the everyday context of the therapeutic space. In-depth interviews explored the subjective experiences of six South African psychologists, practicing as psychoanalytic psychotherapists, and their efforts to resolve real-life ethical dilemmas. The theoretical framework used to interpret the data subsumed professional literature in psychology on principle-based ethical decision-making as well as contemporary psychoanalytic debates on the phenomenon of countertransference enactments. A review of ethics codes, survey research and seminal decision-making frameworks suggests that ethical dilemmas have traditionally been resolved by recourse to an objective and impartial “principle ethics” perspective. Empirical evidence shows, however, that logical thinking and the rational application of codes, principles and standards are often insufficient to secure ethical action. The establishment of reflective space and the core theoretical notion of “ethical decision-making enactments” were proposed in order to address the subjective, irrational and unconscious dimension of professional decision-making. This study used a broadly hermeneutic research method which transformed participants‟ descriptions of engagement with real-life dilemmas into a psychoanalytically informed interpretive account of ethical decision-making. Twelve aspirational ethical principles were found to guide participants‟ daily analytic work. Beneficence was the principle most strongly identified with and nonmaleficence was the most neglected ethical principle. Unprocessed countertransference responses were shown to drive earlier prereflective phases of the ethical decision-making process. Mature ethical judgment was predicated upon the retrospective analysis of enactment phenomena. Dissatisfaction was expressed by all participants with regard to the role of professional resources in aiding the resolution of stressful ethical dilemmas. Risk factors for compromised professional decision-making included the paucity and perceived irrelevance of postgraduate ethics training, supervisory failure to confront the ethical and countertransference dimensions of common dilemmas and professional isolation. Rather than eliciting the hope of emotional support and greater insight, professional resources on the contrary mostly appeared to induce anxiety, mistrust and fearfulness. Based on the data and the literature, a pragmatic psychoanalytically informed ethical decision-making model was finally generated. The model, which considers both principle ethics as well as countertransference phenomena, offers a preliminary contribution to professional dialogue on the development and evaluation of empirically based decision-making frameworks. Practical recommendations are made for both the revision of the current South African ethics code and for improving the postqualifying ethics education of psychoanalytic practitioners and supervisors. The limitations of the data are discussed and directions for future research initiatives are proposed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Silove, Melanie
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Decision making -- Moral and ethical aspects , Psychotherapy -- Moral and ethical aspects , Psychotherapists -- Professional ethics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3273 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020873
- Description: This study examined the ethical decision-making process as it transpired in the everyday context of the therapeutic space. In-depth interviews explored the subjective experiences of six South African psychologists, practicing as psychoanalytic psychotherapists, and their efforts to resolve real-life ethical dilemmas. The theoretical framework used to interpret the data subsumed professional literature in psychology on principle-based ethical decision-making as well as contemporary psychoanalytic debates on the phenomenon of countertransference enactments. A review of ethics codes, survey research and seminal decision-making frameworks suggests that ethical dilemmas have traditionally been resolved by recourse to an objective and impartial “principle ethics” perspective. Empirical evidence shows, however, that logical thinking and the rational application of codes, principles and standards are often insufficient to secure ethical action. The establishment of reflective space and the core theoretical notion of “ethical decision-making enactments” were proposed in order to address the subjective, irrational and unconscious dimension of professional decision-making. This study used a broadly hermeneutic research method which transformed participants‟ descriptions of engagement with real-life dilemmas into a psychoanalytically informed interpretive account of ethical decision-making. Twelve aspirational ethical principles were found to guide participants‟ daily analytic work. Beneficence was the principle most strongly identified with and nonmaleficence was the most neglected ethical principle. Unprocessed countertransference responses were shown to drive earlier prereflective phases of the ethical decision-making process. Mature ethical judgment was predicated upon the retrospective analysis of enactment phenomena. Dissatisfaction was expressed by all participants with regard to the role of professional resources in aiding the resolution of stressful ethical dilemmas. Risk factors for compromised professional decision-making included the paucity and perceived irrelevance of postgraduate ethics training, supervisory failure to confront the ethical and countertransference dimensions of common dilemmas and professional isolation. Rather than eliciting the hope of emotional support and greater insight, professional resources on the contrary mostly appeared to induce anxiety, mistrust and fearfulness. Based on the data and the literature, a pragmatic psychoanalytically informed ethical decision-making model was finally generated. The model, which considers both principle ethics as well as countertransference phenomena, offers a preliminary contribution to professional dialogue on the development and evaluation of empirically based decision-making frameworks. Practical recommendations are made for both the revision of the current South African ethics code and for improving the postqualifying ethics education of psychoanalytic practitioners and supervisors. The limitations of the data are discussed and directions for future research initiatives are proposed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Labour hire: the impact of labour broking on employee job satisfaction and commitment in a number of Namibian organizations
- Shivangulula, Shirley Euginia
- Authors: Shivangulula, Shirley Euginia
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Temporary employment -- Namibia , Industrial relations -- Namibia , Employee motivation , Labor market -- Namibia , Labor policy -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:3054 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002563 , Temporary employment -- Namibia , Industrial relations -- Namibia , Employee motivation , Labor market -- Namibia , Labor policy -- Namibia
- Description: Over decades, job satisfaction has generated active empirical research. Similarly, organizational commitment, another attitudinal variable in the work domain, strongly related to, but distinctly different from job satisfaction, received comparatively equal research scrutiny. However, research on the impact of labour broking on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment is nonexistent in Namibia. Using a quantitative approach, within a positivist paradigm, the purpose of this thesis was to examine the impact of labour broking on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment as well as to determine the dynamics that mediate such experiences. These experiences were examined through a 5-dimensional, 72-item Job Descriptive Index and a 3-dimensional, 12-item Organizational Commitment Questionnaire over a sample size of 108 temporary and permanent employees, drawn through random probability sampling in a number of Namibian organizations that make use of labour hire services. These experiences were further amplified by face-to-face interviews over a sub sample of 20 employees. Data analysis was carried out using the chi-square, correlation, t-tests and multiple regression techniques of the STATISTICA software. Drawing on the principles of the multi dimensional theory of organizational commitment, the Cornell dispositional theory of job satisfaction and the temporary employee stigmatization model, results revealed that variables of employment status, tenure, inadequate income, inappropriate supervision and fear of job losses ahead of a newly proposed piece of legislat st labour hire ractices significantly influenced job satisfaction and organizational commitment of employees. Estimates indicate that for a mere change in tenure, job satisfaction levels will significantly rise by 0.26 units, whereas organizational commitment will augment by 0.03 units. However, for every N$ fall in employees’ pay, we can expect job satisfaction levels to decrease by 26%, but with significant effects. The study recommends that organizations must adopt policies that grant permanent tenure to all their employees, position them in respected and challenging jobs in which they will grow skills and ensure that all employees are remunerated with pay that signals their contribution to the organizations. In doing so, the negative effects of labour broking will disappear and employees will be satisfied with their jobs and Tommitted to their organizations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Shivangulula, Shirley Euginia
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Temporary employment -- Namibia , Industrial relations -- Namibia , Employee motivation , Labor market -- Namibia , Labor policy -- Namibia
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: vital:3054 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002563 , Temporary employment -- Namibia , Industrial relations -- Namibia , Employee motivation , Labor market -- Namibia , Labor policy -- Namibia
- Description: Over decades, job satisfaction has generated active empirical research. Similarly, organizational commitment, another attitudinal variable in the work domain, strongly related to, but distinctly different from job satisfaction, received comparatively equal research scrutiny. However, research on the impact of labour broking on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment is nonexistent in Namibia. Using a quantitative approach, within a positivist paradigm, the purpose of this thesis was to examine the impact of labour broking on employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment as well as to determine the dynamics that mediate such experiences. These experiences were examined through a 5-dimensional, 72-item Job Descriptive Index and a 3-dimensional, 12-item Organizational Commitment Questionnaire over a sample size of 108 temporary and permanent employees, drawn through random probability sampling in a number of Namibian organizations that make use of labour hire services. These experiences were further amplified by face-to-face interviews over a sub sample of 20 employees. Data analysis was carried out using the chi-square, correlation, t-tests and multiple regression techniques of the STATISTICA software. Drawing on the principles of the multi dimensional theory of organizational commitment, the Cornell dispositional theory of job satisfaction and the temporary employee stigmatization model, results revealed that variables of employment status, tenure, inadequate income, inappropriate supervision and fear of job losses ahead of a newly proposed piece of legislat st labour hire ractices significantly influenced job satisfaction and organizational commitment of employees. Estimates indicate that for a mere change in tenure, job satisfaction levels will significantly rise by 0.26 units, whereas organizational commitment will augment by 0.03 units. However, for every N$ fall in employees’ pay, we can expect job satisfaction levels to decrease by 26%, but with significant effects. The study recommends that organizations must adopt policies that grant permanent tenure to all their employees, position them in respected and challenging jobs in which they will grow skills and ensure that all employees are remunerated with pay that signals their contribution to the organizations. In doing so, the negative effects of labour broking will disappear and employees will be satisfied with their jobs and Tommitted to their organizations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
Normative indicators for a black, Xhosa speaking population without tertiary education on four tests used to access malingering
- Authors: Wong, Andrea Jane
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Malingering Neuropsychological tests Language and languages -- Ability testing Educational tests and measurements Education evaluation Xhosa (African people) -- Education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002597
- Description: Malingering has become an increasing concern in neuropsychological assessment in recent years, and a wide range of tests have been designed and examined for the purpose of detecting malingering. Cut-off scores have been recommended for these tests in order to provide indications of malingering performances. However, the derived scores have been in respect of westernised populations of people with relatively high levels of education who speak English as their first language. Accordingly, the current study aimed to attain normative data and cut-off scores for four commonly employed neuropsychological tools, administered in English, on a population of black, South African, Xhosa-speaking people (N = 33), who attended a former DET-type school in the Eastern Cape, with a Grade 11-12 level of education, in the age range of 18 - 40 years. The targeted measures included the TOMM, the Rey-15 Item Memory Test, the Digit Span subtest of the WAIS-III, and the Trail Making Test. The obtained scores were poorer than the previously published cut-offs for at least one component of each of the tests investigated, except the TOMM. The fmdings of this study highlight the important role that the factors of culture, quality of education, and language play in neuropsychological test performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Wong, Andrea Jane
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Malingering Neuropsychological tests Language and languages -- Ability testing Educational tests and measurements Education evaluation Xhosa (African people) -- Education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002597
- Description: Malingering has become an increasing concern in neuropsychological assessment in recent years, and a wide range of tests have been designed and examined for the purpose of detecting malingering. Cut-off scores have been recommended for these tests in order to provide indications of malingering performances. However, the derived scores have been in respect of westernised populations of people with relatively high levels of education who speak English as their first language. Accordingly, the current study aimed to attain normative data and cut-off scores for four commonly employed neuropsychological tools, administered in English, on a population of black, South African, Xhosa-speaking people (N = 33), who attended a former DET-type school in the Eastern Cape, with a Grade 11-12 level of education, in the age range of 18 - 40 years. The targeted measures included the TOMM, the Rey-15 Item Memory Test, the Digit Span subtest of the WAIS-III, and the Trail Making Test. The obtained scores were poorer than the previously published cut-offs for at least one component of each of the tests investigated, except the TOMM. The fmdings of this study highlight the important role that the factors of culture, quality of education, and language play in neuropsychological test performance.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009