Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Positive organisational practices are actions performed by employees within the workplace that enhance worker and organisational wellness. In identifying positively deviant organisations, specific positive practices within the organisation were studied as an online desk research. This study is based on a backdrop of a study by Cameron et al. (2011) where the authors theorise about certain positive practices, but do not stipulate actual practices. In understanding what these positive practices look like, the study used the interpretive paradigm. Through qualitative inquiry, thematic analysis was used to expand the understanding of manifest positive practices in organisations. The researcher used two significant ways of gathering the data, both through the internet; looking up "top" and "happiest" companies to work for as well as looking at the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) Network online resources and Michigan Ross School of Business online page. All of the data gathered (150 pieces) was from secondary internet / online sources. The results generated 13 themes, of which five stood out as most salient: social interactions at work, inclusivity of all differences, mindfulness, transparent/open communication and creativity/innovation. The study concludes by identifying similarities between Cameron et al. (2011) and the study results, and proposes a link between 11 of the themes. Furthermore, the results suggest that seven of the study’s practices coincide with one particular practice from Cameron et al. (2011): ‘inspiring’ others in the workplace. The significance of the study includes the expanded understanding of positive organisational (manifest) practices that take place in positively deviant organisations. By comparing and contrasting these practices with the Cameron et al. (2011) positive practices, similarities were found. Recommendations for future research are offered. / 2020-08-31

Maternal and perinatal mortality is one of the biggest challenges to public health, especially in developing countries. South Africa?s health care system is struggling to meet the “health for all” criteria against a backdrop of staff shortages (especially midwives) in an HIV/AIDS epidemic. These factors, together with the economic constraints of a developing country, places great demands on delivering cost–effective, safe, quality intrapartum care that exceeds expectations. The challenge for the manager is to organise the available resources to render the best quality of care cost effectively within the shortest period of time. Various reasons exist for the alarming shortage of nurses and midwives globally and also in South Africa. Unhealthy practice environments are the main cause of the problem as such environments have an impact on the job satisfaction of the midwives as well on patient satisfaction. In the turmoil of the health care system, patients are demanding greater quality of care and are insisting not only on excellent clinical skills, but also on empathetic and personalised care. This research was conducted to make a meaningful contribution to the body of knowledge, specifically knowledge related to quality intrapartum care through the development of a Quality Improvement Intervention Programme (QIIP?). The research was conducted in two phases including five objectives. The first objective gave a theoretical foundation of quality intrapartum care. The second objective included a situational analysis of the resources (personnel and equipment) and determine the quality improvement initiatives that could be implemented for intrapartum care. The third objective determined the practice environment in maternity units at Level 2 hospitals in the North West province that may influence quality intrapartum care. The fourth and last objective of Phase 1 determined the perceptions of management and midwives regarding the facilitating and impeding factors that influence the quality of intrapartum care. From the data that emerged from the first four objectives, specific themes kept repeating themselves, namely structure (what must be in place, e.g. infrastructure and human resources), process (what we do, e.g. life–long learning and implementation of policies) and outcome (the results, e.g. patient satisfaction and a positive practice environment). These collectively contribute to the quality of intrapartum care rendered. Phase 2 consisted of the development of a “Quality Improvement Intervention Programme (QIIP?)” for intrapartum care. In this phase the data from the first four objectives were used to develop the QIIP?. The QIIP? will be marketed as an accreditation tool for maternity units to measure themselves against the best in the world. Qualifying for QIIP? accreditation means improving the quality of intrapartum care resulting in satisfied patients, the establishment of a positive practice environment and a decrease in the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). / Thesis (Ph.D. (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Maternal and perinatal mortality is one of the biggest challenges to public health, especially in developing countries. South Africa?s health care system is struggling to meet the “health for all” criteria against a backdrop of staff shortages (especially midwives) in an HIV/AIDS epidemic. These factors, together with the economic constraints of a developing country, places great demands on delivering cost–effective, safe, quality intrapartum care that exceeds expectations. The challenge for the manager is to organise the available resources to render the best quality of care cost effectively within the shortest period of time. Various reasons exist for the alarming shortage of nurses and midwives globally and also in South Africa. Unhealthy practice environments are the main cause of the problem as such environments have an impact on the job satisfaction of the midwives as well on patient satisfaction. In the turmoil of the health care system, patients are demanding greater quality of care and are insisting not only on excellent clinical skills, but also on empathetic and personalised care. This research was conducted to make a meaningful contribution to the body of knowledge, specifically knowledge related to quality intrapartum care through the development of a Quality Improvement Intervention Programme (QIIP?). The research was conducted in two phases including five objectives. The first objective gave a theoretical foundation of quality intrapartum care. The second objective included a situational analysis of the resources (personnel and equipment) and determine the quality improvement initiatives that could be implemented for intrapartum care. The third objective determined the practice environment in maternity units at Level 2 hospitals in the North West province that may influence quality intrapartum care. The fourth and last objective of Phase 1 determined the perceptions of management and midwives regarding the facilitating and impeding factors that influence the quality of intrapartum care. From the data that emerged from the first four objectives, specific themes kept repeating themselves, namely structure (what must be in place, e.g. infrastructure and human resources), process (what we do, e.g. life–long learning and implementation of policies) and outcome (the results, e.g. patient satisfaction and a positive practice environment). These collectively contribute to the quality of intrapartum care rendered. Phase 2 consisted of the development of a “Quality Improvement Intervention Programme (QIIP?)” for intrapartum care. In this phase the data from the first four objectives were used to develop the QIIP?. The QIIP? will be marketed as an accreditation tool for maternity units to measure themselves against the best in the world. Qualifying for QIIP? accreditation means improving the quality of intrapartum care resulting in satisfied patients, the establishment of a positive practice environment and a decrease in the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). / Thesis (Ph.D. (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The practice environment of nurses plays a very important role in the delivery of quality health care. However, there is limited knowledge on what positive practice environments entail with specific reference to the primary health context of the public health care sector of South Africa. Nurses in this context are the frontline health personnel and are affected not only by nursing shortages, but also high workloads as the public health care sector serves 83% of the South African population and the private health care sector only 17%. In this study the researcher decided to conduct a study to explore the practice environment of nurses in the primary health care context as no studies have previously been undertaken in this regard. The researcher used a case study design with quantitative and qualitative approaches and implemented descriptive, explanatory and contextual strategies. This design, together with the findings of objectives one, two and three, the World Health Organization Strengthening of Health Systems and Fourteen Forces of Magnetism Frameworks and inductive and deductive logic enabled the researcher to achieve the overarching aim, which is objective four, of this study. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha assisted the researcher in assessing the demographic profile (objective 1) and the status of the practice environment of community health centres in North West Province (objective 2). Thereafter, the researcher was also able to identify the community health centre with the most favourable practice environment in order to conduct semi-structured individual interviews (objective 3). The descriptive data of objective 1 revealed that community health centres in the North West Province are located on average 36 km from the nearest referral hospital to which an average of five patients per day are referred. The average number of patients consulted per month is 3 545 of which the nurse consults an average of 40 and the physician 15 patients per day. In the community health centres the average age of nurses is 40, with 10 years of nursing experience. There were more female than male nurses of which 65% of the registered nurses had a diploma in nursing and had only started their careers at 31 years of age. There is an average of eleven registered nurses, five auxiliary and one enrolled nurse in the community health centres of which only four of the registered nurses (36%) had a qualification in Clinical Health Assessment, Treatment and Care. The overall staff turnover rates were very low and the satisfaction levels were high. The factor analysis of objective 2 revealed that the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index’s sub-scales staffing and resource adequacy and nurse participation in primary health care/community health centre affairs had means below 2.5, indicating that nurses were not in agreement with these sub-scales. However, nurse manager ability, leadership and support; collegial nurse-physician relationships and nursing foundations for quality of care had a mean above 2.5 indicating that the nurses were in agreement with these sub-scales. Lastly, the qualitative findings indicated that although the community health centres with the most favourable practice environment were affected by factors that decrease quality of care which included a lack of resources, limited infrastructure, limited support from pharmacy and staff shortages. These mentioned factors were not in the control of the community health centres. Although the community health centres were affected by the above-mentioned factors these community health centres excelled in support, leadership and governance, collegial nurse-physician relationships and factors influencing quality of care which were in the control of the community health centre. / Thesis (PhD (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The practice environment of nurses plays a very important role in the delivery of quality health care. However, there is limited knowledge on what positive practice environments entail with specific reference to the primary health context of the public health care sector of South Africa. Nurses in this context are the frontline health personnel and are affected not only by nursing shortages, but also high workloads as the public health care sector serves 83% of the South African population and the private health care sector only 17%. In this study the researcher decided to conduct a study to explore the practice environment of nurses in the primary health care context as no studies have previously been undertaken in this regard. The researcher used a case study design with quantitative and qualitative approaches and implemented descriptive, explanatory and contextual strategies. This design, together with the findings of objectives one, two and three, the World Health Organization Strengthening of Health Systems and Fourteen Forces of Magnetism Frameworks and inductive and deductive logic enabled the researcher to achieve the overarching aim, which is objective four, of this study. Descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha assisted the researcher in assessing the demographic profile (objective 1) and the status of the practice environment of community health centres in North West Province (objective 2). Thereafter, the researcher was also able to identify the community health centre with the most favourable practice environment in order to conduct semi-structured individual interviews (objective 3). The descriptive data of objective 1 revealed that community health centres in the North West Province are located on average 36 km from the nearest referral hospital to which an average of five patients per day are referred. The average number of patients consulted per month is 3 545 of which the nurse consults an average of 40 and the physician 15 patients per day. In the community health centres the average age of nurses is 40, with 10 years of nursing experience. There were more female than male nurses of which 65% of the registered nurses had a diploma in nursing and had only started their careers at 31 years of age. There is an average of eleven registered nurses, five auxiliary and one enrolled nurse in the community health centres of which only four of the registered nurses (36%) had a qualification in Clinical Health Assessment, Treatment and Care. The overall staff turnover rates were very low and the satisfaction levels were high. The factor analysis of objective 2 revealed that the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index’s sub-scales staffing and resource adequacy and nurse participation in primary health care/community health centre affairs had means below 2.5, indicating that nurses were not in agreement with these sub-scales. However, nurse manager ability, leadership and support; collegial nurse-physician relationships and nursing foundations for quality of care had a mean above 2.5 indicating that the nurses were in agreement with these sub-scales. Lastly, the qualitative findings indicated that although the community health centres with the most favourable practice environment were affected by factors that decrease quality of care which included a lack of resources, limited infrastructure, limited support from pharmacy and staff shortages. These mentioned factors were not in the control of the community health centres. Although the community health centres were affected by the above-mentioned factors these community health centres excelled in support, leadership and governance, collegial nurse-physician relationships and factors influencing quality of care which were in the control of the community health centre. / Thesis (PhD (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The current shortage of nurses is a concern shared by the healthcare industry globally. Whilst the reasons for these shortages are varied and complex, a key factor among them seem to involve an unhealthy work environment. The demanding nature of the critical care environment presents a challenge to many nursing professionals and it carries the risk of a high turn over rate due to the stress and intensity of the critical care environment. The critical care nurse is responsible for caring for the most ill patients in hospitals and the acute shortage of critical care nurses contributes to the intensity and pressures of this environment. Little evidence exists of research conducted to explore and describe the practice environment of the critical care nurse in South Africa. The main aim of this research study was to construct a theory for positive practice environments in critical care units in South Africa, grounded in the views and perceptions of critical care nurses working in the private hospital context. In recognition of the fact that a positive practice environment is considered to be the foundation for the successful recruitment and retention of nurses, it was clear that issues related to staff shortages will not be resolved unless the unhealthy work environment of nurses is adequately addressed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD: A constructivist grounded theory design was selected to address the inquiry at hand. The study was divided into two phases and pragmatic plurality allowed the use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to explore, describe and contextualise the data in order to achieve the overall aim of the study. In phase one, a checklist developed by the researcher was used to describe the demographic profile of the critical care units (n=31) that participated in the study. The perceptions of critical care nurses (n=298) regarding their current practice environment was explored and decribed by using a valid and reliable instrument, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI). In phase two, the elements of a positive practice environment were explored and described by means of intensive interviews with critical care nurses (n=6) working in the critical care environment. Concepts related to the phenomenon under investigation were identified by means of an inductive analysis of the data through a coding process and memo-writing. One core conceptual category and six related categories emerged out of the data. In the final phase of the theoretical sampling of the literature, a set of conclusions relevant to the phenomenon under study was constructed. The conclusions deduced from the empirical findings in both phases of the research process were integrated with those derived from the literature review to provide the foundation from which the theory was constructed. FINDINGS: The findings from the first phase of the research process provided information about the context in which the participants operate and assisted in discovering concepts considered relevant to the phenomenon under investigation. A grounded theory depicting the core conceptual category of "being in controi" and its relation to the other six categories was constructed from the data in order to explain a positive practice environment for critical care units in the private healthcare sector in South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: The current shortage of nurses is a concern shared by the healthcare industry globally. Whilst the reasons for these shortages are varied and complex, a key factor among them seem to involve an unhealthy work environment. The demanding nature of the critical care environment presents a challenge to many nursing professionals and it carries the risk of a high turn over rate due to the stress and intensity of the critical care environment. The critical care nurse is responsible for caring for the most ill patients in hospitals and the acute shortage of critical care nurses contributes to the intensity and pressures of this environment. Little evidence exists of research conducted to explore and describe the practice environment of the critical care nurse in South Africa. The main aim of this research study was to construct a theory for positive practice environments in critical care units in South Africa, grounded in the views and perceptions of critical care nurses working in the private hospital context. In recognition of the fact that a positive practice environment is considered to be the foundation for the successful recruitment and retention of nurses, it was clear that issues related to staff shortages will not be resolved unless the unhealthy work environment of nurses is adequately addressed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHOD: A constructivist grounded theory design was selected to address the inquiry at hand. The study was divided into two phases and pragmatic plurality allowed the use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to explore, describe and contextualise the data in order to achieve the overall aim of the study. In phase one, a checklist developed by the researcher was used to describe the demographic profile of the critical care units (n=31) that participated in the study. The perceptions of critical care nurses (n=298) regarding their current practice environment was explored and decribed by using a valid and reliable instrument, the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI). In phase two, the elements of a positive practice environment were explored and described by means of intensive interviews with critical care nurses (n=6) working in the critical care environment. Concepts related to the phenomenon under investigation were identified by means of an inductive analysis of the data through a coding process and memo-writing. One core conceptual category and six related categories emerged out of the data. In the final phase of the theoretical sampling of the literature, a set of conclusions relevant to the phenomenon under study was constructed. The conclusions deduced from the empirical findings in both phases of the research process were integrated with those derived from the literature review to provide the foundation from which the theory was constructed. FINDINGS: The findings from the first phase of the research process provided information about the context in which the participants operate and assisted in discovering concepts considered relevant to the phenomenon under investigation. A grounded theory depicting the core conceptual category of "being in controi" and its relation to the other six categories was constructed from the data in order to explain a positive practice environment for critical care units in the private healthcare sector in South Africa. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Teisės ir valdymo magistro tema yra aktuali, nes Lietuvos pabėgėlių teisinį statusą ir jų integraciją reglamentuojanti teisinė bazė buvo ir yra nuolat keičiama, todėl iškyla būtinybė išsiaiškinti ar Lietuvos teisės aktai užtikrina pabėgėlių integraciją į Lietuvos visuomenę. Pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje klausimus įvairiais aspektais nagrinėjo mokslininkai: Jakulevičienė L. (anksčiau Vysockienė), Biekša L., Tamutienė I., Šuopytė E., Zaleskienė I., Banevičienė J., Užkurienė O. ir kiti, tačiau pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje administracinio teisinio reguliavimo veiksmingumas, nagrinėtas nepakankamai. Tyrimo problema yra susijusi su tuo, kad būtina išsiaiškinti ar pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje administracinis teisinis reguliavimas įgyvendinant jį praktikoje yra pakankamai veiksmingas? Tyrimo objektas – pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje administracinis teisinis reguliavimas. Magistro darbo tikslas – atkleisti pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje administracinio teisinio reguliavimo veiksmingumą, išsiaiškinant integracijos metu kylančias problemas, integracijos gerąją praktiką ir aptariant integracijos gerinimo galimybes. Tyrimo metu: išsiaiškintos pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje ir jos administracinio teisinio reguliavimo veiksmingumo sampratos; atskleisti pabėgėlių integracijos teisinio reglamentavimo ypatumai Lietuvoje ir aptarti pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje teisinės aplinkos veiksmingumo vertinimo principai; išnagrinėti pabėgėlių integracijos Lietuvoje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Law and Management Master's theme is relevant, as Lithuania's legal status of refugees and their integration into the legislative framework has been and is continuously changed, so there is a need to ascertain whether the Lithuanian legislation ensures the integration of refugees into the Lithuanian society. Integration of refugees in Lithuania questions dealt with various aspects of the scientists: Jakulevičienė No. (Formerly Vysockienė) Biekša L. Tamutienė, I., E. Šuopytė, Zaleskienė I., Banevičienė J. O. Užkurienė and others, but the integration of refugees in Lithuania the legal regulation of administrative efficiency, insufficiently studied. The research problem is related to the fact that it is necessary to determine whether the integration of refugees in Lithuania in implementing the legal regulation of administrative practice, it is effective enough? Research object - integration of refugees in Lithuania administrative legal regulation. Master's goal - discovery of the administrative integration of refugees in Lithuania regulatory effectiveness by examining the challenges of integration, integration of best practices and discuss options for improving integration. The study: integration of refugees understood in Lithuania and its administrative and legal concept of regulatory efficiency, integration of refugees to reveal the peculiarities of legal regulation in Lithuania and Lithuania to discuss the integration of refugees in the legal environment for assessing... [to full text]

The study comprises an investigation of the quality of the clinical teaching environment of undergraduate students in the accredited Primary health care ( PHC) facilities used by a provincial nursing college in Limpopo. The researcher, who is employed full time in one of the accredited PHC facilities to which undergraduate students are admitted for clinical practice, became aware of the tension between the undergraduate students and professional nurses working in the PHC facility during the performance of clinical practice. Undergraduate students accused the professional nurses of neither supervising them properly during the execution of their clinical practice, nor assessing them on the prescribed practical outcomes. On the other hand, the professional nurses working in the PHC facility complained that undergraduate students were placed at the PHC facilities in large numbers with no clinical accompanist accompanying them. The research objectives were to determine the quality of clinical practice in the PHC clinical learning environment as rated by undergraduate students allocated by a provincial nursing college located working in a PHC facility in a district of Limpopo Province, and to formulate recommendations for the professional nurses in PHC districtmanagement to incorporate supervision for undergraduate students in order to enhance clinical teaching for undergraduate students in Primary health care facilities. The researcher used a quantitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual design. An all-inclusive sampling method was used to select research participants. Participants were undergraduate students of a provincial nursing college in Limpopo. Informed consent was obtained. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant authorities. Data was collected by using an internationally validated Clinical Learning Environment Supervision and Nurse Teacher Instrument (Saariskoki & Leino-Kilpi, 2008:259-267).. Data analysis was done by using descriptive statistics and revealed that the clinical practice environment was not conducive to enhancing practical skills development in the real practical PHC practice. Evaluation of study, limitations and recommendations for education, research, practice and policy were discussed. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The study comprises an investigation of the quality of the clinical teaching environment of undergraduate students in the accredited Primary health care ( PHC) facilities used by a provincial nursing college in Limpopo. The researcher, who is employed full time in one of the accredited PHC facilities to which undergraduate students are admitted for clinical practice, became aware of the tension between the undergraduate students and professional nurses working in the PHC facility during the performance of clinical practice. Undergraduate students accused the professional nurses of neither supervising them properly during the execution of their clinical practice, nor assessing them on the prescribed practical outcomes. On the other hand, the professional nurses working in the PHC facility complained that undergraduate students were placed at the PHC facilities in large numbers with no clinical accompanist accompanying them. The research objectives were to determine the quality of clinical practice in the PHC clinical learning environment as rated by undergraduate students allocated by a provincial nursing college located working in a PHC facility in a district of Limpopo Province, and to formulate recommendations for the professional nurses in PHC districtmanagement to incorporate supervision for undergraduate students in order to enhance clinical teaching for undergraduate students in Primary health care facilities. The researcher used a quantitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual design. An all-inclusive sampling method was used to select research participants. Participants were undergraduate students of a provincial nursing college in Limpopo. Informed consent was obtained. Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant authorities. Data was collected by using an internationally validated Clinical Learning Environment Supervision and Nurse Teacher Instrument (Saariskoki & Leino-Kilpi, 2008:259-267).. Data analysis was done by using descriptive statistics and revealed that the clinical practice environment was not conducive to enhancing practical skills development in the real practical PHC practice. Evaluation of study, limitations and recommendations for education, research, practice and policy were discussed. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014