“There are certain things that I just know that I have to do because we are brothers”: a discourse analysis of young black men’s engagement with popular representations of brotherhood
- Authors: Mkhize, Sibongiseni
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Brotherliness , Men, Black -- South Africa -- Social life and customs , Masculinity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013212
- Description: The present study analyses the discourses that young black South African men employed when they engaged with popular representations of brotherhood in the media. In particular the study explores how these particular young men view masculinity within brothering and what the implications of ‘doing brothering’ are as a result of this view. Drawing on discursive psychology, the study is located in a social constructionist theoretical framework and uses a qualitative methodological approach. The data used in the discourse analysis was gathered through focus group discussion of scenes from the television show Generations. The discourse analysis produced two major discourses in which there were different constructions of masculinity each influencing the way in which brothering was done. The first discourse constructed a ‘dutiful man’ who performs his brotherly obligations separately from his emotions, this discourse is in line with discourses of hegemonic masculinity where men are expected to fulfil obligations and are not expected to be emotional. Resisting this discourse at times, some participants in this study did occasionally construct men as having rich emotional lives such that the quality of interaction with brothers is constructed as more important, in terms of building intimate fraternal relationships, than the amount of interaction with them. The second major discourse constructs the ‘ideal man’ in two different ways: as the ‘good man’ and the ‘unscrupulous man’. The ‘good man’, like the ‘dutiful man’ performs the obligations society has placed on him, but does not receive the social esteem that is given to the ‘unscrupulous man’, who is successful and financially powerful. Although both these types of men are spoken of as possessing masculinity, the ‘good man’ is constructed as holding onto a type of masculinity that does not have a place in contemporary society. The findings suggest that brothering informs the way in which men take up certain masculine positions. The study contributes to our understanding of the construction of gender identity within familial relationships, specifically the adult brother-brother relationship.
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- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mkhize, Sibongiseni
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Brotherliness , Men, Black -- South Africa -- Social life and customs , Masculinity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013212
- Description: The present study analyses the discourses that young black South African men employed when they engaged with popular representations of brotherhood in the media. In particular the study explores how these particular young men view masculinity within brothering and what the implications of ‘doing brothering’ are as a result of this view. Drawing on discursive psychology, the study is located in a social constructionist theoretical framework and uses a qualitative methodological approach. The data used in the discourse analysis was gathered through focus group discussion of scenes from the television show Generations. The discourse analysis produced two major discourses in which there were different constructions of masculinity each influencing the way in which brothering was done. The first discourse constructed a ‘dutiful man’ who performs his brotherly obligations separately from his emotions, this discourse is in line with discourses of hegemonic masculinity where men are expected to fulfil obligations and are not expected to be emotional. Resisting this discourse at times, some participants in this study did occasionally construct men as having rich emotional lives such that the quality of interaction with brothers is constructed as more important, in terms of building intimate fraternal relationships, than the amount of interaction with them. The second major discourse constructs the ‘ideal man’ in two different ways: as the ‘good man’ and the ‘unscrupulous man’. The ‘good man’, like the ‘dutiful man’ performs the obligations society has placed on him, but does not receive the social esteem that is given to the ‘unscrupulous man’, who is successful and financially powerful. Although both these types of men are spoken of as possessing masculinity, the ‘good man’ is constructed as holding onto a type of masculinity that does not have a place in contemporary society. The findings suggest that brothering informs the way in which men take up certain masculine positions. The study contributes to our understanding of the construction of gender identity within familial relationships, specifically the adult brother-brother relationship.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Factors contributing to occupational stress in student support staff in a Further Education and Training (FET) College in the Southern Cape
- Authors: De Klerk, Ulricha
- Subjects: Work -- Psychological aspects , Job stress -- South Africa -- Western Cape , College students -- South Africa -- Western Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10085 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020806
- Description: The main purpose of this study is to explore the factors that contribute to occupational stress as experienced by the Student Support staff in a Further Education and Training (FET) College in the Southern Cape. The Student Support staff has displayed many symptoms of stress over the past few years. This in turn has led to absenteeism, change in staff temperament, their feelings towards the College, motivation levels and a significant change in the staff’s day to day operations. Although the Head of Department for Student Support Services has engaged with the staff on numerous occasions to discuss the reasons for their experience of stress, no substantial reasons could be established in order to make the necessary changes in the department. No interventions that have been implemented to date have relieved the staff’s experience of stress. The researcher chose to use a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design to gain insight into the situation or phenomenon in order to identify the factors contributing to occupational stress and to identify measures that can be implemented to reduce occupational stress in the Student Support staff. The participants in this research included at least 10 Student Support staff within the Student Support Services Department at a Further Education and Training College in the Southern Cape. Purposive sampling was used in this research study. Interviews will continue until data saturation is achieved. The staff members must have been employed for at least one year in the Student Support Services Department. The researcher will make use of semi-structured interviews, observations and field notes. The data will be systematically collected and meanings, themes and general descriptions of the experience analysed within the specific context (de Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2005). The researcher will make use of Tesch’s method of analysis, and use Guba’s strategies for ensuring Trustworthiness. The researcher will apply the ethical considerations of confidentiality, informed consent, ethical approval from relevant institutions, avoidance of harm to participants, truthfulness and the debriefing of participants when conducting this study. The findings were reported as three major themes and subthemes. The three major themes were; Student support staff identified several factors that contributed to occupational stress, Student support staff identified the effect that occupational stress has on them, Student support staff offered suggestions that the college could implement to reduce occupational stress. These themes were discussed and analysed in-depth.
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- Authors: De Klerk, Ulricha
- Subjects: Work -- Psychological aspects , Job stress -- South Africa -- Western Cape , College students -- South Africa -- Western Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10085 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020806
- Description: The main purpose of this study is to explore the factors that contribute to occupational stress as experienced by the Student Support staff in a Further Education and Training (FET) College in the Southern Cape. The Student Support staff has displayed many symptoms of stress over the past few years. This in turn has led to absenteeism, change in staff temperament, their feelings towards the College, motivation levels and a significant change in the staff’s day to day operations. Although the Head of Department for Student Support Services has engaged with the staff on numerous occasions to discuss the reasons for their experience of stress, no substantial reasons could be established in order to make the necessary changes in the department. No interventions that have been implemented to date have relieved the staff’s experience of stress. The researcher chose to use a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design to gain insight into the situation or phenomenon in order to identify the factors contributing to occupational stress and to identify measures that can be implemented to reduce occupational stress in the Student Support staff. The participants in this research included at least 10 Student Support staff within the Student Support Services Department at a Further Education and Training College in the Southern Cape. Purposive sampling was used in this research study. Interviews will continue until data saturation is achieved. The staff members must have been employed for at least one year in the Student Support Services Department. The researcher will make use of semi-structured interviews, observations and field notes. The data will be systematically collected and meanings, themes and general descriptions of the experience analysed within the specific context (de Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2005). The researcher will make use of Tesch’s method of analysis, and use Guba’s strategies for ensuring Trustworthiness. The researcher will apply the ethical considerations of confidentiality, informed consent, ethical approval from relevant institutions, avoidance of harm to participants, truthfulness and the debriefing of participants when conducting this study. The findings were reported as three major themes and subthemes. The three major themes were; Student support staff identified several factors that contributed to occupational stress, Student support staff identified the effect that occupational stress has on them, Student support staff offered suggestions that the college could implement to reduce occupational stress. These themes were discussed and analysed in-depth.
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Job satisfaction amongst middle managers of Department of Health
- Authors: Mawonga, Mzukisi Edward
- Subjects: Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape. , Middle managers -- Job satisfaction , Public health administration -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10082 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020197
- Description: Job satisfaction studies are an essential element for ensuring improvement in service delivery. The researcher was committed to assist top management with important information that can make them aware of the causes and consequences of job satisfaction (Nel, Van Dyk, Haasbroek, Schultz, Sono and Werner, 2006:52). Job satisfaction is not only concerned with feeling good at work, it also encompasses job content, the work environment and interaction with all people. The study was conducted at the Department of Health in the Province of the Eastern Cape. This study aimed to describe the level of job satisfaction amongst middle managers of the Department of Health (DoH) at the Head Office, in terms of remuneration, interpersonal relationships, development, support, recognition, extent of supervision, their attitude to the work itself and working conditions.
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- Authors: Mawonga, Mzukisi Edward
- Subjects: Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape. , Middle managers -- Job satisfaction , Public health administration -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10082 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020197
- Description: Job satisfaction studies are an essential element for ensuring improvement in service delivery. The researcher was committed to assist top management with important information that can make them aware of the causes and consequences of job satisfaction (Nel, Van Dyk, Haasbroek, Schultz, Sono and Werner, 2006:52). Job satisfaction is not only concerned with feeling good at work, it also encompasses job content, the work environment and interaction with all people. The study was conducted at the Department of Health in the Province of the Eastern Cape. This study aimed to describe the level of job satisfaction amongst middle managers of the Department of Health (DoH) at the Head Office, in terms of remuneration, interpersonal relationships, development, support, recognition, extent of supervision, their attitude to the work itself and working conditions.
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Nurse managers' perceptions of the Eastern Cape department of health employee assistance programme
- Authors: Stenge, Nyameka
- Subjects: Employee assistance programs -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurse administrators -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021203
- Description: Organizations assist employees to deal effectively with demanding work and the work environment, including their personal problems, through an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The essence of the EAP is the application of knowledge about behaviour and behavioural health to make accurate assessments, followed by appropriate action to improve the productivity and healthy functioning of the employees. According to the report from the Employee Wellness Directorate of the Eastern Cape, the Employee Assistance Programme Practitioners saw 576 employees in 2010. These statistics only represent a few districts in the Eastern Cape as some districts do not have Employee Assistance Practitioners offering employee assistance, hence this number could be higher. In some instances employees do self-referral, which may increase the number without the managers knowing who is utilizing the EAP. This makes it difficult for the managers to monitor such employees and the effectiveness of the intervention rendered. Managers refer employees but do not have control over whether employees made use of the EAP and on the progress in sessions as they do not always receive the feedback. The Employee Assistance counsellor may receive a written referral from the nursing manager and then consults the referred employee in private. The employee gives consent and then the EAP counsellor addresses the problem at hand. If it is a complex case needing expert intervention arrangements are made. If the intervention requires follow up sessions, the EAP counsellor makes the necessary arrangements through the referring manager until the problem is resolved. The EAP counsellor monitors the employee and asks the manager to support the employee without divulging details of the problem that was being addressed. However, the Nursing Managers do not know how effective the programme is and whether the employees benefit from the use. The above-mentioned problem led the researcher to ask the following questions: • What are the perceptions that Nurse Managers in the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape Province have of the effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Programme? • How can Nurse Managers optimize employees’ use of the EAP? The goal of this study was to identify the perceptions of Nurse Managers of the Employee Assistance Programme in order to determine how the programme’s use can be optimized. The researcher used a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. The research population was selected purposively and included the Nursing Managers in the Department of Health in the Chris Hani District, Eastern Cape, who have referred employees to the Employee Assistance Programme. Semi-structured interviews were used during the data gathering process. Interviews were conducted at a venue convenient to the participants. Open-ended questions were asked to enable participants to express their perceptions on the topic. The researcher also used observation and field-notes to ensure that the data gathering provided rich information. The data was analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using Guba’s model of trustworthiness. The ethical strategies of informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, avoidance of harm and voluntary participation were ensured. Two themes emerged from the data analysis. Theme one showed that the participants had contrasting perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the current Employee Assistance Programme. Some felt that they have benefitted from the programme while others felt differently. Theme two described the participants’ views elated to improving the utilization of the EAP. Positive and negative factors that impacted on the implementation of EAP have been identified. Results show that both the employer and the employees could benefit if EAP is well implemented. Decentralization of EAP could be very cost effective and could save the employer thousands of rands because resources would be utilized better.
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- Authors: Stenge, Nyameka
- Subjects: Employee assistance programs -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurse administrators -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021203
- Description: Organizations assist employees to deal effectively with demanding work and the work environment, including their personal problems, through an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The essence of the EAP is the application of knowledge about behaviour and behavioural health to make accurate assessments, followed by appropriate action to improve the productivity and healthy functioning of the employees. According to the report from the Employee Wellness Directorate of the Eastern Cape, the Employee Assistance Programme Practitioners saw 576 employees in 2010. These statistics only represent a few districts in the Eastern Cape as some districts do not have Employee Assistance Practitioners offering employee assistance, hence this number could be higher. In some instances employees do self-referral, which may increase the number without the managers knowing who is utilizing the EAP. This makes it difficult for the managers to monitor such employees and the effectiveness of the intervention rendered. Managers refer employees but do not have control over whether employees made use of the EAP and on the progress in sessions as they do not always receive the feedback. The Employee Assistance counsellor may receive a written referral from the nursing manager and then consults the referred employee in private. The employee gives consent and then the EAP counsellor addresses the problem at hand. If it is a complex case needing expert intervention arrangements are made. If the intervention requires follow up sessions, the EAP counsellor makes the necessary arrangements through the referring manager until the problem is resolved. The EAP counsellor monitors the employee and asks the manager to support the employee without divulging details of the problem that was being addressed. However, the Nursing Managers do not know how effective the programme is and whether the employees benefit from the use. The above-mentioned problem led the researcher to ask the following questions: • What are the perceptions that Nurse Managers in the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape Province have of the effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Programme? • How can Nurse Managers optimize employees’ use of the EAP? The goal of this study was to identify the perceptions of Nurse Managers of the Employee Assistance Programme in order to determine how the programme’s use can be optimized. The researcher used a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. The research population was selected purposively and included the Nursing Managers in the Department of Health in the Chris Hani District, Eastern Cape, who have referred employees to the Employee Assistance Programme. Semi-structured interviews were used during the data gathering process. Interviews were conducted at a venue convenient to the participants. Open-ended questions were asked to enable participants to express their perceptions on the topic. The researcher also used observation and field-notes to ensure that the data gathering provided rich information. The data was analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using Guba’s model of trustworthiness. The ethical strategies of informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, avoidance of harm and voluntary participation were ensured. Two themes emerged from the data analysis. Theme one showed that the participants had contrasting perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the current Employee Assistance Programme. Some felt that they have benefitted from the programme while others felt differently. Theme two described the participants’ views elated to improving the utilization of the EAP. Positive and negative factors that impacted on the implementation of EAP have been identified. Results show that both the employer and the employees could benefit if EAP is well implemented. Decentralization of EAP could be very cost effective and could save the employer thousands of rands because resources would be utilized better.
- Full Text: