The study deals with the extent to which change should be implemented by institutions. It is of paramount importance that staff be at the centre of the change throughout the entire process. It is worth noting that in the absence of this serious phenomenon, there seems to be little hope of raising employee confidence, as is notable from the responses of the employees of MNet and SABC. The sociopolitical history of South Africa has played a major role in language used in the country's media: television, newspapers and radio. English is by far the most widely used language in the media, followed by Afrikaans and the African languages in that order. Except for multilingual programmes, it was relatively easy to determine the amount of airtime allocated to each individual language. A previous study shows that the distribution of airtime on South African television is strikingly uneven, with English taking up 91,95% of the total weekly airtime, Afrikaans 5,66% and all nine African languages sharing a mere 2.39% of airtime collectively. The study further deals with the origin and development of the Afrikaans language in South Africa. For many years Afrikaans took centre stage in South Africa. Especially during the apartheid years the use and power of Afrikaans increased dramatically on the SABC. Since 1994 English has gained more territorial political clout than Afrikaans in virtually all the country's institutions, including the media. The SABC took a political decision to cut vigorously on Afrikaans programming. That triggered MNet's decision to embark on a business decision to establish a dedicated Afrikaans channel. This study shows that employees at the SABC are generally unsatisfied with the broadcaster's decision and staff at MNet are in agreement with the fact that Afrikaans has lost most of its privileges and political prestige it had during the apartheid era, it could still present a challenge to the hegemony of English in all the higher domains, except diplomacy. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Objective: A neglected issue in literature on nutrition and HIV/AIDS is how other health professionals view their role in that arm. The purpose of this study was to understand professional nurses' perception regarding their ability to render effective nutritional care to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Design: A qualitative approach was used. Twenty-three, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses (mean age 38) working in eight (five rural and three urban) Wellness clinics within public hospitals providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in North West Province, South Africa. Brief structured demographic questionnaires were also administered. All interviews and focus group discussions were recorded for transcription and open-coding. NVivo was used for open coding, whilst descriptive statistics were done using SPSS for windows (version 14, SPSS Inc., Chicago. IL). A research team of professionals and researchers collaboratively analysed data for emerging themes. Results: All the hospitals that participated had at most three nurses, having at least one professional nurse working in the Wellness clinic for PLWHA. More than half of the participants interviewed were diploma holders, eight (35%) were degree holders and three (13%) had certificates in nursing. Five main themes (previously guided by the interview questions) emerged during the analysis of data and these portrayed participants' perceptions regarding their ability to render effective nutritional care to PLWHA. The themes were 1) challenges faced by nurses dealing with PLWHA on a daily basis, 2) concerns of PLWHA, 3) nurses’ perception on the importance of nutrition in HIV/AIDS care, 4) nurses’ perceived ability to deal with nutritional issues in HIV/AIDS, 5) the role of traditional healers, traditional medicine in HIV/AIDS. Thirty five percent of participants mentioned poor socio-economic status of PLWHA as a barrier to the participants to talk about good nutrition to people that are food insecure. Furthermore, 13% of participants indicated that they are constantly facing the dilemma of PLWHA mixing traditional medicines and ART. Participants perceived the following skills to be important in the area of nutrition and HIV/AIDS: communication, listening and knowledge. Although knowledge could be debated as it is not a skill per se, the participants believed that on needs to acquire nutrition knowledge first and then improve on the communication and listening skills with more exposure and training. Ten (41%) of the participants interviewed rated themselves as average, 11 (48%) participants as good whilst only 4%, representing one participant, felt they were very good at giving out nutrition education. Sixty one percent of participants said they would require more knowledge, whilst 39% said they would need to acquire communication and listening skills for them to be able to render effective nutritional cart to PLWHA. In this study, participants perceived nutritional care to PLWHA as their responsibility and that lack of knowledge was influencing their inability to offer this service effectively. All the participants indicated a need for collaboration with nutrition professionals, ill-service training us well as exposure to clear communication channels for nutrition and HIV/AIDS information. Participants were concerned with the lack of policy implementation regarding nutrition and policy documents. Of the 23 participants interviewed, only two (9%) confirmed having seen and rend the South African Guidelines on Nutritional Care for People Living with TB, HIV/AIDS and other Chronic Debilitating Conditions. Conclusion: All participants interviewed believed that nutrition knowledge in the area of HIV/AIDS can be improved if poor people who are infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are food secure. Concerning practice, it is recommended that nutrition and HIV/AIDS as a topic be introduced in both undergraduate mid postgraduate training for nurses. The lack of policy implementation, level of qualification and years spent in the nursing profession may have influenced participants' perception regarding their ability, as well as confidence, to render nutritional care to PLWHA. Possible interventions to improve policy implementation could be the development of user-friendly information, education and communication materials for health institutions as these may serve as constant reminders to health care service providers. It was found that participants' perceptions regarding their ability to render effective nutritional care to PLWHA was affected by a complex number of factors which emerged as themes that need to be addressed. Participants' experience suggests that more research and inquiries are needed into traditional medicines and traditional healing, as the issue of ARVs and traditional medicine is becoming a public health dilemma, riot only to the nurses, but to every stakeholder involved in the field of HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, a need exists for nurse-specific outreach, collaboratively done by nutrition professionals and other stakeholders. This work thus provides a foundation for further exploring ways to improve the ability of other health care workers such as nurses in the nutritional care of PLWHA which will ultimately improve the quality of life of PLWHA. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Nutrition))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M. Consumer Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

The primary objective of this study was to determine the role of the host community in the marketing of arts festivals with reference to the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. This goal was achieved firstly by analysing the relationship between the events industry and the community. Secondly, a literature study was conducted to explore the role of the community in tourism marketing. Thirdly, a survey was done to determine the perceptions of the community in terms of the marketing of the Festival as well as the social impact thereof. From previous studies it was found that the local community can be seen as a group of people of different gender, race, age and different race and social groups living together in a certain geographic area. The local community is the main suppliers of an event; they provide many of the businesses, public places and hospitality services used by tourists and visitors at an event. Staff, volunteers and many other resources come from the local community. The attitude of the local community towards the Festival is proven to be important. Positive attitudes are associated with economic and social benefits gained from the event. The attitude of the local community can influence their behaviour towards tourists as well as their message spread concerning the event, through word-of-mouth communication. They can influence the buying behaviour of tourists and visitors. Research was undertaking at Grahamstown National Arts Festival to determine the perceptions and attitudes of the local community towards the Festival and the marketing thereof. This was determined by means of a questionnaire as adopted from Fredline, Jago and Deery. It was distributed among the local community according to a stratified random sampling procedure. A total of 265 questionnaires were completed by residents. Firstly, the data was used to compile tables and graphs with a view to interpret the descriptive data: demographic information as well as perceptions and attitudes of the local community towards the Festival and the marketing thereof. It was found that the Festival has a positive impact on their personal lives as well as on the community as a whole. Positive and negative social impacts were identified, which indicates that the community are aware of the impacts: positive, including the range of things to do in Grahamstown has improved (80%), the number of people in the area has increased (80%) and there are more opportunities to meet new people (80%). The highest rated negative social impacts include the fact that the availability of parking has decreased (79%), that the public money spent on the Festival would be better spent on other things (43%) and that ordinary residents get no say in the planning and management of the Festival (50%). In terms of the marketing, the local community markets the Festival verbally by telling friends and family about it and also by attending the Festival themselves. However, the local community feel that they should be more involved in the planning and marketing of the Festival. Secondly, a factor analysis was performed with a view to synthesise the large amount of data concerning the perceptions and marketing of the Festival in smaller, more descriptive factors. These factors were used to determine the role of the community in the marketing of the Festival. The factor analysis yielded a 2-factor solution and the factors were labelled: Factor 1: Verbal marketing of the Festival; Factor 2: Action marketing of the Festival. Thirdly, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to explore the impact of the variables: age, gender, race, income, level of education, attitudes towards continuation of the Festival, attendance of the current festival, attendance of previous festivals, level of interest in the Festival, length of stay in Grahamstown, attitudes towards living in Grahamstown on the dimensions Verbal and Active marketing, as determined in the factor analysis. It was found that a medium effect exists between the middle-aged group and the older-age group on the Verbal marketing dimension. A medium effect also exists between the black and Asian respondents on the dimension Verbal marketing. There is a large effect between attendance of the Festival and Verbal marketing but a medium effect on the dimension Action marketing. A large effect was determined between avid fans and those that are not interested but attend occasionally, between avid fans and those who have no interest in the Festival, between those that are interested and attend some aspects of the Festival and those that are not interested but attend, those that are interested and attend and those that are not interested, on the Verbal marketing dimension. A medium effect was discovered between avid fans of the Festival and those that attended some of the aspects of the Festival, and those that are not interested but attend some aspects, and those that are not interested at all, on the Verbal marketing dimension. On the Verbal marketing dimension a medium effect was determined between the following: A medium effect was determined between avid fans of the Festival and those that attended some of the aspects of the Festival, avid fans and those that are not interested but attend occasionally, those that are interested and attend and those that are not interested, on the Action marketing dimension. This study contributes to the information that already exists concerning the role of the community in the marketing of arts festivals and on marketing communication research. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Background: Several international studies have been published on the importance of exploring and describing the perceptions of professional nurses to improve patient safety and quality of care. There is also a growing body of literature that has established the associations of qualifications on patient safety and quality of care. However, no comparable research has been conducted in South Africa, and little is known about the influence of personal characteristics, such as qualifications of the professional nurse, on his/her perception of patient safety and quality of care. Objective: To investigate the perceptions of professional nurses regarding patient safety and quality of care as well as the relationship between the qualifications of professional nurses and these perceptions in medical and surgical units in public and private hospitals in South Africa. Design: Cross-sectional survey of nurses. Setting and participants: 1187 professional nurses (161 Baccalaureate degree and 956 diploma-prepared) working in medical and surgical units of 55 private hospitals and 7 public national referral hospitals in South Africa completed the survey. Measurements: Perceptions of patient safety, quality of care and occurrence of adverse events, qualifications, age, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, experience, personal accomplishment and depersonalization. Results: 54.1% (n = 87) of Baccalaureate professional nurses and 51.2% (n = 490) diploma nurses feel as if their mistakes are held against them. 37.9% (n = 61) of Baccalaureate professional nurses and 42.4% (n = 404) diploma nurses perceive important information to be lost during shift changes. 39.1% (n = 63) of Baccalaureate professional nurses and 38.6% (n = 369) diploma nurses feel that things “fall between the cracks” when transferring patients from one unit to another. 43.5% (n = 70) of Baccalaureate professional nurses and 48.7% (n = 465) diploma nurses feel that their hospital‟s managements are not approachable. Almost half of professional nurses (49% [n = 79] Baccalaureate and 44.4% [n = 418] diploma) do not have confidence in hospital management to resolve reported problems regarding patient care. 26.6% (n = 26.8) of Baccalaureate professional nurses and 25.5% (n = 237) of diploma professional nurses perceive the quality of care in their hospitals to have deteriorated. Both Baccalaureate and diploma professional nurses reported adverse events to occur a few times a year or less. Verbal abuse towards nurses is reported to occur once a month or less. Qualifications revealed no correlation with perceptions of patient safety and quality of care, though emotional exhaustion and depersonalization showed a small to medium negative correlation and personal accomplishment a small to medium positive correlation with these perceptions. Conclusions: Supportive leadership and development of an environment in which professional nurses can freely report adverse events and hindering factors with regard to quality of care might benefit patients in terms of safety and better quality care. / Thesis(M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The criminal justice and mental health systems increasingly overlap as persons with mental illness (PMI) are disproportionately present throughout components of the criminal justice system, a concern to mental health and criminal justice professionals alike. In response, various initiatives (aimed across components of the criminal justice system) have been developed and implemented as a means of combating this overrepresentation. The following research will focus on one specialized police-based initiative, the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), which aims to train police how to recognize mental illness, de-escalate persons in crisis, and to seek treatment-based alternatives to arrest, when appropriate (Schwarzfeld, Reuland, & Plotkin, 2008). Alternatives to arrest consist of various community-based mental health services such as public hospitals (some of which are designated as emergency receiving facilities, or ERFs) or private clinics. While the components of CIT training likely influence officers in unique ways, research has yet to empirically examine how CIT influences police perception, behavior or the incidence of referrals to mental health treatment. As an initial step, this research assessed the attitudes police have regarding the hospital and mental health system within their district. Specifically, this research provides a basic understanding of how police regard their local hospitals and mental health facilities that are posited as available alternatives to arrest, and help identify the role CIT plays in shaping these attitudes. This study found almost no significant difference in the attitudes CIT-trained officers had towards district ERF and the local mental health system as compared to non-CIT officers. Only in one of the six departments studied was there a significant difference between the attitudes of CIT-officers and non-CIT officers; with the non-CIT officers actually having more positive attitudes about their local mental health system than CIT-officers. The six departments studied had nearly similar attitudes of their mental health resources, which would barely be considered passing on a standard grading scale. While officers in this study do not have very positive attitudes towards the ERF they use to transport PMI or their districts’ mental health system, these attitudes may in fact be more positive than many police departments without any specialized approach or initiative. The significance and policy implications of these attitudes are discussed at length, as these findings speak to the need for increased attention by both the mental health and criminal justice systems. Recommendations for future research, including expanding this study to rural departments or agencies with no connection to CIT, are also outlined.

Syfte Syftet med studien är att beskriva och förstå generation Y:s föreställningar om chefer och ledare, med utgångspunkt i generationens ekonomistuderande. Problem Vilka föreställningar har dagens ekonomistudenter i Sverige om chef- och ledarskap? Metodologi Denna studie är baserad på kvalitativ metod. Enskilda intervjuer har gjorts med tio olika personer från generation Y som studerar ekonomi, varav fem män och fem kvinnor. Teoretisk referensram I denna studie används ledarskapsteorier, avseende perspektiv som individer kan appliceras på ämnet. Individernas föreställningar beskrivs på ett djupare plan genom individernas olika bakgrunder. Slutsats Ett antal föreställningar var möjliga att se i det genererade materialet. Det individcentrerade perspektivet var framträdande, men även delar av det kontextuella perspektivet markerades. Det var dock svårare att erhålla svar gällande distinktionen chef och ledare, men det visade sig att undersökningsgruppen i större utsträckning talade om chefer än om ledare.

Current trends in education and school architecture reflect a growing awareness of the interconnectedness of people and spaces. Spaces acquire meaning through the experiences of those who use them and can contribute to the development of a sense of place. Purpose-built schools have long been valued and built in Iceland. The broad purpose of this study was to explore Icelandic students’ perceptions of their purpose-built school. Specific research questions included: (a) What spaces in purpose-built schools are important to students? (b) What happens in these spaces? (c) What meaning, if any, do these identified spaces hold for students? and (d) In ascribing meaning to some of the identified spaces, do students develop a sense of place? This phenomenological research initiative used an emergent design methodology. Seven Grade 9 and three Grade 10 students were recruited for this study. Primary data sources included students’ photographs of important school spaces, individual photo-elicitation interviews, and walking tours. Participants identified 25 important school spaces and 7 issues of concern within these spaces. Further analysis examined participants’ complex construction of importance and meaning. Participants described that school spaces were more likely to become meaningful places, when the design of the educational facility was in harmony with students’ experiences. The results of this study should raise awareness of the importance of building such schools in Canada and encourage the inclusion of students’ unique perspectives in the design of future schools. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-23 14:39:27.1

Social risk elicits an internal struggle between wanting to form significant relationships (i.e., connectedness goals) and avoiding rejection (i.e., self-protection goals). The current research tested an intervention designed to reduce perceptions of risk for low self-esteem individuals (LSEs). However, the intervention did not function as anticipated and regardless of self-esteem level, participants reported lower perceived acceptance and lower state self-esteem in the intervention condition compared to the control. In a post-session two weeks following the manipulation, high self-esteem individuals (HSEs) in the intervention appear to not only recover, but actually reported significantly more perceived regard and global self-esteem than HSEs in the control. A second study investigated the impact of the intervention in light of these surprising findings. Results suggest that viewing the intervention video in a socially risky situation caused both HSEs and LSEs to experience social threat. In contrast, the control video actually served to reduce social risk.