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Unit managers’ perceptions of compassion fatigue among nurses at private hospitals in the Eastern Cape

- Els, Lisa Victoria

Authors: Els, Lisa Victoria
Date: 2023-04
Subjects: Medical personnel -- Job stress , Burn out (Psychology) -- Treatment , Compassion
Language: English
Type: Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69637 , vital:78002
Description: Caring has been described in literature as encompassing empathy, attentiveness, experience, and sensitivity, which is then translated into nursing bedside practice. However, the cost of caring may cause nurses to become withdrawn and unable to care for their patients. This phenomenon is called compassion fatigue (CF), where nurses feel unable to respond to their patients and become withdrawn from stressful scenarios in the unit. CF is prevalent globally among nurses based in all hospital disciplines. The aim of the study is to explore unit managers’ perceptions of CF among nurses in private hospitals in the Eastern Cape in order to develop recommendations for UMs on how to respond to CF among nursing staff. The study used a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive approach. The researcher used Williams, McDowell and Kautz’s (2011) Caring Leadership Model to explore the UMs’ perceptions of CF. The population chosen for this study was the UMs in private hospitals in the Eastern Cape. A minimum of 12 UMs were purposively sampled to take part in the study. Data was collected by means of semi-structured individual interviews. Lincoln and Guba’s four criteria of trustworthiness, namely: credibility, conformability, dependability and transferability were applied to enhance the quality of the study. The researcher upheld the ethical standards of the Belmont Report throughout the course of the study. Five themes were identified using Braun and Clarke’s data analysis method. The themes identified were: Theme 1: UMs’ perceptions of the manifestations of CF among their nursing staff; Theme 2: UMs’ perceptions of contributors to CF among their nursing staff; Theme 3: UMs identified that patient outcomes may have been hindered by CF among their nursing staff; Theme 4: UMs sought to enhance the well-being of their nursing staff which may have mitigated possible CF; Theme 5: Suggestions by UMs regarding UM self-awareness and improved support for each other. Hence the complex phenomenon of CF was explored through the UMs’ descriptions of their perceptions as leaders of nurses in the nursing practice setting. The UMs shared the difficulty of their roles, most especially related to how they struggled to vi support their staff while at the same time, feeling unsupported themselves. UMs were struggling, with staff who appeared to have CF. UMs reported that staff seemed more irritable, and angry. Added to these changes in behaviour, were signs that staff were not coping with the workload as well as with very ill patients. These changes in behaviour, signs of emotional and physical fatigue as well as higher rates of absenteeism all seemed to be aligned with the classical signs and symptoms of CF as described in much of the literature. Once the themes had been identified, a modified version of the AGREE II tool was used as a framework to develop the following recommendations: Recommendation 1: Facilitate UM peer support regarding CF management; Recommendation 2: Train UMs regarding CF and related conditions; Recommendation 3: Assist UMs to support their staff who are exhibiting CF. , Thesis (MCur) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Care & Medicinal Sciences, 2023
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Date Issued: 2023-04

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A political economy of transformation in Nelson Mandela University Bay: a critical analysis of the construction sector 2005

- Mtimka, Ongama

Authors: Mtimka, Ongama
Date: 2022-12
Subjects: Transformation -- Port Elizabeth -- Nelson Mandela Bay , Construction industry -- South Africa –Port Elizabeth , Politics -- Nelson Mandela Bay
Language: English
Type: Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/59392 , vital:62077
Description: In democracies and purportedly free market economies, questions of “who gets what, when, and how” ought to be resolved mainly through free competition, where those with the competitive advantage on merit are guaranteed to succeed. If it is political parties, they only have to compete well and fairly to win elections. If it is businesses, they ought to have the best value and price and they win customers. However, there are institutions which regulate this competition and political economic behaviour. Interest groups such as business chambers, industry and professional associations, as well as various structures of representation engage in the political economic space to sway the distribution outcomes from these “institutions” in the favour of their members. To do so, at times they use methods that affirm the principles and spirit of free competition and at other times, they do not. This thesis reviews the political economy of transformation within the construction sector in Nelson Mandela Bay to further advance knowledge within the subfield of political economy in South Africa. By looking at a specific economic sector, the study adds an important element to the sub-discipline, a nuance to the debates about the role of the state in the economy or macroeconomic policy and the much studied mining-energy complex. The study focuses on the role of small business forums created mostly by newcomers within the construction sector in the city and the methods they used to increase the share of their members in construction sector revenues. Their methods were unconventional and earned them the unfavourable term of ‘the construction mafia’. Through a grounded theoretical research process, this study details the story of the rise and fall of forums and dissects it in line with ongoing debates within political economy and related disciplines, particularly about the nexus between politics and business as well as the role of interest groups in pluralist political systems. Among other things, the study finds that the forums did not see the construction industry as a free market and did not take principles of competition in the sector as a given. As such, they sought to make and remake institutions of the sector in ways that could increase their share of revenues. In similar fashion to the roles of iinjoli nosokhaya in traditional isiXhosa ceremonies, they accorded to themselves the right to distribute benefits to their members contrary to legal and general market prescripts. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Government and Social sciences, 2022
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Date Issued: 2022-12

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Comparison of in vitro activities of selected Ganoderma species in relation to skin diseases

- Van Aardt, Robin Kaylah

Authors: Van Aardt, Robin Kaylah
Date: 2022-12
Subjects: Ganoderma diseases of plants -- South Africa , Macrophages
Language: English
Type: Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/61143 , vital:69766
Description: Ganoderma species of macrofungi have been reported to have a multitude of medicinal properties, however, there is limited information on this genus in South Africa. The goal of this study was to compare biological activities of selected Ganoderma spp. in relation to skin diseases with emphasis on the antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic in vitro activities. Ethanolic and aqueous extracts prepared from six samples of G. lucidum [two commercial products (MG-LZ8 and Medi Mushroom Reishi extract), polar, antler, fruiting body and mycelium] and ten cultivated Ganoderma spp. were screened for bioactivities. Antibacterial activity was assessed using the 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl-2H-tetrazolium (INT) assay against skin pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae). Cytotoxicity was determined using bisBenzamide H 33342 trihydrochloride/propidium iodide (Hoechst/ PI) staining on the B16F10 melanoma cell line. The 2,2-Diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assays were used to investigate antioxidant activity. Immune modulatory effects included detection of phagocytic activity and phenotypic changes of RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells. The phenotypic macrophage polarisation of the extracts on RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cells was tested by treating the cells with the extracts and measuring the fluorescence of cell surface markers. CD86 was used as indicator for the M1 phenotype and CD206 as a general marker for M2 phenotypes. The commercially available and cultivated G. lucidum extracts did not show antibacterial activity within the 0-2mg/mL concentration range tested. The commercially available MG-LZ8 G. lucidum extract expressed cytotoxic activity with an IC50 value of 21.26 µg/mL while the ethanolic conk fruiting body and mycelial G. lucidum extract showed a significant reduction in live cells, indicating anti-proliferative activity. G. destructans mycelial ethanol extract displayed anti-proliferative activity at a concentration of 200 μg/mL which shows great potential as a mycelial extract. All the G. lucidum extracts exhibited free radical scavenging abilities with the Ganoderma spp. showing little to no measurable activity. G. lucidum and Ganoderma spp extracts had similar responses without inflammatory activity for the concentration ranges tested. The extracts did not increase macrophage phagocytic activity using the pHrodo™ Green E. coli iii BioParticles™ Conjugate. G. lucidum and Ganoderma spp. extracts induced macrophage polarisation toward the M2 phenotype, with the G. lucidum antler and conk fruiting body extracts displaying significant activity. This study illustrates one of the first investigations of the bioactivity of indigenous Ganoderma spp.; G. destructans type and G. eickeri, spp. nov. identified by Coeztee et al (2015). , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, School of Biochemistry and Microbiology, 2023
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Date Issued: 2022-12

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Disentangling the role of prokaryotes in regulating export flux via suspended and sinking organic matter in the southern ocean

- Dithugoe, Choaro David

Authors: Dithugoe, Choaro David
Date: 2022-10-14
Subjects: Microbial ecology , Bioinformatics , Biochemistry , Oceanography , Metagenomics , Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) , Prokaryotes
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/365745 , vital:65782 , DOI https://doi.org/10.21504/10962/365745
Description: The role of phytoplankton in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide in the marine environment has been the subject of extensive research. We lack, however, comparative insights regarding the functional contributions of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses (the microbiota) to organic matter export especially in understudied polar marine environments such as the Southern Ocean. This knowledge deficit is in part due to the high levels of microbial diversity which obscures efforts to study the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functions including their roles in the sequestration of carbon and nitrogen. Elucidating their precise contributions to organic matter export may be central to potential ecosystems feedbacks to global climate change. We examined several factors which may influence organic matter export to depth including net primary production, phytoplankton biomass, temperature, and prokaryotic functional capacity in the Southern Ocean. A Marine Snow Catcher was used to collect suspended and sinking material 10 metres below mixed layer depth at Southern Ocean Time Series (SOTS) in autumn (March-April) and in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in winter (July-August) and spring (October-November) 2019. The suspended and sinking material was used to determine the particulate organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations which were then used to calculate fluxes and export ratio ((e-ratio) - particulate organic carbon flux divided by net primary production). Additionally, genomic DNA was extracted from the suspended and sinking material and sequenced to obtain Shotgun metagenomic data which was employed to reconstruct metagenome assembled genome (MAGs) and their functional capacity using bioinformatic tools such as DRAM. Data from the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, demonstrate that net primary production and temperature were inversely related to the e-ratio which is consistent with previous findings from the northern region of the Southern Ocean. Genomic functional capacity from SOTS suggested that r-strategist (organisms adapted to live in unstable environments) bacteria (e.g., Gammaproteobacteria) were prominent in the suspended pool. By contrast, the sinking particle-pool appeared to be dominated by K- strategists (organisms adapted to stable environment). The opposite was true for the archaea. This finding (i.e., bacteria) differs from a previous study in the northern region of the Southern Ocean, showing that microbes with K-strategists were more abundant in the suspended fraction. K-strategists typically degrade sinking organic matter into suspended organic matter or dissolved organic matter reducing the organic carbon export efficiency. Furthermore, Data from the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean revealed that seasonal temperature changes might dictate the rate of regional prokaryotic degradation across the zones. Resulting in rapid degradation at the northerly warmer regions and slow degradation further south. The data further provide evidence of chemolithoautotrophic mechanisms, with prokaryotes harbouring key pathways, required to transform dissolved inorganic carbon into complex organic forms, including recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon. Collectively, the SOTS and Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean data suggest that shifts in prokaryotic community structure and functional capacity may regulate (either degradation or synthesis of organic matter) carbon export to depth. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2022
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Date Issued: 2022-10-14

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Evolving IoT honeypots

- Genov, Todor Stanislavov

Authors: Genov, Todor Stanislavov
Date: 2022-10-14
Subjects: Internet of things , Malware (Computer software) , QEMU , Honeypot , Cowrie
Language: English
Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/362819 , vital:65365
Description: The Internet of Things (IoT) is the emerging world where arbitrary objects from our everyday lives gain basic computational and networking capabilities to become part of the Internet. Researchers are estimating between 25 and 35 billion devices will be part of Internet by 2022. Unlike conventional computers where one hardware platform (Intel x86) and three operating systems (Windows, Linux and OS X) dominate the market, the IoT landscape is far more heterogeneous. To meet the growth demand the number of The System-on-Chip (SoC) manufacturers has seen a corresponding exponential growth making embedded platforms based on ARM, MIPS or SH4 processors abundant. The pursuit for market share is further leading to a price war and cost-cutting ultimately resulting in cheap systems with limited hardware resources and capabilities. The frugality of IoT hardware has a domino effect. Due to resource constraints vendors are packaging devices with custom, stripped-down Linux-based firmwares optimized for performing the device’s primary function. Device management, monitoring and security features are by and far absent from IoT devices. This created an asymmetry favouring attackers and disadvantaging defenders. This research sets out to reduce the opacity and identify a viable strategy, tactics and tooling for gaining insight into the IoT threat landscape by leveraging honeypots to build and deploy an evolving world-wide Observatory, based on cloud platforms, to help with studying attacker behaviour and collecting IoT malware samples. The research produces useful tools and techniques for identifying behavioural differences between Medium-Interaction honeypots and real devices by replaying interactive attacker sessions collected from the Honeypot Network. The behavioural delta is used to evolve the Honeypot Network and improve its collection capabilities. Positive results are obtained with respect to effectiveness of the above technique. Findings by other researchers in the field are also replicated. The complete dataset and source code used for this research is made publicly available on the Open Science Framework website at https://osf.io/vkcrn/. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Computer Science, 2022
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Date Issued: 2022-10-14

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The importance of learning agility as a component of sustained business success

- Hennig, Mark Robert

Authors: Hennig, Mark Robert
Date: 2021-04
Subjects: Success in business -- South Africa , Management -- South Africa , Experiential learning
Language: English
Type: Master's/Doctoral theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/51523 , vital:43295
Description: The purpose of this treatise is to determine if learning agility is an important component for business success. With the arrival of new technology, change and information explosion the rate of uncertainty is increasing. Leaders are challenged to present continuous change and need to be able to adapt and develop their competencies to remain relevant. The VUCA world increased the complexity of the environment and provide volatility, uncertainty, complexity and are ambiguous. A significant amount of research has been done to define learning agility. The three drivers of learning agility are change, information explosion and rapid response during a crisis. The concept of learning agility can be defined as the readiness and ability to learn from experience and to utilise the learning competency to perform successfully under new environments. The seven-model framework was developed to assess how leaders cope under change. The three leadership competencies are intellectual intelligence, managerial intelligence, and emotional intelligence. Studies shows that emotional intelligence will be an important competency a leader can have and together with learning agility, will provide success to any organisation. The researcher believes that an individual who is not learning agile will not succeed in the new fast-changing environment. The term learning agile is rather a new concept and the influence it has on the organisation is complex. For leaders to succeed, their mindset needs to be adaptable and willing to change. Training and learning from experience will assist the leader to move forward and be an agile leader. A key success factor for organisations is to identify and recruit learning agile individuals to drive competitiveness and enhance relevance in the market. , Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Business Administration, 2021
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Date Issued: 2021-04

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Uphononongo-nzulu ngonxulumano lwamaqhalo esixhosa nesimo sentlalo nendima yawo kuphuhliso lolwimi

- Dongwana, Nosicelo

Authors: Dongwana, Nosicelo
Date: 2019-04
Subjects: Proverbs, Xhosa , Xhosa language -- Idioms , Xhosa language
Language: Isixhosa
Type: Master's theses , text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/38745 , vital:34945
Description: Olu phando luphonononga nzulu indlela amaqhalo anxulumene ngayo nesimosentlalo, kwanendlela athi asetyenziswe ngayo ukuphuhlisa ulwimi. Ingcinga ephambili nengundoqo wophando kukuguquka nokutshintsha kolwimi lwesiXhosa ngenxa yesimo sentlalo esingasafaniyo neso samandulo. Kolu phando kuqale kwavela ingcaciso yokuba liyintoni iqhalo, lubeka elubala iingongoma ezahlukileyo ngokwezimvo neembono zeengcali zolwimi nababhali. Lukhangela indima yesimo sentlalo kulwimi lugxininisa kumaqhalo nezaci zamandulo. Luzama kangako ukuphawula indlela ulwimi olunxibelelana ngayo nesimo-ntlalo kwakunye nendalo ngokubanzi. Luveza indima ephambili edlalwa ngamaqhalo nezaci kwinkcubeko nobomi besizwe samaXhosa ngokubanzi, lusebenzisa amaqhalo nezaci zamandulo tanci. Lubonisa ukuba ulwimi aluphelelanga ekubeni yintetho edala ukunxibelelana phakathi kwabantu kuphela, koko luyinqwelo ethwala uxanduva lokudlulusela ulwazi nenkcubeko yesizwe evezwa ngezisusa, imisitho namatheko esiNtu, ngeembali namabali abaliswe ngomlomo esebenzisa izaci namaqhalo, eziyinkcubeko yesizwe zona kuqala. Olu phando lubhentsisa elubala indlela ulwimi olulityathanga loqhagamshelwano ngayo phakathi komntu nendalo. Luvelisa pahaha iimeko zasekuhlaleni ezithe zanefuthe elingelihle kwindalo nezithe zabangela ukutshabalala kolwimi. Le meko iboniswa ngokucacilelyo igxininisa ekubeni nantoni eyenzeka ekuhlaleni ichaphazele ulwimi olusisithuthi sokuchaza oko kwenzekayo. Ukuguquka kwesimo-sentlalo ngenxa yefuthe lokufika kwabantu abaMhlophe kuyabonakaliswa lolu phando, luveza kananjalo iindlela neemeko ezithe zabonakala zichaphazela ukusetyenziwsa kwamaqhalo nezaci kulwimi lwesiXhosa. Ukuguquka v kwesimo-sentlalo okube ngunobangela wenguqu kulwimi lwesiXhosa kuvezwa apha ngokubonakalisa iimeko zokufa kwesigama sesiXhosa, ukulahleka kweentsingiselo zamaqhalo nezaci ngenxa yoku kutshintsha kobomi basendulo nokuba ezo zinto zazisakwalatha zingasekho, lilonke igama lingenanto isisihlahla elingathi likhombe okanye libhekise kuyo. Olu phando luzibeke phandle iindlela ezibe nefuthe lokudodobalisa ulwimi lwesiXhosa, nezinye iilwimi zemveli zeli laseMzantsi Afrika (ne-Afrika iphela) ngokuxutywa neelwimi zabaMhlophe. Indima edlalwe sisikolo ekucinezeleni iilwimi zethu thina baNtsundu ngokungasetyenziswa ngendlela efanelekileyo nokuthi abantwana abaselula kakhulu banyanzeleke ukuba balutyeshele ulwimi lwabo basebenzise olwasemzini. Zonke ezi ndlela zokungcikiva iilwimi zethu nezibe nalo ifuthe elingelihle kumaqhalo zithiwa thaca etafileni lolu phando. Ukuqwalasela iintetho ezingamaqhalo amatsha, izaci neentetho ezintsha ezinefuthe lobuKristu, isimo-sentlalo sasedolophini, ifuthe lesikolo nokuphangela yenye yeengongoma ezibalulekileyo ezixoxwa lolu phando. Ngokusebenzisa ezi meko zintsha zesimontlalo, sisebenzisa ezi lwimi zasemzini ngobuchule bengqondo nokuphangalala kolwazi lwethu ngolwimi lwethu, kubonakala njengenye yeendlela eziphucula ziphuhlise ulwimi lwethu. Ukusetyenziswa kumanye amaqonga asekuhlaleni kuphuhlisa kugxininise indima ebalulekileyo yezi ntetho zingamaqhalo nezaci esiXhosa, njengakubhalo lweencwadi, ukusetyenziswa kumaphepha-ndaba, nakusasazo lukanomathotholo noomabonwakude. Ukuqanjwa kweengoma namaculo ngawo, kuqaqambisa ixabiso lawo kubomi babantu abantetho isisiXhosa kuveziwe ziingxoxo ezithe xaxe kolu phando. vi Uluvo lweengcali lokuba ukusetyenziswa kwamaqhalo nezaci (amadala namatsha) ekufundiseni, ekuphuhliseni ushishino, ezinkonzweni kwiintshumayelo noqeqesho bashumyeli, ingayeyona ndlela igcina amaqhalo nezaci ilondoloze nenkcubeko yethu, ngolwimi lwethu luchatshazelwa lolu phando. Ubuchule bokubhala amaqhalo esiXhosa abesakuba yinxalenye yoncwadi lwemveli olube ludluliselwa kwizizukulwana ngobaliso lomlomo bukhankanyiwe, kwakunye nendima yemigaqo-ntetho yolwimi lwesiXhosa, lujonga indlela amaqhalo athi abunjwe ngayo enganxaxhanga kwimigaqo-ntetho yolwimi lwesiXhosa, koko ewaphuhlisa ngakumbi kubandakanywa kolu phando. Ndiyathemba ukuba olu phando luza kuba ngumchankcatho wocelo-mngeni kuphuhliso lolwimi lwesiXhosa ngamaqhalo nezaci, nayinkcubeko esisihombo solwimi lwesiXhosa, siwasebenzise ngendlela efanelekileyo sikhulise ulwimi lwethu sizidle ngalo sisazi ukuba singamelana nelizwe langomso. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Language, Media and Communication, 2019
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Date Issued: 2019-04

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