A resource-based learning approach to professional development: the case of the ACEE (Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education)
- Agria Russo, Vladimir Kiluange
- Authors: Agria Russo, Vladimir Kiluange
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education Teaching -- Aids and devices -- South Africa Environmental education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1741 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003625
- Description: This interpretative case study derives and examines the characterising features of the resource-based learning approach used in the Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education (ACEE), particularly in Module 1 (Environment and Environmental Issues) and Module 3 (Contemporary Environmental Issues). The study explores processes of resource-based learning through the analysis of three individual case stories of participants’ experience in adaptive use of learning support materials in different work contexts. It discusses the relationship between thematic categories related to participants’ experience of assignment work, and course design and course implementation. This study indicates that resource-based learning processes in the ACEE involve curriculum deliberation and the use of resource packs in supporting participants’ practice. It also indicates that the ACEE’s practice-based orientation to workplace-based assignments plays an important role in supporting the adaptive use of learning support materials, encouraging lifelong learning and developing applied competence. It highlights the significance of reflexive narration of practice in improving course participants’ educational practice. A diagrammatic representation of the unfolding and intermeshed characterising features of resource-based learning is presented. The study argues that resource-based learning in the ACEE appears to create possibilities for the course participants to become scaffolders and co-constructors of their own learning. It notes that resource-based learning can enable course participants to take ownership of their educational and workplace needs, and to develop skills and competences necessary to respond to environmental issues and risks in southern Africa. This study examines the potential that the reflexive narration of practice has in supporting course participants to engage in better ways of doing things in their workplace-based contexts. This study provides some recommendations to enhance the Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education as well as some ‘fuzzy generalisations’ that might guide the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Environmental Education Programme (REEP) in the development and adaptation of professional development courses in southern Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Agria Russo, Vladimir Kiluange
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education Teaching -- Aids and devices -- South Africa Environmental education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1741 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003625
- Description: This interpretative case study derives and examines the characterising features of the resource-based learning approach used in the Rhodes University Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education (ACEE), particularly in Module 1 (Environment and Environmental Issues) and Module 3 (Contemporary Environmental Issues). The study explores processes of resource-based learning through the analysis of three individual case stories of participants’ experience in adaptive use of learning support materials in different work contexts. It discusses the relationship between thematic categories related to participants’ experience of assignment work, and course design and course implementation. This study indicates that resource-based learning processes in the ACEE involve curriculum deliberation and the use of resource packs in supporting participants’ practice. It also indicates that the ACEE’s practice-based orientation to workplace-based assignments plays an important role in supporting the adaptive use of learning support materials, encouraging lifelong learning and developing applied competence. It highlights the significance of reflexive narration of practice in improving course participants’ educational practice. A diagrammatic representation of the unfolding and intermeshed characterising features of resource-based learning is presented. The study argues that resource-based learning in the ACEE appears to create possibilities for the course participants to become scaffolders and co-constructors of their own learning. It notes that resource-based learning can enable course participants to take ownership of their educational and workplace needs, and to develop skills and competences necessary to respond to environmental issues and risks in southern Africa. This study examines the potential that the reflexive narration of practice has in supporting course participants to engage in better ways of doing things in their workplace-based contexts. This study provides some recommendations to enhance the Advanced Certificate in Environmental Education as well as some ‘fuzzy generalisations’ that might guide the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Environmental Education Programme (REEP) in the development and adaptation of professional development courses in southern Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
A study of Ted Hughes's Birthday letters
- Authors: Highman, Kathryn Barbara
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Hughes, Ted, 1930-1998 Criticism and interpretation Hughes, Ted, 1930-1998 Birthday Letters
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2193 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002235
- Description: This thesis focusses on the literary self-reflexivity of Birthday Letters, Ted Hughes's collection of poems addressed to his long-dead first wife, poet Sylvia Plath. By close attention to the language of select poems and a discussion of cross-referencing images and allusions across the volume, and intertextually, I argue that the collection is more self-consciously ordered and designed than the mainly biographical criticism the work has met with suggests. The thesis focusses on the poets' art rather than the biographical context of Birthday Letters, though it does not draw a neat distinction between their lives and their poetry - rather it demonstrates how Birthday Letters itself treats the relationship of art to life thematically. The introduction outlines the context of the volume's genesis and publication and the notions of poetry, myth and drama out of which Hughes works, and introduces the central metaphor of metamorphosis as figured in Ariel's song "Full Fathom Five" from The Tempest, as well as the importance of that play to Plath. Each of the chapters that follow focusses on a cluster of inter-related imagery through a discussion of four or five key poems. Chapter One examines Hughes's portrayal of himself as imprisoned by Plath's poetic portraits, and relates this to the recurring motifs of the snapshot and the Medusa myth. The poems discussed emphasize Hughes's consciousness of the metamorphic and "magical" relationship of art to life. The second chapter discusses Hughes's use of the myth of the labyrinth and the Minotaur, tracing it back to Plath's writings and reading, and pointing out its self-reflexivity: the labyrinth figures Hughes's own loss as well as the labyrinthine nature of writing. The third chapter considers the themes of possession and loss, and how they attach themselves to images of houses and jewels. Possession and loss tum, self-reflexively, upon issues of inheritance and remembrance, notably Hughes's inheritance of Plath's poetic legacy, and his remembrance of her and her poetry through his own poetry. The conclusion pursues connections between the observations made in the separate chapters, outlining the larger context out of which the poems emerge, and returning to the trope of metamorphosis as figured in "Full Fathom Five"
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Highman, Kathryn Barbara
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Hughes, Ted, 1930-1998 Criticism and interpretation Hughes, Ted, 1930-1998 Birthday Letters
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2193 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002235
- Description: This thesis focusses on the literary self-reflexivity of Birthday Letters, Ted Hughes's collection of poems addressed to his long-dead first wife, poet Sylvia Plath. By close attention to the language of select poems and a discussion of cross-referencing images and allusions across the volume, and intertextually, I argue that the collection is more self-consciously ordered and designed than the mainly biographical criticism the work has met with suggests. The thesis focusses on the poets' art rather than the biographical context of Birthday Letters, though it does not draw a neat distinction between their lives and their poetry - rather it demonstrates how Birthday Letters itself treats the relationship of art to life thematically. The introduction outlines the context of the volume's genesis and publication and the notions of poetry, myth and drama out of which Hughes works, and introduces the central metaphor of metamorphosis as figured in Ariel's song "Full Fathom Five" from The Tempest, as well as the importance of that play to Plath. Each of the chapters that follow focusses on a cluster of inter-related imagery through a discussion of four or five key poems. Chapter One examines Hughes's portrayal of himself as imprisoned by Plath's poetic portraits, and relates this to the recurring motifs of the snapshot and the Medusa myth. The poems discussed emphasize Hughes's consciousness of the metamorphic and "magical" relationship of art to life. The second chapter discusses Hughes's use of the myth of the labyrinth and the Minotaur, tracing it back to Plath's writings and reading, and pointing out its self-reflexivity: the labyrinth figures Hughes's own loss as well as the labyrinthine nature of writing. The third chapter considers the themes of possession and loss, and how they attach themselves to images of houses and jewels. Possession and loss tum, self-reflexively, upon issues of inheritance and remembrance, notably Hughes's inheritance of Plath's poetic legacy, and his remembrance of her and her poetry through his own poetry. The conclusion pursues connections between the observations made in the separate chapters, outlining the larger context out of which the poems emerge, and returning to the trope of metamorphosis as figured in "Full Fathom Five"
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
A study of the criteria teachers use when selecting learning material
- Authors: Koch, Lynn
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Textbooks -- South Africa -- Evaluation Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1780 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003665
- Description: This study investigates the criteria teachers use when selecting and evaluating learning support material, in particular, English second language textbooks. The study seeks to determine what informs the criteria that teachers use for selection. The study is conducted against the backdrop of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) and outlines the C2005 revision process and the subsequent introduction of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). Through a series of focus group interviews, the researcher explores the criteria teachers use for evaluation. Many of the teachers in this study did not have clearly articulated criteria; rather, they drew on implicit criteria and mentioned favoured qualities or attributes that they looked for in a textbook. In addition, the teachers in the focus groups used criteria that had been ‘told’ rather than ‘owned’ and had not developed their own sets of criteria. This research concludes that teachers are caught between two conflicting sets of criteria: those of their pre-service training and those of the new curriculum, which is currently being mediated to them through brief orientations. Drawing on recent literature, the researcher argues that in order to shift deep-seated literacy practices, teacher training needs to be prolonged, in-depth and ongoing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Koch, Lynn
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Textbooks -- South Africa -- Evaluation Curriculum planning -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: vital:1780 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003665
- Description: This study investigates the criteria teachers use when selecting and evaluating learning support material, in particular, English second language textbooks. The study seeks to determine what informs the criteria that teachers use for selection. The study is conducted against the backdrop of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) and outlines the C2005 revision process and the subsequent introduction of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS). Through a series of focus group interviews, the researcher explores the criteria teachers use for evaluation. Many of the teachers in this study did not have clearly articulated criteria; rather, they drew on implicit criteria and mentioned favoured qualities or attributes that they looked for in a textbook. In addition, the teachers in the focus groups used criteria that had been ‘told’ rather than ‘owned’ and had not developed their own sets of criteria. This research concludes that teachers are caught between two conflicting sets of criteria: those of their pre-service training and those of the new curriculum, which is currently being mediated to them through brief orientations. Drawing on recent literature, the researcher argues that in order to shift deep-seated literacy practices, teacher training needs to be prolonged, in-depth and ongoing.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
Abortion: social implications for nurses conducting termination of pregnancies in East London
- Authors: Naicker, Sumithrie Sasha
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Abortion -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurses -- Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Liberty of conscience -- South Africa -- Nurses , Emergency contraceptives -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3396 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018254
- Description: Abortion is a highly controversial subject that has again come into the spotlight in South Africa due to the legalisation of abortion on demand in 1996. The results of various studies conducted since the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996 was implemented, have indicated that abortion providers have met with a great deal of negativism and ostracism. This study focused on the implications of abortion work on nurses' social relationships with family, friends, colleagues and their communities. Recent literature was reviewed on the subject. The researcher however, found little information on this specific aspect of abortion. The study was conducted with abortion nurses from two government designated hospitals in the East London area responsible for abortion services. Thus, results cannot be generalised. This is a qualitative study that aimed at obtaining firsthand information regarding the personal experiences of abortion nurses. A non-probability sampling technique was used viz. criterion sampling. The Interview Guide Approach was used whereby in-depth, semi-structured interviewed were conducted with the guidance of a set of questions in the form of an Interview Schedule. The ten respondents were asked to share their recommendations as to possible measures that could address the challenges mentioned during their interviews. The researcher came to the conclusion that nurses' social relationships and lives are definitely impacted by abortion work. This impact is largely negative as the majority of respondents experience labelling, stigmatization and ostracism from family, friends, and their colleagues. Abortion nurses also experience a lack of social support, ambivalent feelings with regard to abortion, and a range of negative emotions ranging from stress and depression to frustration and anger. A number of repeat abortions are being done and there seems to be a general lack of contraception. The need exists for nurses to go to Value Clarification Workshops and also to get support in terms of compulsory, continuous, counselling. Separate wards should be set up for abortions whilst sex education should be included in school curriculums at both primary and secondary schools. Family planning and facts about the abortion process should also be included in these sex education programmes. Overall. the need exists for family planning initiatives to promote contraception and deter women from using abortion as a means of contraception. As this study reveals, conducting abortions has come at a great cost for the majority of nurses who lack social support and bear the brunt of anti-abortion sentiment expressed by significant others in their lives. The latter being the people who would normally be the one's they would turn to for help, counsel, support and assistance
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Naicker, Sumithrie Sasha
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Abortion -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurses -- Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Liberty of conscience -- South Africa -- Nurses , Emergency contraceptives -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3396 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018254
- Description: Abortion is a highly controversial subject that has again come into the spotlight in South Africa due to the legalisation of abortion on demand in 1996. The results of various studies conducted since the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996 was implemented, have indicated that abortion providers have met with a great deal of negativism and ostracism. This study focused on the implications of abortion work on nurses' social relationships with family, friends, colleagues and their communities. Recent literature was reviewed on the subject. The researcher however, found little information on this specific aspect of abortion. The study was conducted with abortion nurses from two government designated hospitals in the East London area responsible for abortion services. Thus, results cannot be generalised. This is a qualitative study that aimed at obtaining firsthand information regarding the personal experiences of abortion nurses. A non-probability sampling technique was used viz. criterion sampling. The Interview Guide Approach was used whereby in-depth, semi-structured interviewed were conducted with the guidance of a set of questions in the form of an Interview Schedule. The ten respondents were asked to share their recommendations as to possible measures that could address the challenges mentioned during their interviews. The researcher came to the conclusion that nurses' social relationships and lives are definitely impacted by abortion work. This impact is largely negative as the majority of respondents experience labelling, stigmatization and ostracism from family, friends, and their colleagues. Abortion nurses also experience a lack of social support, ambivalent feelings with regard to abortion, and a range of negative emotions ranging from stress and depression to frustration and anger. A number of repeat abortions are being done and there seems to be a general lack of contraception. The need exists for nurses to go to Value Clarification Workshops and also to get support in terms of compulsory, continuous, counselling. Separate wards should be set up for abortions whilst sex education should be included in school curriculums at both primary and secondary schools. Family planning and facts about the abortion process should also be included in these sex education programmes. Overall. the need exists for family planning initiatives to promote contraception and deter women from using abortion as a means of contraception. As this study reveals, conducting abortions has come at a great cost for the majority of nurses who lack social support and bear the brunt of anti-abortion sentiment expressed by significant others in their lives. The latter being the people who would normally be the one's they would turn to for help, counsel, support and assistance
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
Age, growth and yield-per-recruit analysis of ndunduma Diplotaxodon limnothrissa (Teleostei: Cichlidae), in the southeastern arm of Lake Malawi
- Authors: Kanyerere, Geoffrey Zantute
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Fishes -- Nyasa, Lake , Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Growth -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Age -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishery resources -- Malawi , Fishery management -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5214 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005057 , Fishes -- Nyasa, Lake , Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Growth -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Age -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishery resources -- Malawi , Fishery management -- Malawi
- Description: Diplotaxodon limnothrissa Turner (1995) is a widely distributed species occurring throughout Lake Malawi, extending from the surface to a depth of at least 220m. It is probably the most abundant cichlid in the lake with biomass estimates of around 87 000 tonnes in the pelagic zone alone. The species is exploited commercially in the southern part of the lake but since its inception the fishery has never been assessed. As such this study investigates some aspects of age and growth of the species besides applying a yield-per-recruit analysis to assess the status of the fishery. Analysis of sectioned sagittal otoliths revealed that D. limnothrissa is fast growing and relatively long-lived species, attaining ages in excess of 10 years. Growth in length was rapid in immature fish, with fish attaining almost half of their maximum size within their first year. Le ngth-at-age was described by the von Bertalanffy growth model with combined-sex growth described as Lt = 211.21(1-exp(- 0.24(t+1.36))) mm TL. Total, natural and fishing mortalities were estimated at 0.76 yr⁻¹, 0.31 yr⁻¹ and 0.45 yr⁻¹ respectively. Per-recruit analysis indicated that the D. limnothrissa stock in the southeast arm of the lake is fully exploited as indicated by the current spawner biomass-per-recruit ratios of 31-55% (SB/R)F=0. Modelling indicated that the current age-at-capture (2.67 years) is lower than the age at which yield is optimised (> 5 years) based on the F₀·₁ harvesting strategy. It is, therefore, recommended that the age-at-capture should be increased from 2.67 to 5 years to optimise yield.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Kanyerere, Geoffrey Zantute
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Fishes -- Nyasa, Lake , Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Growth -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Age -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishery resources -- Malawi , Fishery management -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5214 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005057 , Fishes -- Nyasa, Lake , Cichlids -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Growth -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishes -- Age -- Nyasa, Lake , Fishery resources -- Malawi , Fishery management -- Malawi
- Description: Diplotaxodon limnothrissa Turner (1995) is a widely distributed species occurring throughout Lake Malawi, extending from the surface to a depth of at least 220m. It is probably the most abundant cichlid in the lake with biomass estimates of around 87 000 tonnes in the pelagic zone alone. The species is exploited commercially in the southern part of the lake but since its inception the fishery has never been assessed. As such this study investigates some aspects of age and growth of the species besides applying a yield-per-recruit analysis to assess the status of the fishery. Analysis of sectioned sagittal otoliths revealed that D. limnothrissa is fast growing and relatively long-lived species, attaining ages in excess of 10 years. Growth in length was rapid in immature fish, with fish attaining almost half of their maximum size within their first year. Le ngth-at-age was described by the von Bertalanffy growth model with combined-sex growth described as Lt = 211.21(1-exp(- 0.24(t+1.36))) mm TL. Total, natural and fishing mortalities were estimated at 0.76 yr⁻¹, 0.31 yr⁻¹ and 0.45 yr⁻¹ respectively. Per-recruit analysis indicated that the D. limnothrissa stock in the southeast arm of the lake is fully exploited as indicated by the current spawner biomass-per-recruit ratios of 31-55% (SB/R)F=0. Modelling indicated that the current age-at-capture (2.67 years) is lower than the age at which yield is optimised (> 5 years) based on the F₀·₁ harvesting strategy. It is, therefore, recommended that the age-at-capture should be increased from 2.67 to 5 years to optimise yield.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An analysis of the censorship of popular music within the context of cultural struggle in South Africa during the 1980s
- Authors: Drewett, Michael
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Censorship -- South Africa Popular music -- Censorship -- South Africa Popular music -- Censorship -- South Africa -- History Popular music -- Social aspects -- South Africa Popular music -- Political aspects -- South Africa Popular music -- South Africa -- History and criticism Protest songs -- South Africa -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3350 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007098
- Description: The censorship of popular music in South Africa during the 1980s severely affected South African musicians. The apartheid government was directly involved in centralized state censorship by means of the Directorate of Publications, while the South African Broadcasting Corporation exercised government censorship at the level of airplay. Others who assisted state censorship included religious and cultural interest groups. State censorship in turn put pressure on record companies, musicians and others to practice self-censorship. Many musicians who overtly sang about taboo topics or who used controversial language subsequently experienced censorship in different forms, including police harassment. Musicians were also subject to anti-apartheid forms of censorship,such as the United Nations endorsed cultural boycott. Not all instances of censorship were overtly political, but they were always framed by, and took place within, a repressive legal-political system. This thesis found that despite the state's attempt to maintain its hegemony, musicians sought ways of overcoming censorship practices. It is argued that the ensuing struggle cannot be conceived of in simple binary terms. The works of Antonio Gramsci, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu, in particular, are applied to the South African context in exploring the localized nuances of the cultural struggle over music censorship. It is argued that fragmented resistance to censorship arose out of the very censorship structures that attempted to silence musicians. Textual analysis brought to light that resistance took various forms including songs with provocative lyrics and titles, and more subtle means of bypassing censorship, including the use of symbolism, camouflaged lyrics, satire and crossover performance. Musicians were faced with the challenge of bypassing censors yet nevertheless conveying their message to an audience. The most successful cases negotiated censorial practices while getting an apparent message across to a wide audience. Broader forms of resistance were also explored, including opposition through live performance, counter-hegemonic information on record covers, resistance from exile, alignment with political organizations and legal challenges to state censorship. In addition, some record companies developed strategies of resistance to censorship. The many innovative practices outlined in this thesis demonstrate that even in the context of constraint, resistance is possible. Despite censorship, South African musicians were able to express themselves through approaching their music in an innovative way.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Drewett, Michael
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Censorship -- South Africa Popular music -- Censorship -- South Africa Popular music -- Censorship -- South Africa -- History Popular music -- Social aspects -- South Africa Popular music -- Political aspects -- South Africa Popular music -- South Africa -- History and criticism Protest songs -- South Africa -- History and criticism
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3350 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007098
- Description: The censorship of popular music in South Africa during the 1980s severely affected South African musicians. The apartheid government was directly involved in centralized state censorship by means of the Directorate of Publications, while the South African Broadcasting Corporation exercised government censorship at the level of airplay. Others who assisted state censorship included religious and cultural interest groups. State censorship in turn put pressure on record companies, musicians and others to practice self-censorship. Many musicians who overtly sang about taboo topics or who used controversial language subsequently experienced censorship in different forms, including police harassment. Musicians were also subject to anti-apartheid forms of censorship,such as the United Nations endorsed cultural boycott. Not all instances of censorship were overtly political, but they were always framed by, and took place within, a repressive legal-political system. This thesis found that despite the state's attempt to maintain its hegemony, musicians sought ways of overcoming censorship practices. It is argued that the ensuing struggle cannot be conceived of in simple binary terms. The works of Antonio Gramsci, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu, in particular, are applied to the South African context in exploring the localized nuances of the cultural struggle over music censorship. It is argued that fragmented resistance to censorship arose out of the very censorship structures that attempted to silence musicians. Textual analysis brought to light that resistance took various forms including songs with provocative lyrics and titles, and more subtle means of bypassing censorship, including the use of symbolism, camouflaged lyrics, satire and crossover performance. Musicians were faced with the challenge of bypassing censors yet nevertheless conveying their message to an audience. The most successful cases negotiated censorial practices while getting an apparent message across to a wide audience. Broader forms of resistance were also explored, including opposition through live performance, counter-hegemonic information on record covers, resistance from exile, alignment with political organizations and legal challenges to state censorship. In addition, some record companies developed strategies of resistance to censorship. The many innovative practices outlined in this thesis demonstrate that even in the context of constraint, resistance is possible. Despite censorship, South African musicians were able to express themselves through approaching their music in an innovative way.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An appraisal of the Department of Provincial and Local Government's management and coordination of Donor Assistance Programs to local government in South Africa
- Authors: Dzengwa, Simphiwe
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: South Africa. Dept. of Provincial & Local Government , Local government -- South Africa , Municipal government -- South Africa , Economic assistance -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government , South Africa -- Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:816 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007923
- Description: This study is a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the role and involvement of foreign donor entities in the processes of transforming and creating viable and sustainable municipal entities in South Africa. The discussion particularly focuses on the relationship between the donor community and the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) and how this relationship has been nurtured, coordinated and managed. The study acknowledges the challenges pertaining to local government transformation and the role and mandate assigned to the DPLG by the South African Constitution and the Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) for it to facilitate the creation of developmental local government. In discussing this, consideration is given to capacity and resource constraints within the Department, which necessitate that it collaborates closely with other stakeholders, particularly donors, in seeking to augment its resource base and capacity. The Department's lack of capacity is further complicated by the various pieces of legislation, which have a serious bearing on how municipalities have to work - irrespective of their capacity and resources limitations. The research also focuses on how this relationship, between the DPLG and foreign aid donors working in the local government sector, is coordinated and managed. From evidence gathered and interviews conducted, the conclusion is drawn that there is much room for the DPLG to improve and strategically focus its interaction with donors as informed by its mandate and strategic priorities. Proposals, which entail development of donor management guidelines, setting up of a donor coordination unit within DPLG, the improvement of the understanding of donor work politics and modalities among DPLG officials, etc., are made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Dzengwa, Simphiwe
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: South Africa. Dept. of Provincial & Local Government , Local government -- South Africa , Municipal government -- South Africa , Economic assistance -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government , South Africa -- Foreign relations
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:816 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007923
- Description: This study is a contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the role and involvement of foreign donor entities in the processes of transforming and creating viable and sustainable municipal entities in South Africa. The discussion particularly focuses on the relationship between the donor community and the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) and how this relationship has been nurtured, coordinated and managed. The study acknowledges the challenges pertaining to local government transformation and the role and mandate assigned to the DPLG by the South African Constitution and the Presidential Coordinating Council (PCC) for it to facilitate the creation of developmental local government. In discussing this, consideration is given to capacity and resource constraints within the Department, which necessitate that it collaborates closely with other stakeholders, particularly donors, in seeking to augment its resource base and capacity. The Department's lack of capacity is further complicated by the various pieces of legislation, which have a serious bearing on how municipalities have to work - irrespective of their capacity and resources limitations. The research also focuses on how this relationship, between the DPLG and foreign aid donors working in the local government sector, is coordinated and managed. From evidence gathered and interviews conducted, the conclusion is drawn that there is much room for the DPLG to improve and strategically focus its interaction with donors as informed by its mandate and strategic priorities. Proposals, which entail development of donor management guidelines, setting up of a donor coordination unit within DPLG, the improvement of the understanding of donor work politics and modalities among DPLG officials, etc., are made.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An assessment of density estimation methods for forest ungulates
- Authors: Ellis, Amanda Morgan
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Wildlife management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Animal populations -- Estimates Wildlife conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Ungulates -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5829 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007830
- Description: The development of conservation and management programs for an animal population relies on a knowledge of the number of individuals in an area. In order to achieve reliable estimates, precise and accurate techniques for estimating population densities are needed. This study compared the use of direct and indirect methods of estimating kudu (Trage/aphus strepsiceras), bush buck (Trage/aphus scriptus), common duiker (Sy/vicapra grimmia), and blue duiker (Philantamba manticala) densities on Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. These species prefer habitats of dense forest and bush for concealment and are therefore not easily counted in open areas. Herein direct observation counts were compared to indirect sampling via pellet group counts (clearance plots, line transects, variable-width transects, and strip transects). Clearance plots were examined every 2 weeks, while all other methods were conducted seasonally, from August 2002 until August 2003. The strip transect method provided the lowest density estimates (animals per hal ranging from 0.001 for bushbuck to 0.025 for common duiker, while direct observations yielded the highest estimates, ranging from 0.804 for bush buck to 4.692 for kudu. Also, a validation of methods was performed against a known population of kudu during which the DISTANCE method yielded the most accurate results, with an estimated density of 0.261 that was within the actual density of 0.246 to 0.282. In addition, the DISTANCE method was compared to helicopter counts ofkudu and its estimates were found to be approximately 2.6 times greater than the helicopter count results. When the assessment of the methods was made, the cost, manpower and effort requirements, coefficient of variation, and performance against a known population for each method were taken into consideration. Overall, the DISTANCE method performed the best with low cost, minimal manpower and effort requirements, and low coefficient of variation. On Shamwari Game Reserve, the DISTANCE method estimated 0.300 kudu, 0.108 bushbuck, 0.387 common duiker, and 0.028 blue duiker per ha, which, when extrapolated to the total number of animals present within subtropical thicket habitat, estimated 1973 kudu, 710 bush buck, 2545 common duiker, and 184 blue duiker.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Ellis, Amanda Morgan
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Wildlife management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Animal populations -- Estimates Wildlife conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Game farms -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Ungulates -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5829 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007830
- Description: The development of conservation and management programs for an animal population relies on a knowledge of the number of individuals in an area. In order to achieve reliable estimates, precise and accurate techniques for estimating population densities are needed. This study compared the use of direct and indirect methods of estimating kudu (Trage/aphus strepsiceras), bush buck (Trage/aphus scriptus), common duiker (Sy/vicapra grimmia), and blue duiker (Philantamba manticala) densities on Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. These species prefer habitats of dense forest and bush for concealment and are therefore not easily counted in open areas. Herein direct observation counts were compared to indirect sampling via pellet group counts (clearance plots, line transects, variable-width transects, and strip transects). Clearance plots were examined every 2 weeks, while all other methods were conducted seasonally, from August 2002 until August 2003. The strip transect method provided the lowest density estimates (animals per hal ranging from 0.001 for bushbuck to 0.025 for common duiker, while direct observations yielded the highest estimates, ranging from 0.804 for bush buck to 4.692 for kudu. Also, a validation of methods was performed against a known population of kudu during which the DISTANCE method yielded the most accurate results, with an estimated density of 0.261 that was within the actual density of 0.246 to 0.282. In addition, the DISTANCE method was compared to helicopter counts ofkudu and its estimates were found to be approximately 2.6 times greater than the helicopter count results. When the assessment of the methods was made, the cost, manpower and effort requirements, coefficient of variation, and performance against a known population for each method were taken into consideration. Overall, the DISTANCE method performed the best with low cost, minimal manpower and effort requirements, and low coefficient of variation. On Shamwari Game Reserve, the DISTANCE method estimated 0.300 kudu, 0.108 bushbuck, 0.387 common duiker, and 0.028 blue duiker per ha, which, when extrapolated to the total number of animals present within subtropical thicket habitat, estimated 1973 kudu, 710 bush buck, 2545 common duiker, and 184 blue duiker.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An assessment of the capability of the Eastern Cape Tourism Board to cope with change
- Authors: Mona, Nomkhita Princess
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Eastern Cape Tourism Board Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Organizational change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:812 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007683
- Description: This study set out to examine whether the Eastern Cape Tourism Board (ECTB) had the capability to cope with change. The tourism industry is very dynamic and for the organization to survive, it must be able to adapt itself in a constantly changing environment. The research question was derived from a study done by Human and Horwitz (1992), in which they examined how South African companies cope with change. They developed a model and a questionnaire to measure the capabilities of coping with change. Their model and questionnaire were based on the following four dimensions: strategic orientation, control orientation, social focus and institutional focus. This model classified organizations into four types, namely: the Boardroom organization, the Technocracy organization, the Hardhat organization as well as the Missionary organization. These typologies are discussed in Chapter 2. A modified version of the Human and Horwitz questionnaire was used to conduct this research. The original questionnaire has 32 items, and the questionnaire used in this study has the same number of items. The modification was done to nine questions, to ensure that they were of specific relevance to the organization being researched. The questions were slightly modified taking care to ensure that they still fit within the original dimensions measured by Human and Horwitz (1992). The questionnaires were distributed within the organization, particularly to those employees in the Tourism section, as the organization also had a Conservation section. The Conservation section was excluded due to the fact that a policy decision had already been taken to separate the two sections, thereby creating two organizations. When the questionnaires were returned, they were analyzed using 'Statistica' , a computerized statistics program. The results showed that the ECTB does not have the capability to cope with change as it lacked the critical strategic orientation that Human and Horwitz (1992) suggest is a key requirement for coping. The profile of the organization showed that the ECTB could be classified as primarily being a Technocracy organization, and secondarily a 'Hardhat' organization. (See details in Chapter 4). Human and Horwitz (1992) suggest that an organization to be able to cope with change, must be a 'hybrid' of these four types. The implications of these results suggest that the organization is lacking in the dynamism brought about by having a strategic orientation. Human and Horwitz argue that the profile of an organization coping well with change should show a 'balance' in terms of orientation (strategic orientation and control orientation). The ECTB's profile does not show this balance, and can therefore be said not to have the capability to cope with change. The results of the profile are discussed in Chapter 4.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Mona, Nomkhita Princess
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Eastern Cape Tourism Board Tourism -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Organizational change -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:812 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007683
- Description: This study set out to examine whether the Eastern Cape Tourism Board (ECTB) had the capability to cope with change. The tourism industry is very dynamic and for the organization to survive, it must be able to adapt itself in a constantly changing environment. The research question was derived from a study done by Human and Horwitz (1992), in which they examined how South African companies cope with change. They developed a model and a questionnaire to measure the capabilities of coping with change. Their model and questionnaire were based on the following four dimensions: strategic orientation, control orientation, social focus and institutional focus. This model classified organizations into four types, namely: the Boardroom organization, the Technocracy organization, the Hardhat organization as well as the Missionary organization. These typologies are discussed in Chapter 2. A modified version of the Human and Horwitz questionnaire was used to conduct this research. The original questionnaire has 32 items, and the questionnaire used in this study has the same number of items. The modification was done to nine questions, to ensure that they were of specific relevance to the organization being researched. The questions were slightly modified taking care to ensure that they still fit within the original dimensions measured by Human and Horwitz (1992). The questionnaires were distributed within the organization, particularly to those employees in the Tourism section, as the organization also had a Conservation section. The Conservation section was excluded due to the fact that a policy decision had already been taken to separate the two sections, thereby creating two organizations. When the questionnaires were returned, they were analyzed using 'Statistica' , a computerized statistics program. The results showed that the ECTB does not have the capability to cope with change as it lacked the critical strategic orientation that Human and Horwitz (1992) suggest is a key requirement for coping. The profile of the organization showed that the ECTB could be classified as primarily being a Technocracy organization, and secondarily a 'Hardhat' organization. (See details in Chapter 4). Human and Horwitz (1992) suggest that an organization to be able to cope with change, must be a 'hybrid' of these four types. The implications of these results suggest that the organization is lacking in the dynamism brought about by having a strategic orientation. Human and Horwitz argue that the profile of an organization coping well with change should show a 'balance' in terms of orientation (strategic orientation and control orientation). The ECTB's profile does not show this balance, and can therefore be said not to have the capability to cope with change. The results of the profile are discussed in Chapter 4.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An assessment of the knowledge processing environment in an organisation : a case study
- Authors: Vlok, Daniël
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Rhodes University (East London) -- Information Technology Department Knowledge management Organizational behavior Organizational learning Information storage and retrieval systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:721 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003806
- Description: Knowledge Management is associated with organisational initiatives in response to the demands of a knowledge-based economy in which the potential value of knowledge as a source for competitive advantage is recognised. However, the lack of a common understanding about knowledge itself, its characteristics and how it is constructed has led to diverse approaches about how to "manage" it. This study presents a critical overview of traditional and contemporary KM approaches. The main focus of this study was to discover and apply a suitable methodology for assessing an organisation's knowledge processing environment. This includes an analysis of the current practices and behaviours of people within the organisation relating to the creation of new knowledge and integrating such knowledge into day-to-day work. It also includes inferring from the above practices those policies and programmes that affect knowledge outcomes. This research makes extensive use of the Knowledge Life Cycle (KLC) framework and the Policy Synchronisation Method (PSM) developed by advocates of the New Knowledge Management movement. A case study approach was followed using a range of data collection methods, which included personal interviews, a social network survey and focus group discussions. The selected case is the small IT department at the East London campus of Rhodes University. Evidence from the case suggests that the knowledge processing environment within the IT department is unhealthy. The current knowledge processing practices and behaviours are undesirable and not geared towards the creation of new knowledge and the integration of such knowledge within the business processes of the IT department. There is little evidence of individual and organisational learning occurring and the problem solving process itself is severely hampered by dysfunctional knowledge practices. The study concludes that the above state of affairs is a reflection of the quality and appropriateness of policies and programmes in the extended organisation. Equally, the local definition of rules, procedures and the execution thereof at a business unit level is mostly lacking. The study illustrates that a systematic assessment of the knowledge processing environment provides the organisation with a sound baseline from where knowledge-based interventions can be launched.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Vlok, Daniël
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Rhodes University (East London) -- Information Technology Department Knowledge management Organizational behavior Organizational learning Information storage and retrieval systems
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:721 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003806
- Description: Knowledge Management is associated with organisational initiatives in response to the demands of a knowledge-based economy in which the potential value of knowledge as a source for competitive advantage is recognised. However, the lack of a common understanding about knowledge itself, its characteristics and how it is constructed has led to diverse approaches about how to "manage" it. This study presents a critical overview of traditional and contemporary KM approaches. The main focus of this study was to discover and apply a suitable methodology for assessing an organisation's knowledge processing environment. This includes an analysis of the current practices and behaviours of people within the organisation relating to the creation of new knowledge and integrating such knowledge into day-to-day work. It also includes inferring from the above practices those policies and programmes that affect knowledge outcomes. This research makes extensive use of the Knowledge Life Cycle (KLC) framework and the Policy Synchronisation Method (PSM) developed by advocates of the New Knowledge Management movement. A case study approach was followed using a range of data collection methods, which included personal interviews, a social network survey and focus group discussions. The selected case is the small IT department at the East London campus of Rhodes University. Evidence from the case suggests that the knowledge processing environment within the IT department is unhealthy. The current knowledge processing practices and behaviours are undesirable and not geared towards the creation of new knowledge and the integration of such knowledge within the business processes of the IT department. There is little evidence of individual and organisational learning occurring and the problem solving process itself is severely hampered by dysfunctional knowledge practices. The study concludes that the above state of affairs is a reflection of the quality and appropriateness of policies and programmes in the extended organisation. Equally, the local definition of rules, procedures and the execution thereof at a business unit level is mostly lacking. The study illustrates that a systematic assessment of the knowledge processing environment provides the organisation with a sound baseline from where knowledge-based interventions can be launched.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An empirical investigation of the extension of servqual to measure internal service quality in a motor vehicle manufacturing setting
- Authors: Booi, Arthur Mzwandile
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- Quality control -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Automobile industry and trade -- Customer services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Automobile industry and trade -- Quality control -- Statistical methods Customer services -- Quality control Automobile industry and trade -- Quality assurance -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Consumer satisfaction Industrial productivity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:801 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006139
- Description: This research explores the role, which the construct, service quality plays in an internal marketing setting. This is achieved by evaluating the perceptions and expectations of the production department with regards to the service quality provided by the maintenance department of a South African motor vehicle manufacturer. This was done using the INTSERVQUAL instrument, which was found to be a reliable instrument for measuring internal service quality within this context. A positivist approach has been adopted in conducting this research. There are two main hypotheses for this study: the first hypothesis is concerned with the relationship between the overall internal service quality and the five dimensions of service quality namely: tangibles, empathy, reliability, responsiveness and reliability. The second hypothesis focuses on the relationship between the front line staff segments of the production department and the five dimensions of internal service quality. The results of this research suggest that the perceptions and expectations of internal service customer segments plays a major role in achieving internal service quality. In addition, the importance of the INTSERVQUAL instrument in measuring internal service quality within the motor vehicle manufacturing environment is confirmed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Booi, Arthur Mzwandile
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Automobile industry and trade -- Quality control -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Automobile industry and trade -- Customer services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Automobile industry and trade -- Quality control -- Statistical methods Customer services -- Quality control Automobile industry and trade -- Quality assurance -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Consumer satisfaction Industrial productivity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:801 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006139
- Description: This research explores the role, which the construct, service quality plays in an internal marketing setting. This is achieved by evaluating the perceptions and expectations of the production department with regards to the service quality provided by the maintenance department of a South African motor vehicle manufacturer. This was done using the INTSERVQUAL instrument, which was found to be a reliable instrument for measuring internal service quality within this context. A positivist approach has been adopted in conducting this research. There are two main hypotheses for this study: the first hypothesis is concerned with the relationship between the overall internal service quality and the five dimensions of service quality namely: tangibles, empathy, reliability, responsiveness and reliability. The second hypothesis focuses on the relationship between the front line staff segments of the production department and the five dimensions of internal service quality. The results of this research suggest that the perceptions and expectations of internal service customer segments plays a major role in achieving internal service quality. In addition, the importance of the INTSERVQUAL instrument in measuring internal service quality within the motor vehicle manufacturing environment is confirmed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An empirical study of client satisfaction with service recovery within a South African banking institution
- Authors: Davies, Gareth M
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: First National Bank of Southern Africa Banks and banking -- South Africa Bank management -- South Africa Financial services industry -- South Africa Banks and banking -- Customer services -- South Africa Banks and banking -- Customer services -- Effect of marketing on
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:725 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003845
- Description: In many industries, service is the critical determinant of success or failure. Service failure is almost inevitable, and this has the potential for the organisation to lose its customer. However, if implemented successfully, Service Recovery can rectify the breakdown in service, and turn angry, frustrated customers into loyal ones. Service Recovery is vital for profitability, especially for companies operating in the services market, like First National Bank (FNB). Unfortunately, few service firms know how satisfied customers are with their Service Recovery efforts, and FNB is no exception. This study attempted to rectify the situation, to ensure that the bank does not fail its customers a second time. The major focus of the study is to assess client satisfaction with Service Recovery (SR) from FNB. By using the RECOVSAT instrument (developed by Boshoff in 1999), the study aims to establish how effective FNB was in terms of the six dimensions of SR, namely communication, empowerment, feedback, atonement, explanation, and tangibles. The relationship between each of the dimensions and customer satisfaction, as well as between customer satisfaction and loyalty, was measured, and a hypothesis for each relationship rejected or accepted. The empirical results show that, from 702 complainants, a RECOVSAT score of 68% was computed, which could be regarded as only satisfactory. The dimensions of communication, explanation, atonement, and empowerment, had the strongest positive correlation with customer satisfaction, while feedback and tangibles, although positively correlated, were not statistically significant, and thus not as important as the first four dimensions. FNB performed best on tangibles (81%), then communication (75%), explanation (70%), atonement (68%), empowerment (62%), and lastly feedback (51%). The study reinforced the view that customer satisfaction is positively related to loyalty. Other findings were that, administration and errors were the most frequent complaints, followed by pricing, fees, and interest, while time delays/waiting were the third most numerous. Over 54% of complainants had been with the bank for over 10 years, which could be a problem if the customers had left the bank, as the profitability of a customer generally increases with time. Age and gender did not appear to be factors that influenced behaviour of complainants. In terms of the managerial implications, it is recommended that FNB implement a Customer-Complaint-Handling (CCH) system that is both national and inter-group. The bank should also focus on empowering employees, improving communication skills, explaining to customers why the problem occurred, apologising, and offering some atonement. By adopting the recommendations, FNB should improve their service recovery, and as a consequence, their customer satisfaction and loyalty, and profitability should also increase.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Davies, Gareth M
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: First National Bank of Southern Africa Banks and banking -- South Africa Bank management -- South Africa Financial services industry -- South Africa Banks and banking -- Customer services -- South Africa Banks and banking -- Customer services -- Effect of marketing on
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:725 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003845
- Description: In many industries, service is the critical determinant of success or failure. Service failure is almost inevitable, and this has the potential for the organisation to lose its customer. However, if implemented successfully, Service Recovery can rectify the breakdown in service, and turn angry, frustrated customers into loyal ones. Service Recovery is vital for profitability, especially for companies operating in the services market, like First National Bank (FNB). Unfortunately, few service firms know how satisfied customers are with their Service Recovery efforts, and FNB is no exception. This study attempted to rectify the situation, to ensure that the bank does not fail its customers a second time. The major focus of the study is to assess client satisfaction with Service Recovery (SR) from FNB. By using the RECOVSAT instrument (developed by Boshoff in 1999), the study aims to establish how effective FNB was in terms of the six dimensions of SR, namely communication, empowerment, feedback, atonement, explanation, and tangibles. The relationship between each of the dimensions and customer satisfaction, as well as between customer satisfaction and loyalty, was measured, and a hypothesis for each relationship rejected or accepted. The empirical results show that, from 702 complainants, a RECOVSAT score of 68% was computed, which could be regarded as only satisfactory. The dimensions of communication, explanation, atonement, and empowerment, had the strongest positive correlation with customer satisfaction, while feedback and tangibles, although positively correlated, were not statistically significant, and thus not as important as the first four dimensions. FNB performed best on tangibles (81%), then communication (75%), explanation (70%), atonement (68%), empowerment (62%), and lastly feedback (51%). The study reinforced the view that customer satisfaction is positively related to loyalty. Other findings were that, administration and errors were the most frequent complaints, followed by pricing, fees, and interest, while time delays/waiting were the third most numerous. Over 54% of complainants had been with the bank for over 10 years, which could be a problem if the customers had left the bank, as the profitability of a customer generally increases with time. Age and gender did not appear to be factors that influenced behaviour of complainants. In terms of the managerial implications, it is recommended that FNB implement a Customer-Complaint-Handling (CCH) system that is both national and inter-group. The bank should also focus on empowering employees, improving communication skills, explaining to customers why the problem occurred, apologising, and offering some atonement. By adopting the recommendations, FNB should improve their service recovery, and as a consequence, their customer satisfaction and loyalty, and profitability should also increase.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An evaluation of "on-line" banking web sites in South Africa to determine essential design criteria
- Authors: Palmer, Lydia
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Banks and banking -- South Africa Banks and banking -- Customer services -- South Africa Home banking services -- South Africa Electronic funds transfers -- South Africa Web sites -- Design
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:811 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007667
- Description: The use of the Web to carry out business on the Internet has become a viable option in all business sectors, and Internet banking in South Africa is no exception. The nature of business on the Internet in South Africa and the World is investigated. The extent of Internet banking in South Africa is ascertained and the expectations and perceived problems of online bankers are discussed. The importance of Human Computer Interface and Web Interface Design for successful business is promoted with a discussion of their guidelines and principles. Web Evaluation techniques and Tools are assessed and The "Gartner" Web evaluation tool is selected to evaluate the three bank Web sites. The results of the evaluation indicate that there are several generally well implemented design criteria used by all of the banks while some criteria are not implemented at all. Each bank is discussed individually to identify strong and weak features of their Web site design. Essential aspects of Web design have been proposed for inclusion during the design of "online" Banking Web sites.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Palmer, Lydia
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Banks and banking -- South Africa Banks and banking -- Customer services -- South Africa Home banking services -- South Africa Electronic funds transfers -- South Africa Web sites -- Design
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MBA
- Identifier: vital:811 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007667
- Description: The use of the Web to carry out business on the Internet has become a viable option in all business sectors, and Internet banking in South Africa is no exception. The nature of business on the Internet in South Africa and the World is investigated. The extent of Internet banking in South Africa is ascertained and the expectations and perceived problems of online bankers are discussed. The importance of Human Computer Interface and Web Interface Design for successful business is promoted with a discussion of their guidelines and principles. Web Evaluation techniques and Tools are assessed and The "Gartner" Web evaluation tool is selected to evaluate the three bank Web sites. The results of the evaluation indicate that there are several generally well implemented design criteria used by all of the banks while some criteria are not implemented at all. Each bank is discussed individually to identify strong and weak features of their Web site design. Essential aspects of Web design have been proposed for inclusion during the design of "online" Banking Web sites.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An evaluation of the MMPI-2 using South African pre-trial forensic patients prediction of criminal responsibility and assessment of personality characteristics
- Authors: Du Toit, Emile
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory , Forensic psychiatry -- South Africa , Criminal investigation -- South Africa , Medical jurisprudence -- South Africa , Evidence, Criminal -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2967 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002476 , Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory , Forensic psychiatry -- South Africa , Criminal investigation -- South Africa , Medical jurisprudence -- South Africa , Evidence, Criminal -- South Africa
- Description: This study examines the utility of the MMPI-2 in predicting responsibility in pre-trial forensic patients, using a post hoc sample of 94 offenders from Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital in Gauteng. Firstly, the overall characteristics of the pre-trial forensic patients are discussed, following an analysis of demographic, clinical, criminal and MMPI-2 pre-trial data, as well as an overview of the Megargee typological classification of offenders. The sample is classified into Criminally Responsible (CR), Diminished Criminal Responsibility (DCR) and Not Criminally Responsible (NCR), and the CR and DCR groups are collapsed (CR/DCR) for many of the analyses when comparing them to the NCR group. Secondly, the variance of variables with responsibility is discussed, after examining one-way ANOVA’s of demographic, clinical, criminal and MMPI-2 variables, as well as an overview of high point pairs. Thirdly, discriminant analyses were conducted of demographic, clinical and MMPI-2 variables. When comparing the collapsed CR/DCR group to the NCR group, psychiatric diagnosis, presence of psychosis, the MMPI-2 Pa and Es scales, as well as race and substance abuse each had unique predictive power and created a substantial discriminative equation (F (6,70) = 45.732, p <0.0005) with a successful prediction rate of 96%. Using only MMPI-2 variables to predict responsibility showed significant unique contributions for the Pa, Es, MAC-R and Mf scales, with the BIZ scale not quite significant, and a fairly significant overall discriminant equation (F (5,73) = 6.474, p < 0.0005), with an overall successful prediction rate of 82%, with the MMPI-2 variables adding an additional 3% to the predictive power of the demographic and clinical variables. Similarly, when examining the more complex 3 group responsibility classification of CR, DCR and NCR, it was found that the demographic, clinical and MMPI-2 variables of psychiatric diagnosis, psychosis, race, substance abuse, and the Pa, Es and Ma scales all had significant contributions to a powerful discriminant analysis (F (14, 136) = 19.758, p < 0.0005) that was capable of correctly reclassifying almost 95% of the sample, and the MMPI-2 variables providing an increase in predictive power of 8%. Differences in responsible and not responsible pre-trial forensic patients are discussed, as well as the role of the MMPI-2 in assessing these differences, and the fact that it is highly likely that it adds more to the forensic assessment of responsibility than a 3% (CR/DCR versus NCR) or 8% (CR versus DCR versus NCR) increase in predictive power. Limitations of the study are discussed, together with recommendations for future research with the MMPI-2 for assessment of criminal responsibility. The suggestion is made that the MMPI-2 can become a valuable tool in South African forensic settings, not only in the assessment of responsibility and malingering, but also in the placement, management, follow-up and treatment of offenders, to maximize the limited resources in South Africa allocated for the rehabilitation of offenders, and minimize the risk of recidivism or rehospitalization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Du Toit, Emile
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory , Forensic psychiatry -- South Africa , Criminal investigation -- South Africa , Medical jurisprudence -- South Africa , Evidence, Criminal -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2967 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002476 , Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory , Forensic psychiatry -- South Africa , Criminal investigation -- South Africa , Medical jurisprudence -- South Africa , Evidence, Criminal -- South Africa
- Description: This study examines the utility of the MMPI-2 in predicting responsibility in pre-trial forensic patients, using a post hoc sample of 94 offenders from Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital in Gauteng. Firstly, the overall characteristics of the pre-trial forensic patients are discussed, following an analysis of demographic, clinical, criminal and MMPI-2 pre-trial data, as well as an overview of the Megargee typological classification of offenders. The sample is classified into Criminally Responsible (CR), Diminished Criminal Responsibility (DCR) and Not Criminally Responsible (NCR), and the CR and DCR groups are collapsed (CR/DCR) for many of the analyses when comparing them to the NCR group. Secondly, the variance of variables with responsibility is discussed, after examining one-way ANOVA’s of demographic, clinical, criminal and MMPI-2 variables, as well as an overview of high point pairs. Thirdly, discriminant analyses were conducted of demographic, clinical and MMPI-2 variables. When comparing the collapsed CR/DCR group to the NCR group, psychiatric diagnosis, presence of psychosis, the MMPI-2 Pa and Es scales, as well as race and substance abuse each had unique predictive power and created a substantial discriminative equation (F (6,70) = 45.732, p <0.0005) with a successful prediction rate of 96%. Using only MMPI-2 variables to predict responsibility showed significant unique contributions for the Pa, Es, MAC-R and Mf scales, with the BIZ scale not quite significant, and a fairly significant overall discriminant equation (F (5,73) = 6.474, p < 0.0005), with an overall successful prediction rate of 82%, with the MMPI-2 variables adding an additional 3% to the predictive power of the demographic and clinical variables. Similarly, when examining the more complex 3 group responsibility classification of CR, DCR and NCR, it was found that the demographic, clinical and MMPI-2 variables of psychiatric diagnosis, psychosis, race, substance abuse, and the Pa, Es and Ma scales all had significant contributions to a powerful discriminant analysis (F (14, 136) = 19.758, p < 0.0005) that was capable of correctly reclassifying almost 95% of the sample, and the MMPI-2 variables providing an increase in predictive power of 8%. Differences in responsible and not responsible pre-trial forensic patients are discussed, as well as the role of the MMPI-2 in assessing these differences, and the fact that it is highly likely that it adds more to the forensic assessment of responsibility than a 3% (CR/DCR versus NCR) or 8% (CR versus DCR versus NCR) increase in predictive power. Limitations of the study are discussed, together with recommendations for future research with the MMPI-2 for assessment of criminal responsibility. The suggestion is made that the MMPI-2 can become a valuable tool in South African forensic settings, not only in the assessment of responsibility and malingering, but also in the placement, management, follow-up and treatment of offenders, to maximize the limited resources in South Africa allocated for the rehabilitation of offenders, and minimize the risk of recidivism or rehospitalization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An exploration of factors that impact on levels of employee satisfaction and organisational performance : an organisational diagnosis
- Authors: Foot, Kirsten Joan
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Employee motivation Job satisfaction Employees -- Rating of Psychology, Industrial Organizational change Hotels -- Employees -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3178 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007951
- Description: Organisations today, regardless of their function, exist in an environment that is characterised by change. In order to maintain a competitive advantage it is vital that organisations manage such change and are sensitive to their human resource. It is imperative for organisations to understand and explore the factors that impact on employee satisfaction and overall organisational performance. The hospitality industry is an industry that is notorious for low levels of pay and long working hours, and often dissatisfied employees. This research focused on a hotel, that is part of an international chain of hotels, which has recently undergone a rebranding process (a change from within). This research aimed to assess and explore factors that impact on levels of employee satisfaction and organisation/hotel performance, in other words it aimed to 'diagnose' the hotel's current status. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase one made use of a widely used measure of job satisfaction, the job descriptive index (JDI), that looked at five facets of job satisfaction namely: pay, opportunity for promotion, co-workers, supervision and the nature of work. Phase two further explored the results of the JDI (staff being very dissatisfied with pay and promotions opportunity) and further explored other areas of the organisation/hotel with the use of an organisational development model, Weisbord's Six-Box Model (1990). The 'boxes' included areas of purpose, structure, relationships, leadership, rewards and helpful mechanisms. These areas were explored with staff using focus groups. Heads of departments (management) and the deputy general manager of the hotel were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format, exploring similar issues to those researched with staff. Results indicated problems in the hotel with regard to purpose, a severe lack of communication and staff feeling they have little chance for promotion as well as pay structures being perceived as unfair. The overall leadership at the hotel was described as erratic, and relationships between management revealed high levels of mistrust. Due to limited research in the South African hospitality industry, much of the literature available is based on experiences in the United States of America or the United Kingdom. For this research, the researcher had few previous published findings and was unsure of the many issues that could possibly arise. However, the intervention was enjoyable and recommendations have been provided for the hotel to consider, so the hotel can go from "good to great".
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Foot, Kirsten Joan
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Employee motivation Job satisfaction Employees -- Rating of Psychology, Industrial Organizational change Hotels -- Employees -- South Africa -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3178 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007951
- Description: Organisations today, regardless of their function, exist in an environment that is characterised by change. In order to maintain a competitive advantage it is vital that organisations manage such change and are sensitive to their human resource. It is imperative for organisations to understand and explore the factors that impact on employee satisfaction and overall organisational performance. The hospitality industry is an industry that is notorious for low levels of pay and long working hours, and often dissatisfied employees. This research focused on a hotel, that is part of an international chain of hotels, which has recently undergone a rebranding process (a change from within). This research aimed to assess and explore factors that impact on levels of employee satisfaction and organisation/hotel performance, in other words it aimed to 'diagnose' the hotel's current status. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase one made use of a widely used measure of job satisfaction, the job descriptive index (JDI), that looked at five facets of job satisfaction namely: pay, opportunity for promotion, co-workers, supervision and the nature of work. Phase two further explored the results of the JDI (staff being very dissatisfied with pay and promotions opportunity) and further explored other areas of the organisation/hotel with the use of an organisational development model, Weisbord's Six-Box Model (1990). The 'boxes' included areas of purpose, structure, relationships, leadership, rewards and helpful mechanisms. These areas were explored with staff using focus groups. Heads of departments (management) and the deputy general manager of the hotel were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format, exploring similar issues to those researched with staff. Results indicated problems in the hotel with regard to purpose, a severe lack of communication and staff feeling they have little chance for promotion as well as pay structures being perceived as unfair. The overall leadership at the hotel was described as erratic, and relationships between management revealed high levels of mistrust. Due to limited research in the South African hospitality industry, much of the literature available is based on experiences in the United States of America or the United Kingdom. For this research, the researcher had few previous published findings and was unsure of the many issues that could possibly arise. However, the intervention was enjoyable and recommendations have been provided for the hotel to consider, so the hotel can go from "good to great".
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An exploration of how professional graphic design discourse impacts on innovation : a focus on the articulation of a South African design language in i-jusi
- Authors: Moys, Jeanne Louise
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Graphic arts -- South Africa , Words in art , Writing in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3468 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002923 , Graphic arts -- South Africa , Words in art , Writing in art
- Description: This study examines the graphic design industry’s call for ‘a South African design language’ in post-apartheid South Africa and how the non-commercial publication i-jusi is envisaged as a space for graphic designers to innovate a South African design language. The central premise of this research is that graphic design, as a form of cultural production, is discursive. In this respect, graphic design practice is constructed and constrained by professional discourse, which is in turn informed by social structures. However, discourse is also a site of contestation and graphic designers may challenge or negotiate professional discourse in their practice. Thus, as Wolff (1981) argues, the possibility for innovation within graphic design practice may exist at a particular historical moment, although this possibility is itself situated within social structures. In this study, the impact of professional graphic design discourse on the attempt to innovate a South African design language in i-jusi is explored. Utilising qualitative interviews and other texts selected from graphic design commentary (conference presentations and published articles), the motivations of the producers of i-jusi are examined with a view to assessing how their articulation of a South African design language is informed by professional graphic design discourse.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Moys, Jeanne Louise
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Graphic arts -- South Africa , Words in art , Writing in art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3468 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002923 , Graphic arts -- South Africa , Words in art , Writing in art
- Description: This study examines the graphic design industry’s call for ‘a South African design language’ in post-apartheid South Africa and how the non-commercial publication i-jusi is envisaged as a space for graphic designers to innovate a South African design language. The central premise of this research is that graphic design, as a form of cultural production, is discursive. In this respect, graphic design practice is constructed and constrained by professional discourse, which is in turn informed by social structures. However, discourse is also a site of contestation and graphic designers may challenge or negotiate professional discourse in their practice. Thus, as Wolff (1981) argues, the possibility for innovation within graphic design practice may exist at a particular historical moment, although this possibility is itself situated within social structures. In this study, the impact of professional graphic design discourse on the attempt to innovate a South African design language in i-jusi is explored. Utilising qualitative interviews and other texts selected from graphic design commentary (conference presentations and published articles), the motivations of the producers of i-jusi are examined with a view to assessing how their articulation of a South African design language is informed by professional graphic design discourse.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An exploration of teacher perceptions and actions to conserve wetlands in Kenya
- Authors: Ndaruga, Ayub Macharia
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Wetlands -- Kenya Wetland conservation -- Kenya Wetland conservation -- Kenya -- Study and teaching ( Elementary) Wetlands -- Kenya -- Study and teaching (Elementary) Environmental education -- Kenya Sustainable development -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1535 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003417
- Description: This thesis presents the findings of an exploration of teacher perceptions and actions to conserve wetlands in Kenya. It reports findings of a case study survey done with 54 primary school teachers from seven of eight Kenyan provinces. The teachers were sampled from a larger group of 242 teachers who participated in an in-service course on wetlands conservation. The in-service course engaged teachers in exploring various aspects of wetlands and how they could enhance their conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. The survey approach was used in the research and was augmented with a reflective process. Survey tools used were the questionnaires and interviews. The reflective process entailed observation, document analysis, field notes and the researcher’s diary. Research data was analysed in several stages. The study revealed that teachers were users of local wetlands just like other members of their communities. The teachers differed among themselves with respect to their perceptions of the value and threats to their local wetlands. The teachers also differed in their perceptions of community awareness of their local wetlands. The teachers’ perceptions about environmental education and wetlands were not holistic. The teachers recorded various opportunities to foster wetlands conservation in their local contexts at school and the community. These were their fellow teachers, the pupils, the subjects taught, clubs, environmental days and the community. The relative importance of these opportunities differed among the teachers. Many teachers claimed being motivated to promote wetlands conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. Their motivation was based on diverse aspects of wetlands, education and the in-service training they attended in 1999. However, the intensity of motivation differed for each aspect. For instance, at community level in-service training was a major motivator while the curriculum aspects were not mentioned at all. Teachers reported having involved their pupils and the community in several activities to conserve the local wetlands. These activities seemed to be dominated by theoretical approaches, eco-management activities and visits to wetlands. There was little evidence to indicate the teachers being engaged in addressing the implications for sustainability of the perceived local wetland values and threats. The activities reported also failed to show engagement with local environmental problems as a deliberate proactive process involving exploration, discussion, action taking and reflection. Most of the activities were presented as one off activities rather than as a cyclic continuously improving series of interventions. The overall scenario presented by the teachers is one of inadequacy in addressing the sustainable use of wetlands. Teachers suggested various constraints that affect their realisation of environmental education for wetlands sustainability. The constraints traverse various aspects of the economic, biophysical, political, educational and social aspects of wetlands conservation. The study suggested the need for teachers to treat their contextual and personal conceptions as problematic rather than as simplistic or linear issues and to formulate ways to address them. This study suggests a potential but under-utilised opportunity to promote wetlands sustainability. The overall picture generated by the data in this study is a need to consider wetland training for teachers that integrates the holistic aspects of wetlands as well as the environmental education for sustainability perspectives grounded in local contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Ndaruga, Ayub Macharia
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Wetlands -- Kenya Wetland conservation -- Kenya Wetland conservation -- Kenya -- Study and teaching ( Elementary) Wetlands -- Kenya -- Study and teaching (Elementary) Environmental education -- Kenya Sustainable development -- Study and teaching (Elementary) -- Kenya
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1535 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003417
- Description: This thesis presents the findings of an exploration of teacher perceptions and actions to conserve wetlands in Kenya. It reports findings of a case study survey done with 54 primary school teachers from seven of eight Kenyan provinces. The teachers were sampled from a larger group of 242 teachers who participated in an in-service course on wetlands conservation. The in-service course engaged teachers in exploring various aspects of wetlands and how they could enhance their conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. The survey approach was used in the research and was augmented with a reflective process. Survey tools used were the questionnaires and interviews. The reflective process entailed observation, document analysis, field notes and the researcher’s diary. Research data was analysed in several stages. The study revealed that teachers were users of local wetlands just like other members of their communities. The teachers differed among themselves with respect to their perceptions of the value and threats to their local wetlands. The teachers also differed in their perceptions of community awareness of their local wetlands. The teachers’ perceptions about environmental education and wetlands were not holistic. The teachers recorded various opportunities to foster wetlands conservation in their local contexts at school and the community. These were their fellow teachers, the pupils, the subjects taught, clubs, environmental days and the community. The relative importance of these opportunities differed among the teachers. Many teachers claimed being motivated to promote wetlands conservation using both formal and non-formal contexts. Their motivation was based on diverse aspects of wetlands, education and the in-service training they attended in 1999. However, the intensity of motivation differed for each aspect. For instance, at community level in-service training was a major motivator while the curriculum aspects were not mentioned at all. Teachers reported having involved their pupils and the community in several activities to conserve the local wetlands. These activities seemed to be dominated by theoretical approaches, eco-management activities and visits to wetlands. There was little evidence to indicate the teachers being engaged in addressing the implications for sustainability of the perceived local wetland values and threats. The activities reported also failed to show engagement with local environmental problems as a deliberate proactive process involving exploration, discussion, action taking and reflection. Most of the activities were presented as one off activities rather than as a cyclic continuously improving series of interventions. The overall scenario presented by the teachers is one of inadequacy in addressing the sustainable use of wetlands. Teachers suggested various constraints that affect their realisation of environmental education for wetlands sustainability. The constraints traverse various aspects of the economic, biophysical, political, educational and social aspects of wetlands conservation. The study suggested the need for teachers to treat their contextual and personal conceptions as problematic rather than as simplistic or linear issues and to formulate ways to address them. This study suggests a potential but under-utilised opportunity to promote wetlands sustainability. The overall picture generated by the data in this study is a need to consider wetland training for teachers that integrates the holistic aspects of wetlands as well as the environmental education for sustainability perspectives grounded in local contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An exploration of the impact of AIDS-related losses and role changes on grandmothers
- Authors: Burt, Mary
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape HIV infections -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape AIDS (Disease) -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- Care -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Bereavement -- Psychological aspects -- Eastern Cape Foster parents -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Loss (Psychology) Grandmothers -- South Africa -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3131 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006487
- Description: The US Bureau of the Census (1999) projected that by 2004, 14 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will develop full blown AIDS, making this region by far the largest disease burden in the world (World Health Organization, 2002). The United Nations AIDS Programme judged South Africa to have the leading number of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2002). To date there has been extensive research conducted on the socio-economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on families in Africa. However an area of investigation that has remained largely underreported is the inquiry into the psychological impacts of HIV/AIDS on elderly caregivers. In African families older women increasingly have to provide care to their adult children with AIDS and their orphaned grandchildren. However few research studies have assessed the experience of parental caregiving and its psychological impacts on these women. This qualitative research study hypothesised that the role of primary parental caregiver in fact causes a range of psychologically distressing states, which serve to compromise the psychological well-being of these caregivers. To investigate this hypothesis three Xhosa speaking women living in informal settlements in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa were selected for the study. The women were interviewed by means of semi-structured interviews, which consisted of questions related to their caregiving experiences, their experiences of loss, their choice of coping strategies, the role of support networks and their experiences of foster care responsibilities. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using a grounded hermeneutic approach. The research results confirmed the working hypothesis. The research revealed that although it was considered culturally appropriate for older women to care for their children and grandchildren, their caregiver roles caused significant psychological distress. Their distress was related to: emotional and physical exhaustion, complicated grief reactions and ongoing emotional and physical upheaval related to foster care responsibilities. Based on the results, the research recommendations emphasised the need for continual awareness of the psychological implications of caregiving for older African women with the aim to preserve their capacity to function as the primary caring resource to families struck by HIV/AIDS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Burt, Mary
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape HIV infections -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape AIDS (Disease) -- Economic aspects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- Care -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Bereavement -- Psychological aspects -- Eastern Cape Foster parents -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Loss (Psychology) Grandmothers -- South Africa -- Psychology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3131 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006487
- Description: The US Bureau of the Census (1999) projected that by 2004, 14 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will develop full blown AIDS, making this region by far the largest disease burden in the world (World Health Organization, 2002). The United Nations AIDS Programme judged South Africa to have the leading number of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2002). To date there has been extensive research conducted on the socio-economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on families in Africa. However an area of investigation that has remained largely underreported is the inquiry into the psychological impacts of HIV/AIDS on elderly caregivers. In African families older women increasingly have to provide care to their adult children with AIDS and their orphaned grandchildren. However few research studies have assessed the experience of parental caregiving and its psychological impacts on these women. This qualitative research study hypothesised that the role of primary parental caregiver in fact causes a range of psychologically distressing states, which serve to compromise the psychological well-being of these caregivers. To investigate this hypothesis three Xhosa speaking women living in informal settlements in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa were selected for the study. The women were interviewed by means of semi-structured interviews, which consisted of questions related to their caregiving experiences, their experiences of loss, their choice of coping strategies, the role of support networks and their experiences of foster care responsibilities. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using a grounded hermeneutic approach. The research results confirmed the working hypothesis. The research revealed that although it was considered culturally appropriate for older women to care for their children and grandchildren, their caregiver roles caused significant psychological distress. Their distress was related to: emotional and physical exhaustion, complicated grief reactions and ongoing emotional and physical upheaval related to foster care responsibilities. Based on the results, the research recommendations emphasised the need for continual awareness of the psychological implications of caregiving for older African women with the aim to preserve their capacity to function as the primary caring resource to families struck by HIV/AIDS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An interpretive use of drawings to explore the lived experiences of orphaned children living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa
- Authors: Steenveld, Clint Michael
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa HIV infections -- South Africa HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Psychological aspects HIV infections -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) in children -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3099 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004374
- Description: Against the backdrop of the growing problem of AIDS orphans in South Africa and greater sub-Saharan Africa, this qualitative enquiry examines the lives of three South African orphaned children living with HIV / AIDS in a children's home in Cape Town. It aims to generate rich, child-centred descriptions of some of the significant experiences of the children's lives. Drawings, dialogue and narrative were employed to generate the primary data. This was supplemented by collateral interviews and other relevant records, e.g. medical and biographical. Existential-phenomenological theory informed the approach to data collection and analysis. Each child produced a series often to twelve impromptu drawings over a period often weeks. These drawings and transcripts of the children's verbal descriptions of their drawings were extensively analysed. Significant themes for each participant as well as themes common to all three were identified. Some of the central themes emerging include loss, abandonment, death, disease awareness and coping. The children's ability to develop adaptive coping mechanisms and resilience in the face of traumatic loss and terminal illness was a particularly outstanding feature of the findings. Recommendations are made regarding future research to address the lack of qualitative, child-focused investigations as well as appropriate interventions for addressing the psychosocial needs of orphaned children living with HIV/AIDS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Steenveld, Clint Michael
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: AIDS (Disease) -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Social aspects -- South Africa HIV infections -- South Africa HIV infections -- Social aspects -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) -- Psychological aspects HIV infections -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa AIDS (Disease) in children -- Psychological aspects -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3099 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004374
- Description: Against the backdrop of the growing problem of AIDS orphans in South Africa and greater sub-Saharan Africa, this qualitative enquiry examines the lives of three South African orphaned children living with HIV / AIDS in a children's home in Cape Town. It aims to generate rich, child-centred descriptions of some of the significant experiences of the children's lives. Drawings, dialogue and narrative were employed to generate the primary data. This was supplemented by collateral interviews and other relevant records, e.g. medical and biographical. Existential-phenomenological theory informed the approach to data collection and analysis. Each child produced a series often to twelve impromptu drawings over a period often weeks. These drawings and transcripts of the children's verbal descriptions of their drawings were extensively analysed. Significant themes for each participant as well as themes common to all three were identified. Some of the central themes emerging include loss, abandonment, death, disease awareness and coping. The children's ability to develop adaptive coping mechanisms and resilience in the face of traumatic loss and terminal illness was a particularly outstanding feature of the findings. Recommendations are made regarding future research to address the lack of qualitative, child-focused investigations as well as appropriate interventions for addressing the psychosocial needs of orphaned children living with HIV/AIDS.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
An investigation into how marketers cope with an environment of high complexity and turbulence, with special reference to the South African environment
- Authors: Mason, Roger Bruce
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Marketing -- South Africa , Success in business -- South Africa , Industrial management -- South Africa , Organizational change -- South Africa , Chaotic behavior in systems , Complexity (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:752 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003873 , Marketing -- South Africa , Success in business -- South Africa , Industrial management -- South Africa , Organizational change -- South Africa , Chaotic behavior in systems , Complexity (Philosophy)
- Description: This study investigated relationships between marketing success, the level of external environmental complexity and turbulence, and marketing mix tactics. The literature suggested that more successful companies in simple and stable environments use stabilising marketing tactics, while more successful companies in complex and turbulent environments use destabilising tactics, regardless of industry habits, management preferences or market sector. A marketing mix model for the different environments was developed using a chaos and complexity theory perspective. The study was exploratory, using a qualitative, case study technique. Data was collected via depth interviews and document analysis from four companies in the information technology (IT) and packaging industries. These industries were identified as, respectively, the most complex and turbulent, and the simplest and most stable, South African environments. Two companies from each industry were chosen to reflect more successful and less successful companies. The more successful company in the complex/turbulent environment was found to use destabilising tactics, as did the more successful company in the simple/stable environment. Therefore, contrary to expectations, it appears that destabilising tactics contribute more to success than stabilising tactics do, regardless of the environment. It was also found, contrary to expectations, that stabilising tactics were used by both the less successful companies. The research concluded that destabilising tactics are related to more success and stabilising tactics to less success. The lack of clear differentiation between the two industries may be because the whole South African environment is complex and turbulent, because the packaging industry is not sufficiently simple and stable to differentiate it from the IT industry or because packaging industry managers perceive their industry to be complex and turbulent and act accordingly. Despite these uncertainties, the research showed the marketing mix model to be reasonably accurate for the complex/turbulent environment, and therefore of potential value to South African companies. To overcome the equivocal findings, further research is recommended in different industries, in countries with different levels of complexity and turbulence and into specific marketing mix tactics. Research into managers’ perceptions of environmental complexity and turbulence and into co-evolution of marketing tactics and external environments would also be of value.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004
- Authors: Mason, Roger Bruce
- Date: 2004
- Subjects: Marketing -- South Africa , Success in business -- South Africa , Industrial management -- South Africa , Organizational change -- South Africa , Chaotic behavior in systems , Complexity (Philosophy)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:752 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003873 , Marketing -- South Africa , Success in business -- South Africa , Industrial management -- South Africa , Organizational change -- South Africa , Chaotic behavior in systems , Complexity (Philosophy)
- Description: This study investigated relationships between marketing success, the level of external environmental complexity and turbulence, and marketing mix tactics. The literature suggested that more successful companies in simple and stable environments use stabilising marketing tactics, while more successful companies in complex and turbulent environments use destabilising tactics, regardless of industry habits, management preferences or market sector. A marketing mix model for the different environments was developed using a chaos and complexity theory perspective. The study was exploratory, using a qualitative, case study technique. Data was collected via depth interviews and document analysis from four companies in the information technology (IT) and packaging industries. These industries were identified as, respectively, the most complex and turbulent, and the simplest and most stable, South African environments. Two companies from each industry were chosen to reflect more successful and less successful companies. The more successful company in the complex/turbulent environment was found to use destabilising tactics, as did the more successful company in the simple/stable environment. Therefore, contrary to expectations, it appears that destabilising tactics contribute more to success than stabilising tactics do, regardless of the environment. It was also found, contrary to expectations, that stabilising tactics were used by both the less successful companies. The research concluded that destabilising tactics are related to more success and stabilising tactics to less success. The lack of clear differentiation between the two industries may be because the whole South African environment is complex and turbulent, because the packaging industry is not sufficiently simple and stable to differentiate it from the IT industry or because packaging industry managers perceive their industry to be complex and turbulent and act accordingly. Despite these uncertainties, the research showed the marketing mix model to be reasonably accurate for the complex/turbulent environment, and therefore of potential value to South African companies. To overcome the equivocal findings, further research is recommended in different industries, in countries with different levels of complexity and turbulence and into specific marketing mix tactics. Research into managers’ perceptions of environmental complexity and turbulence and into co-evolution of marketing tactics and external environments would also be of value.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2004