Coaching can affect athletes' performance and psychological well-being through the communication and feedback that the coaches provide. Both internal and external factors affect the communication process and the effectiveness of the feedback. Objective: The objective of the study was to increase the knowledge associated with feedback during 1 minute breaks in direct elimination matches at fencing competitions. This, by gaining insight into how fencing coaches experience the feedback they give to their fencers. In addition, the purpose is to generate knowledge of factors in the communication process that affect feedback. Design: Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Method: Three fencing coaches, with at least one epée fencer at top 8 on the national ranking list for senior men/women, were interviewed using a semi-structured guide. Questions about their communication and feedback in different scenarios, different situations, and factors were asked. Results: The coaches purpose of the feedback was to get the fencers into their individual zone of optimal functioning (IZOF). The coaches focused mostly on the psychological aspect and tactical feedback, with less focus on technique. The relationship between the coaches and fencers was percieved as one of the crucial factors for effective communication and feedback. Conclusions: As athletes are influenced by coaches' communication and feedback, it is important to understand what is sent and why, and also what the coaches percieve the fencers receive and the following experienced response. By gaining in-depth understanding of factors that affect, the coaches can make more active choices that lead to more effective communication and feedback, and thereby better performance.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Drug abuse as well as risky sexual behaviours has been identified, globally as well as in South Africa, as social problems with dire consequences. Research suggests that crystal methamphetamine use leads to risky sexual behaviours such having unprotected sex, which can lead to unplanned pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections (STI's) including HIV infection. Adolescents as well as females have been identified as risk populations for both sexual risk behaviours and drug abuse. Furthermore, the Western Cape showed high rates of crystal methamphetamine addiction, especially in the under 20 age category, and the highest increase in the incidence of HIV infections in South Africa. This may be indicative of the magnitude of the problem of risky sexual behaviours in the context of crystal methamphetamine use in the Western Cape. / South Africa

It is understood that trauma is something that can affect people in life. Trauma is a term that is readily used to acknowledge the experience of someone exposed to an adverse life event. There are various psychological therapies that help individuals to overcome trauma experiences. The unique contribution of this study is that little is known about the way in which Solution Focussed Brief Therapy (SFBT) can help clients coming to terms with such an experience, because it can help to facilitate post traumatic growth. SFBT is strengths based and is part of the positive psychology movement, where there is more of an emphasis on client resilience, rather than alleviating distress. SFBT offers a different way of working to the approaches already being utilised in this field. The current study aimed to provide insight into the experiences of Solution Focused Practitioners facilitating post traumatic growth during brief therapy, using qualitative methods. The study explored the experiences of a homogenous sample of six Solution Focused Practitioners; all had worked with trauma and were using SFBT in their working practice. Responses to questions asked during semi structured interviews were framed by the setting in which the practitioners worked, because they all operated from a centre known to the researcher. However, despite the potential influence of the setting, the researcher gained honest insight into the application of SFBT to trauma. Semi structured interviews were conducted and the interviews were transcribed. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and from this four main themes were found: (i) Who am I? – Becoming Solution Focused; (ii) A problem world where trauma exists; (iii) A positive cocoon where growth can occur; (iv) The longevity of the approach – a big fish in a small pond. Further exploration of these themes along with their subthemes is included in the paper. Research literature relevant to this study is discussed and implications for further research and practice are also taken into consideration.

Post-modern feminist security studies explore how our discourse about gender and war affects the construction of security as a concept. Military narratives valorizing the masculine over the feminine have long marginalized women warriors. In recent years, images of the torture and abuse of detainees have appropriated the representation of women interrogators during the Global War on Terrorism in particular. This research applied interpretative phenomenological analysis to the narratives of women interrogators in order to challenge the silence concerning their lived experiences by addressing how women interrogators understand their experiences both as woman and as interrogators, and how they negotiated socially constructed contradictions between these identities. Based on an analysis of semi-structured interviews with eight participants, the findings produced seven, interrelated themes. First, the findings explored the integration of gender with other markers of identity. Next, the findings demonstrated women interrogators recognize gender as a context-dependent role negotiated within the military institution through the development and demonstration of technical prowess. Then, the findings described interrogation as a complex adaptive system in which women interrogators harnessed to achieve their goals. Finally, the findings determined that the intersection of women interrogators’ identities and their interactions in the context of interrogation operations generated the perception of women interrogators as non-threatening. Women interrogators learned to exploit the meaning of this emergent phenomenon through introspection and the development of self-awareness.

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This research study took place at the High Performance Centre (hpc) at the University of Pretoria (UP) in South Africa (SA). The sport psychologists/sports counselors at the hpc mainly deliver performance development services to the athletes. The sport psychology services at the hpc are conducted to the athletes via the Psychological Skills Training (PST) approach and Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach. These two approaches are individualistic in nature and the aim of my study was to move away from a more traditional individualistic perspective to an ecological perspective that takes into consideration other role players such as sport scientists. This was achieved by developing a sport science specific MAC programme for the sport scientists, which was facilitated through experiential learning. The goal of the MAC programme was to explore the sport scientists’ experiences with reference to what they discovered and how they applied their learning. Eight in depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with four sport scientists at the hpc after their participation in the programme. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the semi-structured interviews. The findings were mainly related to difficulties and advantages that the sport scientists experienced when they applied the MAC principles. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted

This thesis explores the experiences of older adults with successful ageing and achieving ego integrity. It describes the sources related to ego integrity, that are helpful in facing the challenges of the eighth stage (ego integrity vs. despair). Five interviews were conducted with older adults, aged 65+. These interviews were subsequently analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). KEYWORDS ego integrity, aging, qualitative research, interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)

No description available.

As children with ADHD are typically diagnosed at school entry level, when problems with especially reading and writing occur, primary school teachers are directly affected by a pressing need to become more educated on the subject of ADHD. The responsibility to teach these young children effectively, and help them to successfully cope with their struggles in an academic environment also rests with the primary school teacher. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experiences of primary school teachers who have children diagnosed with ADHD in their classrooms. The phenomenological approach was used as a lens for collecting and interpreting data. Four participants from a private school were interviewed and transcripts were analysed and interpreted using the Interpretive Phenomenological Approach. The research findings were that the teachers experiences of having children with ADHD in their classrooms were both positive and negative and were affected by several factors including the number of diagnosed children in the classroom, the degree of severity of ADHD, support received from others, medication for ADHD and knowledge of ADHD. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

Officially, women have been serving in the United States military since 1948 when President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. Women currently make up approximately 8% of active duty military. Based on progress due to equality and equity, women are now occupying positions previously designated for men. Although women have made great strides in the military, there is limited research on women in the military or how their military service affects them. There is even less literature on women who have transitioned out of the military. For this reason, I conducted an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) with a focus on feminist theory to gather information about the lived experiences of women who have transitioned out of the military. Through the analysis portion, seven super-ordinate themes were established. Saturation requirements were met with four participants. This study will enhance the marriage and family therapy profession by providing better understanding on how to relate to this population while filling the gaps within the literature about women veterans and transition. Through this study, women veterans had a place in which their voices were heard.