This study examined the motivation of entrepreneurs in starting a business. More specifically, it aimed to identify whether entrepreneurs have common motives for starting their own business, and to determine whether men and women have different reasons for becoming entrepreneurs. The empirical study was conducted on a sample of 101 entrepreneurs. A motivation scale and open-ended questions were used to measure motivation. The results indicated that men and women have various reasons for starting a business, and are primarily motivated by the need for independence, need for material incentives and the need for achievement. The need to contribute to the community was not an important motive. Comparatively, male entrepreneurs were more motivated by the need to give family security and to make a difference in the business, and female entrepreneurs were motivated more by the need to keep learning and the need for more money to survive. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The fact that an understanding of the self determines one's self-esteem and that self-esteem is an important contributor to one's achievements is seemingly undisputed. Self-esteem is not only a product of how others evaluate an individual but also, and most importantly, how an individual evaluates himself or herself. At times people tend to evaluate themselves unrealistically while at other times they evaluate themselves realistically. Unrealistic self-evaluation is mostly a characteristic of adolescence and if this is not managed properly it can have a dire consequence for the adolescent's future. Adolescence is an important but also a difficult stage in the development of an individual. During this stage profound physical, emotional, psychological and cognitive changes occur. It is a period during which decisions about careerpaths and the demands that such decisions will place on the individual are made. It is therefore during this stage that realistic self-evaluation becomes critical. This research study was undertaken in order to determine how the Venda-speaking adolescents evaluate themselves and whether such self-evaluation is realistic or not. The research was motivated by an observation that the school drop-out rate is high and that an increasing number of girl learners fall pregnant before completing Grade 12. It is assumed that these tendencies and behaviours are a product of the learners' self-evaluation. A theoretical background on self-evaluation was then given through a literature review. In the process a link was established between self-evaluation and constructs such as self-concept, self-esteem, self worth, self-identity as well as personality. Different theories used to explain present and expected future behaviour were also discussed. After this review question items were drawn and compiled into questionnaires to be administered to randomly selected learners, teachers and parents. The question items, sixty in number, were categorised into the following dimensions of self-evaluation: * Physical self * Academic self * Social self * Value self * Family self * Psychological self Each dimension was covered by ten question items which were tested for validity and reliability. The research study came up with the following findings: * Parents and teachers agree in their evaluation of adolescents regarding the dimensions mentioned above * Adolescents rate themselves significantly more favourably than teachers and parents evaluate them. * Venda-speaking adolescents evaluate themselves unrealistically. It is hoped that the findings and recommendations of this research will be beneficial to schools, policy-makers and parents. Learning areas such as Life Orientation can be used to help learners evaluate themselves more realistically. Programmes can also be developed to ensure that adolescent self-evaluation is congruent with present behaviour. / Educational Studies / D. Ed (Psychology of Education)

A study was conducted to describe and interpret the personal strategies that South African Police Service officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, use in their line of work. These are strategies to deal with the impact of the primary victims’ critical incidents of rape, domestic violence, murder and road accidents. The focus was on describing the impact of the critical incidents that the officers are exposed to, which manifest in a form of traumatic stress, namely, vicarious traumatisation, and management of this impact. Twenty participants were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling techniques from the family violence, child protection and sexual offences, domestic violence, field training, detective and social crime prevention units. Unstructured open-ended interviews, diaries and follow-up telephone interviews were used as data collection methods and data were collected in the participants’ home languages, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Data gathered necessitated looking into both the aspects of the officers’ organisational and operational work. Data were thus analysed through the content thematic and constant comparative data analysis methods. The results first presented a profile of police vicarious traumatisation in the Vhembe District, which include the types of critical incidents exposed to, the organisational and operational stressors that lead to vicarious traumatisation, and the description of vicarious traumatisation symptoms. Second, a theoretical framework of the process of police critical incidents impact management (PCIIM) was developed. The framework shows that the management of the impact of the encountered incidents is inspired by various coping needs and subcultures of the officers, and the management takes place through the use of two styles of trauma management, namely, the linear and multilateral styles, which refer to application of coping strategies successively and the combination of horizontal and vertical application of coping strategies, respectively. The coping strategies used by the officers help them to have an objective understanding of the critical incidents encountered, have less severe symptoms of vicarious traumatisation, some symptoms last for shorter periods than before, and other symptoms are no longer experienced. Resilience to the encountered incidents is shown through the development of coping strategies to handle the incidents, facing them, and showing cognitive hardiness. The officers also manage to reflect on the experiences encountered, engage in narratives about them and mutual help thus still working towards attaining posttraumatic growth. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The fact that an understanding of the self determines one's self-esteem and that self-esteem is an important contributor to one's achievements is seemingly undisputed. Self-esteem is not only a product of how others evaluate an individual but also, and most importantly, how an individual evaluates himself or herself. At times people tend to evaluate themselves unrealistically while at other times they evaluate themselves realistically. Unrealistic self-evaluation is mostly a characteristic of adolescence and if this is not managed properly it can have a dire consequence for the adolescent's future. Adolescence is an important but also a difficult stage in the development of an individual. During this stage profound physical, emotional, psychological and cognitive changes occur. It is a period during which decisions about careerpaths and the demands that such decisions will place on the individual are made. It is therefore during this stage that realistic self-evaluation becomes critical. This research study was undertaken in order to determine how the Venda-speaking adolescents evaluate themselves and whether such self-evaluation is realistic or not. The research was motivated by an observation that the school drop-out rate is high and that an increasing number of girl learners fall pregnant before completing Grade 12. It is assumed that these tendencies and behaviours are a product of the learners' self-evaluation. A theoretical background on self-evaluation was then given through a literature review. In the process a link was established between self-evaluation and constructs such as self-concept, self-esteem, self worth, self-identity as well as personality. Different theories used to explain present and expected future behaviour were also discussed. After this review question items were drawn and compiled into questionnaires to be administered to randomly selected learners, teachers and parents. The question items, sixty in number, were categorised into the following dimensions of self-evaluation: * Physical self * Academic self * Social self * Value self * Family self * Psychological self Each dimension was covered by ten question items which were tested for validity and reliability. The research study came up with the following findings: * Parents and teachers agree in their evaluation of adolescents regarding the dimensions mentioned above * Adolescents rate themselves significantly more favourably than teachers and parents evaluate them. * Venda-speaking adolescents evaluate themselves unrealistically. It is hoped that the findings and recommendations of this research will be beneficial to schools, policy-makers and parents. Learning areas such as Life Orientation can be used to help learners evaluate themselves more realistically. Programmes can also be developed to ensure that adolescent self-evaluation is congruent with present behaviour. / Educational Studies / D. Ed (Psychology of Education)

This study examined the motivation of entrepreneurs in starting a business. More specifically, it aimed to identify whether entrepreneurs have common motives for starting their own business, and to determine whether men and women have different reasons for becoming entrepreneurs. The empirical study was conducted on a sample of 101 entrepreneurs. A motivation scale and open-ended questions were used to measure motivation. The results indicated that men and women have various reasons for starting a business, and are primarily motivated by the need for independence, need for material incentives and the need for achievement. The need to contribute to the community was not an important motive. Comparatively, male entrepreneurs were more motivated by the need to give family security and to make a difference in the business, and female entrepreneurs were motivated more by the need to keep learning and the need for more money to survive. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

A study was conducted to describe and interpret the personal strategies that South African Police Service officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, use in their line of work. These are strategies to deal with the impact of the primary victims’ critical incidents of rape, domestic violence, murder and road accidents. The focus was on describing the impact of the critical incidents that the officers are exposed to, which manifest in a form of traumatic stress, namely, vicarious traumatisation, and management of this impact. Twenty participants were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling techniques from the family violence, child protection and sexual offences, domestic violence, field training, detective and social crime prevention units. Unstructured open-ended interviews, diaries and follow-up telephone interviews were used as data collection methods and data were collected in the participants’ home languages, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Data gathered necessitated looking into both the aspects of the officers’ organisational and operational work. Data were thus analysed through the content thematic and constant comparative data analysis methods. The results first presented a profile of police vicarious traumatisation in the Vhembe District, which include the types of critical incidents exposed to, the organisational and operational stressors that lead to vicarious traumatisation, and the description of vicarious traumatisation symptoms. Second, a theoretical framework of the process of police critical incidents impact management (PCIIM) was developed. The framework shows that the management of the impact of the encountered incidents is inspired by various coping needs and subcultures of the officers, and the management takes place through the use of two styles of trauma management, namely, the linear and multilateral styles, which refer to application of coping strategies successively and the combination of horizontal and vertical application of coping strategies, respectively. The coping strategies used by the officers help them to have an objective understanding of the critical incidents encountered, have less severe symptoms of vicarious traumatisation, some symptoms last for shorter periods than before, and other symptoms are no longer experienced. Resilience to the encountered incidents is shown through the development of coping strategies to handle the incidents, facing them, and showing cognitive hardiness. The officers also manage to reflect on the experiences encountered, engage in narratives about them and mutual help thus still working towards attaining posttraumatic growth. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / Stress management is a major challenge in South Africa, as well as other countries. Job stress has negative effect on professional nurses ’rendering of patient care. They should thus be able to manage their stress successfully in order to render quality nursing care to the customers. The purpose of the study was to identify and describe factors contributing to stressors among professional nurses, the effects of stressors on the wellbeing of professional nurses and the management of stress by professional nurses. METHOD: A quantitative, exploratory, descriptive design was utilised. The target population of this research study comprised of all professional nurses who were at work the day the researcher visited the sampled hospitals. The questionnaires were used to collect data from the sampled professional nurses, and descriptive statistic was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The findings revealed that 45% of the professional nurses experienced pressure of work without rest, whereas 75% viewed changes at work as challenging and 15% mostly experienced accidents while on duty. Most of them indicated that they had previously iii experienced anxiety and that they did not engage in exercise. The finding further revealed that EAP is not facilitated in most institutions and that 97.4% of the professional nurses like to have more knowledge on management of stress. The results of this study may be useful to the entire population of health professionals, policy

MGS / Institute for Gender and Youth Studies / Masculinity forms are identified as forms that perpetuate gender-based violence. This study analyzed and challenged the entire cultural and patriarchal attributes that constructively create current male roles and identities that play a significant part in gender discrimination and oppression around the world. The way masculinities shape gender role stereotypes have left a legacy whereby women are disadvantaged in relation to men. Masculinities continue to define power dynamics between men and women. Women have less access to resources, benefits, information and are also denied access to decision making processes, both within and beyond household realms. The major objective of the study is to explore the connection between masculinity and gender-based violence. This study described the importance of using Participatory Action Research Design and the use of qualitative methodological process which is followed by the study’s location and population, sampling and data collection methods. The researcher explains the reasons for using qualitative methods for both data collection and analysis. Face to face semi structured interviews was used as data collection instruments with open-ended questions. Purposive and snowball sampling were adopted with a total of 10 research participants including both women and men (young and old). Furthermore, this study explored the researcher’s reflexivity or positionality, and epistemic privilege. This study also outlined the ethical issues that have been taken into consideration which include informed consent, confidentiality, and privacy. Data was analyzed thematically by identifying and expanding significant themes that emerged from respondents’ responses. The findings of this study entail that unemployment and alcohol abuse are among the factors that lead to gender-based violence. The findings had it that cultural practices such as polygamy in families, initiation schools, media are among models of masculinities that had imparted the notion or belief that a man is a provider, decision-maker, and head of the family and no other member of the family should contest that responsibility. This study concludes that the cultural and social norms socialize males to be aggressive, powerful, unemotional and controlling and contribute to a social acceptance of men as dominant. Lastly, this study also looked at the limitations of the study as well as the conclusion. This study recommended that both men and women should collectively diagnose masculine relationships that are borne out of the system of patriarchy, to usher in a non- sexist society devoid of gender discrimination. / NRF

PhD (African Studies) / Department of African Studies / Literature and media reports constantly show increased incidences of ill-discipline and lawlessness amongst the youth. These misdemeanours adversely affect communities and the behaviour of the youth as active, responsible and proactive members of the society and community members. Unfortunately, there are insufficient conversations about morality across social strata. The elders often seem disenfranchised by the popularity of the rights-based approach and modernity. In addition, communities are not proactive in coming up with initiatives that encourage on-going nyambedzano between the elders and the youth on issues around morals and discipline. Nyambedzano is a Venda concept that does not seem to have the exact English translation, so in this study I will use the concepts communication, conversation and dialogue interchangeably. Furthermore, there is a continuous blame game in the community about who should lead effective conversations that should buttress the development of responsible youth citizens. The purpose of this study was to explore the relevance of nyambedzano between the youth and elders about African morality among the youth. The study also aimed to investigate factors that were hindering nyambedzano to take place. I conducted qualitative appreciative focus group discussions with the elders and youth (who were in and out of school) that were purposively selected. Data was analysed thematically in relation to the stages of an Appreciative Inquiry approach. Findings revealed that nyambedzano between the elders and the youth about youth morality is relevant; however, its application is complicated by several factors which include the changing family structure, the changing parenting age, media and technology influences, a rightsbased approach to child rearing, and the denigration of cultural values at home, school and in the community. These findings were synthesised to develop a facilitative nyambedzano programme. Contrary to Vhavenda cultural practices, nyambedzano would have to be a two-way communication process between the elders and the youth. It would take place at different contexts, the home being the starting point. There would have to be some compromise between the rights- based contemporary approaches and traditional cultural ways of dealing with morality. This study makes methodological, empirical and theoretical contributions. An Appreciative Inquiry approach was applied to the Vhavenda ethnic group to explore the possibility of Nyambedzano between the youth and elders. The empirical contribution is that this study is the first to address nyambedzano as a process for promoting morality among the youth, within the context of the Tshivenda culture. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in the development of the facilitative nyambedzano programme that describes how nyambedzano between the elders and the youth should take place, taking into consideration the cultural values of the Vhavenda people. The recommendations are based on the creation of supportive parents, families, teachers, schools, churches, community members and policy makers. / NRF

The purpose of this study was to develop an empowerment model for families of mentally handicapped children in Moletši district in Limpopo Province. To achieve this purpose, the study consisted of four steps, namely exploring the meaning of empowerment in the context of families with mentally handicapped children; developing and describing a model for empowerment of such families; formulating guidelines for the implementation of the model, and evaluating the implementation of the model. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual theory-generative design was used. The population of the study was all families who had mentally handicapped children in Moletši district of the Polokwane and Aganang municipalities. Semi-structured interviews, assessment guides and case studies were conducted with the families to evaluate the effectiveness of the model and whether the families reached self-efficacy in the care, treatment and rehabilitation of their mentally handicapped children. Non-probability, purposive sampling was used in order to obtain relevant information from the correct participants. Concepts were identified and analysed, which led to the development of the model for empowerment of families with mentally handicapped children. The model was applied in practice, where the families’ problems were identified and planned for, and the plans were put into action by means of case studies, and monitoring and evaluation was done through observation, interviews, discussion and meetings.The results revealed that the families proved to be independent and reached self-efficacy in the care, treatment and rehabilitation of their mentally handicapped children. The model is a unique contribution to nursing education, research, administration and practice and sets guidelines for a new field in the practice of psychiatric nursing. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil.