Anyone wishing to laud Matsepe for his literary ability should first turn to Ramaila who was not only one of the first writers in Sepedi, but also taught his people to read. Some of his short stories in the volume entitled Molomatsebe (1951) bear testimony to his narrative skills, particularly 'Tšhelete ya Sepoko' and 'Moloi ga a na mmala' which are complex in structure, like a detective story. Apart from the Molomatsebe collection, he also wrote other works such as Taukobong (1953), Setlogolo sa Batau (1938) and Tša Bophelo bya Moruti Abraham Serote (1935). In 1959 a volume of praise poetry was published that he had collected in the various Sepedi-speaking regions. These verses are not only of cultural historical significance but the volume is also a valuable addition to Sepedi literature. The greatest merit of the poems is found in the fact that they are authentic recitations. To the Bapedi Ramaila is a pioneer; he was the first author in Sepedi and encouraged his people to educate themselves. Ramaila had many followers of which Matsepe was the most important. In the pre-Matsepe period authors mainly wrote about the problems Blacks encountered under Whites in the cities. For this reason the 'Makgoweng motif' is often referred to in Sepedi literature. The works are generally sermonizing in tone and a moral lesson was usually included. Readers later found them very tedious, and when Matsepe appeared on the scene, he took the material for his stories from days of long ago. He, therefore, wrote about kings and heroes, and about war and hunting. Whereas stories written before were no more that short narratives, Matsepe created voluminous novels. He also wrote poetry and published six volumes, some of them of admirable quality. He was twice awarded the S. E. Mqayi prize for literature by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Science and Art). During one of these award ceremonies he said that he had become tired of the preaching by his predecessors; he intended to regale his readers with absorbing reading matter. While Ramaila taught people to read, Matsepe exposed them to great literature. Because Matsepe's stories were so interesting, they met with general approval almost immediately. This led to a change of direction in Sepedi literature that could to a great degree be attributed to Matsepe's writing. This thesis deals with the influence Matsepe had on other writers. The most important factors determining such an influence are also examined. In this research the avenues of description, comparison and interpretation are expolored. The narratological model was chosen and adapted as a descriptive framework. The emphasis is mainly on the facts used by the authors and the manner in which they were put together. In the latter case this means that not only was the organisation of the information taken into account, but consideration also given to a similarity in the usage of specific word and phrases without reverting to stylistics. In defining the meaning of influence, the concepts of similarity, imitation, translation and plagiarism were also examined and identified. In this context various angles of influence are discussed. The influence of one author on another, influence emanating from literature itself and the influence arising from circumstances were noted. In the research several writers have been named who are said to have been influenced by Matsepe. These conclusions have not been motivated, however. In this study it has therefore been found that these pronouncements were made at random and that influence cannot be considered in all of these cases. On the other hand, a number of authors of the younger generation were discovered who are familiar with Matsepe's work and who are indeed influenced by him. This study has also revealed that Sepedi literature can be divided into two periods. First there was Ramaila period during which people learned to read and write, followed by a second period when readers were no longer interested in dull moral narratives, and thus a new generation of authors emerged. This can be designated as the Matsepe period although it includes writers who have only lately come forward and have not been influenced by Matsepe. The demands of circumstances for a change of direction in Sepedi literature may be ascribed to this. The fact that the second period heralded the growth of this literature is mainly attributed to the satirical nature of many of these works. / Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / African Languages / unrestricted

<p>Novice engineers become engineering professionals through the process of professional socialization. An important dimension of professional socialization is moral formation, and engineering education contributes to the initial process of the moral formation of engineering students. However, engineering ethics education has mainly focused on teaching ethical issues and reasoning skills, and the limitation of such approaches has been often pointed out. This dissertation is the result of the exploratory investigations to obtain insights into engineering practitioners’ moral formation, which could eventually lead to knowledge for more effectively facilitating engineering students’ moral formation.  </p> <p><br></p> <p>This dissertation consists of four independent but related studies. The first study (Chapter 2) is a theoretical study to establish a new framework for engineers’ professional socialization, which includes moral formation. To create the framework, I synthesized the ideas of Durkheim, Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt on moral formation, with Durkheim as a common thread, and argued that the moral formation process is influenced and promoted by social discipline, a collective process that utilizes cultural influences, with respect for individual differences.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The following three studies are empirical studies informed by the first theoretical study. The second study explored the political ideologies and moral foundations of engineers in the United States. I examined how engineers’ political ideologies are associated with their moral foundations and how engineers’ political ideologies and moral foundations vary across their employment sectors, organizational positions, and demographic attributes. Especially, the comparison across different employment sectors could provide insights for ethics researchers because the working environment, which can be informed by the dominant thoughts and attitudes of the members of the group, could potentially inform the contents of the social discipline. The third study examined the relationships between engineering professionals’ personality traits, moral foundations, and political ideology, and how these interact with their workplace organizational cultures. The knowledge about the relationships and interactions could provide insights on deepening the understanding of individual differences in the moral formation process. The fourth study explored engineers’ moral narratives, and I introduced four examples. The results showed that individual engineers’ moral narratives are intertwined with their life history as a person, although there are some different approaches to pursuing a moral life. </p> <p><br></p> <p>Each study in this dissertation independently contributes to enhancing the understanding of different aspects of engineers’ moral formation, which is a complex and multifaceted process where engineers’ individual characteristics and the culture of their organizations interact. While the influence of organizational culture on moral behavior has been studied by business ethicists, this dissertation appears to be the first to examine the role of organizational culture in the moral formation of engineers. I discuss the potential opportunity to design a new pedagogy based on this dissertation as future work.    </p>

This inquiry, which employed a narrative research approach, critically explored the ethical dimension of hospice palliative care. Hospice palliative care is the profession specifically developed to care for the dying. The development of this practice has grown significantly since the 1980s in Australia, yet ethical inquiry into this professional practice has largely focused on particular issues, problems or dilemmas, such as euthanasia. Although particular ethical issues are important considerations, a broader investigation of the ethics of hospice palliative care practice has not been given sufficient consideration in the growing accumulation of the research literature in Australia. Jennings (1997) surmises that “systematic reflection on ethics in the hospice field is curiously underdeveloped” (p. 2). This study goes someway towards filling this gap. In building upon the Pallium research by European scholars and integrating a social practice framework (Isaacs, 1998) this inquiry provides an alternative account of the ethical agenda and one which has privileged an internal exploration, rather than assume that the ethics would be the same as any other health care modality or to simply adopt a dominant, principles-based approach. These internal explorations were located in the storied accounts of thirty interdisciplinary hospice palliative care professionals. This thesis provides a thorough, textual conversation into the realm of ethical caregiving at the end of life. Several key insights were illuminated. Firstly, total care must be central to the philosophy underpinning hospice palliative care practice, but this concept and practice of total care was being eroded and contested. Secondly, a predominantly modernist account of personhood was located in the narrative accounts. This modernist account of personhood was thought to be insufficient for the practice of total care and needed to be reconceptualised. An embedded ontological account was provided which would assist with the understanding and practice of total care. Thirdly, initially it was thought that there was no common, shared understanding of the purpose of the practice. It was suggested that the profession was “wandering in the wilderness” when it came to the aim of its practice. However, the professionals did share a common telos (aim towards a good) and it was overwhelmingly relational. This led to the proposal of a new telos for hospice palliative care practice centered on the creation and maintenance of unique relationships which would assist people in their final stage of life. Lastly, the ethical frameworks which guided practice for the professionals were presented. In these frameworks it was significant values (acceptance of human mortality, total care and honest and open communication) and relationships (how we treat each other) which played the main role in what constituted hospice palliative care ethics. An account of a hospice palliative care ethical relationship was provided which included a proximity stance of in-between. Overall, any ethic for hospice palliative care must have at the heart the relationship between professional caregiver and living-dying person. The relationships in this social practice, between each other, accompanying one another, are our ethical compass. This thesis concluded that hospice palliative care, as a social practice, has a rich ethical dimension as understood and articulated by its professional members. These insights have resulted in the construction of a new ethical framework reflecting, formalising and adapting the ethical dimension as understood by its professional members. This ethical framework - A Relational Ethic of Accompanying - is needed to help maintain, sustain and protect the unique identity of this profession. This framework adds to the “moral vocabulary” (Jennings, 1997) and “moral specificity” (ten Have & Clark, 2002) of hospice palliative care practice. In addition, it would provide important guidance to palliateurs reflecting on how best to provide quality, compassionate and ethical care at the end of life.