Social networking has become integrated into every aspect of business that one can imagine and universities must take advantage of the phenomenon to build personal relationships with young alumni in an effort to build a lifetime of loyalty. This study addresses some issues that should be considered to build loyalty in young alumni, from the moment of their first arrival, rather than waiting until after they graduate to cultivate them. This study examines how alumni relations officers can help build relationships through social networks, and in-school interventions that will help creating lifetime loyalty among young alumni. Young alumni, who are more familiar with technology than older generations of alumni are a prime target audience that should be considered to study efficient and effective way for universities to get their messages out. Through an interactive qualitative analysis study, this research addresses the factors that keep alumni from wanting to hear about and be vested in their alma mater before they graduate and how they will communicate with the university after graduation. This study explores the broad question, Why do some students use alumni social media and some do not? To answer the question, the researcher explores the phenomenon of The Undergraduate Experience and Using Social Media. Using Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA), this study identifies the elements that make up The Undergraduate Experience and The Using Social Media Experience. The study goes further by identifying how these elements relate in a system of influence. The study concludes with practical solutions for the engagement of alumni. / text

Managing groundwater can be difficult because there is no common perspective among stakeholders about what they wish for their desired future conditions (DFCs) for Texas' aquifers. Conflicts over how to manage aquifers, whether to mine or sustain groundwater levels are complicated by diverse state and local approaches. This dissertation proposes a decision support method to derive acceptable future aquifer conditions through engaging stakeholders by combining five processes: landowner surveys, stakeholder and decision maker focus groups, contingent valuation, system element identification and scenario-testing. Surveys of water users identified conflicts among water users and decision makers' preferences. For example, how much is groundwater worth in Texas? Responses to two survey questions revealed a willingness to buy groundwater for an average of $2,872 per acre-foot. Most landowners most did not want to sell groundwater at any cost. Those willing to sell revealed an average of $4,069 per acre-foot. A survey of landowners and decision makers indicated that 41 percent of landowners indicated that no new users be issued permits to support stable Trinity Aquifer groundwater levels. Meanwhile, the decision makers chose a DFC of a 30 foot drawdown in the Trinity Aquifer over 50 years. Stakeholder surveys identified the 'best groundwater decision makers' as being the stakeholders or well owners, yet 75 percent of the decision makers preferred the groundwater conservation district board presidents. This suggests that stakeholders would prefer to be the decision makers rather than being asked for their preferences. One decision-maker focus group identified 12 elements representing their understanding of the DFC process. These elements form a system information diagram or preference map. Such a map can help identify alternative pathways for solving problems in the decision process. These complexities remain challenging as Texas moves toward more local regulatory control, more competing interests, and less certainty about Texas' future groundwater supply. / text

The first South African democratic general election of 1994 precipitated the eradication of South Africa’s separate and unequal education system. The presidential tenure of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela brought much hope that the majority of South Africans would not have thought possible. The new era carried, among other promises, the transformation of South African policies, to ensure that all South African children would have access to a school of their choice and that no child would be turned away from school on grounds of race, ethnicity, class and/ or religion. School desegregation has been one of the means of attaining social cohesion and ensuring that all learners have access to all South African schools. School desegregation can be said to have been taking place on at least five (5) or more (taking also to consideration that there are typologies of ethnic and/ or religion desegregations taking place) different levels or typologies. These typologies are equally important as the African-to-White school migrations that have been taking place in South Africa. Thus, using a case study, this thesis - Integration and learners' feelings of belonging in a desegregated former House of Delegates school - contributes to the debates on social cohesion; desegregation and integration of the learning environment bestowed with diverse learner and teacher populations. It however traces the experiences of Black and Indian learners in a desegregated former House of Delegates school to determine the successes and possible challenges of ensuring social cohesion and racial integration at a school level. The study concludes that social cohesion and school integration is possible when the focus is learner-centered, the school environment is enabling and that feelings of belonging and integration are intertwined and it is challenging to achieve one without the other. Undertaken at a specific school context, this study does not claim that the findings are a trend in other schools although this cannot be ruled out in similar school and context. Learners in this study seemed not to be constrained by the racial classifications but defined and formed friendships along their likes, commonness, and future aspirations. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Hundreds of thousands of students earn credit toward both high school and college each year through dual credit programs. This research project used qualitative methods to elicit the story, the shared reality, of faculty who spend their time with these students. It is an important story to tell as legislators, community college and public school administrators, parents, and students are motivated to see these programs not only continue, but grow. System influence diagrams (SIDs) depicting the dual credit teaching experience on high school and college campuses were developed for two separate groups of community college faculty. The models were used for comparing the high school and college dual credit teaching environments. The results of this study support other research, suggesting there are important differences between the high school and college environments when teaching dual credit students. From an overall perspective, faculty found the community college campus environment superior to teaching on the high school campus for reasons related to facilities and technology, a sense of belonging in the larger organization, and the integration of dual credit students into a more traditional college environment. / text

The global financial environment is constantly and rapidly shifting. This has resulted in changes to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In support of the developments in the global business environment and the swift changes in IFRS, the local financial regulators have had to follow with supporting changes in national regulations. Taking the above factors into consideration, the auditing and accounting professions all over the world face various challenges, and South Africa (SA) is no exception. Thus, it was imperative for these professions in SA to make the same radical alterations. One of the areas demanding attention was the process of becoming a Chartered Accountant (CA). Inter alia, one focus area was the final examination in the qualifying process. The Chartered Accountant Qualifying Examination Part One (QE Part 1) has been changed from a closed-book assessment to an open-book assessment. This change is relevant because of the importance of the examination itself and the apparent lack of intensive research on students’ perceptions of this type of assessment. In my research I explored the perceptions of taxation students on open-book assessment in the QE Part 1. My study commenced with a focus group (consisting of students that had no previous open-book assessment exposure). I used Interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) as qualitative research method. During this focus group, the students identified ten perceptions (also referred to as affinities) on open-book assessment. For each affinity the focus group provided a descriptive name and an explanatory definition. These affinities were: good preparation, back-up, encourage, general advantages, improve quality of answers, negative symptoms, negative environment, personal experience and hindrance, different approach and time management. This group of students also identified relationships between these different affinities. These relationships were summarized and reflected in a system interrelationship diagram (SID). Findings from this SID indicated that students perceive good preparation as the strongest driver for successful completion of an open-book assessment. The SID indicates three primary outcomes namely negative symptoms, a different approach and time management. The affinities as identified by the focus group were then used during the interviews (conducted with students who had previous open-book assessment exposure). During the IQA interviews, the students were asked to comment on the posed affinities and the possible relationships between them. These findings were summarized and reflected in an interview SID. This SID indicated that these students perceived the primary driver in the system to be a different approach with two primary outcomes - negative environment and improvement in quality of answers. The IQA method is in essence a theory–generating tool that assisted me in my understanding of a group and individual students’ perceptions, before and after exposure to an open-book assessment. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Taxation / unrestricted

Daar bestaan verskeie stressors in onderwysers se werksomgewing (Steyn & Kamper, 2006; Van den Berg, 2003). Cox (in Travers & Cooper,1996:4) noem egter dat volgehoue en voortdurende verandering, een van die grootste stressors blyk te wees. In die onderhawige studie is laerskoolonderwysers se aanpassing by veranderinge in die Suid-Afrikaanse kurrikulum ondersoek. Die navorsing het aan die hand van Interaktiewe Kwalitatiewe Analise (IKA) geskied, soos uiteengesit deur Northcutt en McCoy (2004). Die deelnemers was 14 laerskoolonderwysers wat 10-36 jaar ondervinding in die onderwys het. Die groep onderwysers het deel gevorm van ‘n gekose afdeling, op grond van wat hul in gemeen het en hoe naby hulle aan die fenomeen is, wat nagevors is. Die navorser het aan die hand van ’n gevallestudie as navorsingsontwerp en IKA as navorsingsmetode, gepoog om meer inligting rakende die navorsingsvraag in te win. Die Affiniteit Verhoudingstabel (AVD), Sistemiese Invloedsdiagram (SID) en Interverhoudingsdiagram (IRD), is gebruik en het deel gevorm van die ouditspoor. Tydens die navorsingsproses is IKA se sentrale benadering, naamlik dat deelnemers vrylik aan die navorsingsproses kan deelneem, deur die minimalisering van die invloed van die navorser en die ander deelnemers, as effektief en positief deur die navorser ervaar. Die navorser het slegs ‘n fasiliterende rol ingeneem en leiding aan die deelnemers verskaf terwyl hulle self hul data gegenereer, gegroepeer en benoem het. Deelnemers is elkeen die kans gegun om as individue hul persoonlike belewenisse en ervaring anoniem te beskryf en te benoem. Die studie demonstreer die belangrikheid van sewe konsepte, (naamlik: kurrikulum-veranderinge; onderwysers se gesindheid; negatiewe emosies en ervaringe; werkslading; groeiproses vir onderwysers; groeiproses vir kinders; en administrasie-frustrasie) in die navorsing van onderwysers se aanpassing by kurrikulumveranderinge. Die navorsing het gefokus op die invloed wat die kurrikulumveranderinge op die onderwysers en derhalwe ook op die leerders uitoefen. Msibi en Mchunu (2013:23) vestig die aandag op die belangrikheid van professionaliteit by die onderwyser en voer verder aan dat laasgenoemde die sukses van kurrikulumhervorming en ‘n algemene sistemiese verbetering van die onderwysstelsel sal bepaal. Ten spyte van die voortdurende veranderinge in die onderwysstelsel en kurrikulum, tesame met die toenemende werkslading, het die meerderheid onderwysers in die onderhawige studie steeds ’n positiewe gesindheid getoon en ook persoonlike groei beleef. Dié groep onderwysers plaas die leerders se belange en groei steeds eerste en vir hulle is dit die spil waarom alles draai. A variety of different stressors exists in the working environment of teachers (Steyn & Kamper, 2006; Van den Berg, 2003). Cox (in Travers & Cooper,1996:4), however, mentions that change and change-on-change seems to be one of the greatest stressors. In the present study, primary school teachers’ adaptation to the changes in the South African curriculum was studied. The research was conducted by the use of Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) as outlined by Northcutt and McCoy (2004). The participants consisted of 14 primary school teachers whose experience ranged from 10–36 years in the teaching profession. The group of teachers, as participants, formed a constituency based on what they have in common and how close they find themselves to the phenomenon that was being studied. By using a case study as a research design and IQA as the research method, the researcher attempted to gain more insight and information with regards to the research question. The Affinity Relationship Table (ART), Systems Influence Diagram (SID) and Interrelationship Diagram (IRD), were applied during the research and formed a part of the audit trail that is presented in the present study. During the research process, the researcher experienced the IQA’s central approach, namely that participants can freely take part in the research process by minimizing the influence of the researcher and other participants, as positive and effective. The researcher filled a facilitative role only and guided the participants while they generated, grouped and named their own data. Participants were each given the opportunity to express and name their personal experiences and opinions with regards to the phenomenon, anonymously. The present study demonstrated the importance of seven concepts (namely, curriculum changes; teachers’ attitude; negative emotions and experiences; workload; development process for teachers; development process for learners; and administration-frustration) to the study of primary teachers’ adaptation to the curriculum changes. This study focused on the influence that the curriculum changes had on the teachers and subsequently also on the learners. Msibi and Mchunu (2013:23) highlight the importance of the professionalism of the teacher and argue that the level of professionalism will determine how sucessful a curriculum reform and a general systemic improvement of the education system will be implemented. Despite the recurring changes in the education system and curriculum, together with the increasing workload, the majority of teachers in the present study still displayed a positive attitude and experienced personal growth in terms of professional development. The learners’ interest and develpment remain pivotal and are still the main goal of the participants’ practice. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Educational Psychology / MEd / unrestricted

This study focuses in the students’ perception of self-regulation in learning as influenced by the teaching-learning-environment. The study was conducted at the University of Pretoria. The participants in the study were first year students registered for a second semester module in Educational Psychology in the faculty of education. The size of the sample was nine (22,5%) male students and 31 (77,5%) female students. At the time of participation, the participants had attended university for a period of at least six months and had written tests and one examination. The Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) method as described by Northcutt and McCoy (2004) was used to elicit participants’ knowledge and experiences of the research phenomenon. The participants were expected to complete an instrument that required them to indicate the direction of three relationships between all combinations of the themes which were selected on the basis of literature review. The participants were required to indicate how they perceive the nature of relationships between themes that were developed by the researcher as associated with self-regulated learning in a system of cause and effect. The main findings of the study indicate that language of instruction and student personality are primary drivers that determine the academic success of the students. The two themes exert great influence on other themes that are involved in the teaching-learning environment. Academic success emerged as primary outcome which means that it is a theme that depends to a large extent on how the other themes that exist in the teaching-learning environment are structured. The findings of the study indicate that there is no significant difference that exists in the male and female participants’ perception of the factors that influence self-regulation in learning. In both sample primary drivers were language of instruction and students’ personality and the primary outcome was academic success. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

This study focuses on educational psychology students’ self-efficacy beliefs in career counselling. The research was conducted in the Department of Educational Psychology of the University of Pretoria. An Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) as described by Northcutt and McCoy (2004) was done. The constituency comprised seven students who have provided career counselling to at least one client.</p.> The IQA approach to research postulate that the ideal in qualitative research is to create a process that invite participants to produce data while minimizing the effect of the research process on the content. With the IQA approach the participants in the research have a remarkable degree of freedom and are empowered to generate and analyze their own data with minimal external influence. The role of the researcher in this process is to facilitate the process and to teach participants the process while guiding them to generate and analyze their own data. The central assumption in IQA, namely that the people closest to the phenomenon are in the best position to report about the phenomenon was confirmed by the researcher. The main findings of the study indicate that self-efficacy develops through formal and personal development. The identification of possible areas of growth and how this is communicated by the supervisor is fundamental for both formal and personal development processes of students. A positive cooperative developmental approach during feedback sessions is conducive to the growth of the career counsellor. The importance of experiential learning and modelling as a means to develop self-efficacy was confirmed by the research participants. The reduction of anxiety with the increase of self-efficacy was reported as a very important benefit of increased self-efficacy. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Within the helping professions there are contrasting epistemological views regarding the role of the helping professional, which have direct influences on learning support practices. Despite these views, it remains unclear what parents expect when seeking learning support for their children. This qualitative study explored parents’ constructions of the role of the helping professional in learning support. It specifically addressed parents’ expectations of the helping professional, what they value in their interactions with helping professionals as well as their understandings of their own roles in consultation and intervention for learning support. A case study approach was employed to gain access to participants. Specifically, three parents of children attending a school for Learners with Special Educational Needs [LSEN] were included as participants. These parents had had experiences with various helping professionals, both at the school and in private practice settings, in the course of seeking assistance for their children. It was thus thought that they would be able to provide in-depth perspectives as to their ideas of the role of helping professionals who assist children experiencing difficulties due to their exposure and experiences with helping professionals. Initial data collection was undertaken via semi-structured interviews with the participants. A content analysis of the interviews was subsequently employed to elicit affinities for use during a further modified form of Interactive Qualitative Analysis [IQA] with the contributors to the study. In total, fourteen affinities were generated and included Parental expectations, Professional characteristics, The helping process, Parents’ role, Status of the helping professional, Professional approach, Parents’ personal experiences, Parents’ emotions, Assessment, Recommendations, Stigma, a Team approach, parent-professional Interaction and Values. These affinity descriptions were corroborated and expanded on with the participants and the relationships amongst the affinities where then hypothesised by the participants themselves. A central outcome of the study was the research participants’ social representations of helping professionals. These representations comprise the thematic elements representing the participants’ discourse about the role of helping professionals in learning support and provide the participants’ in-depth ideas of the relationships amongst these elements. / Dissertation (MEd (Educational Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Ageing populations and the unique challenges they pose are characteristic of the accelerating demographic transition evident in both developed and developing countries. In South Africa the elderly population is also increasing dramatically. There is a disproportionate distribution of older persons per ethnic group, with white older people representing the largest group of older South Africans (21%, proportional to ethnic group). The influx of the baby boomer generation will inevitably lead to an exponential increase in the numbers of white older people within the next two decades. Regardless of integration policies in post-apartheid South Africa, 90% of all residential care facilities are still occupied solely by white older people. Such facilities are described as buildings or other structures used primarily for the purposes of providing accommodation and of providing a 24-hour service to older persons. The increasingly larger segment of white older people holds considerable implications for the future of these facilities since more individuals will turn to this living arrangement. The Older Persons Act of South Africa was inaugurated by the government in 2006 and its key objectives are aligned with the recommendations of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (2002). Amongst many other objectives, the Older Persons Act emphasises practices that enhance the wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) of all older persons. However, the reigning circumstances in most residential care facilities have been described as challenging. A national audit of residential care facilities in 2010 indicated a need for psychosocial interventions since the QoL of residents was found to be undefined and unspecific. The purpose of the study was to explore the construction of QoL, from the perspective of the older people living in residential care facilities. A purposive sample of 54 participants (male, n=10; female, n=44) with ages ranging between 62 and 95 years was drawn. The participants were able to communicate congruently and understood the research purpose. Participants resided in four similar facilities situated in urban areas in two South African provinces. A multiple-context inquiry was conducted to gather rich data and collateral information. The study made use of interviews, focus groups, journals, and the Mmogo-method® to collect qualitative data. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and visual analysis methods were used to analyse the data. Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) was conducted with 19 participants, resulting in a conceptual model of QoL. Member-checking was performed by the participants. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), as part of a larger project, namely “An exploration of enabling contexts (05K14)”. The findings revealed that the nature of QoL is informed by spiritual worldviews, interpersonal contexts and the maintained ability of older people to regulate aspects of their own lives. The nature of QoL was also revealed as transitional throughout the ageing process and that the dimensions of QoL may be found on a continuum. Six domains were elicited in the construction of QoL, namely spirituality, health, relationships, meaningfulness, autonomy and sense of place. Each domain presented with certain contributors and inhibitors influencing the older person’s ability to experience QoL. Findings revealed the strengths of older people to deal with adversities associated with later life. The inhibitors of QoL are emphasised for the attention of policy makers, the managers of residential care facilities, care givers and family members. The study provided insight into the causal influences between the domains of QoL. A conceptual model with systemic properties is proposed. The theoretical implications of this systems model are that QoL domains are mutually informing and exercise a particular influence on the relational states of older people. It is hoped that new knowledge in the area of QoL might direct future research efforts and put resources channeled to residential care facilities to better use. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.