Thesis (MCur)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Breastfeeding is considered as the most preferable method of infant feeding to fulfill babies’ nutritional needs important to the growth and development of babies. Unfortunately, there were babies not breastfed due to numerous reasons including infant illness and hospitalization. The purpose of this research was to describe the experiences and perceptions of nurses regarding breastfeeding in a pediatric setting of an academic hospital in the Province of the Western Cape. A descriptive study design with a qualitative approach was used to explore the experiences and perceptions of auxiliary nurses regarding breastfeeding. Purposive sampling was utilized to consciously select thirteen auxiliary nurses to participate in the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Data analysis involved the transcribing of tape recorded interviews, the generating of themes and sub-themes, coding of the data, interpretation and organization of data and the drawing of conclusions. According to the auxiliary nurses’ perceptions, most of the babies in the pediatric setting were not being breastfed. Breastfeeding was being supplemented with formula milk when mothers chose not to breastfeed, experienced breastfeeding problems, were not with the baby or the baby was too sick to breastfeed. The babies’ illness, the hospital environment and lack of resources were challenging auxiliary nurses when supporting breastfeeding mothers. Not all health professionals were supportive of breastfeeding. Interrelated factors including, shortage of staff, time constraints, heavy work-loads, auxiliary nurses’ breastfeeding knowledge and experience, their confidence to support breastfeeding and communication regarding breastfeeding, influenced auxiliary nurses’ ability to support breastfeeding babies and mothers. The research findings indicate that there was a need for breastfeeding promotion in the pediatric setting. Recommendations included a written breastfeeding policy, breastfeeding training for all health care professionals, better breastfeeding education and support for mothers, the maintenance and of breastfeeding during the babies’ illness, adequate accommodation for breastfeeding mothers and the support of breastfeeding mothers who are HIV positive. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Borsvoeding is beskou as die mees verkieslike voeding metode vir babas om hul te voorsien aan die nodige voedingsbehoeftes belangrik vir die groei en ontwikkeling van babas. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die ervarings en persepsies van verpleeg assistente met betrekking tot borsvoeding in ‘n pediatriese instelling in ‘n akademiese hospitaal in die Provinsie van die Weskaap te beskryf. ‘n Beskrywende studie ontwerp met ‘n kwalitatiewe benadering was gebruik ver die doel van die studie. Streekproeftrekking was gebruik om doelbewus drie assistant verpleegkundiges te selekteer om deel te neem aan die studie. Semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude was gebruik om data in te samel. Die data-analise behels die transkibering van band opgeneemde onderhoude, die opwekking van temas en subtemas onderverdeel, kodering van die data, interpretasie an organisasie van die data en die opstel van gevolgtrekkings. Dit was bevind na gelang van die assistant verpleegkundiges se persepsies, dat meeste van die babas in die hospitaal was nie geborsvoed. Borsvoeding was aangevul met formule melk wanneer moeders verkies om nie te borsvoed, ervaar borsvoeding probleme, was nie met die babas, of die baba was te siek om the voed aan die bors. Baba siektes, die hospitaal omgewing en die gebrek aan hulpbronne was uitdagend vir assistant verpleegkundiges om borsvoeding moeders te ondersteun. Interafhanklike faktore insluitend, ‘n tekort aan personeel, tyd beperkinge, swaar werk-vragte, borsvoeding kennis en ondervinding, die vertroue om borsvoeding te ondersteun en kommunikasie met betrekkking tot borsvoeding, het die borsvoeding ondersteuning van assistant verpleegkundiges beinvloed. Die navorsingsbevindinge dui daarop dat daar ‘n behoefte was aan borsvoeding bevordering in die hospitaal. Aanbevelings sluit in ‘n skriftelike borsvoeding beleid, borsvoeding opleiding vir alle gesondheidspersoneel, beter borsvoeding inligting en ondersteuning vir moeders, die instandhouding van borsvoeding tydens hospitalisasie, voldoende akkomodasie vir borsvoeding moeders and die ondersteuning van borsvoeding moeders wat MIV-positief is.

Thesis (MEdPsych)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions and understandings of diversity and inclusive education held by teachers at one South African school. Since 1994, the South African education system has undergone many policy changes. An inclusive education system is consistent with the principles underlying the current democratic dispensation in South Africa. In this research, the researcher aimed to identify and describe the perceptions and understandings of the teachers at the school hold regarding diversity and inclusive education. Elements of school culture, such as values, practices and procedures were looked at in detail. The paradigm worked from in this research is the interpretive constructivist paradigm. The strategy was inductive, the outcomes descriptive and the meaning mediated through the researcher as instrument. This paradigm accounts for multiple realities and highlights the importance of context. A qualitative descriptive case study was done with the aim to describe the phenomena accurately. Bronfenbrenner‟s bioecological model provided a theoretical framework for this study. This theoretical standpoint has great relevance for emphasising the interaction between the development of an individual and the systems within an individual's social context. A purposive sampling strategy was adopted and individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers who participated in the study. Interpretive analysis was done on the transcriptions of the interviews by making use of the constant comparative method of analysis. Coding and inducing of categories and themes helped the researcher engage with and make sense of the data that was generated. The key findings of this study showed that the teachers working at School A have a good understanding and sense of what diversity and inclusive education entails. Their attitudes are generally positive and they embrace diversity and see inclusive education as having many advantages. The teachers feel well-supported in their school environment and display a sense of belonging among the staff. The shared value system of the school is one of acceptance, respect and embracing difference and diversity. There is a culture in the school that encourages the uniqueness of each learner and each child is seen as having potential and subsequently supported in their quest to reach their own unique potential. There are also elements within the school's functioning that require attention, for example, there are two classes of „special education‟ learners that are not entirely included in the regular classes. But, even though there are still elements that need to be addressed and refined within School A – this school is working hard to approach diversity in such a way that creates an environment in which inclusive ideals and practices can continue to grow and develop. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie was om ondersoek in te stel na die wyses waarop onderwysers by een bepaalde Suid-Afrikaanse skool diversiteit benader en dit hanteer. Sedert 1994 het die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstelsel etlike beleidsveranderinge ondergaan. 'n Inklusiewe onderwysstelsel is in pas met die onderliggende beginsels van die huidige demokratiese bedeling in Suid- Afrika. In hierdie ondersoek het die navorser daarna gestreef om vas te stel watter persepsies en begrip van diversiteit en inklusiewe onderwys by die onderwysers van 'n betrokke skool bestaan. Elemente van die skoolkultuur, soos waardes, praktyke en prosedures, is in besonderhede bestudeer. Daar is met hierdie navorsing vanuit 'n interpretatiewe paradigma vertrek. Die strategie was induktief, die uitkomste deskriptief, en betekenis is gemedieer deur die navorser as instrument. Hierdie paradigma erken meervoudige werklikhede en belig die belangrikheid van die konteks. 'n Kwalitatiewe beskrywende gevallestudie is onderneem, met die doel om die verskynsels akkuraat te beskryf. Bronfenbrenner se bio-ekologiese model het 'n teoretiese raamwerk vir hierdie studie verskaf. Hierdie teoretiese standpunt is besonder relevant vir die beklemtoning van interaksie tussen die individu se ontwikkeling en die stelsels binne 'n individu se sosiale konteks. Die deelnemers is doelbewus gekies en individuele, semigestruktureerde onderhoude is gevoer met onderwysers wat aan die studie deelgeneem het. Die konstante vergelykende metode van analisie is gebruik on die data te analiseer. Die kodering en indusering van kategorieë en temas het die navorser gehelp om die data wat gegenereer is, te hanteer en sinvol te interpreteer. Die sleutelbevindinge van hierdie studie het getoon dat die onderwysers wat aan Skool A verbonde is 'n goeie begrip en aanvoeling het vir wat diversiteit en inklusiewe onderrig behels. Hulle instelling is oor die algemeen positief; hulle verwelkom diversiteit en beskou inklusiewe onderrig as 'n stelsel wat vele voordele bied. Die onderwysers voel dat hul skoolomgewing hulle goed ondersteun en dit blyk dat die personeel 'n onderlinge samehorigheid ervaar. Die gemeenskaplike waardestelsel van die skool is dié van aanvaarding, respek en die viering van verskille en diversiteit. Daar heers 'n skoolkultuur wat die uniekheid van elke leerder aanmoedig; elke kind word gesien as iemand met potensiaal en elkeen word gevolglik ondersteun in 'n poging om hul eie, unieke potensiaal te verwesenlik. Daar is egter ook elemente binne die skool se funksionering wat aandag verg, byvoorbeeld die twee klasse vir „spesiale-onderrig‟-leerders wat nie ten volle in die gewone klasse opgeneem word nie. Maar, hoewel daar in Skool A steeds aspekte is wat aangespreek en verfyn moet word, werk hierdie skool hard om diversiteit op so 'n wyse te benader dat dit 'n omgewing skep waarin inklusiewe ideale en praktyke voortaan kan groei en ontwikkel.

Standard setters recently proposed increasing audit disclosures and reporting. Two experiments examine the effects of auditor-provided disclosures on financial statement users’ perceptions of auditor independence, management credibility, reporting quality, materiality, and investment decisions. In the first experiment, I manipulate auditor agreement with management’s estimates and whether the estimates are incentive-consistent for management. I find that users view auditors as more (less) independent when they agree (disagree) with management, given an unqualified opinion. I also find that users are able to identify management bias using audit disclosures, and that the disclosures are value-relevant. In the second experiment, I provide users with either an explicit or implicit materiality disclosure and elicit users’ materiality judgments either before or after the disclosure. I find that users’ materiality judgments are closer to the auditor’s when elicited after an explicit materiality disclosure. Path analysis demonstrates that users’ materiality judgments affect subsequent investment and audit-related judgments but do not affect important decisions related to auditor liability and investment. The findings provide empirical support for the argument that additional audit disclosures would increase the transparency and value-relevance of the audit report.

Research on principals' perceptions and responses to school bullying is scarce. This study investigated the perceptions of seven middle school principals and their responses to six hypothetical vignettes depicting incidents of physical, verbal, or relational bullying. During interviews, respondents were asked to rate the seriousness of each incident and describe how they would respond. Respondents rated all the incidents, regardless of the form of bullying, as moderately serious, serious, or very serious. When asked to describe how they would respond to incidents, all responded they would take action (e.g., consequences for the instigator, interventions to change the behavior of the instigator, support for the target). State statute on bullying, school anti-bullying policies, past experience with bullying, and a belief that students deserve to feel safe were key to guiding their responses. The principals recognized that bullying occurred on their campuses but indicated that incidents were minimized as a result of their strong school anti-bullying polices and a belief that no form of bullying was to be tolerated on their campuses.

This study explores the perceptions of the causes of poverty of South Africa’s post apartheid generation at the North-West University’s Vaal Triangle Campus. The study uses a sample of 203 respondents aged 20 years or younger, from the campus two faculties (Economic Sciences and Information Technology, and Humanities). The main objective of the study is determining whether the post-apartheid generation perceives poverty as the result of fatalistic, individualistic or structural factors, as indicated by the Feagin scale. The secondary objective of the study was to determine whether demographic variables such as age, gender, home area and the faculty of study, along with socio-economic variables such as the employment status of the respondents’ parents, monthly expenses and the respondents’ lived poverty index influence perceptions of the causes of poverty. / MCom (Economics), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This thesis deals with the perceptions of agroforestry among farmers in Babati, north- central Tanzania. The focus is on which resources farmers perceive that they need to adopt agroforestry and which risks that are connected with agroforestry adoption. It is also to see how farmers perceive that the access to resources changes after agroforestry adoption and how their livelihoods change. The data has been collected through qualitative interviews with agroforestry farmers, conventional farmers and extension officers. After that the data has been analyzed through the sustainable livelihood approach and a risk perception theory. The results show that some of the obstacles or risks that farmers perceive with agroforestry adoption are high input costs, dependency on short-term benefits, competition between trees and crops and lack of education from extension services. Without financial capital and human capital in terms of knowledge there might be too many risks connected with adoption. If agroforestry however is adopted the farmers perceive that the access to firewood, timber and fruits increase which increase their incomes and therefore financial capital. They also perceive that the fruits improve food security and that the timber improves the housing. The firewood is also perceived to improve the situation for women as they do not have to walk as far to collect the firewood. Agroforestry is also perceived to provide environmental services like erosion prevention and increased soil fertility, therefore it increases natural capital. Some trees can also be used as natural pesticides. The increased soil fertility or the access to natural pesticides, however does not seem to affect the use of industrial fertilizers or pesticides. Agroforestry is also not perceived to have any effects on biodiversity or water quality. Even if agroforestry may not be a good choice for all farmers, it can for some farmers increase their ability to cope with stress and shocks like future climate change. This is because the agroforestry system can work as a buffer against increased climatic variability.

The study was developed after research with older women suffering urinary symptoms showed that many had tolerated social, psychological and hygiene effects on their lives for some time. There is evidence that some symptoms in later life may originate from pregnancy and childbirth. However, whist there is evidence that pelvic floor muscle exercises can be effective in the short term, there is a paucity of research on the reasons why women tolerate symptoms in the postnatal period rather than seek help. It was also unclear what significance the interactions with health professionals had in aiding or suppressing help-seeking. The aim of this qualitative study was to use grounded theory methodology to describe women’s experiences and knowledge of urinary symptoms in the postnatal period and the perceptions of health professionals. Fifteen women were interviewed in the postnatal period, and one woman was interviewed twice. From the interviews and observations of antenatal clinics and postnatal groups three categories emerged; messages women receive, seeking and understanding information and responding to the messages. Views and knowledge of health professionals were obtained through two focus groups of five. From the analysis of the findings the following five categories emerged; clarifying pathways of care, clarifying education, improving communication, understanding actions and serious issues. The core category arising from this; overcoming barriers to facilitate empowerment, revealed barriers that women and health professionals must overcome in order to approach the issue of urinary incontinence collaboratively. This study identified that there can be problems with communication at all levels between women and health professionals, resulting in poor communication regarding urinary symptoms and accessing treatment. Furthermore, superficial education regarding pelvic floor muscle exercises and dysfunction, both in the antenatal and postnatal periods, coupled with difficulties with disclosure on a sensitive subject could be disempowering for women and health professionals. In particular, women found the possibility of an examination so soon after delivery worrying. Normalisation was a negative but powerful influence on women, encouraged by friends and family. It is suggested that, by developing interventions that enable women and health professionals to overcome the barriers of communication and knowledge exchange, women could be empowered in relation to their physical health after childbirth to manage their urinary symptoms. Empowerment for women, therefore, with regard to postnatal urinary symptoms means being able to believe that looking after the pelvic floor is normal rather than accepting urinary symptoms after childbirth as inevitable.

This is a multidisciplinary information systems thesis with a strong sociological focus. Theoretically it uses the technical concerns of human-computer interaction as the background to consider the separate theories of consumer decision-making and the diffusion of innovations. Emphasis is placed on understanding how consumers make sense of the Internet and come to define the role and use of the Internet in their lives. A practical framework for hermeneutic investigation was created to access the unreflective thoughts and actions driving online consumer decision-making. Implicit within hermeneutics is the prospect of transcendental interpretations and the ability to investigate in situ new avenues of research that emerge as a result of anomalous comments or findings. Hence, this thesis presents two different, but inter-related, research inquiries and their associated findings. Initial interest was centred on consumer behaviour and interface design. Specifically, can a dedicated 'consumer interface' be designed using principles based on consumer perceptions of online convenience. The resulting data analysis created a framework of advice that interface designers can use to improve their understanding of the nature and limitations of convenient interfaces and associated consumer decision-support technologies. A second research theme emerged from the data analysis which broadened the focus into a consideration of online consumer behaviour as a distinct issue. Specifically, a new from of interactive behaviour prevalent in electronic retail markets was identified and, following a second literature review, labeled "surrogacy". Related in form to the personal shoppers found in traditional marketplaces, surrogacy differs from electronic intermediaries with regard to (i) the motivations of use and (ii) the symbolic and functional benefits of usage. The emergence of this phenomenon suggests that interactions between individuals (as consumers) and Web-based systems are maturing, albeit in a non-predictable manner. Together, the methodological refinements presented here with the accompanying research findings provide a reference point for further work in the following three areas: interface design for electronic marketplaces; Web-based consumer decision support technologies; and the development of interpretive approaches suitable for socio-technical investigations.

The debate around genetically modified food and crops has proved to be complex and far-reaching, involving diverse stakeholder groups and many issues. Although the extent of global uptake of GM crops has been substantial (23 countries and 114.65 million hectares by 2007), it is significant that four countries are responsible for 86% of all GM plantings, and that a number of key food markets (for example the EU and Japan) remain largely "GM-free‟. This suggests that there is reluctance on the part of many countries to embrace GM technology. There are likely many reasons for this, but one significant issue is that of the perception of the risks associated with the technology. There is a distinction between risk that exists in the world and that can be measured (objective risk) and risk that is perceived by an individual to exist and that is constructed by them based on their values and preferences. When technical measurement of actual risks is not possible, peoples‟ own perceptions of risks become important. This thesis aims to investigate the topic of risk perceptions associated with GM food and crops. Different stakeholder groups have been targeted, and a range of methodologies from a variety of disciplines have been employed to investigate what factors can be shown to influence risk perception. A range of factors were identified from existing literature, as having potential impact on risk perceptions. A number of these were investigated, some of which were found to have some influence on levels of risk perception. Results demonstrate that factors influencing peoples‟ perceptions of risk relating to GM food and crops, include the uncertainty associated with the technology, and trust in regulators, policy makers and others with control over the future development of the technology. Other factors found to be important to levels of risk perception held by different stakeholder groups, were a range of socio-demographic and cultural variables, the relationship between perceived risks and benefits, the equity of impacts, and the influence of third parties. There are a number of implications for the development of the GM debate arising from the findings. First, as there are socio-demographic and cultural factors linked to the perceptions of risk associated with GM technologies in food and agriculture, it is important to recognise that different people will react differently to the technology. Specifically, results from this thesis show that it may be that men, those who are more highly educated, those with a less ecocentric worldview, and those living in urban areas, are likely to respond more favourably to targeted promotional campaigns. As regards the farming community, results show that the first farming adopters are likely to be those who are both owners and tenants, not in an urban fringe location, potato growers, and not barley growers. Second, this thesis provides evidence that third parties are particularly important to farmers, thus it is crucial to recognise that there is potentially a long chain of action and reaction amongst many different stakeholders and actors impacting on farmers' levels of risk perception, and hence willingness to adopt the technology. Third, results from this research demonstrate that the linked issues of the relationship between risks and benefits, and the equity of (positive and negative) impacts, require that all stakeholders are content that they will receive a share of the benefits (if any) to be derived from the technology, and that neither they nor any other group of stakeholders are unduly impacted by the risks or negative impacts (if any) of the technology. Important here is the recognition that perceptions are as important as actual impacts. Fourth, the issue of trust has been shown by the results obtained by this research to be extremely important to peoples' perceptions of risk. It can be concluded that trust is of wider social and political importance that relates to the need to ensure greater democratisation of decision-making in order to re-establish trust in authorities. In the case of GM food this may require a rethinking of the EU legislation relating to the technology. This also relates to point below about the delivery of messages and education. Information sources must be trusted by those at whom the messages are aimed. More importantly though, if people are to trust decision making processes, there needs to be stakeholder involvement at an early stage of decision making, that allows some impact on decisions taken. In the case of the GM debate it may indeed be too late as decisions about the technology, its applications, the regulatory processes and its inclusion within the food chain are well established. Perhaps the best that can be hoped for is that lessons will be learnt and applied to future technology developments of relevance to the food chain, such as, nano-technology. Finally, this thesis has shown that uncertainty is central to peoples' perceptions of risk. This could be addressed through a combination of additional research into what is uncertain to people, the impacts and implications of the technology, more effective dissemination of existing knowledge, and impartially delivered messages and education strategies from trusted sources that address the concerns that people have about the technology. Importantly however there must be an acknowledgement that uncertainty is not restricted to "knowledge deficit‟ but encompasses the scientific uncertainties inherent within the technology, and is framed by the social and cultural values of those whose views are considered. This thesis uniquely targeted diverse groups and employed a combination of different methods from a variety of disciplines. By doing this the study has increased understanding of the views of two groups (campaigners and farmers) who are crucial to the uptake of the technology, and who are seldom researched in the area of attitudes to GM technologies. The diversity of groups, methods and disciplines brought together in this thesis is important because the issue of GM has proved to be complex and far-reaching, and previous discussions of risk perceptions have been complex and disjointed. All groups investigated here are stakeholders in the process, and as such their views and concerns relating to risk perceptions of GM technologies ought to be taken into consideration.

In recent years and as a result of the increasing pace of advances in technology and especially developments in the use of ICT in schools, teachers are now expected to make routine use of ICT in their teaching. This research sought to obtain deeper insight into Saudi secondary school teachers' ICT usage and its relation with ICT educational policy, teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards the use of ICT in the teaching and learning process, and their envisions of possible and preferable usage of ICT in education in the future. The study utilised a sociocultural approach: data was collected via interviews and self completed questionnaires. A total of 14 interviews were conducted with teachers, ICT coordinators and head teachers, and 266 teachers drawn from ten secondary schools in Riyadh City completed the questionnaire. The findings indicate there is widespread use of ICT in secondary schools and most teachers have positive views towards ICT. Teachers pointed to a number of motivators summarised in this formula: internal incentives + school encouragement = competent ICT use in education. Three main factors were found to be hindering teachers' ICT use: time constraints, lack of training, and financial issues. Teachers’ ICT use is guided by policies: the research found that teachers’ ICT use is more influenced by schools’ policy than Ministry of Education policy which they are either unaware of or do not fully understand because of difficulties in implementing it. Finally, teachers anticipated future changes in their role to a facilitator and advisor. Teachers hoped for comprehensive improvement of education, radical curriculum change, and continuous teacher training.