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Being a lecturer and serving in the Higher Degrees Committee of the Department of Public Administration and Management at Unisa for several years, gave me exposure to master’s and doctoral candidates’ scholarly work. I realised that the doctoral candidates, in particular, were facing methodological challenges. This realisation triggered my curiosity in the methodological preparedness of doctoral candidates. My scholarly curiosity prompted me to undertake a preliminary literature review which has identified a number of scholarly contributions on the quality of research in Public Administration. These studies have not established or attempted to establish conceptual frameworks for understanding this phenomenon. I deduced that the lack of scholarly contributions on the methodological preparedness of doctoral candidates indicates a knowledge gap that compromises scholarly understanding of methodological preparedness, both as a concept and a phenomenon. The main purpose of this research was to generate theory, by means of the development of a conceptual framework, in response to the identified knowledge gap in the literature. Consequently, a qualitative theory generating research design was chosen and actualised in three interrelated research phases. Phase 1 provides a theoretical perspective by turning to the scholarly literature and institutional documents to obtain a deepened understanding of the concept methodological preparedness relevant to Public Administration doctoral candidates. This phase serves, firstly, to provide an overview of the characteristics of the doctorate in Public Administration as an immediate context for methodological preparedness, and secondly, to do a concept analysis to identify and describe the meaning of the concept methodological preparedness with reference to a doctoral candidate. Phase 2 aimed to make sense of the methodological preparedness of Public Administration doctoral candidates at Unisa by exploring, through an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), how doctoral candidates and supervisors make sense of this phenomenon. This study makes a methodological contribution by employing the IPA for the first time in the South African Public Administration fraternity. Phase 3 generates a conceptual framework for understanding the methodological preparedness of Public Administration doctoral candidates at Unisa. The framework contributes to the understanding of the under- vi researched concept and phenomenon methodological preparedness of doctoral candidates in Public Administration. This study has shown that a candidate’s methodological preparedness (the state of being competent to independently make a methodological decision relevant to his or her doctoral research project), is not a once-off gate-keeping phenomenon, but an ongoing and fluent state of being. / Public Administration / D. Litt. et Phil. (Public Administration)

Existentiell hälsa är ett relativt nytt begrepp i Sverige och handlar om vårt sätt attse på och förhålla oss till livet i stort. Trots vissa påvisade hälsoeffekter, harmöjligheten att träna den existentiella hälsan på arbetstid ännu inte nått sammastatus som möjligheten att träna och förbättra den fysiska och psykosocialahälsan.Studiens syfte var att undersöka erfarenheter och upplevda effekter av enarbetsplatsförlagd hälsointervention under en serie av åtta tillfällen, medutgångspunkt i den existentiella hälsoaspekten. Semistrukturerade intervjuergenomfördes med sex informanter som genomgått hälsointerventionen under detsenaste året. Studien är kvalitativ och materialet analyserades med den tolkandefenomenologiska analysmetoden (IPA). Fyra huvudteman identifierades varav detre första kopplas till erfarenheter och det sistnämnda till egenupplevda effekter:Att bli sedd och uppskattad; Vikten av delandet; Existentiell hälsa – en del av migoch Ett nytt förhållningssätt. Resultatet visar på mycket positiva erfarenheter avatt ha blivit sedd som människa mer än som arbetstagare samt en stark gemenskapmed övriga deltagare. Resultaten indikerar en ökad grad av öppenhet och tillit,både till sig själv och till sina kollegor, i takt med träffarna. Detta gav pågruppnivå en upplevd ökad effektivitet i dagliga arbetsuppgifter tack vareförbättrad samarbetsförmåga. På individnivå indikeras en upplevd ökad inrestyrka tack vare starkare självkänsla och integritet. Slutsatsen vi drar av studienär att gruppträning i existentiell hälsa är ett kompletterande verktyg i kampen förförbättrad hälsa, ökad arbetsglädje och effektivitet. / Existential health is a relatively new concept in Sweden and is about our way oflooking at and relating to life in general. Despite some proven health effects, theopportunity to exercise existential health during working hours has not yetreached the same status as the opportunity to exercise and improve physical andpsychosocial health.The purpose of the study was to investigate experiences and perceivedeffects of a workplace-based health intervention over a series of eight occasions,based on the existential health aspect. Semi-structured interviews were conductedwith six informants who had undergone the health intervention during the pastyear. The study is qualitative and the material was analyzed using the interpretivephenomenological analysis method (IPA). Four main themes were identified, ofwhich the first three are linked to experiences and the latter to self-perceivedeffects: Being seen and appreciated; The importance of sharing; Existential health- a part of me and A new approach. The results show very positive experiencesof having been seen as a human being more than as an employee and a strongcommunity with other participants. The results indicate an increased degree ofopenness and trust, both to oneself and to one's colleagues, during the meetings.At a group level, this resulted in a perceived increase in efficiency in daily tasksthanks to improved collaboration skills. At the individual level, a perceivedincreased inner strength is indicated thanks to stronger self-esteem and integrity.The conclusion we draw from the study is that group training based on existentialhealth is a complementary tool in the fight for improved health, increased jobsatisfaction and efficiency.

Text in English / Psychologists-in-training are often presented with textbook definitions and descriptions of individuals presenting with psychopathologies. A major challenge for such texts is to effectively convey the relational issues and interpersonal dynamics of the mental disorders. The current study explores the role of film in enhancing intern clinical psychologists’ understanding of borderline personality disorder by specifically utilising the films Sylvia and Black Butterflies. A qualitative, phenomenological study was conducted with 15 clinical psychology interns at a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Gauteng, South Africa. The collected data consisted of responses to open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews and was analysed according to an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Although the analysis was conducted inductively, the researcher also made deductive inferences from the data based on contemplations about the link between archetypes and images and learning and archetypal experiences. The importance of and connection to 21st-century learning skills, the creative learning spiral and a pedagogy of play were also taken into consideration while analysing the data. The findings of the current study suggest the ability of the two films to draw one in and to cause one to emotionally connect with the characters. Furthermore, films form an opportunity for trainees to practice psychodynamic formulations and not only focus on biological reductionisms of the disorder. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This study explored and highlighted the experiences of trained Marriage and Family Therapists of Afro-Caribbean descent in working with persons who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ). The researcher utilized collected data to help to advance our understanding on the potential impact of the cultural experiences and how they may or may not contribute to institutionalized homophobia within the Caribbean, by Mental Health professionals, specifically Marriage and Family Therapists. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with 3 practicing Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) with strong Caribbean upbringing, values, and influences. For the purpose of this study, strong has been defined as having being born and/or raised in the Caribbean. This qualitative study employed the use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to aid in making sense of the data that was collected. Data gathered from the interviews of three participants revealed two prominent superordinate themes: “Homophobia” and “Evolving Views” with emerging subthemes that explored culture, religion, “checking yourself at the door” and connecting with persons who identify as LGBTQ. The findings from the study helped to add to the limited research available on the lived experiences of Marriage and Family Therapists of Afro-Caribbean descent and their work with persons who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ).

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