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The diagnosis of HIV is a life-changing event that requires people to deal with the disease, as well as cope with HIV stigma. Both people living with HIV or AIDS (PLHA) and their close family members (CFM) are stigmatized, but CFM also stigmatizes PLHA. This interaction affects the relationship between PLHA and their CFM. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a comprehensive community-based HIV stigma reduction intervention on PLHA and their CFM as well as to explore and describe their experiences during and after the intervention. A holistic multiple case study design as well as a qualitative description approach was used. The study was conducted in both an urban and a rural setting. Purposive sampling was used for the PLHA and snowball sampling for the CFM. The case record for the case study consisted of several sources. In-depth-interviews were used to explore their experiences. The data was analysed using open coding and text document analysis. Both groups gained a richer understanding of HIV stigma and coping with it. The relationships enriched by PLHA feeling more supported and CFM realizing how they stigmatized and that they should be more supportive. Leadership was activated through the project. Bringing PLHA and CFM together during an intervention, proved to be affective, Recommendations focus on the inclusion of HIV-related stigma reduction awareness interventions in the curriculum of student nurses and the implementation thereof in the community, through community based nursing. It would be of benefit if the programme could also be offered as a workshop to traditional healers in the community. Nurses in clinics working with PLHA should invite PLHA and CFM to participate in groups to support each other in reducing HIV-related stigma and share problem-solving coping strategies. The researcher believes that the results of the current study have important implications for further research in HIV-related stigma reduction interventions in other countries and demographic groups. It has the potential to be used for long-term monitoring studies of HIV stigma reduction interventions and the change over time. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Studien undersökte hur arbetet inom den personalkooperativa verksamheten upplevdes av medlemmar och anställda, samt skillnaden dem emellan. I denna studie användes personalkooperativ för att det där ingår både medlemmar, som är ägare av kooperativet, och anställda. Syftet uppnåddes genom intervjuer där tre frågeställningar användes: vad upplevda erfarenheten är av att ingå i ett personalkooperativ, hur företagets handlingar stämmer överens med de aktuella kooperativens sju principer, samt hur deltagarna förhåller sig till Maslows behov.  Resultatet visade dels att möjligheten att själv kunna påverka arbetet var skälet till varför deltagarna valt att ingå i ett kooperativ. Dock angavs som negativt saknaden av en chef och den bristande ekonomin. Skillnaden mellan medlemmar och anställda framgick genom att medlemmarna fokuserade mer på verksamheten som helhet medan de anställda lade fokus på interaktionen mellan kollegor. Validiteten försvagades då urvalet skedde via målinriktat urval.

Until 1980 in Australia, occupational superannuation had played only a peripheral role in securing retirement savings for the workforce at large with less than 40% of all employees at this time receiving superannuation benefits. By the time the twenty-first century began, however, 91% of all Australian employees and 81% of all workers were covered by superannuation, and, by 2007, total superannuation assets had reached $1.2 trillion with superannuation fund balances the largest financial asset held by households. This substantial growth in superannuation coverage did not occur as a result of free market forces operating between producers and consumers in the superannuation industry. Rather, this increase was found to be directly related to the level of intervention in the industry by both the Labor and Coalition Governments throughout the last three decades. / The rationale provided by these Governments highlighted the public interest necessity of ensuring that there was an adequate coverage, level and rate of growth of retirement savings. Criticisms of this rationale have, however, continued to grow unabated. These concerns focus on the failure of the regulatory regime changes introduced to actually achieve their public-interest rationales in terms of improving Australia’s national savings rates or to produce effective governance mechanisms to protect the security of the worker-owned trillion-dollar asset pool now under investment. / The primary objective of this thesis was to investigate these opposing claims (within the framework of the public interest and private interest theories of regulation), via the combination of a detailed literature review and a statistical analysis which utilised factor analysis, and logistic and multiple regression modelling techniques. / This combined analysis suggested three primary conclusions: / (1) the origins of the regulatory regime change process needed to be considered as a political game with the simultaneously experienced detriments of key interest groups resulting in a groundswell of pro-regulatory reform activity which sought to obtain relief from “suffering”. The private interest prediction that governments/politicians in electoral democracies were concerned about finding a support coalition to promote their re-election chances was, therefore, confirmed; / (2) in comparison, there was less than convincing evidence to support the public interest claims of bothgovernments in relation to the origins of the regime change process; and / (3) as opposed to these origins-related findings, the regulatory impact story analysis of the review period confirmed that the primary “winner” of the regulatory regime changes was the fund manager group in general and the large, incumbent, life office entities in particular with statistically significant improvements in fund manager “detriments” (e.g. in terms of the total superannuation assets held within the statutory funds of life offices variable). While the government/politicians group was also a “winner” given the significant increases in the “bureaucratic empire building” variable, it was a significant “loser” in terms of the downturn in the public interest variables of household savings rates, net personal savings rates and voluntary superannuation contributions. The ACTU, the employers and workers in general were also all “losers” in that: union membership rates were characterised by downturns; employers do not appear to have been able to “offset” increased occupational superannuation benefits with reductions in wages and/or employment levels; and there was no significant improvement in either of the fund member indicators (i.e. in terms of the fund member welfare index or their real rate of returns). Thus, the private interest prediction that, in terms of regulatory impacts/outcomes, there would be significant wealth transfers away from fund members primarily to the fund managers was confirmed. / These findings raise implications for the ongoing development of regulation in this area which will need further consideration. For example, is it likely that future, private interest-based regulatory changes will be imposed on the occupational superannuation industry which will lead to further detriments to fund members and increasing wealth transfers to the fund managers? Alternatively, is it likely that, at some point, a regulatory backlash will occur which could lead to more public interest outcomes? Or, is it possible that the interest groups studied might “mutate” or change to adapt to future circumstances which could then, in some future period, change the “winning” and “losing” profiles highlighted in this research? Also of interest is whether these findings, which were performed within a relatively unique set of political circumstances, are robust to alternative settings or time periods? These issues are ideal topics for future research projects.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 170 p. : ill., maps. The appendix also included as a separate Excel file. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 136-147).

This thesis describes a qualitative study exploring the use of critical care diaries from the experiences and perspectives of patients, family members and nurses in a Scottish Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Diaries are currently used in some ICUs across Europe, the UK, Australia and other countries to help patients come to terms with the experience of critical illness. Started in the ICU, the diary is written at the bedside by nurses and family members providing an account of what happened when the patient was in ICU. Following discharge, the diary is handed over to the patient for them to read and refer to during their recovery. Therefore, the diary is used by different people, at different times and in different ways throughout the critical illness journey. However, until recently, research has mainly focused on the diary being read by the patient after ICU as an aid to recovery with little known about family members and nurses despite them being the main authors during the time in ICU. This doctoral research was designed to explore critical care diaries from multiple perspectives and experiences to gain a greater understanding of the different ways in which diaries can be used. Furthermore, it is the first known research study in this area to have been undertaken in NHS Scotland where the use of diaries remains a relatively new practice. The theoretical perspective of Symbolic Interactionism helped to inform the development and design of the research study. A focused ethnographic approach was taken to explore the use of critical care diaries from the different groups identified, during and after a stay in ICU. The setting was an Adult ICU in Scotland where diaries were being used as part of a follow up service for patients and family members after ICU. Data were collected from February 2013 to June 2014. Semi-structured interviews were the main method of data collection. A purposive sampling strategy was adopted to recruit participants in triads with a related patient, family member and nurse involved in their care during the time in ICU. This is a novel and unique approach to research in this area. Four complete triads and two incomplete triads were recruited giving a total of sixteen interviews with four patients, six family members and six nurses. Interviews were supplemented with a small number of formal observations of nurses carrying out diary related activities (n=9) and field notes from time spent at the site. Transcribed interview data were analysed using a thematic approach, uncovering five main themes: (1) Information; (2) Communication; (3) Emotion; (4) Person Centered and (5) Gender. The concept of ‘Stories as joint actions’ developed by the sociologist Ken Plummer in 1995 was used as a framework to discuss and explain the findings. Diaries were found to support information sharing and facilitate communication interactions between nurses, family members and patients in the ICU as well as promoting and demonstrating a person centered approach to care. Emotional support was experienced by family members from writing in and reading the diary during the time in ICU whereas patients experienced emotional support from reading diary entries after the time in ICU. However emotional effort was associated with reading and writing in the diary during and after the time in ICU for patients, family members and nurses. Male family members were found to be less likely to write in the diary compared to female family members. Factors such as gender and literacy appeared to influence diary use however this requires further investigation. A new conceptual model ‘Critical Care Diaries as Joint Actions’ was created to address the complex nature of experiences with critical care diaries. Exploring the use of diaries from multiple perspectives and experiences has provided valuable insight into the different ways in which diaries are used during and after the time in ICU demonstrating that although the diary is primarily written for the patient, family members, nurses and patients use the diary in different ways to support their needs and others needs throughout the experience of critical illness.

Peripheral members, or lurkers, make up the majority of membership in an online network, but not much is known about them as they are not publicly active (e.g. Post online). Data on the lurker population of Nurses and Health Care professionals in electronic Communities of Practice (eCoP) is also lacking. InspireNet was a British Columbia based virtual community that aimed to increase capacity for health services research for health care professionals. It had nearly 4000 members nationwide and it was an active community as users were posting on discussions and blogs daily. However, many members did not post online, so it was suspected a large lurker population existed. The purpose of the study was to conduct an exploratory study to understand the experience of lurkers on InspireNet and determine how nurses or health care professionals interacted, barriers to posting online, and whether or not they wished to remain a lurker Conventional content analysis was used as the methodology to conduct this qualitative study with 15 participants via online interviews. The results showed that lurking was not indicative of the level of engagement, as most were engaged in InspireNet content or were connected to other members (e.g. Core Members). Lurkers were not opposed to posting online, but required relevancy to their work and ease of using the website as prerequisites. Lurkers had difficulty finding information on the InspireNet website. It is important to engage all members of an online network. Strategies to engage lurkers include supporting their informational needs by improving website usability, incorporating advanced search features, and providing value (e.g. Relevant content, topics, and webinars). / Graduate

This thesis examines a previously unstudied site of interaction: the constituency office. At the constituency office, Members of Parliament (MPs) hold MP surgeries , during which they help constituents to solve their personal difficulties. This thesis provides the first analysis of interactions at the constituency office. It is the only place where ordinary citizens can meet their MP; as such, it also provides the first analysis of face-to-face, unmediated interactions between politicians and their constituents. For this study, 12.5 hours of interactional data were recorded at the office of an MP in the United Kingdom, comprising over 80 encounters between office staff, the MP, and their constituents. The MP was of the majority ( government ) party at the time of recording. The data were analyzed using conversation analysis (CA), in order to investigate how the social activities of the constituency office were accomplished through interaction. The first analytic chapter reveals the overall structure of constituency office encounters, as well as examining what constituents say when they call or visit the office, and how they express that they are in need of assistance. This chapter finds that constituents avoid making direct requests of their MP, and instead use narrative descriptions. These descriptions manage interactional challenges including the unknown nature of the institution (Stokoe, 2013b), contingency and entitlement (Drew & Curl, 2008), reasonableness and legitimacy (Edwards & Stokoe, 2007; Heritage & Robinson, 2006), and recruitment (Kendrick & Drew, 2016). The second analytic chapter examines the action of offering, and finds it to be the central mechanism for transacting service. The staff use different offer designs to index different nuances in the offering action, such as asking permission or confirming an activity. Both the first and second analytic chapters show that systematic deployment of offers help control the direction of the encounters and tacitly instruct constituents as to what services are available. Furthermore, both of these chapters show the flexibility participants employed in turn design and action ascription, which extends previous descriptions of how requests and offers are constructed (Couper-Kuhlen, 2014; Curl, 2006) and supports recent calls for a more nuanced approach to action description from conversation analysts (Kendrick & Drew, 2014; Sidnell & Enfield, 2014). The third analytic chapter investigates the ostensibly political context of the constituency office, and how the MP and constituents raise political topics in conversation. The chapter finds that the term political is challenging to define in live interactions, and relies on the concept of politicizing (Hay, 2007) statements that upgrade (or downgrade) a topic into greater (or lesser) public and governmental concern. Both the MP and constituents were found to initiate political topics, but in different ways. The MP initiated political topics in explicit references to government, in order to provide evidence that the government was aligned with constituents interests. The constituents initiated political topics in vague and indirect references to recent policy changes, and avoided implicating the MP in any criticisms. The findings suggest that constituents privilege interactional norms (such as not criticizing a co-present interlocutor) over any potential interest in making political critiques. The chapter also discusses what impact these findings may have on concepts such as power and evasion . The final analytic chapter assesses the concept of rapport , finding that it is difficult for both participants and analysts to determine long-term outcomes from local, interactional occurrences in interaction. Rapport is important for MPs who may be attempting to build a personal vote relationship with constituents, but this chapter also finds that constituents have a stake in building rapport in order to receive the best (or any) service. The chapter finds that while traditional practices for building rapport , such as doing small talk or finding common ground, are problematic to employ and assess from an interactional perspective, other local outcomes such as progressivity (Fogarty, Augoustinos & Kettler, 2013) and affiliation (Clark, Drew & Pinch, 2003) may be more useful indicators of positive interactions. This chapter concludes that we need a more nuanced, and interactionally-based, framework to train practitioners (and clients) in effective communication practices. This thesis challenges the conversation analytic literature by finding that the constituency office setting revolves around a more flexible ascription of requests than many studies have previously accepted, and that we can analyze actions as if on a spectrum, rather than in bounded categories. The thesis also contributes to the political discourse literature by finding that constituents activities at the constituency office are strongly influenced by interactional norms, rather than political attitudes. Finally, this thesis provides a basis from which to study the constituency office, as a site of service interaction.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / South Africa has undergone a process of dramatic change since the first democratic elections of 1994, notably so in the area of gender equity in public life. The struggles and demands of women during the constitutional process have resulted in an unprecedented 31,5 % representation of women in Parliament, the highest in Africa.

Trade unions are juristic entities and volitional associations that have, historically and ideologically, represented the aggregate strength of labour to maximise their effectiveness in their endeavour to fulfil their core responsibilities and principal functions. However, Ceronie (2007) postulates that, in South Africa, there has been a loss of ideological support for unions since the dawn of democracy. The establishment of the democracy had the effect that a huge driving gear to belong to a union was lost. The mandate of trade unions is to, inter alia, protect, maintain, and improve the working conditions of their members. They fulfil this mandate by ensuring that they offer services that meet, if not exceed, members' satisfaction levels. Trade unions ultimately exist to protect both the work- and non-work-related interest of their members, whether these be economic, social, political, or environmental (Venter, 2003). Nel et al. (2005) asseverate that trade unions are membership organisations: They exist because of their members, they are made up of members, they serve their members' interest, and they are governed by their members. That is, they derive their authority and mandate from the members. Therefore, trade union are service providers. They must give employees enough reason to become attracted to them as members and to remain members. Simply put, trade unions, as the embodiment of workers' aspirations, owe a duty of care to their members, and thus should at all times, act in their best interests. Thus, the kind and quality of services offered by trade unions should be perceived by members as sufficient and satisfactory. Highly satisfied and committed union members are more likely to support and participate in trade union activities. Trade unions, like any other organisation that provides services, are faced with challenges of membership decline due to perceived poor services or the lack thereof, and are therefore required to devise remedial measures to mitigate the membership decline. Against the backdrop of the foregoing, the aim of the study was to examine if there is a relationship between the quality of services and benefits offered by unions to their members and member satisfaction. The sample comprised members of the three major unions within the public service of South Africa. Using the quantitative paradigm, primary empirical data were collected by distributing 500 questionnaires, which yielded a 48.9% response rate. Data were analysed using the SPSS Statistics 23 software program. The questionnaire was valid and reliable, with an overall scale reliability coefficient of α = .975. The findings revealed moderate levels of member satisfaction (56%) with low dissatisfaction (16%), and a significantly high participation rate in union activities (61%), and union effectiveness (80%). That is, the findings revealed that members were generally satisfied with their unions' performance. The findings affirm union instrumentality, union effectiveness, and member participation as antecedents of union commitment, and also confirm unions' performance and effectiveness as significant determinants of members' satisfaction with a union. Therefore, in a quest to maintain and/or increase their relevance, trade unions must examine their current services and benefits, in order to determine whether they still meet their members' preferences, and, if not, to develop and provide a new service mix that will not only appeal to unionised members, but will also attract non-unionised workers. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Human Resource Management / PhD / Unrestricted