This study attempted to discover perceptions held by public relations counsels and corporate attorneys regarding their professional relationship and whether demographics help determined perceptions. A Q-Sort mail survey asked participants to rank 52 statements. Statements were classified into six subject areas: day-to-day and corporate policy, crisis situations, communications, management, perceptions, and orientation. Five demographic questions were asked. A total of 148 surveys were mailed; 62 (41.9 percent) were returned.Q-Sort rankings, when subjected to factor analysis (Quanal), typed people with similar or dissimilar views. Quanal produced two types--Team Players and Communicators. Team Players were positive about their perception of each other, management, and communications. Communicators felt more strongly about crisis situations and day-to-day activities, especially deadlines.This study found a positive professional relationship between the two groups. Satisfaction with the relationship was indicated. Roles in the corporation were understood. Demographics did not influence perceptions in this study. / Department of Speech Communication

The use of a structured goal setting program in injury rehabilitation has not been empirically tested, but many others have noted that its use could increase compliance. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a structured goal setting program on individuals' compliance to injury rehabilitation; secondly, to examine the hardiness levels of those individuals, and determine if there was a relationship between their levels of hardiness and compliance to the treatment. Individuals who sought services of Ball Memorial Hospital Health Strategies for a back injury (N = 15) participated by first completing the Personal Views Survey. Then, the control group ( = 6) completed their normal rehabilitation program, while the experimental group ( = 9) completed their rehabilitation program using a structured goal setting program. Finally, both groups completed a post-hardiness survey. The researcher found no significant difference in compliance rates between the two groups. All of the injured participants recorded moderate hardiness levels and a low correlation was observed between hardiness and compliance to treatment. / School of Physical Education

Due to the current high levels of urbanisation and the lingering effects of Apartheid, South African municipalities have experienced difficulties in planning for sustainability and more specifically sustainable community development. Sustainable community development is needed in order to achieve more integrated and sustainable towns and cities with an improved urban environment and a higher quality of life. Due to this sustainable community development is of particular relevance to South Africa. Although policies and legislation exist at international, national and local level, there is a lack of suitable planning instruments to guide sustainable community development. Tlokwe Local Municipality is researched as study area to test and develop planning instruments for sustainable community development. An assessment matrix of sustainability indicators is linked to Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and applied to identify the themes and sub-themes applicable to sustainability in which intervention is required to improve the sustainability rating of the municipality. A Goal Assessment Matrix (GAM) approach is used to score and prioritise municipal projects, plans and strategies according to sustainable community development fundamentals. The top scoring projects are indicative of the achievement of sustainable community development goals and objectives. The result of the sustainability assessment is that the Tlokwe Local Municipality is considered to be relatively sustainable, performing overall better than the three spheres of government against which it was measured. Subsequent to the GAM assessment a lack of alignment between the sectoral plans was identified as well as the duplication of projects. The projects, plans and strategies of the municipality are found to not have been formulated with sustainable community development framework as a guiding goal. It is recommended that municipalities use the assessment matrix methods to determine its level of sustainability when developing respective sectoral plans (SDFs, ITPs, EMFs and IDPs). Areas in which there is a lack of sustainability are highlighted and can consequently be addressed through intervention strategies. Prioritising municipal projects, plans and strategies through the use of GAM identifies crucial projects that need special attention to ensure their successful implementation as this will largely aid sustainable community development. Both the assessment matrix method and the GAM approach are valuable planning instruments with which to achieve sustainable community development. / Thesis (MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

There is no single resource so essential to sustaining life and livelihoods than water (UNDP, 2005). Water is furthermore a strategic resource that not only gives life, but is also a catalyst for development; therefore water has to and must be at the centre of all development plans (Buyelwa, 2009). Water can be the limiting factor for economic growth, upliftment and social development due to its scarcity and uneven distribution. Strategic spatial interface and relationship with water resource planning and management is fundamental to development and realisation of spatial potential. Strategic spatial planning has many components of which the Spatial Development Framework forms the key regulation to guide development and inform investment opportunities. The goal of this study is to determine the degree to which water resource management and planning is incorporated in Spatial Development Frameworks in context of strategic spatial planning. Concurrently international strategic spatial planning procedures and water resource management principles are investigated to correlate the local situation with international trends. A Goal Achievement Matrix (GAM) with ten assessment principles is developed as a tool for evaluation of strategic spatial planning and water resource management documents in terms of the local municipal level. This GAM may be used and implemented as a comparative evaluation tool to compare the degree of integration and implementation of water resource management and strategic spatial planning of local municipal authorities internationally. The percentage score as achieved in evaluation of the GAM indicates the degree of integration of water resource management and planning with strategic spatial planning. The cumulative result of the GAM scored 68% which can be used as a degree of comparison in future studies with other local municipalities, even on an international level. Measured in terms of the different authority levels the local level performed the worst with a 50% GAM score whilst the national level has a high GAM score of 86%. The low local level score indicates that exceptional legislation and policies on national level are not sufficient to eradicate poverty, provide water for all and provide for long-term sustainability if the implementation at local level falters. The low local level score may also be attributed to a lack of institutional capacity and lack of appropriate skills. It is concluded that Spatial Development Frameworks (as a component of strategic spatial planning) and water resource management and planning on a local level are not effectively integrated and it is recommended that water resources and planned future development must be effectively managed and integrated in order to ensure sustainable communities at local level. As a planning recommendation, the Guidelines for the Development of Spatial Development Frameworks developed by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform must be extended to incorporate the integrative approach between strategic spatial planning and water resource management as a fundamental aspect. The effective integration of water resource management and planning in strategic spatial planning is key to sustainable, equitable and viable communities. / Thesis (MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Due to the current high levels of urbanisation and the lingering effects of Apartheid, South African municipalities have experienced difficulties in planning for sustainability and more specifically sustainable community development. Sustainable community development is needed in order to achieve more integrated and sustainable towns and cities with an improved urban environment and a higher quality of life. Due to this sustainable community development is of particular relevance to South Africa. Although policies and legislation exist at international, national and local level, there is a lack of suitable planning instruments to guide sustainable community development. Tlokwe Local Municipality is researched as study area to test and develop planning instruments for sustainable community development. An assessment matrix of sustainability indicators is linked to Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) and applied to identify the themes and sub-themes applicable to sustainability in which intervention is required to improve the sustainability rating of the municipality. A Goal Assessment Matrix (GAM) approach is used to score and prioritise municipal projects, plans and strategies according to sustainable community development fundamentals. The top scoring projects are indicative of the achievement of sustainable community development goals and objectives. The result of the sustainability assessment is that the Tlokwe Local Municipality is considered to be relatively sustainable, performing overall better than the three spheres of government against which it was measured. Subsequent to the GAM assessment a lack of alignment between the sectoral plans was identified as well as the duplication of projects. The projects, plans and strategies of the municipality are found to not have been formulated with sustainable community development framework as a guiding goal. It is recommended that municipalities use the assessment matrix methods to determine its level of sustainability when developing respective sectoral plans (SDFs, ITPs, EMFs and IDPs). Areas in which there is a lack of sustainability are highlighted and can consequently be addressed through intervention strategies. Prioritising municipal projects, plans and strategies through the use of GAM identifies crucial projects that need special attention to ensure their successful implementation as this will largely aid sustainable community development. Both the assessment matrix method and the GAM approach are valuable planning instruments with which to achieve sustainable community development. / Thesis (MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

There is no single resource so essential to sustaining life and livelihoods than water (UNDP, 2005). Water is furthermore a strategic resource that not only gives life, but is also a catalyst for development; therefore water has to and must be at the centre of all development plans (Buyelwa, 2009). Water can be the limiting factor for economic growth, upliftment and social development due to its scarcity and uneven distribution. Strategic spatial interface and relationship with water resource planning and management is fundamental to development and realisation of spatial potential. Strategic spatial planning has many components of which the Spatial Development Framework forms the key regulation to guide development and inform investment opportunities. The goal of this study is to determine the degree to which water resource management and planning is incorporated in Spatial Development Frameworks in context of strategic spatial planning. Concurrently international strategic spatial planning procedures and water resource management principles are investigated to correlate the local situation with international trends. A Goal Achievement Matrix (GAM) with ten assessment principles is developed as a tool for evaluation of strategic spatial planning and water resource management documents in terms of the local municipal level. This GAM may be used and implemented as a comparative evaluation tool to compare the degree of integration and implementation of water resource management and strategic spatial planning of local municipal authorities internationally. The percentage score as achieved in evaluation of the GAM indicates the degree of integration of water resource management and planning with strategic spatial planning. The cumulative result of the GAM scored 68% which can be used as a degree of comparison in future studies with other local municipalities, even on an international level. Measured in terms of the different authority levels the local level performed the worst with a 50% GAM score whilst the national level has a high GAM score of 86%. The low local level score indicates that exceptional legislation and policies on national level are not sufficient to eradicate poverty, provide water for all and provide for long-term sustainability if the implementation at local level falters. The low local level score may also be attributed to a lack of institutional capacity and lack of appropriate skills. It is concluded that Spatial Development Frameworks (as a component of strategic spatial planning) and water resource management and planning on a local level are not effectively integrated and it is recommended that water resources and planned future development must be effectively managed and integrated in order to ensure sustainable communities at local level. As a planning recommendation, the Guidelines for the Development of Spatial Development Frameworks developed by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform must be extended to incorporate the integrative approach between strategic spatial planning and water resource management as a fundamental aspect. The effective integration of water resource management and planning in strategic spatial planning is key to sustainable, equitable and viable communities. / Thesis (MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Companies are under increasing pressure from every category of stakeholder, from government and community to supply chain and consumer, to improve the environmental sustainability of their operations, products and services. To be most successful with environmental sustainability improvement initiatives, a company must have the commitment and effort of its employees. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of the company’s approach to the initiative on the level of employee commitment to the company’s environmental sustainability goals. This research was conducted with a two-factor, factorial experiment. The experimental factors were construal level and small wins framing. Each of these factors had two levels, creating a 2x2 design with four treatment level combinations. A third study factor was environmental concern. Four other variables, goal difficulty, perceived organizational efficacy, gender and age, were included in the model as control variables. The dependent variable was goal commitment. Approximately 150 participants were recruited for the experiment and randomly assigned to one of the four fixed, treatment combinations. Hierarchical regression was used to estimate the factors’ main and interaction effects, as well as the significance of the control variables. Neither of the two manipulated variables, construal level and small wins, was found to have a significant main effect on goal commitment. There were, however, significant interactions between environmental concern and construal level, and between environmental concern and small wins framing, on goal commitment. At high levels of environmental concern, the effects of construal level and small wins were as hypothesized, but at low levels of environmental concern, the effects of construal level and small wins were opposite of what was expected. Additionally, both organizational efficacy and gender were found to significantly affect one’s goal commitment.

The desire to obtain value and justify investments from the different Information Systems in place in organizations has been around for a long time. Organizations constantly theorize and implement different approaches that provide some sort of alignment between their different business objectives and Information Systems. Unfortunately, the environments in which these organizations operate are often dynamic, constantly changing with influence from external and internal factors that require continual realignment of the Information Systems with business objectives to provide value. When businesses evolve, leading to changes in business requirements, it is hard to know what direct Information System changes are needed to respond to the new requirements. Similarly, when there are changes in the Information System, it is not often easy to discern which business objectives are directly affected. Whilst the different Enterprise Architecture frameworks available today provide and propose some form of alignment, in their implementation, they do not show links between business objectives and Information Systems, i.e., indicating what Information System is directly responsible for different business objectives thereby allowing for anticipation and support of changes as the business evolves. This thesis utilizes insights from Business Intelligence and uses the User Requirements Notation (URN), which enables modeling of business processes and goals, to provide a framework that exploits links between business objectives and Information Systems. This Business Intelligence - Enabled Adaptive Enterprise Architecture framework allows for anticipating and supporting proactively the adaptation of Enterprise Architecture as and when the business evolves. The thesis also identifies and models levels within the enterprise where responses to change as the business evolves are needed and the ways the changes are presented. The tool-supported framework is evaluated against the different levels and types of changes on a realistic Enterprise Architecture at a Government of Canada department, with encouraging results.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.