‘Ubhuti wami’: a qualitative secondary analysis of brothering among isiXhosa men
- Authors: Mbewe, Mpho
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Brotherliness , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs , Men, Black -- South Africa -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013149
- Description: This project is interested in investigating the construction of the fraternal sibling relationshipwithin the South African context from a narrative perspective. In particular, this study is interested in the ways in which middle aged isiXhosa men narrate experiences of brothering and how social class, as one particular context, mediates these narratives. This project is particularly interested in brothering within the isiXhosa culture and is concerned with both middle class and working class men within this cultural context. The project takes as its particular focus the meaning of brothering, and specifically how masculinity, intimacy and money or class influence the brothering practices constructed by the men in the sample. The project employs a social constructionist perspective, using a thematic narrative analysis to analyse the data. This project uses secondary analysis of data, as the data was collected for the primary use by Jackson (2009), Peirce (2009), Saville Young (Saville Young & Jackson, 2011) and Stonier (2010). The analysis reflects emergent themes of the importance of fraternal sacrifice, care-taking and sibling responsibility, honouring the family, and challenge to traditional masculinity. These themes emerged within the prior themes of masculinity, intimacy and class within brothering. The men spoke of keeping the family prosperous and united as an important duty in their brothering role. Affection was expressed more practically and symbolically, and closeness constructed through shared experiences, proximity and similarities. My findings reflect that family expectations, culture and social context had key influences on brothering, based on the men's narratives. Findings are discussed in relation to literature on brothering, masculinity and intimacy, and the influence of money in close relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mbewe, Mpho
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Brotherliness , Xhosa (African people) -- Social life and customs , Men, Black -- South Africa -- Social life and customs
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3233 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013149
- Description: This project is interested in investigating the construction of the fraternal sibling relationshipwithin the South African context from a narrative perspective. In particular, this study is interested in the ways in which middle aged isiXhosa men narrate experiences of brothering and how social class, as one particular context, mediates these narratives. This project is particularly interested in brothering within the isiXhosa culture and is concerned with both middle class and working class men within this cultural context. The project takes as its particular focus the meaning of brothering, and specifically how masculinity, intimacy and money or class influence the brothering practices constructed by the men in the sample. The project employs a social constructionist perspective, using a thematic narrative analysis to analyse the data. This project uses secondary analysis of data, as the data was collected for the primary use by Jackson (2009), Peirce (2009), Saville Young (Saville Young & Jackson, 2011) and Stonier (2010). The analysis reflects emergent themes of the importance of fraternal sacrifice, care-taking and sibling responsibility, honouring the family, and challenge to traditional masculinity. These themes emerged within the prior themes of masculinity, intimacy and class within brothering. The men spoke of keeping the family prosperous and united as an important duty in their brothering role. Affection was expressed more practically and symbolically, and closeness constructed through shared experiences, proximity and similarities. My findings reflect that family expectations, culture and social context had key influences on brothering, based on the men's narratives. Findings are discussed in relation to literature on brothering, masculinity and intimacy, and the influence of money in close relationships.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“Exploring barriers to citizen participation in development: a case study of a participatory broadcasting project in rural Malawi”
- Authors: Mtelera, Prince
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Political participation -- Malawi , Malawi -- Citizen participation , Citizen journalism -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3539 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016360
- Description: In Malawi, as in many newly-democratic countries in the developing world, donor organisations and NGOs have embarked on projects aimed at making reforms in governance which have generated a profusion of new spaces for citizen engagement. This thesis critically examines one such project in Malawi against the backdrop of a democratic nation emerging from a background of dictatorial regime. For thirty years, until 1994, Malawi was under the one-party regime of Kamuzu Banda which was characterised by dictatorial tendencies, in which participatory processes were non-existent and development was defined in terms of client-patronage relationships between the state and society (Cammack, 2004: 17). In 1994, however, Malawi embraced a multiparty system of government, paving way to various political and social reforms, which adopted participatory approaches to development. Drawing on a number of literatures, this thesis seeks to historicize the relationship which developed during the pre democracy era between the state and society in Malawi to underscore its influence on the current dispositions displayed by both bureaucrats and citizens as they engage in participatory decision making processes. This is achieved through a critical realist case study of a participatory radio project in Malawi called Ndizathuzomwe which works through a network of community-based radio production structures popularly known as ‘Radio Listening Clubs’(RLCs) where communities are mobilised at village level to first identify and define development problems through consensus and then secondly engage state bureaucrats, politicians, and members of other relevant service delivery organisations in making decisions aimed at resolving community-identified development problems (Chijere-Chirwa et al, 2000). Unlike during the pre-democracy era, there is now a shift in the discourse of participation in development, from the participation of ‘beneficiaries’ in projects, to the more political and rights-based definitions of participation by citizens who are the ‘makers and shapers’ of their own development (Cornwall and Gaventa, 2000). The findings of this thesis, however point to the fact that, there remains a gap between normative expectations and empirical realities in that spaces for participation are not neutral, but are themselves shaped by power relations (Cornwall, 2002). A number of preconditions exist for entry into participatory institutions as such entry of certain interests and actors into public spaces is privileged over others through a prevailing mobilisation of bias or rules of the game (Lukes, 1974: I)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mtelera, Prince
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Political participation -- Malawi , Malawi -- Citizen participation , Citizen journalism -- Malawi
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3539 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016360
- Description: In Malawi, as in many newly-democratic countries in the developing world, donor organisations and NGOs have embarked on projects aimed at making reforms in governance which have generated a profusion of new spaces for citizen engagement. This thesis critically examines one such project in Malawi against the backdrop of a democratic nation emerging from a background of dictatorial regime. For thirty years, until 1994, Malawi was under the one-party regime of Kamuzu Banda which was characterised by dictatorial tendencies, in which participatory processes were non-existent and development was defined in terms of client-patronage relationships between the state and society (Cammack, 2004: 17). In 1994, however, Malawi embraced a multiparty system of government, paving way to various political and social reforms, which adopted participatory approaches to development. Drawing on a number of literatures, this thesis seeks to historicize the relationship which developed during the pre democracy era between the state and society in Malawi to underscore its influence on the current dispositions displayed by both bureaucrats and citizens as they engage in participatory decision making processes. This is achieved through a critical realist case study of a participatory radio project in Malawi called Ndizathuzomwe which works through a network of community-based radio production structures popularly known as ‘Radio Listening Clubs’(RLCs) where communities are mobilised at village level to first identify and define development problems through consensus and then secondly engage state bureaucrats, politicians, and members of other relevant service delivery organisations in making decisions aimed at resolving community-identified development problems (Chijere-Chirwa et al, 2000). Unlike during the pre-democracy era, there is now a shift in the discourse of participation in development, from the participation of ‘beneficiaries’ in projects, to the more political and rights-based definitions of participation by citizens who are the ‘makers and shapers’ of their own development (Cornwall and Gaventa, 2000). The findings of this thesis, however point to the fact that, there remains a gap between normative expectations and empirical realities in that spaces for participation are not neutral, but are themselves shaped by power relations (Cornwall, 2002). A number of preconditions exist for entry into participatory institutions as such entry of certain interests and actors into public spaces is privileged over others through a prevailing mobilisation of bias or rules of the game (Lukes, 1974: I)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“Please don’t show me on Agataliiko Nfuufu or my husband will beat me like engalabi (long drum)”: young women and tabloid television in Kampala, Uganda
- Authors: Nakacwa, Susan
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Television broadcasting of news -- Uganda -- Kampala , Reality television programs -- Uganda -- Kampala , Sexism -- Uganda -- Kampala , Women in mass media , Sensationalism on television , Sensationalism in journalism , Mass media -- Moral and ethical aspects , Sex role on television , Uganda -- Social conditions -- 1979-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3551 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020968
- Description: The “tabloid TV” news genre is a relatively new phenomenon in Uganda and Africa. The genre has been criticised for depoliticising the public by causing cynicism, and lowering the standards of rational public discourse. Despite the criticisms, the genre has been recognised for bringing ‘the private’ into a public space and one of the major ‘private’ issues on the public agenda is women and gender equality. Given these critiques, this study set out to interrogate the meanings that young working class women in Kampala make of the tabloid television news programme Agataliiko Nfuufu and to ask how these meanings relate to the contested notions of femininity in this urban space. In undertaking this audience reception study I interviewed young women between the ages of 18-35 years by means of individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study establishes that Agataliiko Nfuufu is consumed in a complex environment where contesting notions of traditionalism and modernity are at play. The study also establishes that while mediating the problems, discomforts and contestations of these young women’s lives, Bukedde TV1 operates within a specific social context and gendered environment where Agataliiko Nfuufu is consumed. The study concludes that the bulletin mediates the young women’s negotiations and contestations, but it provides them with a window into other people’s lives and affords them opportunities to compare, judge and appreciate their own. Furthermore, the gendered roles and expectations in this context have become naturalised and have achieved a taken-for-grantedness. Therefore, patriarchy has been legitimised and naturalised to the extent that the respondents define themselves largely in relation to male relatives, and marriage. While the women lament the changes that have taken place in their social contexts which disrupt the natural gender order, they construct themselves as subjects of the prevailing discourses of gender relations that see men as powerful and women as weak and in need of protection.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Nakacwa, Susan
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Television broadcasting of news -- Uganda -- Kampala , Reality television programs -- Uganda -- Kampala , Sexism -- Uganda -- Kampala , Women in mass media , Sensationalism on television , Sensationalism in journalism , Mass media -- Moral and ethical aspects , Sex role on television , Uganda -- Social conditions -- 1979-
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3551 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020968
- Description: The “tabloid TV” news genre is a relatively new phenomenon in Uganda and Africa. The genre has been criticised for depoliticising the public by causing cynicism, and lowering the standards of rational public discourse. Despite the criticisms, the genre has been recognised for bringing ‘the private’ into a public space and one of the major ‘private’ issues on the public agenda is women and gender equality. Given these critiques, this study set out to interrogate the meanings that young working class women in Kampala make of the tabloid television news programme Agataliiko Nfuufu and to ask how these meanings relate to the contested notions of femininity in this urban space. In undertaking this audience reception study I interviewed young women between the ages of 18-35 years by means of individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study establishes that Agataliiko Nfuufu is consumed in a complex environment where contesting notions of traditionalism and modernity are at play. The study also establishes that while mediating the problems, discomforts and contestations of these young women’s lives, Bukedde TV1 operates within a specific social context and gendered environment where Agataliiko Nfuufu is consumed. The study concludes that the bulletin mediates the young women’s negotiations and contestations, but it provides them with a window into other people’s lives and affords them opportunities to compare, judge and appreciate their own. Furthermore, the gendered roles and expectations in this context have become naturalised and have achieved a taken-for-grantedness. Therefore, patriarchy has been legitimised and naturalised to the extent that the respondents define themselves largely in relation to male relatives, and marriage. While the women lament the changes that have taken place in their social contexts which disrupt the natural gender order, they construct themselves as subjects of the prevailing discourses of gender relations that see men as powerful and women as weak and in need of protection.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“Pragmatic yet principled”: an assessment of Botswana’s Foreign Policy record as a small state
- Authors: Mahupela, Kabelo Moganegi
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65290 , vital:28722
- Description: Expected release date-July 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mahupela, Kabelo Moganegi
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65290 , vital:28722
- Description: Expected release date-July 2019
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“The stranger at home” : representations of home and hospitality in three South African post-transitional novels
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Wicomb, Zoë -- Criticism and interpretation , Shukri, Ishtiyaq, 1968- -- Criticism and interpretation , Vladislavić, Ivan, 1957- -- Criticism and interpretation , Home in literature , Hospitality in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2325 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016355
- Description: This thesis examines the representation of home and hospitality in Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light, Ishtiyaq Shukri’s The Silent Minaret, and Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative. It attempts to trace the un-homeliness of the central characters and to account for their feelings of discomfort. As such, it argues that the home is incapable of being inviolable because the invasion of the public is always a possibility. The implication is that master narratives such as race, history and politics are always entering the space one constructs as private. That said, this study also argues that the home and those things with which it is most closely associated, such as belonging, comfort and safety, may actually hide a form of violence. By this I mean that in the desire for homeliness, one may exclude others from one’s home. Consequently, this argument draws on Jacques Derrida’s writings on the aporia of conditional and unconditional hospitality to investigate what ethical possibilities might, somewhat unexpectedly, be created by the un-homely home. The study is therefore an exploration of the potentials that inhere in a certain kind of un-homeliness, the most important of which is the chance to respond ethically to the alterity of the other. In sum, there is a necessity to extend hospitality beyond condition and beyond limit, and this ethical imperative is at odds with the desire for comfort and safety. The way in which post-transitional novels explore these issues of hospitality and home is the primary focus of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Dass, Minesh
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: South African fiction (English) -- History and criticism , Wicomb, Zoë -- Criticism and interpretation , Shukri, Ishtiyaq, 1968- -- Criticism and interpretation , Vladislavić, Ivan, 1957- -- Criticism and interpretation , Home in literature , Hospitality in literature
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2325 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016355
- Description: This thesis examines the representation of home and hospitality in Zoë Wicomb’s Playing in the Light, Ishtiyaq Shukri’s The Silent Minaret, and Ivan Vladislavić’s Double Negative. It attempts to trace the un-homeliness of the central characters and to account for their feelings of discomfort. As such, it argues that the home is incapable of being inviolable because the invasion of the public is always a possibility. The implication is that master narratives such as race, history and politics are always entering the space one constructs as private. That said, this study also argues that the home and those things with which it is most closely associated, such as belonging, comfort and safety, may actually hide a form of violence. By this I mean that in the desire for homeliness, one may exclude others from one’s home. Consequently, this argument draws on Jacques Derrida’s writings on the aporia of conditional and unconditional hospitality to investigate what ethical possibilities might, somewhat unexpectedly, be created by the un-homely home. The study is therefore an exploration of the potentials that inhere in a certain kind of un-homeliness, the most important of which is the chance to respond ethically to the alterity of the other. In sum, there is a necessity to extend hospitality beyond condition and beyond limit, and this ethical imperative is at odds with the desire for comfort and safety. The way in which post-transitional novels explore these issues of hospitality and home is the primary focus of this study.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“There are certain things that I just know that I have to do because we are brothers”: a discourse analysis of young black men’s engagement with popular representations of brotherhood
- Authors: Mkhize, Sibongiseni
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Brotherliness , Men, Black -- South Africa -- Social life and customs , Masculinity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013212
- Description: The present study analyses the discourses that young black South African men employed when they engaged with popular representations of brotherhood in the media. In particular the study explores how these particular young men view masculinity within brothering and what the implications of ‘doing brothering’ are as a result of this view. Drawing on discursive psychology, the study is located in a social constructionist theoretical framework and uses a qualitative methodological approach. The data used in the discourse analysis was gathered through focus group discussion of scenes from the television show Generations. The discourse analysis produced two major discourses in which there were different constructions of masculinity each influencing the way in which brothering was done. The first discourse constructed a ‘dutiful man’ who performs his brotherly obligations separately from his emotions, this discourse is in line with discourses of hegemonic masculinity where men are expected to fulfil obligations and are not expected to be emotional. Resisting this discourse at times, some participants in this study did occasionally construct men as having rich emotional lives such that the quality of interaction with brothers is constructed as more important, in terms of building intimate fraternal relationships, than the amount of interaction with them. The second major discourse constructs the ‘ideal man’ in two different ways: as the ‘good man’ and the ‘unscrupulous man’. The ‘good man’, like the ‘dutiful man’ performs the obligations society has placed on him, but does not receive the social esteem that is given to the ‘unscrupulous man’, who is successful and financially powerful. Although both these types of men are spoken of as possessing masculinity, the ‘good man’ is constructed as holding onto a type of masculinity that does not have a place in contemporary society. The findings suggest that brothering informs the way in which men take up certain masculine positions. The study contributes to our understanding of the construction of gender identity within familial relationships, specifically the adult brother-brother relationship.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Mkhize, Sibongiseni
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Brotherliness , Men, Black -- South Africa -- Social life and customs , Masculinity -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3238 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013212
- Description: The present study analyses the discourses that young black South African men employed when they engaged with popular representations of brotherhood in the media. In particular the study explores how these particular young men view masculinity within brothering and what the implications of ‘doing brothering’ are as a result of this view. Drawing on discursive psychology, the study is located in a social constructionist theoretical framework and uses a qualitative methodological approach. The data used in the discourse analysis was gathered through focus group discussion of scenes from the television show Generations. The discourse analysis produced two major discourses in which there were different constructions of masculinity each influencing the way in which brothering was done. The first discourse constructed a ‘dutiful man’ who performs his brotherly obligations separately from his emotions, this discourse is in line with discourses of hegemonic masculinity where men are expected to fulfil obligations and are not expected to be emotional. Resisting this discourse at times, some participants in this study did occasionally construct men as having rich emotional lives such that the quality of interaction with brothers is constructed as more important, in terms of building intimate fraternal relationships, than the amount of interaction with them. The second major discourse constructs the ‘ideal man’ in two different ways: as the ‘good man’ and the ‘unscrupulous man’. The ‘good man’, like the ‘dutiful man’ performs the obligations society has placed on him, but does not receive the social esteem that is given to the ‘unscrupulous man’, who is successful and financially powerful. Although both these types of men are spoken of as possessing masculinity, the ‘good man’ is constructed as holding onto a type of masculinity that does not have a place in contemporary society. The findings suggest that brothering informs the way in which men take up certain masculine positions. The study contributes to our understanding of the construction of gender identity within familial relationships, specifically the adult brother-brother relationship.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
“Watch-dogs for an Economy” : a determination of the origins of the South African Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board – as the Regulator of the Profession – principally through an analysis of the debates and related reports to the House of Assembly of the Parliament of the Union of South Africa in the period 1913–1940
- Lancaster, Jonathan Charles Swinburne
- Authors: Lancaster, Jonathan Charles Swinburne
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board (South Africa) , Accounting -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Accounting -- South Africa -- History , Accounting -- Standards -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1961 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:922 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020876
- Description: This thesis concentrates upon a new field of research in South African accounting scholarship – this being, in general terms, accounting history and more specifically an analysis of the origins of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board as watch-dog in relation to: ● the South African economy in the period 1913–1940; and ● the changing political framework (also in the period 1913–1940). The integration of economy, politics and personal ambition on the part of early 20th Century accounting societies, led to a variety of responses, counter proposals, stalemates and unfocused activity which caused the process of accountants’ registration to extend over 38 years in South Africa. This confusion was in strong contrast to the process of speedy registration of accountants in New Zealand and Australia. The final unification of South African accounting societies in 1951 created the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board. Its creation, at long last, suggested an overarching control and regulation which was mirrored in the final political unification and economic stability of a South Africa dominated by Afrikaner Nationalists. One further element was interwoven into the fabric of the thesis – this being the application of institutional economic theory and its impact upon the accounting concepts of “material irregularity” and “reportable irregularity”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Lancaster, Jonathan Charles Swinburne
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Public Accountants' and Auditors' Board (South Africa) , Accounting -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Accounting -- South Africa -- History , Accounting -- Standards -- South Africa , South Africa -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1961 , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1909-1948
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:922 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020876
- Description: This thesis concentrates upon a new field of research in South African accounting scholarship – this being, in general terms, accounting history and more specifically an analysis of the origins of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board as watch-dog in relation to: ● the South African economy in the period 1913–1940; and ● the changing political framework (also in the period 1913–1940). The integration of economy, politics and personal ambition on the part of early 20th Century accounting societies, led to a variety of responses, counter proposals, stalemates and unfocused activity which caused the process of accountants’ registration to extend over 38 years in South Africa. This confusion was in strong contrast to the process of speedy registration of accountants in New Zealand and Australia. The final unification of South African accounting societies in 1951 created the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Board. Its creation, at long last, suggested an overarching control and regulation which was mirrored in the final political unification and economic stability of a South Africa dominated by Afrikaner Nationalists. One further element was interwoven into the fabric of the thesis – this being the application of institutional economic theory and its impact upon the accounting concepts of “material irregularity” and “reportable irregularity”.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Factors contributing to occupational stress in student support staff in a Further Education and Training (FET) College in the Southern Cape
- Authors: De Klerk, Ulricha
- Subjects: Work -- Psychological aspects , Job stress -- South Africa -- Western Cape , College students -- South Africa -- Western Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10085 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020806
- Description: The main purpose of this study is to explore the factors that contribute to occupational stress as experienced by the Student Support staff in a Further Education and Training (FET) College in the Southern Cape. The Student Support staff has displayed many symptoms of stress over the past few years. This in turn has led to absenteeism, change in staff temperament, their feelings towards the College, motivation levels and a significant change in the staff’s day to day operations. Although the Head of Department for Student Support Services has engaged with the staff on numerous occasions to discuss the reasons for their experience of stress, no substantial reasons could be established in order to make the necessary changes in the department. No interventions that have been implemented to date have relieved the staff’s experience of stress. The researcher chose to use a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design to gain insight into the situation or phenomenon in order to identify the factors contributing to occupational stress and to identify measures that can be implemented to reduce occupational stress in the Student Support staff. The participants in this research included at least 10 Student Support staff within the Student Support Services Department at a Further Education and Training College in the Southern Cape. Purposive sampling was used in this research study. Interviews will continue until data saturation is achieved. The staff members must have been employed for at least one year in the Student Support Services Department. The researcher will make use of semi-structured interviews, observations and field notes. The data will be systematically collected and meanings, themes and general descriptions of the experience analysed within the specific context (de Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2005). The researcher will make use of Tesch’s method of analysis, and use Guba’s strategies for ensuring Trustworthiness. The researcher will apply the ethical considerations of confidentiality, informed consent, ethical approval from relevant institutions, avoidance of harm to participants, truthfulness and the debriefing of participants when conducting this study. The findings were reported as three major themes and subthemes. The three major themes were; Student support staff identified several factors that contributed to occupational stress, Student support staff identified the effect that occupational stress has on them, Student support staff offered suggestions that the college could implement to reduce occupational stress. These themes were discussed and analysed in-depth.
- Full Text:
- Authors: De Klerk, Ulricha
- Subjects: Work -- Psychological aspects , Job stress -- South Africa -- Western Cape , College students -- South Africa -- Western Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10085 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020806
- Description: The main purpose of this study is to explore the factors that contribute to occupational stress as experienced by the Student Support staff in a Further Education and Training (FET) College in the Southern Cape. The Student Support staff has displayed many symptoms of stress over the past few years. This in turn has led to absenteeism, change in staff temperament, their feelings towards the College, motivation levels and a significant change in the staff’s day to day operations. Although the Head of Department for Student Support Services has engaged with the staff on numerous occasions to discuss the reasons for their experience of stress, no substantial reasons could be established in order to make the necessary changes in the department. No interventions that have been implemented to date have relieved the staff’s experience of stress. The researcher chose to use a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design to gain insight into the situation or phenomenon in order to identify the factors contributing to occupational stress and to identify measures that can be implemented to reduce occupational stress in the Student Support staff. The participants in this research included at least 10 Student Support staff within the Student Support Services Department at a Further Education and Training College in the Southern Cape. Purposive sampling was used in this research study. Interviews will continue until data saturation is achieved. The staff members must have been employed for at least one year in the Student Support Services Department. The researcher will make use of semi-structured interviews, observations and field notes. The data will be systematically collected and meanings, themes and general descriptions of the experience analysed within the specific context (de Vos, Strydom, Fouche & Delport, 2005). The researcher will make use of Tesch’s method of analysis, and use Guba’s strategies for ensuring Trustworthiness. The researcher will apply the ethical considerations of confidentiality, informed consent, ethical approval from relevant institutions, avoidance of harm to participants, truthfulness and the debriefing of participants when conducting this study. The findings were reported as three major themes and subthemes. The three major themes were; Student support staff identified several factors that contributed to occupational stress, Student support staff identified the effect that occupational stress has on them, Student support staff offered suggestions that the college could implement to reduce occupational stress. These themes were discussed and analysed in-depth.
- Full Text:
Job satisfaction amongst middle managers of Department of Health
- Authors: Mawonga, Mzukisi Edward
- Subjects: Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape. , Middle managers -- Job satisfaction , Public health administration -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10082 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020197
- Description: Job satisfaction studies are an essential element for ensuring improvement in service delivery. The researcher was committed to assist top management with important information that can make them aware of the causes and consequences of job satisfaction (Nel, Van Dyk, Haasbroek, Schultz, Sono and Werner, 2006:52). Job satisfaction is not only concerned with feeling good at work, it also encompasses job content, the work environment and interaction with all people. The study was conducted at the Department of Health in the Province of the Eastern Cape. This study aimed to describe the level of job satisfaction amongst middle managers of the Department of Health (DoH) at the Head Office, in terms of remuneration, interpersonal relationships, development, support, recognition, extent of supervision, their attitude to the work itself and working conditions.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mawonga, Mzukisi Edward
- Subjects: Job satisfaction -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job stress -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape. , Middle managers -- Job satisfaction , Public health administration -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10082 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020197
- Description: Job satisfaction studies are an essential element for ensuring improvement in service delivery. The researcher was committed to assist top management with important information that can make them aware of the causes and consequences of job satisfaction (Nel, Van Dyk, Haasbroek, Schultz, Sono and Werner, 2006:52). Job satisfaction is not only concerned with feeling good at work, it also encompasses job content, the work environment and interaction with all people. The study was conducted at the Department of Health in the Province of the Eastern Cape. This study aimed to describe the level of job satisfaction amongst middle managers of the Department of Health (DoH) at the Head Office, in terms of remuneration, interpersonal relationships, development, support, recognition, extent of supervision, their attitude to the work itself and working conditions.
- Full Text:
Nurse managers' perceptions of the Eastern Cape department of health employee assistance programme
- Authors: Stenge, Nyameka
- Subjects: Employee assistance programs -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurse administrators -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021203
- Description: Organizations assist employees to deal effectively with demanding work and the work environment, including their personal problems, through an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The essence of the EAP is the application of knowledge about behaviour and behavioural health to make accurate assessments, followed by appropriate action to improve the productivity and healthy functioning of the employees. According to the report from the Employee Wellness Directorate of the Eastern Cape, the Employee Assistance Programme Practitioners saw 576 employees in 2010. These statistics only represent a few districts in the Eastern Cape as some districts do not have Employee Assistance Practitioners offering employee assistance, hence this number could be higher. In some instances employees do self-referral, which may increase the number without the managers knowing who is utilizing the EAP. This makes it difficult for the managers to monitor such employees and the effectiveness of the intervention rendered. Managers refer employees but do not have control over whether employees made use of the EAP and on the progress in sessions as they do not always receive the feedback. The Employee Assistance counsellor may receive a written referral from the nursing manager and then consults the referred employee in private. The employee gives consent and then the EAP counsellor addresses the problem at hand. If it is a complex case needing expert intervention arrangements are made. If the intervention requires follow up sessions, the EAP counsellor makes the necessary arrangements through the referring manager until the problem is resolved. The EAP counsellor monitors the employee and asks the manager to support the employee without divulging details of the problem that was being addressed. However, the Nursing Managers do not know how effective the programme is and whether the employees benefit from the use. The above-mentioned problem led the researcher to ask the following questions: • What are the perceptions that Nurse Managers in the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape Province have of the effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Programme? • How can Nurse Managers optimize employees’ use of the EAP? The goal of this study was to identify the perceptions of Nurse Managers of the Employee Assistance Programme in order to determine how the programme’s use can be optimized. The researcher used a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. The research population was selected purposively and included the Nursing Managers in the Department of Health in the Chris Hani District, Eastern Cape, who have referred employees to the Employee Assistance Programme. Semi-structured interviews were used during the data gathering process. Interviews were conducted at a venue convenient to the participants. Open-ended questions were asked to enable participants to express their perceptions on the topic. The researcher also used observation and field-notes to ensure that the data gathering provided rich information. The data was analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using Guba’s model of trustworthiness. The ethical strategies of informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, avoidance of harm and voluntary participation were ensured. Two themes emerged from the data analysis. Theme one showed that the participants had contrasting perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the current Employee Assistance Programme. Some felt that they have benefitted from the programme while others felt differently. Theme two described the participants’ views elated to improving the utilization of the EAP. Positive and negative factors that impacted on the implementation of EAP have been identified. Results show that both the employer and the employees could benefit if EAP is well implemented. Decentralization of EAP could be very cost effective and could save the employer thousands of rands because resources would be utilized better.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Stenge, Nyameka
- Subjects: Employee assistance programs -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurse administrators -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:10088 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021203
- Description: Organizations assist employees to deal effectively with demanding work and the work environment, including their personal problems, through an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). The essence of the EAP is the application of knowledge about behaviour and behavioural health to make accurate assessments, followed by appropriate action to improve the productivity and healthy functioning of the employees. According to the report from the Employee Wellness Directorate of the Eastern Cape, the Employee Assistance Programme Practitioners saw 576 employees in 2010. These statistics only represent a few districts in the Eastern Cape as some districts do not have Employee Assistance Practitioners offering employee assistance, hence this number could be higher. In some instances employees do self-referral, which may increase the number without the managers knowing who is utilizing the EAP. This makes it difficult for the managers to monitor such employees and the effectiveness of the intervention rendered. Managers refer employees but do not have control over whether employees made use of the EAP and on the progress in sessions as they do not always receive the feedback. The Employee Assistance counsellor may receive a written referral from the nursing manager and then consults the referred employee in private. The employee gives consent and then the EAP counsellor addresses the problem at hand. If it is a complex case needing expert intervention arrangements are made. If the intervention requires follow up sessions, the EAP counsellor makes the necessary arrangements through the referring manager until the problem is resolved. The EAP counsellor monitors the employee and asks the manager to support the employee without divulging details of the problem that was being addressed. However, the Nursing Managers do not know how effective the programme is and whether the employees benefit from the use. The above-mentioned problem led the researcher to ask the following questions: • What are the perceptions that Nurse Managers in the Department of Health in the Eastern Cape Province have of the effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Programme? • How can Nurse Managers optimize employees’ use of the EAP? The goal of this study was to identify the perceptions of Nurse Managers of the Employee Assistance Programme in order to determine how the programme’s use can be optimized. The researcher used a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. The research population was selected purposively and included the Nursing Managers in the Department of Health in the Chris Hani District, Eastern Cape, who have referred employees to the Employee Assistance Programme. Semi-structured interviews were used during the data gathering process. Interviews were conducted at a venue convenient to the participants. Open-ended questions were asked to enable participants to express their perceptions on the topic. The researcher also used observation and field-notes to ensure that the data gathering provided rich information. The data was analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured by using Guba’s model of trustworthiness. The ethical strategies of informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, avoidance of harm and voluntary participation were ensured. Two themes emerged from the data analysis. Theme one showed that the participants had contrasting perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the current Employee Assistance Programme. Some felt that they have benefitted from the programme while others felt differently. Theme two described the participants’ views elated to improving the utilization of the EAP. Positive and negative factors that impacted on the implementation of EAP have been identified. Results show that both the employer and the employees could benefit if EAP is well implemented. Decentralization of EAP could be very cost effective and could save the employer thousands of rands because resources would be utilized better.
- Full Text: