An exploration of collaborative group work with science students
- Authors: Adams, Aadiel
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Group work in education , Educational change -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9840 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/392 , Science -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Group work in education , Educational change -- South Africa
- Description: Part of the transformation of education in South Africa emphasises the need to address historical barriers that have been impeding access into institutions of learning, and the need for empowering stakeholders democratically. Improving institutional responsiveness and focusing on Science, Technology, and Engineering and increasing the number of university graduates are amongst the more prominent strategies for changing the educational, socioeconomic, and political landscape within a global context. This research, as the first cycle of an action research project, explores collaborative group work with a group of science students at a Vista University campus (that is now part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) as a contribution to institutional, professional, and personal responsiveness. The treatise traces my development as a novice researcher within an evolving action research context that became a terrain for facilitating a collaborative approach to learning. I describe my personal experience and the experiences of my co-researchers as collaborative partners, the systemic influences considered during the study, and the process of action research that encouraged movement from feelings of apprehension and inadequacy to feelings of anticipation and excitement regarding collaborative interactive learning and development opportunities. For the co-researchers and me an action research process in an interpretivist paradigm was not just suited to an exploration of collaboration, but also evolved into a vehicle for interactive teaching and learning, in a collaborative and student-centred way. Giving voice and being listened to, having perspectives validated, engaging in learning that could accompany academic and personal growth, and an acute sense of being empowered are ingredients that participants, and institutions of learning, can continue building on and building with along evolving spirals of life-long learning and meaning making.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Adams, Aadiel
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Group work in education , Educational change -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9840 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/392 , Science -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- South Africa , Group work in education , Educational change -- South Africa
- Description: Part of the transformation of education in South Africa emphasises the need to address historical barriers that have been impeding access into institutions of learning, and the need for empowering stakeholders democratically. Improving institutional responsiveness and focusing on Science, Technology, and Engineering and increasing the number of university graduates are amongst the more prominent strategies for changing the educational, socioeconomic, and political landscape within a global context. This research, as the first cycle of an action research project, explores collaborative group work with a group of science students at a Vista University campus (that is now part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) as a contribution to institutional, professional, and personal responsiveness. The treatise traces my development as a novice researcher within an evolving action research context that became a terrain for facilitating a collaborative approach to learning. I describe my personal experience and the experiences of my co-researchers as collaborative partners, the systemic influences considered during the study, and the process of action research that encouraged movement from feelings of apprehension and inadequacy to feelings of anticipation and excitement regarding collaborative interactive learning and development opportunities. For the co-researchers and me an action research process in an interpretivist paradigm was not just suited to an exploration of collaboration, but also evolved into a vehicle for interactive teaching and learning, in a collaborative and student-centred way. Giving voice and being listened to, having perspectives validated, engaging in learning that could accompany academic and personal growth, and an acute sense of being empowered are ingredients that participants, and institutions of learning, can continue building on and building with along evolving spirals of life-long learning and meaning making.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Exploring and describing depressogenic cognitive schema, levels of depression and hopelessness among depressed and non depressed adults
- Authors: Ahlfeldt, Alan
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9845 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/393 , Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
- Description: The subject of mood disorders and in particular depression is pertinent with rapidly increasing incidences of depression and suicide a widespread phenomenon in the world today. In South Africa, the rates of depression are increasing steadily each year. Much research has been undertaken in the area of depression, with negative cognitive schema identified as a common factor, which increases an individual’s vulnerability or diathesis to depression and hopelessness. The primary aims of this research are to explore and describe the depressogenic cognitive schema of both a depressed as well as normal (nondepressed) individuals and identify the relationship these schema have to levels of depression and hopelessness. In order to achieve these objectives, three measures were administered, the Beck’s Depression Inventory, the Beck’s Hopelessness Scale and the Inferential Style Questionnaire. The research design is quantitative in nature and took the form of an exploratory-descriptive study. The researcher made use of frequency tests to identify frequencies of scores and descriptive statistics to identify the mean, range and standard deviations. T tests, a Pearson product- moment correlation coefficient and factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) were also employed for statistical analysis within this research study. The findings of this research study identify that the depressed sample scored higher levels of depression, hopelessness and negative inferential style than that of the normal sample.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Ahlfeldt, Alan
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9845 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/393 , Depression, Mental -- South Africa , Depressed persons -- South Africa
- Description: The subject of mood disorders and in particular depression is pertinent with rapidly increasing incidences of depression and suicide a widespread phenomenon in the world today. In South Africa, the rates of depression are increasing steadily each year. Much research has been undertaken in the area of depression, with negative cognitive schema identified as a common factor, which increases an individual’s vulnerability or diathesis to depression and hopelessness. The primary aims of this research are to explore and describe the depressogenic cognitive schema of both a depressed as well as normal (nondepressed) individuals and identify the relationship these schema have to levels of depression and hopelessness. In order to achieve these objectives, three measures were administered, the Beck’s Depression Inventory, the Beck’s Hopelessness Scale and the Inferential Style Questionnaire. The research design is quantitative in nature and took the form of an exploratory-descriptive study. The researcher made use of frequency tests to identify frequencies of scores and descriptive statistics to identify the mean, range and standard deviations. T tests, a Pearson product- moment correlation coefficient and factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) were also employed for statistical analysis within this research study. The findings of this research study identify that the depressed sample scored higher levels of depression, hopelessness and negative inferential style than that of the normal sample.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Stirring the hornet's nest: women's citizenship and childcare in post-apartheid South Africa
- Authors: Alfers, Laura Corrigall
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2757 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002967 , Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
- Description: It is a widely acknowledged fact that women’s access to the full rights of citizenship in the liberal state is restricted because of their unequal responsibility for childcare. The South African state, however, despite its theoretical commitment to gender equality, has failed substantially to engage with the issue of childcare and women’s citizenship. This is problematic because in failing to envisage a role for itself in supporting women with their responsibility for childcare, the state has not only neglected its Constitutional commitments to gender equality, but it has also failed to realise the benefits that could potentially accrue to children if women’s access to economic citizenship is not hampered by childcare. Recognising this problem, this thesis attempts to engender some debate as to how the South African state could feasibly correct this failure. In doing so, it uses feminist political theory as a basis and takes a critical view of the two childcare policies that have dominated the debate over women’s citizenship and childcare in Western liberal democracies – socialised care and the neofamilialist model. In concluding it attempts to provide an idea of what feasible, state-based childcare policies could look like in present-day South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Alfers, Laura Corrigall
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2757 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002967 , Women's rights -- South Africa , Citizenship -- South Africa , Women -- Political activity , Feminist theory -- Political aspects , Child care -- South Africa , Sex discrimination against women
- Description: It is a widely acknowledged fact that women’s access to the full rights of citizenship in the liberal state is restricted because of their unequal responsibility for childcare. The South African state, however, despite its theoretical commitment to gender equality, has failed substantially to engage with the issue of childcare and women’s citizenship. This is problematic because in failing to envisage a role for itself in supporting women with their responsibility for childcare, the state has not only neglected its Constitutional commitments to gender equality, but it has also failed to realise the benefits that could potentially accrue to children if women’s access to economic citizenship is not hampered by childcare. Recognising this problem, this thesis attempts to engender some debate as to how the South African state could feasibly correct this failure. In doing so, it uses feminist political theory as a basis and takes a critical view of the two childcare policies that have dominated the debate over women’s citizenship and childcare in Western liberal democracies – socialised care and the neofamilialist model. In concluding it attempts to provide an idea of what feasible, state-based childcare policies could look like in present-day South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The appropriateness of Holland's interest code typology for South African field guides
- Authors: Allen, Lynda Jean
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Personality and occupation -- South Africa , Vocational interests -- South Africa , Personality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9846 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/432 , Personality and occupation -- South Africa , Vocational interests -- South Africa , Personality
- Description: The foundational principles of Holland’s (1985b, 1992, 1997) vocational theory state that career choice is an expression of personality, in that individuals with specific personality types seek out work or learning environments that match their personality types. Furthermore, interest inventories such as the Self-Directed Search (Holland, Powell, & Fritzsche, 1994) can be regarded as personality inventories and used to ensure that individuals find themselves in a working environment that is best suited to their interests and personality type. In addition to instruments that measure interests, Holland also developed dictionaries of occupations coded according to the characteristics and interests of different occupations and working environments, such as the Dictionary of Holland occupational codes (Gottfredson & Holland, 1996). The level of congruence between personality types and occupational types is linked to career satisfaction, stability and achievement. This premise only holds true, however, if the codes for the occupational environment suggested by Holland (1985c) are, in fact, valid. In other words, do the codes suggested by Holland match the personality types of individuals entering or who are already employed in a particular work or learning environment? There have been many studies conducted with regard to the validity of Holland’s prescribed interest typology codes. Spokane, Meier and Catalano (2000) located a large number of empirical studies published since 1985 that relate directly to the validity of Holland’s codes, many of which have suggested that the existing codes may not be valid. There is a scarcity of such research in South Africa, especially with regard to vital and growing occupational fields, such as the ecotourism industry, that are so important to the economic well-being of the country. Consequently, the overall aim of the present study was to explore and describe the interest codes of male and female South African student and working field guides in order to discuss the appropriateness of the occupational codes prescribed by Holland for the field guiding profession. The quantitative design of the study was exploratory-descriptive in nature and made use of the Self-Directed Search Questionnaire (Holland, Fritzsche, & Powell, 1994). The total sample consisted of 100 participants (68 male and 32 female), constituting 40 working field guides and 60 field guide students. Descriptive analyses were conducted with the use of frequency tables, charts, means and standard ix deviations. In addition, Independent sample t-tests were computed in order to describe and compare the mean scores of the interests for males and females, and to compare the mean scores of the interests for student and working field guides. The results of this study suggest that the prescribed occupational code (SRI; Social, Realistic, Investigative) for South African field guides may not be appropriate and that an interest profile such as SREI AC may be more appropriate. These results, in combination with the findings of the research review, suggest the need for a more extensive, cross-cultural study to determine the appropriateness of Holland’s occupational codes for South African occupations, which may lead to a revision of the South African Dictionary of Occupations (Taljaard & von Mollendorf, 1987).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Allen, Lynda Jean
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Personality and occupation -- South Africa , Vocational interests -- South Africa , Personality
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9846 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/432 , Personality and occupation -- South Africa , Vocational interests -- South Africa , Personality
- Description: The foundational principles of Holland’s (1985b, 1992, 1997) vocational theory state that career choice is an expression of personality, in that individuals with specific personality types seek out work or learning environments that match their personality types. Furthermore, interest inventories such as the Self-Directed Search (Holland, Powell, & Fritzsche, 1994) can be regarded as personality inventories and used to ensure that individuals find themselves in a working environment that is best suited to their interests and personality type. In addition to instruments that measure interests, Holland also developed dictionaries of occupations coded according to the characteristics and interests of different occupations and working environments, such as the Dictionary of Holland occupational codes (Gottfredson & Holland, 1996). The level of congruence between personality types and occupational types is linked to career satisfaction, stability and achievement. This premise only holds true, however, if the codes for the occupational environment suggested by Holland (1985c) are, in fact, valid. In other words, do the codes suggested by Holland match the personality types of individuals entering or who are already employed in a particular work or learning environment? There have been many studies conducted with regard to the validity of Holland’s prescribed interest typology codes. Spokane, Meier and Catalano (2000) located a large number of empirical studies published since 1985 that relate directly to the validity of Holland’s codes, many of which have suggested that the existing codes may not be valid. There is a scarcity of such research in South Africa, especially with regard to vital and growing occupational fields, such as the ecotourism industry, that are so important to the economic well-being of the country. Consequently, the overall aim of the present study was to explore and describe the interest codes of male and female South African student and working field guides in order to discuss the appropriateness of the occupational codes prescribed by Holland for the field guiding profession. The quantitative design of the study was exploratory-descriptive in nature and made use of the Self-Directed Search Questionnaire (Holland, Fritzsche, & Powell, 1994). The total sample consisted of 100 participants (68 male and 32 female), constituting 40 working field guides and 60 field guide students. Descriptive analyses were conducted with the use of frequency tables, charts, means and standard ix deviations. In addition, Independent sample t-tests were computed in order to describe and compare the mean scores of the interests for males and females, and to compare the mean scores of the interests for student and working field guides. The results of this study suggest that the prescribed occupational code (SRI; Social, Realistic, Investigative) for South African field guides may not be appropriate and that an interest profile such as SREI AC may be more appropriate. These results, in combination with the findings of the research review, suggest the need for a more extensive, cross-cultural study to determine the appropriateness of Holland’s occupational codes for South African occupations, which may lead to a revision of the South African Dictionary of Occupations (Taljaard & von Mollendorf, 1987).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The role of language and mediation in selected aspects of contemporary culture
- Authors: Allen, Nicholas Peter Legh
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Language and languages -- Philosophy , Language and education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8413 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/468 , Language and languages -- Philosophy , Language and education
- Description: Statement of the Problem: Specifically, how suitable is a textual language in communicating “irrational concepts” and religious myths designed to explain the irrational? Furthermore, how important is the mastery of a textual language apropos of our conceptual processes and in what ways can the structure of a specific language-game impact on a person’s conceptual abilities? To undertake this enquiry, certain assumptions will have to be made. For example, it is accepted that everything we interpret and ultimately understand is mediated solely through language in the broad sense (which includes visual cognition or literacy). Here it is accepted that without language we cannot think. Indeed, even our most private thoughts are based on a language, which embodies communally sanctioned criteria. Hypothesis: It is then the premise of this dissertation that the very architecture of a person’s mother-tongue has a profound influence on the worldview and perception of a particular person. Also it is possible to consider that certain languages, by virtue of their very structure, either hinder or facilitate certain cognitive development or potential. Further, if we could but increase the linguistic proficiency of our citizens, we will be better positioned to develop a critical mass of people who are problem solvers, mathematicians and conceptualizers; and who will address the shortfall of graduates in science, engineering, technology and business in South Africa. If in any way accurate, this would tend to imply that (inter alia) the retention rate of potential graduates in the SET and business disciplines will be significantly improved if educational policy-makers embraced even the most basic tenets of the linguistic paradigm.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Allen, Nicholas Peter Legh
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Language and languages -- Philosophy , Language and education
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8413 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/468 , Language and languages -- Philosophy , Language and education
- Description: Statement of the Problem: Specifically, how suitable is a textual language in communicating “irrational concepts” and religious myths designed to explain the irrational? Furthermore, how important is the mastery of a textual language apropos of our conceptual processes and in what ways can the structure of a specific language-game impact on a person’s conceptual abilities? To undertake this enquiry, certain assumptions will have to be made. For example, it is accepted that everything we interpret and ultimately understand is mediated solely through language in the broad sense (which includes visual cognition or literacy). Here it is accepted that without language we cannot think. Indeed, even our most private thoughts are based on a language, which embodies communally sanctioned criteria. Hypothesis: It is then the premise of this dissertation that the very architecture of a person’s mother-tongue has a profound influence on the worldview and perception of a particular person. Also it is possible to consider that certain languages, by virtue of their very structure, either hinder or facilitate certain cognitive development or potential. Further, if we could but increase the linguistic proficiency of our citizens, we will be better positioned to develop a critical mass of people who are problem solvers, mathematicians and conceptualizers; and who will address the shortfall of graduates in science, engineering, technology and business in South Africa. If in any way accurate, this would tend to imply that (inter alia) the retention rate of potential graduates in the SET and business disciplines will be significantly improved if educational policy-makers embraced even the most basic tenets of the linguistic paradigm.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
An investigation into the popularity of American action movies shown in informal video houses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Authors: Assefa, Emrakeb
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Motion pictures -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Ethiopia , Popular culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media and youth -- Ethiopia , Mass media and culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Sociological aspects , Ethiopia -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3418 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002871 , Motion pictures -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Ethiopia , Popular culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media and youth -- Ethiopia , Mass media and culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Sociological aspects , Ethiopia -- History
- Description: The early 1990s saw a major change in the Ethiopian history in so far as Ethiopian media consumption practices was concerned. With the change of government in 1991, the ‘Iron Curtail’ prohibiting the dissemination of Western symbolic products within the country was lifted which in turn led to a surge in demand for Western predominantly American media texts. In order to supply this new demand, informal video houses showing primarily American action movies were opened in Addis Ababa. There was a significant shift in Ethiopians’ films consumption practices which were previously limited to watching films produced by socialist countries mainly the former Soviet Union. This study set out to probe reasons for the attraction of American action movies shown in video-viewing houses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia amongst the urban unemployed male youth. Particularly, it examines how the meanings produced by and embedded in the cultural industries of the West are appropriated in the day-to-day lives of the youth. The importance of video houses as a shared male cultural space for Ethiopian unemployed youth and the watching of American action movies in this space are the main entry and focus of this study. Using qualitative methods such as observation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the study explores what happens in this cultural space and how one makes sense of the impact of American media on local audiences. The findings of the study point to the embeddedness of viewing practice in everyday life and the importance of local contexts in understanding text-reader interaction. This is shown by the male youth’s tendency to use media messages as a mode of escape and a symbolic distancing from their lived impoverished reality. The study also seeks to highlight that the video houses as cultural space have contributed to the creation of marginal male youth identities in the Ethiopian patriarchal society. As such, these and other findings, the study argues, highlight the deficiencies of the media imperialism thesis with its definitive claims for cultural homogenisation as effect of globalisation of media. As such, this study should be read as emphasising the capability of local audience groups in Third World country like Ethiopia to construct their own meanings and thus their own local cultures and identities, even in the face of their virtually complete dependence on the image flows distributed by the transnational culture industries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Assefa, Emrakeb
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Motion pictures -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Ethiopia , Popular culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media and youth -- Ethiopia , Mass media and culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Sociological aspects , Ethiopia -- History
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3418 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002871 , Motion pictures -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Ethiopia , Popular culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media and youth -- Ethiopia , Mass media and culture -- Ethiopia , Mass media -- Sociological aspects , Ethiopia -- History
- Description: The early 1990s saw a major change in the Ethiopian history in so far as Ethiopian media consumption practices was concerned. With the change of government in 1991, the ‘Iron Curtail’ prohibiting the dissemination of Western symbolic products within the country was lifted which in turn led to a surge in demand for Western predominantly American media texts. In order to supply this new demand, informal video houses showing primarily American action movies were opened in Addis Ababa. There was a significant shift in Ethiopians’ films consumption practices which were previously limited to watching films produced by socialist countries mainly the former Soviet Union. This study set out to probe reasons for the attraction of American action movies shown in video-viewing houses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia amongst the urban unemployed male youth. Particularly, it examines how the meanings produced by and embedded in the cultural industries of the West are appropriated in the day-to-day lives of the youth. The importance of video houses as a shared male cultural space for Ethiopian unemployed youth and the watching of American action movies in this space are the main entry and focus of this study. Using qualitative methods such as observation, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the study explores what happens in this cultural space and how one makes sense of the impact of American media on local audiences. The findings of the study point to the embeddedness of viewing practice in everyday life and the importance of local contexts in understanding text-reader interaction. This is shown by the male youth’s tendency to use media messages as a mode of escape and a symbolic distancing from their lived impoverished reality. The study also seeks to highlight that the video houses as cultural space have contributed to the creation of marginal male youth identities in the Ethiopian patriarchal society. As such, these and other findings, the study argues, highlight the deficiencies of the media imperialism thesis with its definitive claims for cultural homogenisation as effect of globalisation of media. As such, this study should be read as emphasising the capability of local audience groups in Third World country like Ethiopia to construct their own meanings and thus their own local cultures and identities, even in the face of their virtually complete dependence on the image flows distributed by the transnational culture industries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
A qualitative bias review of the adaptation of the WAIS-III for English-speaking South Africans
- Authors: Aston, Susan
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9939 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011931 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: In response to the growing demand for a test of cognitive ability for South African adults, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) adapted the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, third edition (WAIS-III) for English-speaking South Africans. However, since the publication of the South African adaptation in 2001, there has been some concern whether some bias may not still be present in the measure. Consequently, this study aimed to qualitatively explore the item content of the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III in order to identify items that might still be potentially biased with specific reference to cultural and linguistic issues. The researcher employed purposive sampling, a non-probability technique, to select psychology professionals to act as expert reviewers. The sample consisted of 20 registered psychologists, psychology lecturers and psychology interns from the predominant culture and language groups of the Eastern and Western Cape. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by means of a Bias Review Questionnaire which consisted of fixed-choice questions, as well as sections in which specific comments could be indicated. The questionnaire was distributed to 20 selected participants who were qualified to administer psychometric measures and were registered with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Qualitative data was analysed using Tesch’s model of thematic content analysis, and five main themes relating to potential bias were identified, namely: Culture, Language, Education, Socio-economic status, and Format. The qualitative data was re-submitted to the expert review group for approval and further comment. Quantitative data obtained from the Bias Review Questionnaire was analysed by obtaining frequency counts, which were converted to percentages, per subtest and aspect reviewed. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1. Cultural bias is evident in the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III. The differential meanings ascribed to concepts, terms, phrases and words by diverse cultures impact on test performance, as does familiarity with stimulus materials used in the measure. 2. Language bias was detected against groups with English as their second or third language owing to the unfamiliar, and sometimes archaic, terms and vocabulary used in the measure. The intended meanings of the translated items are unclear and confusing for test-takers. 3. South African test-takers have experienced vastly divergent educational opportunities which impact on intelligence test performance. The measure contains potential bias against individuals from disadvantaged educational backgrounds. 4. The content of the items is not relevant to test-takers from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds that have been unable to access good-quality education. 5. Format bias was found to exist with respect to the timed tests. Cultural groups who do not value speededness are disadvantaged by the structure and format of the measure. Based on the findings of this study, certain recommendations were made. These include: 1. Additional qualitative investigation of the WAIS-III , with a view to further adaptation in an effort to eradicate bias on cultural or linguistic grounds, and 2. Conducting further Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analyses and establishing construct equivalence across cultural and linguistic groups to promote this objective. Among the contributions believed to have been made by this study are the identification of potentially biased subtests and items on the grounds of culture and language, which will facilitate possible further revision and adaptation of the measure. Additionally, the variables that were considered important influencing factors of cognitive test performance have been documented and are accessible for future research that will supplement the present study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Aston, Susan
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9939 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/453 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011931 , Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test -- South Africa , Intelligence tests -- South Africa
- Description: In response to the growing demand for a test of cognitive ability for South African adults, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) adapted the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales, third edition (WAIS-III) for English-speaking South Africans. However, since the publication of the South African adaptation in 2001, there has been some concern whether some bias may not still be present in the measure. Consequently, this study aimed to qualitatively explore the item content of the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III in order to identify items that might still be potentially biased with specific reference to cultural and linguistic issues. The researcher employed purposive sampling, a non-probability technique, to select psychology professionals to act as expert reviewers. The sample consisted of 20 registered psychologists, psychology lecturers and psychology interns from the predominant culture and language groups of the Eastern and Western Cape. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by means of a Bias Review Questionnaire which consisted of fixed-choice questions, as well as sections in which specific comments could be indicated. The questionnaire was distributed to 20 selected participants who were qualified to administer psychometric measures and were registered with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Qualitative data was analysed using Tesch’s model of thematic content analysis, and five main themes relating to potential bias were identified, namely: Culture, Language, Education, Socio-economic status, and Format. The qualitative data was re-submitted to the expert review group for approval and further comment. Quantitative data obtained from the Bias Review Questionnaire was analysed by obtaining frequency counts, which were converted to percentages, per subtest and aspect reviewed. The major findings of the study were as follows: 1. Cultural bias is evident in the South African adaptation of the WAIS-III. The differential meanings ascribed to concepts, terms, phrases and words by diverse cultures impact on test performance, as does familiarity with stimulus materials used in the measure. 2. Language bias was detected against groups with English as their second or third language owing to the unfamiliar, and sometimes archaic, terms and vocabulary used in the measure. The intended meanings of the translated items are unclear and confusing for test-takers. 3. South African test-takers have experienced vastly divergent educational opportunities which impact on intelligence test performance. The measure contains potential bias against individuals from disadvantaged educational backgrounds. 4. The content of the items is not relevant to test-takers from deprived socioeconomic backgrounds that have been unable to access good-quality education. 5. Format bias was found to exist with respect to the timed tests. Cultural groups who do not value speededness are disadvantaged by the structure and format of the measure. Based on the findings of this study, certain recommendations were made. These include: 1. Additional qualitative investigation of the WAIS-III , with a view to further adaptation in an effort to eradicate bias on cultural or linguistic grounds, and 2. Conducting further Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analyses and establishing construct equivalence across cultural and linguistic groups to promote this objective. Among the contributions believed to have been made by this study are the identification of potentially biased subtests and items on the grounds of culture and language, which will facilitate possible further revision and adaptation of the measure. Additionally, the variables that were considered important influencing factors of cognitive test performance have been documented and are accessible for future research that will supplement the present study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Changes in the anthropometric, physical and motor characteristics of elite soccer players aged 15 to 18 years within a training year
- Authors: Baatjes, Sherman Gerard
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Soccer -- Training -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Soccer players -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10100 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/472 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011990 , Soccer -- Training -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Soccer players -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the seasonal changes that occur in the anthropometric, physical and motor characteristics of elite junior soccer players over the course of a training year. The participants targeted were elite soccer players from the NMMU-FCK Soccer School of Excellence and a total of 18 players between the ages of 15 to 18 years were recruited to comprise the sample for the study. The participants in the sample were assessed on four separate occasions. Each testing period was separated by a three month interval with the first testing period taking place in June 2005, at the start of their pre-season period, and the last testing session taking place in March of the following year, at the end of their playing season. In order to determine which specific characteristics of soccer were to be tested, the relevant literature was reviewed to establish the requirements, attributes and indicators of success in elite soccer. Therefore the test battery used was compiled in an attempt to address each of the identified physical attributes that contributes to successful soccer play. The battery included the following tests: weight, height and percentage body fat to represent the anthropometric characteristics. The physical characteristics were assessed by testing flexibility, anaerobic speed endurance, aerobic endurance, and muscular strength tests (1 RM bench and leg press, grip strength, and isokinetic knee strength). The motor assessments comprised of tests for speed (10-m, 20-m, and 40-m), explosive leg power (vertical jump), agility, and soccer-specific tests (dribbling and shooting at goal). In addition maturity status during the study was assessed using grip strength and height scores. All of the participants within the study sample were assessed on each day of the testing period, in alphabetical order, and this order was maintained during each testing period. Each of the four testing sessions lasted three days. On entering the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University-Biokinetics and Sport Science Centre (NMMU-BSSC) laboratory on day 1, the participants completed the test battery in the following order: anthropometric measurements (weight, height, skinfolds), flexibility test (sit and reach), leg power test (vertical jump), muscular strength tests (1RM bench press, 1RM leg press, grip strength), and an aerobic endurance test (Multi-Stage Shuttle Run). The tests conducted on day 2 of the test battery were conducted as field tests at the NMMU-FCK soccer playing fields and the participants completed the tests in the same alphabetical order as day 1. The testing battery was conducted in the following order: speed tests (10m, 20m, and 40m sprinting), agility test (Illinois agility run), soccer-specific tests (dribbling and accuracy tests), speed endurance test (Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test). Testing on day 3 consisted of Isokinetic dynamometry strength testing and was conducted at the NMMU-BSSC. Each participant completed the testing protocol according to the same alphabetical order as was used on days 1 and 2. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the following objectives were set: to determine the anthropometric, physical and motor characteristics of the participants at the pre-season, start of season, mid-season and end of season stages of the training year and to identify the peak scores achieved for each variable tested; to compare the variables tested at each of the four testing sessions to determine the progression of each variable tested and to identify at which testing session peak performance related fitness was achieved; to compare the results obtained with relevant data from other research literature; and to monitor the maturation status of the participants. Based on the results achieved it can be concluded that the participants achieved peak physical fitness at the mid-season period (testing session 3). It would appear that the attainment of these results was determined by the participants being exposed to both a pre-season and an in-season training period. It seems that both the completion of the specific types of training that occurred during these two periods, as well as the competitive matches played, elevated the participants physical fitness to the levels required for success at the elite level.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Baatjes, Sherman Gerard
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Soccer -- Training -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Soccer players -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10100 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/472 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1011990 , Soccer -- Training -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth , Soccer players -- South Africa -- Port Elizabeth
- Description: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the seasonal changes that occur in the anthropometric, physical and motor characteristics of elite junior soccer players over the course of a training year. The participants targeted were elite soccer players from the NMMU-FCK Soccer School of Excellence and a total of 18 players between the ages of 15 to 18 years were recruited to comprise the sample for the study. The participants in the sample were assessed on four separate occasions. Each testing period was separated by a three month interval with the first testing period taking place in June 2005, at the start of their pre-season period, and the last testing session taking place in March of the following year, at the end of their playing season. In order to determine which specific characteristics of soccer were to be tested, the relevant literature was reviewed to establish the requirements, attributes and indicators of success in elite soccer. Therefore the test battery used was compiled in an attempt to address each of the identified physical attributes that contributes to successful soccer play. The battery included the following tests: weight, height and percentage body fat to represent the anthropometric characteristics. The physical characteristics were assessed by testing flexibility, anaerobic speed endurance, aerobic endurance, and muscular strength tests (1 RM bench and leg press, grip strength, and isokinetic knee strength). The motor assessments comprised of tests for speed (10-m, 20-m, and 40-m), explosive leg power (vertical jump), agility, and soccer-specific tests (dribbling and shooting at goal). In addition maturity status during the study was assessed using grip strength and height scores. All of the participants within the study sample were assessed on each day of the testing period, in alphabetical order, and this order was maintained during each testing period. Each of the four testing sessions lasted three days. On entering the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University-Biokinetics and Sport Science Centre (NMMU-BSSC) laboratory on day 1, the participants completed the test battery in the following order: anthropometric measurements (weight, height, skinfolds), flexibility test (sit and reach), leg power test (vertical jump), muscular strength tests (1RM bench press, 1RM leg press, grip strength), and an aerobic endurance test (Multi-Stage Shuttle Run). The tests conducted on day 2 of the test battery were conducted as field tests at the NMMU-FCK soccer playing fields and the participants completed the tests in the same alphabetical order as day 1. The testing battery was conducted in the following order: speed tests (10m, 20m, and 40m sprinting), agility test (Illinois agility run), soccer-specific tests (dribbling and accuracy tests), speed endurance test (Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test). Testing on day 3 consisted of Isokinetic dynamometry strength testing and was conducted at the NMMU-BSSC. Each participant completed the testing protocol according to the same alphabetical order as was used on days 1 and 2. In order to achieve the aim of the study, the following objectives were set: to determine the anthropometric, physical and motor characteristics of the participants at the pre-season, start of season, mid-season and end of season stages of the training year and to identify the peak scores achieved for each variable tested; to compare the variables tested at each of the four testing sessions to determine the progression of each variable tested and to identify at which testing session peak performance related fitness was achieved; to compare the results obtained with relevant data from other research literature; and to monitor the maturation status of the participants. Based on the results achieved it can be concluded that the participants achieved peak physical fitness at the mid-season period (testing session 3). It would appear that the attainment of these results was determined by the participants being exposed to both a pre-season and an in-season training period. It seems that both the completion of the specific types of training that occurred during these two periods, as well as the competitive matches played, elevated the participants physical fitness to the levels required for success at the elite level.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
The utility of Weingarten's witness positions in the understanding of compassion fatigue in people who care for their own family members with AIDS
- Authors: Bambani, Nomfezeko
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Patients AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects Home-based family services Community health services HIV-positive persons -- Social aspects Caregivers -- Attitudes Burn out (Psychology) Weingarten, Kathy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3103 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004465
- Description: This paper explores the utility of Weingarten's (2003) witness positions in the understanding of compassion fatigue in people who care for their own family members with AIDS. The research is embedded in Weingarten's theory of witnessing and narrative theory and practice. The literature review explores the shift from hospital-based care to community/home-based care which has led to family members assuming the role of caring for their family members with AIDS, an overview of the effects of caring for AIDS patients on caregivers and an overview of Weingarten's (2003) theory of witnessing with special emphasis on the witnessing positions and their consequences. Interviews, based on narrative theory and practice in which Weingarten's theory is rooted, gave access to the participants' experiences, which were then analysed and interpreted through a framework developed from the witnessing theory. This article demonstrates the utility of Weingarten's (2003) theory of witnessing to people who are caregivers to their own family members with AIDS. I argue that witness positions occupied by caregivers during witnessing determine whether the caregivers will experience compassion fatigue. The negative consequences related to compassion fatigue that will be reviewed could probably be prevented through active, intentional, compassionate witnessing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Bambani, Nomfezeko
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- Patients AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects Home-based family services Community health services HIV-positive persons -- Social aspects Caregivers -- Attitudes Burn out (Psychology) Weingarten, Kathy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3103 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004465
- Description: This paper explores the utility of Weingarten's (2003) witness positions in the understanding of compassion fatigue in people who care for their own family members with AIDS. The research is embedded in Weingarten's theory of witnessing and narrative theory and practice. The literature review explores the shift from hospital-based care to community/home-based care which has led to family members assuming the role of caring for their family members with AIDS, an overview of the effects of caring for AIDS patients on caregivers and an overview of Weingarten's (2003) theory of witnessing with special emphasis on the witnessing positions and their consequences. Interviews, based on narrative theory and practice in which Weingarten's theory is rooted, gave access to the participants' experiences, which were then analysed and interpreted through a framework developed from the witnessing theory. This article demonstrates the utility of Weingarten's (2003) theory of witnessing to people who are caregivers to their own family members with AIDS. I argue that witness positions occupied by caregivers during witnessing determine whether the caregivers will experience compassion fatigue. The negative consequences related to compassion fatigue that will be reviewed could probably be prevented through active, intentional, compassionate witnessing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Tracking spoor of the wild woman archetype during a university merger
- Authors: Bodisch, Anja Maria
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wild women -- Folklore , Women -- Psychology , Archetype (Psychology) , Individuation (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9936 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/477 , Wild women -- Folklore , Women -- Psychology , Archetype (Psychology) , Individuation (Philosophy)
- Description: Universities in South Africa are currently undergoing mergers. Intended for commercial gain, mergers rarely accommodate the psychological milieu of staff. Similarly, the majority of studies conducted with respect to university mergers adopt a quantitative approach. This study adopts a qualitative approach and locates the researcher within the epicentre of the research, using a case study, with the researcher as unit of analysis. The lack of merger studies that focus on the experiences of minority groups, including women, prompted me, as researcher, to adopt a feminist approach to conduct this study in the context of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University merger. A Jungian gendered view, which endorses the personal experiences of minority groups, explored the connection between organisational change and concomitant opportunities for psychic growth. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the presence of the Wild Woman archetype during a university merger. The data that made up this study were contained in my field notes, research journal and a wall montage. An analysis of the qualitative data and a comparison of Jung’s archetypal theory and Pinkola Estés’ theory of the Wild Woman archetype, enabled the researcher to find evidence of the presence of the Wild Woman archetype during the university merger. The secondary purpose of the study was to document the findings which could act as a spoor which other women could follow on their journey towards connecting with their own Wild Woman archetype. The limitations of this study, and recommendations for future research are also offered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Bodisch, Anja Maria
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Wild women -- Folklore , Women -- Psychology , Archetype (Psychology) , Individuation (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9936 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/477 , Wild women -- Folklore , Women -- Psychology , Archetype (Psychology) , Individuation (Philosophy)
- Description: Universities in South Africa are currently undergoing mergers. Intended for commercial gain, mergers rarely accommodate the psychological milieu of staff. Similarly, the majority of studies conducted with respect to university mergers adopt a quantitative approach. This study adopts a qualitative approach and locates the researcher within the epicentre of the research, using a case study, with the researcher as unit of analysis. The lack of merger studies that focus on the experiences of minority groups, including women, prompted me, as researcher, to adopt a feminist approach to conduct this study in the context of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University merger. A Jungian gendered view, which endorses the personal experiences of minority groups, explored the connection between organisational change and concomitant opportunities for psychic growth. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the presence of the Wild Woman archetype during a university merger. The data that made up this study were contained in my field notes, research journal and a wall montage. An analysis of the qualitative data and a comparison of Jung’s archetypal theory and Pinkola Estés’ theory of the Wild Woman archetype, enabled the researcher to find evidence of the presence of the Wild Woman archetype during the university merger. The secondary purpose of the study was to document the findings which could act as a spoor which other women could follow on their journey towards connecting with their own Wild Woman archetype. The limitations of this study, and recommendations for future research are also offered.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Teachers' talk regarding inclusion: a comparative discursive study
- Authors: Bomela, Yolisa Faith
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3123 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006135
- Description: Much research on the educators' perceptions of and attitudes towards inclusive education has been conducted both in South Africa and abroad. What is absent in this literature is an acknowledgement of the socially constructed nature of teachers' responses to inclusive education and its recipients. In this study, the talk of educators involved in piloting inclusive education is compared to that of educators who are not involved, in order to determine the discourses from which educators draw in their construction of inclusive education. It is a comparative study premised on the social constructionist perspective in which discourse analysis was employed. The sample was drawn from schools piloting inclusive education in the East London District of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and was compared with schools not involved in the pilot, but in the same area. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with eight educators spread across two piloting and two non piloting schools. The analysis revealed significant similarities and quite minimal differences in the manner in which educators across the two settings construct their experiences of inclusive education. Even though the educators draw on the rights driven anti-discriminatory discourse, they still embrace the special needs/medical/expertise and charity discourses. These discourses construct disability around notions of disputed degrees of impairment, feared status and perceptions of disability as a personal issue rather than a public responsibility, and they undermine the status of people with a disability while supporting notions of dependency. In this article, I will argue that the historical legacy within which these discourses were originally constructed, will essentially continue unless there is a change in how diversity is viewed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Bomela, Yolisa Faith
- Date: 2006
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3123 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006135
- Description: Much research on the educators' perceptions of and attitudes towards inclusive education has been conducted both in South Africa and abroad. What is absent in this literature is an acknowledgement of the socially constructed nature of teachers' responses to inclusive education and its recipients. In this study, the talk of educators involved in piloting inclusive education is compared to that of educators who are not involved, in order to determine the discourses from which educators draw in their construction of inclusive education. It is a comparative study premised on the social constructionist perspective in which discourse analysis was employed. The sample was drawn from schools piloting inclusive education in the East London District of the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and was compared with schools not involved in the pilot, but in the same area. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with eight educators spread across two piloting and two non piloting schools. The analysis revealed significant similarities and quite minimal differences in the manner in which educators across the two settings construct their experiences of inclusive education. Even though the educators draw on the rights driven anti-discriminatory discourse, they still embrace the special needs/medical/expertise and charity discourses. These discourses construct disability around notions of disputed degrees of impairment, feared status and perceptions of disability as a personal issue rather than a public responsibility, and they undermine the status of people with a disability while supporting notions of dependency. In this article, I will argue that the historical legacy within which these discourses were originally constructed, will essentially continue unless there is a change in how diversity is viewed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Diasporic consciousness and Bollywood : South African Indian youth and the meanings they make of Indian film
- Authors: Boshoff, Priscilla
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Motion pictures -- India , Youth -- South Africa -- Attitudes , East Indians -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Motion picture industry -- India -- Mumbai
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3503 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006249 , Motion pictures -- India , Youth -- South Africa -- Attitudes , East Indians -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Motion picture industry -- India -- Mumbai
- Description: A particular youth identity in the South African Indian diaspora is being forged in a nexus o flocal and global forces . The globalisation of Bollywood and its popularity as a global media and the international commodification of the Indian exotic have occurred at the same time as the valorisation of 'difference' in the local political landscape. Indian youth, as young members of the South African Indian diaspora, are inheritors both of a conservative - yet adaptable - home culture and the marginalised identities of apartheid. However, the tensions between their desire to be recognised as both 'modern' South Africans and as ' traditional ' Indians create a space in which they are able to (re)create for themselves an identity that can encompass both their home cultures and the desires of a Westernised modernity through the tropes of Bollywood. Bollywood speaks to its diasporic audiences through representations of an idealised 'traditional yet modern' India. Although India is not a place of return for this young generation, Bollywood representations of successful diasporic Indian culture and participation in the globalised Bollywood industry through concerts and international award ceremonies has provided an opportunity for young Indians in South Africa to re-examine their local Indian identities and feel invited to re-identify with the global diasporas of India.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Boshoff, Priscilla
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Motion pictures -- India , Youth -- South Africa -- Attitudes , East Indians -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Motion picture industry -- India -- Mumbai
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3503 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006249 , Motion pictures -- India , Youth -- South Africa -- Attitudes , East Indians -- South Africa -- Attitudes , Motion picture industry -- India -- Mumbai
- Description: A particular youth identity in the South African Indian diaspora is being forged in a nexus o flocal and global forces . The globalisation of Bollywood and its popularity as a global media and the international commodification of the Indian exotic have occurred at the same time as the valorisation of 'difference' in the local political landscape. Indian youth, as young members of the South African Indian diaspora, are inheritors both of a conservative - yet adaptable - home culture and the marginalised identities of apartheid. However, the tensions between their desire to be recognised as both 'modern' South Africans and as ' traditional ' Indians create a space in which they are able to (re)create for themselves an identity that can encompass both their home cultures and the desires of a Westernised modernity through the tropes of Bollywood. Bollywood speaks to its diasporic audiences through representations of an idealised 'traditional yet modern' India. Although India is not a place of return for this young generation, Bollywood representations of successful diasporic Indian culture and participation in the globalised Bollywood industry through concerts and international award ceremonies has provided an opportunity for young Indians in South Africa to re-examine their local Indian identities and feel invited to re-identify with the global diasporas of India.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Eksperiment en intertekstualiteit: 'n studie van Ingrid Winterbach se Niggie (2002) en die oorlogsdagboek van Jan F.E. Celliers 1899-1902 (1978), asook ander Anglo-Boereoorlog tekste
- Authors: Botha, Maria Elizabeth
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Afrikaans fiction -- History and criticism , Winterbach, Ingrid. Niggie , Intertextuality , South African War, 1899-1902 Fiction
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8442 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/436 , Afrikaans fiction -- History and criticism , Winterbach, Ingrid. Niggie , Intertextuality , South African War, 1899-1902 Fiction
- Description: This study focuses on the creative adaptation of Anglo-Boer War material in Ingrid Winterbach’s (Lettie Viljoen) Niggie [Cousin] (2002) with specific reference to the Oorlogsdagboek van Jan F.E. Celliers, 1899-1902 [War Diary of Jan F.E. Celliers, 1899-1902] (1978) and other texts written during or shortly after the Anglo Boer War in Dutch, such as Totius’ Vier-en-sestig dae te velde: ‘n Oorlogsdagboek [Sixty Four Days Afield: A War Diary] (1977) and in English, Woman’s Endurance (1904) by A.D.L. and Deneys Reitz’s Commando. A Boer Journal of the Boer War (1929). More recent Afrikaans novels dealing with the same war are also analysed, such as Ons oorlog [Our War] (2000) by Klaas Steytler, Op soek na Generaal Mannetjies Mentz [In Search of General Mannetjies Mentz] (1998) by Christoffel Coetzee and Etienne Leroux’s Magersfontein O! Magersfontein (1976). A literary analysis is done of the novel Niggie, with specific focus on the nature and function of Anglo-Boer War material in Winterbach’s text. The question is posed why there is such a sustained focus and creative adaptation of Anglo-Boer War texts in Winterbach’s oeuvre (especially in Belemmering [Impediment], 1990, Karolina Ferreira, 1993, Buller se plan [Buller’s Plan], 1999, and Niggie [Cousin], 2002)? This novel has a profound effect on the reader a century after the war, because it addresses postcolonial issues and predicaments such as a defragmenting identity, as well as the possible demise of the Afrikaans language and culture, faced by the descendants of those involved in the war a century ago. In her reworking of the past to come to grips with the present, Winterbach confronts difficult South African topics, such as interracial relationships, racism, the relationship with the land, possible language death, gender relationships, the role of the supernatural and the unconscious in everyday life (in the form of dreams and trickster figures), amongst many others. The dissertation offers an intertextual study as well as a literary analyses of the literary techniques used, and the characteristics of this magisterial novel, which deservedly won the Hertzog prize in 2004, the highest accolade possible for an Afrikaans novel. The anomaly of such a novel in 2002 seemingly dwelling on the past, is shown up for what it is: a metaphor for the present and its dilemmas, reflecting the social conflicts existing at present in the crumbling Afrikaans community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Botha, Maria Elizabeth
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Afrikaans fiction -- History and criticism , Winterbach, Ingrid. Niggie , Intertextuality , South African War, 1899-1902 Fiction
- Language: Afrikaans
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8442 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/436 , Afrikaans fiction -- History and criticism , Winterbach, Ingrid. Niggie , Intertextuality , South African War, 1899-1902 Fiction
- Description: This study focuses on the creative adaptation of Anglo-Boer War material in Ingrid Winterbach’s (Lettie Viljoen) Niggie [Cousin] (2002) with specific reference to the Oorlogsdagboek van Jan F.E. Celliers, 1899-1902 [War Diary of Jan F.E. Celliers, 1899-1902] (1978) and other texts written during or shortly after the Anglo Boer War in Dutch, such as Totius’ Vier-en-sestig dae te velde: ‘n Oorlogsdagboek [Sixty Four Days Afield: A War Diary] (1977) and in English, Woman’s Endurance (1904) by A.D.L. and Deneys Reitz’s Commando. A Boer Journal of the Boer War (1929). More recent Afrikaans novels dealing with the same war are also analysed, such as Ons oorlog [Our War] (2000) by Klaas Steytler, Op soek na Generaal Mannetjies Mentz [In Search of General Mannetjies Mentz] (1998) by Christoffel Coetzee and Etienne Leroux’s Magersfontein O! Magersfontein (1976). A literary analysis is done of the novel Niggie, with specific focus on the nature and function of Anglo-Boer War material in Winterbach’s text. The question is posed why there is such a sustained focus and creative adaptation of Anglo-Boer War texts in Winterbach’s oeuvre (especially in Belemmering [Impediment], 1990, Karolina Ferreira, 1993, Buller se plan [Buller’s Plan], 1999, and Niggie [Cousin], 2002)? This novel has a profound effect on the reader a century after the war, because it addresses postcolonial issues and predicaments such as a defragmenting identity, as well as the possible demise of the Afrikaans language and culture, faced by the descendants of those involved in the war a century ago. In her reworking of the past to come to grips with the present, Winterbach confronts difficult South African topics, such as interracial relationships, racism, the relationship with the land, possible language death, gender relationships, the role of the supernatural and the unconscious in everyday life (in the form of dreams and trickster figures), amongst many others. The dissertation offers an intertextual study as well as a literary analyses of the literary techniques used, and the characteristics of this magisterial novel, which deservedly won the Hertzog prize in 2004, the highest accolade possible for an Afrikaans novel. The anomaly of such a novel in 2002 seemingly dwelling on the past, is shown up for what it is: a metaphor for the present and its dilemmas, reflecting the social conflicts existing at present in the crumbling Afrikaans community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Intersubjectivity and the schizophrenic experience: a hermeneutic phenomoneological exploration of being-in-relation
- Bradfield, Bruce Christopher
- Authors: Bradfield, Bruce Christopher
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Schizophrenia , Intersubjectivity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2940 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002449 , Schizophrenia , Intersubjectivity
- Description: This research project has its origin and motivation in work done by Lysaker, Johannesen and Lysaker (2005), which explored the experience of being as a person with schizophrenia in relation to other individuals. The researchers examined the nature of the schizophrenic experience from within the framework of the dialogical model of self, and presented schizophrenic intersubjectivity as a potentially horrifying and disintegrating experience. Lysaker et al (2005) discuss the notion that the individual self unfolds as a composite structure of multiple selves, existing in dialogical interaction with one another. Their research aimed to show that the individual with schizophrenia experiences difficulty tolerating this dialogue on an intrapsychic level. Because interpersonal exchange requires that individuals adopt a variety of self-other modes of relatedness, suggest Lysaker et al, interpersonal engagement for the person with schizophrenia is disclosed as profoundly threatening (ibid.) Moving from the above-mentioned research, this project aims through a hermeneutic phenomenological process to clarify and narrate the subtleties of the intersubjective experience, as that experience is disclosed in the lived world of a person with schizophrenia. How does such an individual experience self in relation to other? How does such an individual negotiate their sense of self in terms of their dialogicality? The phenomenological hermeneutic method, as shaped by such theorists as Gadamer (1976), Heidegger (1962) and Buber (1970), will emerge as the interpretive platform upon which these questions are approached.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Bradfield, Bruce Christopher
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Schizophrenia , Intersubjectivity
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2940 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002449 , Schizophrenia , Intersubjectivity
- Description: This research project has its origin and motivation in work done by Lysaker, Johannesen and Lysaker (2005), which explored the experience of being as a person with schizophrenia in relation to other individuals. The researchers examined the nature of the schizophrenic experience from within the framework of the dialogical model of self, and presented schizophrenic intersubjectivity as a potentially horrifying and disintegrating experience. Lysaker et al (2005) discuss the notion that the individual self unfolds as a composite structure of multiple selves, existing in dialogical interaction with one another. Their research aimed to show that the individual with schizophrenia experiences difficulty tolerating this dialogue on an intrapsychic level. Because interpersonal exchange requires that individuals adopt a variety of self-other modes of relatedness, suggest Lysaker et al, interpersonal engagement for the person with schizophrenia is disclosed as profoundly threatening (ibid.) Moving from the above-mentioned research, this project aims through a hermeneutic phenomenological process to clarify and narrate the subtleties of the intersubjective experience, as that experience is disclosed in the lived world of a person with schizophrenia. How does such an individual experience self in relation to other? How does such an individual negotiate their sense of self in terms of their dialogicality? The phenomenological hermeneutic method, as shaped by such theorists as Gadamer (1976), Heidegger (1962) and Buber (1970), will emerge as the interpretive platform upon which these questions are approached.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Literacy as a community icon : a critical evaluation of literacy as a community icon in the design of a new public library for Stellenbosch
- Authors: Brand, Jacques Martin
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Library buildings -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans , Public libraries -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8153 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/855 , Library buildings -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans , Public libraries -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans
- Description: The topic for this thesis is a new main public library for Stellenbosch and the direct urban spaces that support it. The thesis will explore the technical requirements for this type of building as well as the response to a historical urban context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Brand, Jacques Martin
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Library buildings -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans , Public libraries -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8153 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/855 , Library buildings -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans , Public libraries -- South Africa -- Stellenbosch -- Designs and plans
- Description: The topic for this thesis is a new main public library for Stellenbosch and the direct urban spaces that support it. The thesis will explore the technical requirements for this type of building as well as the response to a historical urban context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Mapping Grahamstown's security governance network : prospects and problems for democratic policing
- Brereton, Catherine Margaret
- Authors: Brereton, Catherine Margaret
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Democracy -- South Africa , Police -- South Africa , Police administration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police-community relations -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police patrol -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Private security services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2851 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006323 , Democracy -- South Africa , Police -- South Africa , Police administration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police-community relations -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police patrol -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Private security services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The security of its citizens is often regarded as the democratic state's primary raison d'etre. However, with increasing crime and perceptions of insecurity among citizens, along with actual and perceived state policing inadequacies, citizens around the world have sought to make alternative arrangements for their security. The explosion of private alternatives to state policing has resulted in the need for the replacement of former static definitions of policing by more fluid understandings of what policing entails. Policing is no longer an activity undertaken exclusively by the 'state police.' Policing needs to be understood within a framework which recognises the existence of a variety of state, commercial, community groups and individuals which exist within loose and sometimes informal, sometimes formal, networks to provide for the security of citizens. Preceding the country's transition to democracy in 1994 'state' policing in South Africa was aimed at monitoring and suppressing the black population and as a result it conducted itself in a largely militaristic way. When the government of national unity assumed power in 1994 it was indisputable that the South African Police had to undergo major reform if it was to play an effective, co-operative and accountable role in a democratic South Africa. While state policing has unquestionably undergone enormous changes since the advent of democracy in 1994, so too has non-state policing. It is widely accepted that the dividing line between state and non-state policing in South Africa is increasingly blurred. Policing, by its very nature, holds the potential to threaten democracy. Consequently it is important that policing is democratically controlled. According to the Law Commission of Canada four values and principles - justice, equality, accountability, and efficiency - should support policing in a democracy. This thesis is a case study of policing in Grahamstown, a small city in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. It will be shown that the policing problem that currently plagues Grahamstown, and by extension South Africa, is not simply the result of a shortage of providers but rather a problem of co-coordinating and monitoring security governance to ensure that the city does not further develop into a society where the wealthy have greater access to security than the poor.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Brereton, Catherine Margaret
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Democracy -- South Africa , Police -- South Africa , Police administration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police-community relations -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police patrol -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Private security services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2851 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006323 , Democracy -- South Africa , Police -- South Africa , Police administration -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police-community relations -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime prevention -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police patrol -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Private security services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The security of its citizens is often regarded as the democratic state's primary raison d'etre. However, with increasing crime and perceptions of insecurity among citizens, along with actual and perceived state policing inadequacies, citizens around the world have sought to make alternative arrangements for their security. The explosion of private alternatives to state policing has resulted in the need for the replacement of former static definitions of policing by more fluid understandings of what policing entails. Policing is no longer an activity undertaken exclusively by the 'state police.' Policing needs to be understood within a framework which recognises the existence of a variety of state, commercial, community groups and individuals which exist within loose and sometimes informal, sometimes formal, networks to provide for the security of citizens. Preceding the country's transition to democracy in 1994 'state' policing in South Africa was aimed at monitoring and suppressing the black population and as a result it conducted itself in a largely militaristic way. When the government of national unity assumed power in 1994 it was indisputable that the South African Police had to undergo major reform if it was to play an effective, co-operative and accountable role in a democratic South Africa. While state policing has unquestionably undergone enormous changes since the advent of democracy in 1994, so too has non-state policing. It is widely accepted that the dividing line between state and non-state policing in South Africa is increasingly blurred. Policing, by its very nature, holds the potential to threaten democracy. Consequently it is important that policing is democratically controlled. According to the Law Commission of Canada four values and principles - justice, equality, accountability, and efficiency - should support policing in a democracy. This thesis is a case study of policing in Grahamstown, a small city in South Africa's Eastern Cape province. It will be shown that the policing problem that currently plagues Grahamstown, and by extension South Africa, is not simply the result of a shortage of providers but rather a problem of co-coordinating and monitoring security governance to ensure that the city does not further develop into a society where the wealthy have greater access to security than the poor.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
"Museum spaces in post-apartheid South Africa": the Durban Art Gallery as a case study
- Authors: Brown, Carol
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Durban Art Gallery -- History Museums -- South Africa -- Durban Art museums -- South Africa -- Durban Art -- South Africa -- Durban -- Exhibitions Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Exhibitions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2446 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006231
- Description: This dissertation examines the history of the Durban Art Gallery from its founding in 1892 until 2004, a decade after the First Democratic Election. While the emphasis is on significant changes that were introduced in the post-1994 period, the earlier section of the study locates these initiatives within a broad historical framework. The collecting policies of the museum as well as its exhibitions and programmes are considered in the light of the institution 's changing social and political context as well as shifting imperatives within a local, regional and national art world. The Durban Art Gallery was established in order to promote a European, and particularly British, culture, and the acquisition and appreciation of art was considered an important element in the formation of a stable society. By providing a broad overview of the early years of the gallery, I identify reasons for the choice of acquisitions and explore the impact and reception of a selection of exhibitions. I investigate changes during the 1960s and 1970s through an examination of the Art South Africa Today exhibitions: in addition to opening up institutional spaces to a racially mixed community, these exhibitions marked the beginning of an imperative to show protest art. I argue that, during the political climate of the 1980s, there was a tension in the cultural arena between, on the one hand, a motivation to retain a Western ideal of 'high art' and, on the other, a drive to accommodate the new forms of people's art and to challenge the values and ideological standpoints that had been instrumental in shaping collecting and exhibiting policies in the South African art arena. I explore this tension through a discussion of the Cape Town Triennial exhibitions, organised jointly by all the official museums, which ran alongside more inclusive and independently curated exhibitions, such as Tributaries, which were shown mainly outside the country. The post-1994 period marked an opening up of spaces, both literally and conceptually. This openness was manifest in the revised strategies that were introduced to show the Durban Art Gallery 's permanent collection as well as in two key public projects that were started - Red Eye @rt and the AIDS 2000 ribbon. Through an examination of these strategies and initiatives, I argue that the central role of the Durban Art Gallery has shifted from being a repository to providing an interactive public space.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Brown, Carol
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Durban Art Gallery -- History Museums -- South Africa -- Durban Art museums -- South Africa -- Durban Art -- South Africa -- Durban -- Exhibitions Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Exhibitions
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2446 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006231
- Description: This dissertation examines the history of the Durban Art Gallery from its founding in 1892 until 2004, a decade after the First Democratic Election. While the emphasis is on significant changes that were introduced in the post-1994 period, the earlier section of the study locates these initiatives within a broad historical framework. The collecting policies of the museum as well as its exhibitions and programmes are considered in the light of the institution 's changing social and political context as well as shifting imperatives within a local, regional and national art world. The Durban Art Gallery was established in order to promote a European, and particularly British, culture, and the acquisition and appreciation of art was considered an important element in the formation of a stable society. By providing a broad overview of the early years of the gallery, I identify reasons for the choice of acquisitions and explore the impact and reception of a selection of exhibitions. I investigate changes during the 1960s and 1970s through an examination of the Art South Africa Today exhibitions: in addition to opening up institutional spaces to a racially mixed community, these exhibitions marked the beginning of an imperative to show protest art. I argue that, during the political climate of the 1980s, there was a tension in the cultural arena between, on the one hand, a motivation to retain a Western ideal of 'high art' and, on the other, a drive to accommodate the new forms of people's art and to challenge the values and ideological standpoints that had been instrumental in shaping collecting and exhibiting policies in the South African art arena. I explore this tension through a discussion of the Cape Town Triennial exhibitions, organised jointly by all the official museums, which ran alongside more inclusive and independently curated exhibitions, such as Tributaries, which were shown mainly outside the country. The post-1994 period marked an opening up of spaces, both literally and conceptually. This openness was manifest in the revised strategies that were introduced to show the Durban Art Gallery 's permanent collection as well as in two key public projects that were started - Red Eye @rt and the AIDS 2000 ribbon. Through an examination of these strategies and initiatives, I argue that the central role of the Durban Art Gallery has shifted from being a repository to providing an interactive public space.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Understanding educator-mediated conflict resolution in a preschool environment: the experiences and feelings of preschool educators
- Authors: Cakwe, Mandisa
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Education, Preschool , Early childhood education , Preschool children , Conflict management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2943 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002452 , Education, Preschool , Early childhood education , Preschool children , Conflict management
- Description: This thesis discusses the experiences and feelings of preschool educators when resolving situations of conflict between preschool children. Data was collected by means of semistructured individual interviews with preschool educators and a video recorder recording conflict situations among preschool children focusing on educator resolution strategies. Grounded theory was used as a data analysis technique to analyse the data collected. The analysis revealed that the preschool educators under study do not use mediation as a conflict resolution strategy but use various strategies that include, prevention, directive approach, arbitration, myths and threats and rules. Data analysis also revealed that these preschool educators encounter experiences and feelings before, while and after intervening in the conflict situations of children. These findings imply that preschool educators lack the professional skill of conflict resolution. This suggests an urgent need of restructuring of the preschool educator’s training to include conflict resolution training as one of their important component. Educators and parents also need to be consulted or involved in the process of restructuring the training.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Cakwe, Mandisa
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Education, Preschool , Early childhood education , Preschool children , Conflict management
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2943 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002452 , Education, Preschool , Early childhood education , Preschool children , Conflict management
- Description: This thesis discusses the experiences and feelings of preschool educators when resolving situations of conflict between preschool children. Data was collected by means of semistructured individual interviews with preschool educators and a video recorder recording conflict situations among preschool children focusing on educator resolution strategies. Grounded theory was used as a data analysis technique to analyse the data collected. The analysis revealed that the preschool educators under study do not use mediation as a conflict resolution strategy but use various strategies that include, prevention, directive approach, arbitration, myths and threats and rules. Data analysis also revealed that these preschool educators encounter experiences and feelings before, while and after intervening in the conflict situations of children. These findings imply that preschool educators lack the professional skill of conflict resolution. This suggests an urgent need of restructuring of the preschool educator’s training to include conflict resolution training as one of their important component. Educators and parents also need to be consulted or involved in the process of restructuring the training.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
A case study investigation of the neuropsychological profile of a rugby player with a history of multiple concussions
- Authors: Case, Stephanie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3165 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007727 , Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Description: sustained multiple concussions may be at risk of cumulative impairment. The role of neuropsychological testing in the management of sports-related concussion is a contentious and challenging issue which has gained credibility given the lack of clear and well-established guidelines pertaining to the diagnosis, assessment and return-to-play decisions following concussion. Despite various traditional paper and pencil tests being shown to be effective indicators of postconcussive neuropsychological dysfunction, testing has not been widely implemented, due to time- and labour-demands. ImPACT, a computer-based neuropsychological assessment instrument, has been recognised as a valid and reliable tool in the monitoring of athletes' symptoms and neurocognitive functioning preseason and postconcussion. As a part of larger-scale concussion research conducted on top-team university rugby players, this is an in-depth case study conducted on a 20-year old participant with a history of multiple concussions, who was referred following a concussion sustained during the season. The objectives of the study were: (i) to determine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus WAIS-III Digit Span and Trail Making Test during the acute postconcussive phase; and (ii) to examine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests to possible residual deficits as a result of the multiple concussions. ImPACT was determined to be more sensitive to acute postconcussive impairment following concussion than Digit Span and Trail Making Test. Furthermore, the ImPACT preseason baseline scores appear to be sensitive to neurocognitive dysfunction, possibly due to cumulative concussive injuries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Case, Stephanie
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3165 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007727 , Rugby football injuries , Brain -- Concussion -- Complications , Neuropsychological tests , Head -- Wounds and injuries -- Complications , Sports injuries -- Psychological aspects
- Description: sustained multiple concussions may be at risk of cumulative impairment. The role of neuropsychological testing in the management of sports-related concussion is a contentious and challenging issue which has gained credibility given the lack of clear and well-established guidelines pertaining to the diagnosis, assessment and return-to-play decisions following concussion. Despite various traditional paper and pencil tests being shown to be effective indicators of postconcussive neuropsychological dysfunction, testing has not been widely implemented, due to time- and labour-demands. ImPACT, a computer-based neuropsychological assessment instrument, has been recognised as a valid and reliable tool in the monitoring of athletes' symptoms and neurocognitive functioning preseason and postconcussion. As a part of larger-scale concussion research conducted on top-team university rugby players, this is an in-depth case study conducted on a 20-year old participant with a history of multiple concussions, who was referred following a concussion sustained during the season. The objectives of the study were: (i) to determine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus WAIS-III Digit Span and Trail Making Test during the acute postconcussive phase; and (ii) to examine the sensitivity of ImPACT versus a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests to possible residual deficits as a result of the multiple concussions. ImPACT was determined to be more sensitive to acute postconcussive impairment following concussion than Digit Span and Trail Making Test. Furthermore, the ImPACT preseason baseline scores appear to be sensitive to neurocognitive dysfunction, possibly due to cumulative concussive injuries.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
Attachment and the therapeutic relationship an elucidation of therapeutic process in a single child psychotherapy case
- Authors: Crafford, Melody
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Child psychotherapy -- Case studies , Psychotherapist and patient , Attachment behavior in children
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002464 , Child psychotherapy -- Case studies , Psychotherapist and patient , Attachment behavior in children
- Description: The overall objective of this study was to delve into the intricacies of the therapeutic process and the therapeutic relationship from an attachment perspective. A single retrospective child case study was conducted, which entailed the construction of a narrative synopsis of the process. The hermeneutic approach of a Reading Guide Method was applied, and through a repeated re-reading of the narrative, pertinent themes emerged that shed light on therapy as a process in motion. Specifically, the motion of the therapeutic process manifested through a scrutiny of the therapeutic relationship in view of the participant’s attachment style. The results of this study revealed the capacity of the participant to move away from an avoidant and somewhat ambivalent organisation of defences by virtue of establishing a secure base and exercising her faculty for emotional and self-expression. Accordingly, it can be established that in view of psychotherapy from an attachment perspective, the seemingly imperceptible vicissitudes of change are indeed appreciable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006
- Authors: Crafford, Melody
- Date: 2006
- Subjects: Child psychotherapy -- Case studies , Psychotherapist and patient , Attachment behavior in children
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2955 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002464 , Child psychotherapy -- Case studies , Psychotherapist and patient , Attachment behavior in children
- Description: The overall objective of this study was to delve into the intricacies of the therapeutic process and the therapeutic relationship from an attachment perspective. A single retrospective child case study was conducted, which entailed the construction of a narrative synopsis of the process. The hermeneutic approach of a Reading Guide Method was applied, and through a repeated re-reading of the narrative, pertinent themes emerged that shed light on therapy as a process in motion. Specifically, the motion of the therapeutic process manifested through a scrutiny of the therapeutic relationship in view of the participant’s attachment style. The results of this study revealed the capacity of the participant to move away from an avoidant and somewhat ambivalent organisation of defences by virtue of establishing a secure base and exercising her faculty for emotional and self-expression. Accordingly, it can be established that in view of psychotherapy from an attachment perspective, the seemingly imperceptible vicissitudes of change are indeed appreciable.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2006