In his thesis, Re-authoring life narratives of trauma survivors in KwaZulu-Natal: Spiritual perspective, the researcher investigates a holistic understanding of the effects of trauma on surviving individuals and communities historically affected by political violence in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Traditionally, the exploration of the impact of trauma on survivors in South Africa has been focused mainly on the bio-psycho-social aspects. The Bio-psycho-social approach recognises that trauma affects people on several dimensions- biological, social and psychological. However, Nevid (et al 2006:19) and Kaminer (et al 2012) acknowledge that these bio-psychosocial factors are incomplete for us to understand the effects of trauma on the individual and call for consideration of all possible pathways and account for multiple factors, influences, and interactions. Using qualitative and narrative approach, personal life narratives were listened to with the aim of looking in depth at the effects of traumatic experiences on the research participants, and specifically investigate whether, and how trauma affected their spirituality. The findings show that the research participants sustained psychological, moral and spiritual injuries during and after traumatic experiences. The results concur with Buckenham’s (1999:7-8) argument that trauma wreaks its toll in the life of a person emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, in our relationships with ourselves, others and with God. The study also established that regardless of religious affiliation, research participants turned to spiritual resources for answers, healing and recovery in traumatic situations. Therefore, the study recommends the integration of the spiritual perspective to reach a holistic model of understanding and treating traumatized individuals and communities. Although the study is localised in the South African context, the results have a much wider relevance in understanding the role of ‘posttraumatic spirituality’ in the re-authoring of life narratives shattered by trauma. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Practical Theology / unrestricted

The purpose of this research was to investigate how members of the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) perceive crime prevention within the context of metropolitan policing. Based on the social constructionist paradigm, the researcher collected data relating to the crime-prevention phenomenon from all rank groups within the organisation by making use of various focus-group and in-depth interviews. Collected data were transcribed, coded, analysed and arranged into themes, subthemes and categories. This analysis indicated that various opinions as to how the crime-prevention phenomenon applies to a metropolitan police department (MPD) currently exist within the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department. Various opinions were identified as to why a MPD was created, what the focal point of a MPD should be and what the current focal point of the TMPD is. Participants had different views on how a MPD should participate in functions like road-traffic and by-law policing, and how these functions contribute to crime prevention. Crime prevention proved to be an ambiguous term indeed, as no common understanding of this complicated phenomenon could have been identified amongst participants. It seemed that participants were not familiar with the crime-prevention capabilities of the organisation as they advocated a comprehensive participation in crime-prevention models like situational crime prevention, social crime prevention, crime prevention through environmental design, and crime prevention through effective criminal justice, while the organisation can actually participate in these crime-prevention models only to a very limited extent. The lack of a central philosophy or strategy that describes how the TMPD should conduct its business became evident during the study, and resulted in an organisation with no uniform understanding of crime prevention. Consequently, crime prevention means different things to different members of the TMPD. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Policing)

The diploma thesis "Media terrorism via bacteria E.coli" puts the so-called cucumber affair from Summer 2011 into wider context and aims to discover the main attributes of contemporary risks and define the way they are presented in the media. Misguiding media releases and the inability to identify the source of the bloody diarrhea outbreak in Germany caused by E.coli bacteria have collectively had a significant impact on consumer behavior and economic stability on a global level. Most people are dependent on government and expert authorities due to the fact that they cannot recognize what represents a realistic threat and what serves as a basis for media sensation. This is why this thesis studies the social constructionist theory, basic media routines and practices as well as theoretical concepts that support the production of pseudo-events. A content analysis of selected Czech dailies and weeklies was executed in order to enable a comparison of the language that has been common for all "pandemics" in the 21st century.

Worldwide, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pandemic has proven to be a health care challenge from the perspective of testing and treatment, including how to create sustainable positive prevention, prevention after becoming HIV positive, that is culturally relevant and gender sensitive. South Africa has been severely affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic and the agricultural sector is no exception. This statement is supported by the findings of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) study. According to an IOM study, the HIV prevalence rate among farm workers in the country is about 40%, the highest ever recorded in Southern Africa. A study conducted in Limpopo and Mpumalanga farms revealed that the prevalence of the twenty-three farms was 39, 5% which is twice the UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS) national prevalence percentage of 18, 1% in South Africa. The researchers of this study could not pin-point a single factor causing this high rate of HIV infection on these farms. A multitude of factors, such as multiple and concurrent partnerships, transactional sex, irregular condom use, presence of sexually transmitted infections and sexual violence. The research also showed that almost half of the women working on farms around these provinces are HIV positive, compared to only a third of the male workforce. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the role of culture and gender in the spread of HIV and AIDS among farm workers in South Africa; with the view of developing culture and gender sensitive HIV and AIDS prevention strategies. descriptive and explorative qualitative approach was adopted. In depth individual semi-structured interviews were used to explore and describe the role of culture and gender in the spread of HIV and AIDS among farm workers. Purposive and convenient sampling methods were used to select participants who met the inclusion criteria in the Tshitwani and Barota farming community in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Religious and cultural beliefs were believed to be fuelling the spread of HIV among farm workers. Multiple sexual partners and inconsistent condom usage was common among participants. It was evident that stigma and social isolation leading to non- disclosure had adverse repercussions as some participants stated that they would spread HIV intentionally. Powerlessness and lack of decision-making by female farm workers was common as they were dependent on their male partners to make decisions regarding sexual matters in their relationship. Conclusion: More HIV prevention programmes tailored to dispel fears about stigma and correct myths about HIV-transmission should reach ordinary men and women in order to curb the spread of HIV among farm workers. The researcher believes that the strategies that emanate from this study would be applied in other settings other than the farming community. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

The purpose of this research was to investigate how members of the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD) perceive crime prevention within the context of metropolitan policing. Based on the social constructionist paradigm, the researcher collected data relating to the crime-prevention phenomenon from all rank groups within the organisation by making use of various focus-group and in-depth interviews. Collected data were transcribed, coded, analysed and arranged into themes, subthemes and categories. This analysis indicated that various opinions as to how the crime-prevention phenomenon applies to a metropolitan police department (MPD) currently exist within the Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department. Various opinions were identified as to why a MPD was created, what the focal point of a MPD should be and what the current focal point of the TMPD is. Participants had different views on how a MPD should participate in functions like road-traffic and by-law policing, and how these functions contribute to crime prevention. Crime prevention proved to be an ambiguous term indeed, as no common understanding of this complicated phenomenon could have been identified amongst participants. It seemed that participants were not familiar with the crime-prevention capabilities of the organisation as they advocated a comprehensive participation in crime-prevention models like situational crime prevention, social crime prevention, crime prevention through environmental design, and crime prevention through effective criminal justice, while the organisation can actually participate in these crime-prevention models only to a very limited extent. The lack of a central philosophy or strategy that describes how the TMPD should conduct its business became evident during the study, and resulted in an organisation with no uniform understanding of crime prevention. Consequently, crime prevention means different things to different members of the TMPD. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Policing)

In hierdie navorsing word die toelating van vrouepredikante in die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk vanuit ’n kerkhistoriese en prakties-teologiese hoek bestudeer. Die navorsingswaardes wat in die sosiaal-konstruksionisme geld, naamlik dat sodanige navorsing ’n deelnemende en verhalende proses is, dat die invloed van diskoerse bestudeer word en dat die belangrikheid van taal in ag geneem word, is in die navorsing verreken. Vanuit ’n post-fundamentele teologiese posisionering is van ’n paar van die bewegings in ’n postfundamentele prakties-teologiese metodologie gebruik gemaak om na die belewing van agt vroueproponente en -predikante deur die loop van die proses van toelating, én daarna, te luister en saam met hulle te interpreteer. Daar is van die volgende bewegings gebruik gemaak: Die beskrywing van die verskillende kontekste waarteen die roepingsverhale en loopbane van vrouepredikante afgespeel het; die aanhoor en beskrywing van die kontekstuele ervarings van die betrokke vroue; die interpretasie van en betekenisgewing aan die verhale in samewerking met die vroue wat as medenavorsers geag word en die beskrywing van en refleksie oor die ervaring van God se teenwoordigheid in hulle roepingsverhale en bedieninge as proponente en predikante. Hierdie postfundamentele prakties-teologiese metodologie is inherent narratief van aard en sluit ook nou aan by die denklyne wat in die sosiaal-konstruksionisme geld. Deur hierdie metodologie is daar probeer om ’n bydrae te lewer tot die ontwikkeling en uitbou van mondelinge geskiedenis. Die beskrywing van vroue se verhale is terselfdertyd ook vrouegeskiedenis wat poog om vroue meer hoor- en sigbaar in algemene geskiedenis, maar spesifiek ook kerkgeskiedenis te maak. Die metodologie pas ook binne ’n meer postmoderne benadering tot geskiedenis in. Aan die hand hiervan is die breër landkaart en historiese konteks waarteen die roepingsverhale van vrouepredikante en kerklike vergaderings oor ’n tydperk van bykans 107 jaar afgespeel is, in breë trekke en deur middel van tydlyne beskryf. Die ontwikkeling en uitbouing van die volksmoederdiskoers oor die dieselfde tydperk is van nader beskou. Daar is verder gekyk na die invloed wat die breër konteks en die volksmoederdiskoers op vroue gedurende die twintigste eeu gehad het, hoe vroue oor die algemeen hulleself in bepaalde vroueruimtes soos vroue-organisasies uitgeleef het en of Afrikanervroue se stemme in die openbaar gehoor is al dan nie. Teen hierdie agtergrond is die verloop van die kerklike debat oor die toelating van vroue tot die besondere ampte, naamlik diakens, ouderlinge en vrouepredikante, beskryf. Hierdie debat kan in drie tydperke opgedeel word. Die eerste tydperk wat van 1966-1978 strek kan as ’n tyd van nadenke beskryf word. Vanaf 1982 tot 1990 is die debat deur ’n sterk verskil in Skrifbeskouing gekenmerk. Die laaste tydperk wat vanaf 1991 tot 2007 strek, beskryf hoe die praktyk stadig pos gevat het en hoe die gesprek uiteindelik na gendersake uitgebrei het. Die vroueproponente en -predikante se roepingsverhale, hulle belewenis van God in die pad wat hulle moes loop en eerste treë in die bediening is weer deurgaans teen die agtergrond van die breër landkaart, volksmoederdiskoers en die NG Kerk se verskillende sinodes aangehoor, beskryf en in samewerking met hulle geïnterpreteer. Bykomend tot die groep persoonlike verhale is twee verhale van vroue wat reeds voor 1950 teologie studeer het en nie meer vandag leef nie, opgeteken. In al die gesprekke het die belangrikheid van vrouepredikante se roepingsverhale, hulle positiewe en negatiewe belewenisse in die kerk, die impak van oorwegend manlike kerktaal op vroue, die gemis en impak van rolmodelle, die frustrasies rondom proponentskap en hulle belewing van God onder andere na vore gekom. Dit is ook opmerklik dat vrouepredikante oor die algemeen nie aktief aan die debat deelgeneem nie en dat die meeste van die medenavorsers in hierdie studie ’n bepaalde stuk ongemak met gendersake en feminisme beleef. Hulle laat net soos in die volksmoederdiskoers die praatwerk aan ander oor. / Thesis (DD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Church History and Church Policy / unrestricted