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This thesis examines the role of the narrative interview as an assessment method. The main aim of the study was to ascertain the value of subjective and holistic methods of assessment in facilitating and enabling psychological processes. Traditional psychometric techniques of assessment are compared with narrative interviews, based on Bartram's (1990) 'Factors to consider when choosing an assessment method'. Data collection was in two phases. During phase one, 40 participants were administered traditional assessment tasks: Differential Aptitude Tests, Career Interest Inventory and structured guidance interviews. This enabled an evaluation of traditional assessment techniques to allow a comparison of the open-ended narrative interview. For phase two 10 participants from phase one and 30 new participants were administered the narrative interview in order to ascertain its value. Assessment profiles which were formulated, feedback questionnaire results and focus group feedback results portrayed particular strengths of the narrative interview. The narrative interview is seen to provide rich, holistic and deep assessments. It also instilled motivation and encouraged participants thereby facilitating the overall psychological process. The narrative interview thus fulfils aspects of assessment, which traditional assessment techniques fail to provide. The phenomenological and subjective nature of narrative interview aids reconceptualisation of the term 'assessment' from classification and categorization to understanding and exploration.

Performance Management and Development System (PMDS) is a process of harnessing human and material resources within an organisation to ensure maximum performance to achieve the desired results of improved quality of health service delivery. This study explored and described the ontological experiences of nurses of all categories with contracting and doing performance reviews in a public hospital in the Eastern Cape Province. Purposive sampling approach was used to recruit all categories of nurses Data was collected through unstructured, individual, in-depth interviews with professional nurses and focus group interviews with lower categories. Techs eight step data analysis method was employed to analyse data. Major findings were related to lack of supervisor cooperation, shortage of resources, difficulty in calculating the scores, lack of understanding the tool, time constraints and paperwork which results in the tool being viewed as time consuming. Positive findings were that experiences such as improved relations resulting from spending time with supervisors during performance review sessions. Guidelines were developed, based on the findings, to empower both nurse clinicians and the supervisors in the implementation of the PMDS. , / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)