Wildfires in Canada and around the world are increasing in frequency each year from factors such as accumulated fuel load, climate changes, and pine beetle infestation. Due to an increased proportion of individuals living in the wildland–urban interface areas within Canada and due to the increasing need for firefighters to fight the growing number of fires that burn each year, the potential threat for humans is also becoming greater. Conducted on the 2009 West Kelowna, British Columbia wildfires, this descriptive, exploratory, qualitative study incorporates quantitative validity measurements to investigate factors related to individual variations in psychological distress and posttraumatic growth (PTG). The findings revealed that perception of control, social support, compounding stressors (i.e., dual roles, ongoing responsibilities and personal issues), and coping methods (i.e., debriefing, humour, self-care behaviours, and reflection) were precursors to psychological health and resilience. Since wildfires are increasing in Canada as well as on a global scale, understanding how they affect residents and firefighting personnel from a mental health perspective is important to research, as it can lead to identifying more effective interventions, better provision of disaster relief services, and increase individual resilience. / xi, 193 leaves ; 29 cm

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Post-crisis intervention care in situations of danger in the Police of the Czech Republic. The topic of this diploma thesis consists in taking a deeper view into post-crisis intervention care in the Czech Police. The primary goal of the diploma thesis is to verify whether in the Czech Police a functional system of post-crisis intervention care is created that policemen or also their families can use if necessary. Further, we were interested whether there are opinions, attitudes and prejudice among policemen concerning the use of post-crisis intervention care. Therefore, in the theoretical part the diploma thesis deals with basic psychological terms that are closely related to the field of post-traumatic care in the Czech Police and summarizes issues of psychological care in the Czech Police. The entire object of the research is mapping the current situation of providing post-crisis care to policemen, the degree of awareness of this service, attitudes of policemen to using this service and last, but not least, purposefulness and efficiency of this service. An integral part of the goal of the work was an analysis of factors that facilitate or complicate the process of providing post-crisis care and suggestion of possible measures to make its functioning more efficient as well as finding main causes of insufficient utilisation of post-crisis intervention care by policemen. In compliance with the goal of the thesis a quantitative survey was carried out and the most suitable methods were used in such a way that the specified goal could be achieved in the most efficient way. The results of the survey carried out by us have confirmed that in the Czech Police a functioning system of post-crisis intervention care is created that policemen can use if necessary. The survey has also indicated that policemen are sufficiently informed about the system of post-crisis intervention care and that this system corresponds to the needs of police practice. However, the survey has also revealed that negative opinions, attitudes and prejudice concerning the psychological service of the Czech Police persist in policemen's minds. Reducing these negative tendencies would certainly contribute to more efficient utilisation of this service.

Violent cnme is among the most prominent distinguishing characteristics of South African society, it has a severely traumatising effect on the populations concerned. Based on research :findings and existing literature, this study explores traumatic effects of violent crime on the most intimate associate of the victim (the partner). Accordingly, this study deals with the much-neglected topic of secondary trauma, by focusing on the following aspects of or conditions associated with violent crime and the secondary victim: cognitive, emotional and relational effects the experience of trauma, loss, vulnerability, depression and acute stress. It reveals that, depending on the severity of the incident, its consequences for the partner of the victim may range from post-traumatic stress to acute stress or secondary traumatic stress. From the similar results returned for primary and secondary victims, it is apparent that in the future, both victim and supporter should have their needs addressed with equal emphasis. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Councelling)

The purpose of this study was to analyse the support systems for refugees in Southern Africa with specific reference to the Republic of Botswana. Qualitative framework as described by Lofland and Lofland (1984), Schensus and Schensus (1992) was used to conduct the investigation. Interviews were conducted with thirty refugees who currently living in Botswana as a refugee or asylum seeker. Focus group discussion was also held with twenty-six refugee workers. Interview findings were derived using Glaser and Straus' (1976) and Van Maanen, (1979) constant comparative method of qualitative analysis and were grouped into four major categories. Among the most significant findings were that the subjects agreed that on paper and by design, there are structures for providing the different services to refugees but refugees are not provided with adequate services. The second finding is that the support systems for refugees in Botswana are more focused on the provision of material support with little attention given to the psychosocial needs of the refugees. The third finding is that the Botswana government withheld some of the Articles of the 1951 UN refugee Convention, which deal with the socio-economic rights of refugees in Botswana. The fourth finding is that refugee workers need specialised training to enable them to address a wide rage of psychosocial issues affecting refugees. Last major finding is that there is no established clear system of service delivery in the participating agencies. The researcher concluded that because of trauma and stress experienced by refugees and refugee workers, there is a need to improve on the psychosocial support provided to refugees and refugee workers in Botswana by improving the knowledge and skills of refugee workers and promoting refugee participation. The researcher recommends two urgent actions that should be taken. First, the refugee management in Botswana need to improve on its service quality control mechanism, including evaluating its legal and operational framework. Second, psychosocial components need to be integrated into every aspect of the refugee programmes. This will support recovery for the many traumatised refugees and refugee workers in Botswana. / Social work / DPHIL (SOCIAL WORK)

This study was undertaken as a qualitative needs assessment of emotional support to the adolescent with a terminally ill parent. Five participants in their adolescent life phase (14 to 18 years) with a terminally ill parent, participated in the study. Individual unstructured interviews were conducted with each participant, in order to assess their need for emotional support. With the consent of the parents and adolescents, the interviews were video-recorded and transcribed. Eight recurring themes were selected from the case studies and verified with the existing literature. The result of the study is the assessment of the need for emotional support to the adolescent with a terminally ill parent. / Social Work / M. Diac (Play Therapy)(Social Work)

Text in Afrikaans / In today's society our children are being incredibly exposed to trauma and death. Parents want to protect their children against hardship and loss and it is evident that todays society is characterized by social pathology. In view of the above the researcher studied literature extensively to investigate the affect of the phenomenon of death and trauma in the life of the young child. In order to establish the availability of therapy programs for the young child in childcare whose parents died in an unnatural way. It was evident that the present South African society is indeed characterized by conflict, homicide and violence. The death of a parent is a traumatic experience for the young child (aged two to seven years). VVhen death occurs suddenly it was found that the grief process is more complex. Through the process of literature study and empirical investigation it seems that many young children, who lost their parents through unnatural death, are placed in childcare institutions. In this study it was established that the fact that children were placed in childcare did not always imply that therapeutic intervention took place. Limited financial support and social services contributed to insufficient therapeutical intervention. Furthermore it was found that the investigated childcare institutions couldn't provide the researcher with therapeutic programmes. This study therefore indicates that there is a need for the development of therapeutic programmes for the young child in childcare. whose parents died in an unnatural way. / In die hedendaagse samelewing blyk dit dat kinders al hoe meer aan dood en trauma blootgestel word. Hoewel ouers graag hulle kinders wil beskerm teen hartseer en verlies, blyk dit dat vandag se samelewing gekenmerk word deur 'n vorm van sosiale patologie. In die lig van voorafgaande, het die navorser literatuurstudie onderneem om die teenwoordigheid en die fenomeen van dood en trauma in die lewe van die jong kind te ondersoek. 'n Verdere literatuurstudie is ook onderneem om die rou ervaring van die jong kind te ondersoek. Die navorser wou ook in hierdie studie vasstel of daar terapeutiese begeleiding aan die jong kind in kindersorg, wie se ouers op 'n onnatuurlike wyse gesterf het, beskikbaar is. Daar is in die studie gevind dat die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing inderdaad gekenmerk word deur konflik, moord en misdaad. Die afsterwe van 'n ouer is 'n traumatiese ondervinding vir die jong kind (twee tot sewe jaar). Wanneer die dood skielik en onverwags intree, is bevind dat die rouproses gekompliseerd is. Deur die proses van literatuurstudie en empiriese ondersoek blyk dit dat verskeie jong kinders wie se ouers op 'n onnatuurlike wyse gesterf het, in kindersorginstansies geplaas word. Daar is in hierdie studie bewys dat hoewel die kind in kindersorginstansies geplaas word, terapeutiese begeleiding nie altyd plaasvind nie. Hierdie gebrekkige terapeutiese begeleiding word toegeskryf aan die feit dat nie voldoende finansiele ondersteuning en maatskaplike dienste is nie. Daar is verder gevind dat kindersorginstansies, wat aan die studie deelgeneem het, nie oor traumaterapie programme vir terapeutiese begeleiding beskik nie. Hierdie studie toon dus dat daar 'n behoefte is vir die ontwikkeling van terapeutiese programme vir die jong kind in kindersorg wie se ouers op 'n onnatuurlike wyse gesterf het. / Educational studies / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

This dissertation undertakes a comparative study of certain works of literature concerning Vietnamese and American troops during the United States’ involvement in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. My assumption was that during war it is possible to conclude that enemy forces behave in the same manner in order to reach the identical goal, that of victory over the ‘other’ side. I sought to ascertain how under the selfsame conditions they could be considered as enemies. Divided only by the 17th Parallel: A Study of Similarities Between American and Vietnamese Soldiers in Selected Works By close reading of six texts, three from Vietnamese and three from American perspectives, I have attempted to extract their similar views from each in order to create a context in which the likeness of each side is demonstrated. This was achieved by exploring four themes: those of landscape, time, conflict and ghosts. It was discovered that the protagonists’ behaviour was the same and that rather than being the others’ adversary their true enemies were found within their own ranks. The results indicate that a wider perspective should be adopted on war than one which regards it as a simplistic binary consisting of two opposing sides. Contrary to any supposition that enemies must remain separated, there is more than enough evidence for one to conclude that they actually occupied mutual psychological territory. Key Terms: Landscape, time, ghosts, psychological damage, Reader Response, CSR, PTSD, New Historicism, dehumanisation, conditions of war, 1954 Geneva Agreement, ideology, war literature. / English Literature / M.A. (English Literature)

The purpose of this study is to describe trauma in the lives of social work students studying at Unisa South Africa. It explores how they describe trauma, what traumatic experiences they have gone through, the effect these experiences had on them, what they did to cope and how these experiences impacted their work as aspiring social workers. A case study was conducted with fourth-level students at Unisa South Africa. The theoretical framework adopted for the research was the person-centred approach. The research involved both focus group interviews and a survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data were generated. Descriptive statistics were used to create a profile of the participants. Qualitative data were analysed using a hermeneutic method. The perceptions of the participants were re-told by the researcher in the form of specific themes that emerged from the data. These themes were discussed and compared with the literature. Implications for the students’ work as social workers were discussed. The study accessed unique aspects of trauma that are grounded in the South African context. The description of trauma that emerged from the research created a new definition of the meaning of trauma. The research discusses the effects of trauma on the emerging professional self of the social work student. Recommendations are made that could be valuable to social work educators wishing to further the personal and professional growth of social work students. The research is also of value to those working with traumatised people. / Social Work / D .Litt. et Phil. (Social Work)

The thesis deals with the chaplaincy role, taking into consideration man´s religious dimension in a specific Czech Republic Armed Forces environment. It conducts a survey of military chaplaincy history at first, from a biblical ages to the present days and outlines possibilities for it´s further orientation. It deals with a cornerstone of the chaplaincy services afterwords, which is chaplain´s personality and his particular roles. The thesis subsequently analyses the subject of ethics of a soldier as well as marginally deals with the theme of war defense and pacifism. The end of the thesis describes stress and it´s impact to a soldier, including consequences of such an impact and it is dealing with the question of the military chaplaincy role, during following care about soldiers, affected by post traumatic stress disorder, in a context of holistic philosophy. Comparing and assessing the obtained information, this thesis finds out, if the military chaplaincy has an irreplaceable position in the Czech Republic Armed Forces.