Research purpose: This study aimed to explore the professional identity construction of accountants from previously disadvantaged groups. The study considered the significance of context and the influence of whiteness and racial micro-aggressions on individual identity construction. Motivation for this study: Little is known about the struggle that people from previously disadvantaged groups in South Africa have to go through to negotiate their professional identities. This study provided a platform for these individuals to share their journey in becoming a professional accountant and understanding the impact of context on their professional identity construction. Research design, approach and method: The study followed a qualitative design, and a multiple case study method was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted through a narrative lens to explore the individual stories of the participants’ experiences. Non-probability purposive sampling was used. The sample consisted of five black professional accountants from previously disadvantaged groups. Data analysis took the form of individual case narratives followed by a thematic analysis across cases. Main findings: The history of apartheid is still present in South African organisations today in the form of racial micro-aggression and whiteness which create barriers to the professional identity construction of people from previously disadvantaged groups. It was found that the following contexts influence identity construction: political, legislative, socio-economic, educational, organisational, professional, family and cultural contexts. Practical Implications: Legislation such as BBEEE, AA and the EEA are in place to support the transformation agenda of South African organisations. However, in this study it became clear that legislation does not achieve its intended impact. If organisations do not start supporting professionals of colour, it will have a major impact on their skills and career development as well as on talent retention within organisations. Value/Study contribution: The results could become a valuable resource for educational institutions, professional bodies and managers within organisations to enable them to eliminate the barriers of whiteness and micro-aggression and to support people from previously disadvantaged groups to construct positive professional identities. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Human Resource Management / MCom / Unrestricted

The purpose of this study was to examine how modality and exposure to intimate partner aggression (IPA) impact Marriage and Family Therapists' (MFTs) recognition of IPA, identification of perpetrator(s), and risk assessment in a case example among 37 MFTs. It was hypothesized that participants who received the male unilateral modality and who had previous IPA exposure would be more likely to recognize the IPA, correctly identify the perpetrator(s), and indicate risk of future harm in their given case example. Logistic regression analyses did not reveal any significant relationships between the variables. However, it was found that 91.9% of MFTs recognized the IPA in their case example, 78.4% correctly identified the perpetrator(s), and 89.2% indicated the potential for future harm. This study emphasizes the importance of the rates reaching 100% because until that occurs some couples experiencing IPA will be overlooked and subsequently provided with inadequate treatment.

Aggressive behaviour can be defined as actions that are believed and intended to cause harm to another individual that does not desire to be the target of such actions. Different situations can warrant aggressive behaviour, such as when an individual is posed with a threat. Aggressive behaviour is one of the ways individuals can deal with threats arising from their environments, and furthermore, aggressive behaviour can also be used to deal with social threats that arise from the interaction between two members of the same species. Aggressive behaviour is correlated with higher emotional arousal, and individuals that illustrate aggressive tendencies should be more sensitive to arousal when confronted with a social threat. This thesis acts upon this notion by hypothesizing that individuals who score higher on a tendency for aggression measurements should exhibit higher emotional arousal when exposed to a cue of social threat. Cues of social threats are thought to be induced by exposing the participant to either an angry face or a face with a high facial width to height ratio. The emotional response is measured with electroencephalography, more specifically looking at the late positive potential. No support for the hypothesis was found between high and low aggression groups. The facial width to height ratios proposed nature of being a cue of social threat becomes contested as the results were conflicting regarding the robustness of the facial width to height ratio’s effect. Even if there were no statistically significant differences found between the two groups, it might not be subject for dismissal as the sample population could be considered a low aggression population overall.

My diploma thesis is focused on reactive aggressiveness of children at primary schools with the view of their teachers. The theoretical part focuses on aggressive, decisive and aggressive behavior. The diploma thesis tries to observe how teachers face aggressive activity in practice. The research part deals with the analysis of data on the above results, through a questionnaire survey.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine interventions under the doctrine of R2P without appropriate legal authority becomes coercive actions of Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention. And that a unilateral humanitarian intervention would amount to the crime of aggression.   The R2P doctrine states that sovereignty is derived from the responsibility for a population. The responsibility to protect is primarily on the state. In the event of a failure to protect a human population the responsibility is transferred to the international community of states.According to the doctrine of Humanitarian Interventions it exists a third exception to the use of force, which allows states to legally intervene in the event of a humanitarian catastrophe.  This thesis will first examine the link between R2P and Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention. Secondly, the legal status of Unilateral Humanitarian interventions will be examined, and how Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention can fulfil the elements of the crime of aggression. The last part examines if Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention can constitute ‘defensive force of others’ as grounds to exclude criminal responsibility, in the event of an ICC criminal trial for the crime of aggression.The thesis concludes that a person subject to a criminal prosecution for the crime of aggression in the event of Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention, could successfully argue ‘defensive force of others’ as grounds to exclude criminal responsibility.

In this study, we experimentally elevated levels of octopamine and serotonin in an orb-weaving spider, and observed the effects on the antipredator behavior thanatosis (death feigning), activity level, and running speed. We found that octopamine significantly shortened the duration of thanatosis, and its effect wore off over 24 h. We also found that serotonin significantly lengthened thanatosis, but in this case, the effect persisted for over 24 h. Neither octopamine nor serotonin affected the general activity or running speed of the spiders. To our knowledge, this is the first study to directly explore the role of biogenic amines on a specific antipredator behavior in spiders. Given that spiders must be both aggressive toward prey, yet wary of predators, we believe that this system will be an outstanding model to explore connections between behavioral ecology and neurochemistry.

Mental health professionals who work with transgender clients often report feeling unsupported by colleagues and/or the institutions that employ them. Moreover, family members of transgendered clientsmay aggress against the therapist, whom they see as assisting their family member in this shame-producing gender transition. To test the prevalence of direct and indirect acts of aggression against therapists who work with transgendered clients, a questionnaire was sent to members who work with this population. Results show that while threats and/or assaults from families of transgendered patients do occur, they are no more frequent than assaults perpetuated by relatives of non-transgendered clients. However, health care providers who work with this population are more likely to experience prejudice or administrative aggression from within mental health systems.

It is well known that clients occasionally threaten or assault their therapists. No studies to date have attempted to systematically measure client aggression by transgender patients towards clinicians. One of the major questions of this study was to determine if clients with gender dysphoria have greater levels of aggression towards therapists than non-gender dysphoric clients. One hundred and fourteen professional therapists who are members of the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association responded to a questionnaire that addressed aggression by both transgender and non-transgender clients. Transgender clients were shown to commit significantly less acts of aggression than did non-transgendered clients (p = 0.0094). Within the relatively small subgroup of transgender clients that did commit acts of aggression, male-to-female transgender clients were significantly more likely to do so than female-to-male clients (p = 0.002). While the transgendered client undergoes significant suffering in violating inviolable gender boundaries, this suffering, in general, does not translate into acting out behaviors directed towards their therapists.

The absence of a framework or policy to address bullying in South Africa compels the country to rely on pieces of legislation that are closely related to anti-bullying laws such as the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 and Protection from Harassment Act 71 of 2011. Over-reliance on pieces of legislation creates challenges for victims of these bullying crimes because most of the relational aggression exerted towards victims goes unpunished. Some of the adolescents take the law into their own hands, thus, exacerbate and increases the complexity of bullying crimes. Due to advancements in Information and Communications Technology, bully-victim behaviour does not only take place in physical environments such as schools, but it takes place anywhere, anytime (24/7) on Mobile Social Networks. In 2011, a cyberbullying study by the Centre of Justice and Crime Prevention reported that 69.7% of the youth in South Africa falls in the category of bully-victims. This is alarming given that few studies focus on the role of bullyvictims in South Africa. The exact cause for mobile bully-victim behaviour is unclear, and previous studies have highlighted it is between aggressive behaviour and social integration. Therefore, this study examined aggressive behaviour and social integration to determine which of these two factors contribute the most to mobile bully-victim behaviour. Additionally, mobile social network features that enable this behaviour were investigated. The factors that lead to aggressive behaviour and social integration, resulting in mobile bully-victims, were identified through a literature review. Paper-based surveys were issued to Johannesburg high school adolescents. Johannesburg was mainly selected based on finding by previous studies, which highlighted that most of the online bullying and victimisation happens amongst adolescents in Johannesburg. After data was collected, the results were analysed using Statistica version 13.5. The analysis revealed that, indeed, both aggressive behaviour and social integration cause mobile bully-victim behaviour, however, social integration contributed more than aggressive behaviour. The findings also revealed that WhatsApp and Instagram were the most utilized social networks by mobile bullyvictims. There were no differences between males and females when it comes to mobile bullyvictim behaviour. The causes of mobile bully-victim behaviour that have been identified in this study can be used as a starting point to develop legislation/framework aimed at combating mobile bully-victim behaviour. Given that mobile bully-victims are more suicidal and suffer from depression, psychologists and therapists can use the knowledge obtained from this study to develop psychological treatments specifically for mobile bully-victims.

Violence among Canadian secondary students remains a concern for administrators, teachers, community members, and students. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the predictive relationship between anger and violence among secondary students in Canada using the Anger Regulation and Expression Scale (ARES). The general aggression model provided the framework for the study. Survey data were collected from 138 students using the ARES. Demographic data and archival data from students' school files were also collected. Results of receiver operator characteristic analysis and binary logistic regression indicated that the ARES total score provided fair to good predictive ability to differentiate between violent and nonviolent students. Only the externalizing cluster indicated a statistically significant relationship between anger and violence. Results also indicated that female and Asian students had lower odds of perpetrating violence. Results may help educators reduce the risk of violence through early detection of potentially violent youths and the provision of intervention and support.