This research was aimed at giving a voice to three women, who are constructed as having had a traumatic event recalled from their autobiographical memory. To achieve this objective an epistemological framework of social constructionism was used to investigate autobiographical memory recall of trauma. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with participants who constructed themselves as having had a traumatic event. A case study approach was used to gain access to the information and to compare themes. The research explored the way in which dissociation, voluntary thought suppression, minimisation and outright denial enabled the three participants to alter unbearable memories through the use of recurring themes. To interpret these stories the content of the themes was analysed using thematic content analysis. The participants represented different cultures, languages and religions. In sharing their symptoms this did not necessarily mean they attached the same meaning to a specific theme, as individual meaning-making corresponded to the individual‟s background and history and their perception of the trauma. The stories related by the three participants revealed a shattered worldview that brought them into opposition with community norms and standards, which the narrators experienced as silencing and judgemental. In this regard the researcher‟s aim was to generate information from the participants themselves. This inquiry into the personal trauma stories and meanings suited a qualitative research approach, a form of methodology that allowed personal insight into the meanings the three participants attributed to their trauma and the autobiographical recall of trauma. At the same time it allowed a co-constructed reality to take shape between the researcher‟s reality and the participant‟s reality, always acknowledging the importance of their being the expert of their own individual trauma memory. This is in contrast to a quantitative approach which focuses on numbers to quantify the results; a qualitative approach on the other hand is a personal, rich information-gathering tool that takes into account the emotions and meaning-making of each individual story without any intention to generalise the information gathered to a larger population It is hoped that through this research there is a realisation that although trauma victims share symptoms, the meaning-making of the individual attached to this trauma is influenced by their society and history within their respective environments. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This study unveils the perceptions, real-life experiences and thought-processes of contract workers who dedicate their lives to the Christian faith, values and belief-system, but simultaneously endeavour to establish and follow a successful career in the volatile, cut-throat, non-Christian-based (“hedonistic”) occupational entertainment commerce. The researcher embarked on this study with a qualitative, interpretivist research approach. Data was gathered through in-depth, unstructured, face-to-face interviews with a sample of nine research participants. The sample consists of student entertainers; entertainers in the public eye, but not yet established; as well as entertainers who have successful established careers with loyal national and international audiences in the Entertainment Industry. The researcher explores and seeks to understand the core values and belief systems of the research participants with regards to their Christian religious orientation, which is statistically verified to be the most prevalent religious practise in South Africa (Nation Master, 2013; Religious affiliation by country, 2010). Hence, the research findings with regards to Christians’ approach and attitude towards their careers will contribute to a better understanding and management of the majority of the workforce in South Africa. Moreover, the expected norms, values and work ethic of the Entertainment Industry in South Africa are exposed in this study. Although existing literature upholds that the Entertainment Industry is an exceptionally unstable work environment compared to other corporate industries, this research study adds significantly to current literature as viable causes for the unstable occupational environment are also investigated and presented. Previous research only addressed several aspects of the effect on one’s career advancement if an individual’s core value system differs from the accepted norms in an organisation or industry in general. This study subsequently reveals the personal- and occupational challenges that Christian entertainers encounter in an Entertainment Industry in South Africa and how they subsequently aim to decrease the cognitive dissonance that they experience due to continuous role conflict between moral obligation and the vital necessity for employment and career advancement. The findings of this study correlate with previous research as it indicates that the research participants will generally choose and prioritise their personal core values- and moral belief system above contradictory social and professional career demands and expectations. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Human Resource Management / unrestricted