This study features an examination of the effects of working with traumatised individuals, namely vicarious traumatisation. Predictor variables such as age, career longevity, personal trauma history and workload were correlated with vicarious trauma. Support systems used by nurses were explored. The questionnaire consisted of items of the TSI Belief Scale, demographic characteristics of persons with a personal trauma history, work related aspects and support systems. Participants were 37 nurses (30 female and 7 male) who render a community mental health service in the Cape Metropole. Results of the study indicate that the variables age and career longevity were statistically significantly related to vicarious trauma. There was no relationship between personal trauma history, workload and vicarious trauma. The nurses identified the psychiatrist and psychologist as their main support systems in dealing with vicarious trauma. Recommendations were made to assist the organisation and nurses on how to deal with vicarious trauma. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Cloud accounting software (CAS) emerged as part of the overall development of cloud computing. The cloud, as it is referred to, has heralded a new age in information technology and offers new and unique opportunities and challenges for organisations of all sizes. The aim of this study was to determine the awareness and perception of cloud computing technology by accounting firms in Cape Town. The findings of the survey reveal that significant awareness exists of CAS by firm managers and accountants. In some respects there are significant differences between small and medium-large firms regarding their perceptions of CAS. Smaller firms seem to be more positive toward CAS and also more agile and capable of deploying CAS than medium-large firms, and thereby are taking advantage of CAS more effectively. It is evident from the study that there are opportunities for both small and medium-large firms to make use of CAS in their attempts to grow their businesses and it is important that they become familiar with CAS and the opportunities and threats which it presents. Marketers of CAS products need to consider the firm’s size, as well as the organisational decision-making process for CAS acquisition, which can aid them in their marketing designs. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

A non-experimental quantitative, descriptive and contextual study which sought to examine the level of awareness about Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), and how aware female diabetic patients were about retinal screening as a preventative measure to eye complications and blindness was conducted. The objective of the study was to explore and describe the variables related to the awareness level of female diabetic patients about Diabetic Retinopathy and diabetic retinal screening. A convenient sample of 149 respondents was obtained. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), 13.0 computer software program. Results evidenced a good level of awareness about DR. Recommendations based on the findings were made for consideration in clinical practice, education and research. / Health Studies / M.P.H.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Recent political changes in South Africa emphasize democracy and the role of schools in promoting democratic virtues. The importance of schools responsibility in developing democratic virtues is also internationally recognized, although different authors / South Africa

This project deals with the concepts of care, contentedness and self-reflection in light of the ecological plights that face our planet and the way that my artistic practice reflects this. It achieves this by focusing on marine forms of plastic pollution along Cape Town’s coastline as well as on the water resources during Cape Town’s water crisis that started in 2017. To unite these areas of interest, the conceptual platform and the visual associations of “a low tide” were used to navigate material and practical considerations of my chosen alternative photographic media and how they can best address such interests. / Art and Music / M.V.A.

South Africa has been synonymous with police brutality for many years. This stigma remains till this day. The South African Police Service and the Government has tried in vain to change the image of the South African Police Service. This research was conducted to analyse the prevention of police brutality in the Western Cape, focusing on Cape Town. This will include the effects police brutality has had on the community, and the resulting breakdown of relations between the police and the community. This study will compare statistics of police brutality related incidents from South Africa with that of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia and Nigeria. This comparison will indicate if South Africans do suffer more brutality cases at the hands of the police or is brutality by police officers a worldwide phenomenon. The research questions that were asked during this study are if police brutality is a problem, why does police brutality occur, how does it affect the community and what can be done to prevent police brutality. This study used a mixed method of research methodology to attempt the answer the complex questions asked. This included survey questionnaires that were distributed to police officials, Community Police Forum members and the community around the Cape Town Central Business District. Semi structured interviews were held with members of the police’s departmental hearing section. Literature was also obtained regarding police brutality. Prevention of police brutality strategies from the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia and Nigeria were obtained to compare these strategies and determine which have been successful and could be a benefit to the South African Police Service. The current strategies the South African Police Service have also put in place will be discussed which will include legislation, white paper on safety and security, the green paper on police practice and the National Development plan 2030. Combining all the information obtained, this research will provide findings regarding the phenomenon of police brutality and possible recommendations that could assist with the prevention of police brutality. This in turn will help build a better relationship between the South African Police Service and its Citizens that they swore to protect and serve. / Criminology and Security Science / M. A. (Criminal Justice)

The aim of this study is to explore and describe the coping skills of registered nurses in a changed working environment. The research is conducted in the City Health clinics. The objectives of the study are:  to identify strategies which nurses use to cope with the changes in the health care services;  to explore appropriate support systems that will enhance the coping skills of registered nurses in clinics in the City Health Department; and  to deduce guidelines on how to support staff from the literature study and the results of the research. The research problem is the following: nurses in primary health care facilities do not adequately cope with major changes in health care delivery. A qualitative approach for the research was chosen. Personal interviews and focus group discussions were used to identify the coping skills of registered nurses. Data analysis was done manually. Transcriptions of recordings of the individual interviews and group discussions were done. Themes were organized and categorized into meaningful links and relationships. The findings indicate that the following factors improve the coping skills of registered nurses:  team-work and support;  to voice your opinion when necessary and good communication between staff;  regular breaks during working hours;  inherent factors for example strong spiritual and emotional strength that assist registered nurses to cope;  family support;  the provision of quality care is rewarding;  the assistance and support from the church (congregation);  the effective re-organisation of health services;  continuous support programs for staff; and  continuous education to develop skills of registered nurses. / Advanced Nursing -- Psychological aspects / M.A.

Thesis (MOccTher)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Heideveld, a suburb that forms part of the “Cape Flats”, is plagued by high levels of crime, gangsterism, unemployment and relative poverty. I became specifically interested in the occupations of the young men in Heideveld, as I often observed them loitering in the streets, at an age when they should have been in school, studying or starting a career. This led me to wonder about the repertoire of occupations that they had performed over the course of their lives, i.e. their occupational-life-trajectories. I became interested in the influence that the environment and their personal attributes had on the occupations that they performed over time. Guided by the Person-Environment-Occupation model as a conceptual tool I decided to explore the occupational-life-trajectories of men between the ages of 20 and 25 throughout the course of their life, up to their current age. At the organisation where I volunteered during my time in Heideveld, there was a weekly programme for the children and young women (aged 12 to 22), but nothing for young men, which prompted my interest in doing research about this age group. My initial thinking was to form the theoretical basis from which an occupation-based intervention group could be developed. I intended to explore what had motivated occupational participation throughout their lives, how certain occupations developed over time and the influence of the environment on their occupations. Snowball sampling was applied to gain access to the participants. Using a qualitative approach I combined a method called PhotoVoice with individual, narrative interviews, in order to collect data on the occupational-life-trajectories of five young men from Heideveld. PhotoVoice is a participant-based method that allowed the interviewees to take photos of occupations that they have performed throughout their lives. The photographs were used to facilitate the interview process along with two or three guiding questions. Within-case and cross-case analysis were used to find themes that pertained to the aims of the study. I uncovered five themes in my analysis: “Ons gee nie krag weg nie/We don’t give away power”, “Ons het saam geloop/We ‘hang out’ together”, “Ek het baie probleme by die huis gehet/I had many problems at home”, “Die lewe is swaar hier buite/Life is hard out here” and “Ek wil net uit hierdie plek kom/I just want to get away from this place”. I found that the environment played a large role in the occupational-life-trajectories of the participants. I also found that the participants’ sense of masculinity, gender and identity affected their occupational choices and participation. I explain the peer nature and motivational factors influencing gangsterism and drug use as they manifested in the young men’s lives. I concluded that an occupation-based intervention programme might address certain aspects such as occupational choice and exposure, but that wider, more long-lasting intervention was necessary to truly make a difference in the occupational-life-trajectories of young men in Heideveld. After taking the support structures in the physical environment into consideration, recommendations were made in terms of the family unit, the peer group, education, skills training and community empowerment. Furthermore, as the organisation already serves boys between 10 and 14 years and a greater impact may be possible at this life stage, more detailed recommendations were developed regarding a possible occupational therapy intervention programme. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Heideveld, ‘n voorstad wat deel vorm van die Kaapse Vlaktes, gaan gebuk onder hoë vlakke van misdaad, bende bedrywighede, werkloosheid en relatiewe armoede. Ek het ‘n spesifieke belangstelling ontwikkel in die “occupations”¹ van die jong mans in Heideveld, omdat ek dikwels waargeneem het dat hulle in the strate drentel, op’n ouderdom wat hulle op skool moes gewees het, besig om te studeer, of om ‘n loopbaan to begin. Dit het my laat wonder oor die verskillende “occupations” waaraan hulle deelneem gedurende hulle lewens, m.a.w. hulle “occupational-life-trajectories²”. Ek was geïnteresseerd oor die invloed wat die omgewing en hulle persoonlike eienskappe gehad het op die “occupations” waarin hulle oor ‘n tydperk deelgeneem het. Gelei deur die “Person-Environment-Occupation” model as ‘n konseptuele instrument, het ek besluit om die “occupational-life-trajectories” van mans tussen die ouderdomme van 20 en 25, gedurende die tydperk van hulle lewens tot en met hul huidige ouderdomme, te bestudeer. By die organisasie waar ek ‘n vrywilliger was gedurende my tyd in Heideveld, was daar ‘n weeklikse program vir kinders en jonger vrouens (vanaf ouderdom 12 tot 22), maar niks vir jong mans nie. Dit het gelei tot my belangstelling om navorsing omtrent hierdie ouderdomsgroep te doen. My aanvanklike gedagtes was om ‘n teoretiese basis te vorm waarvandaan ‘n “occupation”-gebaseerde intervensie-program ontwikkel kon word. Ek wou die motivering agter die jong mans se “occupational”-deelname, hoe sekere “occupations” oor tyd ontiwkkel en die invloed van die omgewing op hul “occupations” verken. Sneeubalsteekproeftrekking is gebruik om toegang tot die deelnemers te kry. Deur ‘n kwalitatiewe benadering te gebruik, het ek ‘n metode genaamd “PhotoVoice” met individuele, narratiewe onderhoude gekombineer, om data te versamel omtrent die “occupational-life-trajectories” van vyf jong mans in Heideveld. “PhotoVoice” is ‘n deelnemer-gebaseerde metode wat die deelnemer toegelaat het om foto’s van die “occupations” waaraan hulle gedurende hulle lewens deelgeneem het, af te neem. Die foto’s is gebruik om die onderhoude te fasiliteer tesame met twee of drie gerigte vrae. Tussen-geval en kruis-geval analise is gebruik om temas te vind wat die doelwitte van die studie aanspreek. Ek het vyf temas ge-identifiseer gedurende my analise: “Ons gee nie krag weg nie/We don’t give away power”, “Ons het saam geloop/We ‘hang out’ together”, “Ek het baie probleme by die huis gehet/I had many problems at home”, “Die lewe is swaar hier buite/Life is hard out here” en “Ek wil net uit hierdie plek kom/I just want to get away from this place”. Ek het gevind dat die omgewing ‘n groot rol speel in die deelnemers se “occupational-life-trajectories”. Ek het ook gevind dat die deelnemers se sin van manlikheid, geslag en identiteit hul “occupational” keuses en deelname geaffekteer het. Ek verduidelik ook die portuur natuur en motiverende faktore wat lei tot bende-aktiwiteite en dwelm gebruik, soos dit in die jong mans se lewens gemanifesteer het. Ek het afgelei dat ‘n “occupation” gebaseerde intervensie program moontlik sekere aspekte soos “occupational” keuses en -blootstelling kan affekteer, maar ‘n breër, langduriger intervensie is nodig om werklik ‘n verskil te maak in die “occupational-life-trajectories” van jong mans in Heideveld. Nadat ek die ondersteunende strukture in die fisiese omgewing inaggeneem het, het ek voorstelle gemaak in terme van die familie-eenheid, die portuur groep, onderrig, vaardigheidsopleiding en bemagtiging van die gemeenskap. Aangesien die organisasie reeds toegang het tot seuns tussen 10 en 14 jaar oud, en ‘n groter impak in hierdie lewenstydperk gemaak kan word, maak ek verdere, meer gedetailleerde voorstelle rondom ‘n arbeidsterapie program vir hierdie ouderdomsgroep.

Thesis (MScMedSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) treatment registers and laboratory records are essential recording and reporting tools in TB control programmes. Reliable data are essential for any TB control programme but under-registration of TB cases has been well documented internationally, due to under-reporting of patients on treatment or failure to initiate treatment. The accuracy and completeness of routinely collected data are seldom monitored. Aim: This study used record linking to assess the accuracy and completeness of TB treatment register data and the feasibility of estimating the completeness of bacteriological confirmed pulmonary TB registration in two high incident communities in South Africa with capturerecapture methods. Methods: All cases of bacteriologically confirmed TB defined as 2 smear-positive results and/or at least one culture-positive result were included. Record linking was performed between three data sources: (1) TB treatment registers; and (2) all smear and culture results from (a) the nearest central laboratory, and (b) the referral hospital laboratory. To estimate the completeness of TB treatment recording three-source log-linear capture-recapture models were used, with internal validity analysis. Results: The TB treatment registers had 435 TB cases recorded of which 204 (47%) were bacteriologically confirmed cases. An additional 39 cases that were recorded as nonbacteriological cases in the TB treatment register, were reclassified as bacteriologically confirmed. In addition, there were 63 bacteriologically confirmed cases identified from the laboratory databases which were not recorded in the TB treatment register. The final total number of bacteriologically confirmed TB cases across all 3 databases was 306, an increase of 50% over what had initially been recorded in the TB treatment register. The log-linear capture-recapture model estimated the number of bacteriologically confirmed TB cases not found in any of the data sources at 20, resulting in a total number of bacteriologically confirmed TB cases of 326 (95% CI 314-355). The completeness of registration of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB cases was 79% after record linking and 75% after the capture-recapture estimate. Conclusions: The results presented in this thesis highlighted the concern regarding the accuracy and completeness of routinely collected TB recording and reporting data. A high percentage of bacteriologically confirmed cases from both laboratories were not recorded in the TB treatment registers. Capture-recapture can be useful, but not essential, for evaluation of TB control programmes, also in resource-limited settings, but methodology and results should be carefully assessed. The present study estimated the extent of the problem of underreporting of TB in South Africa and identified challenges in the process. Interventions to reduce underreporting of TB are urgently needed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Inleiding: Registers van tuberkulose (TB) behandeling en laboratoriumrekords is noodsaaklike instrumente in die dokumentering van en verslagdoening oor TB beheerprogramme. Betroubare data is onontbeerlik vir enige TB beheerprogram maar onderregistrasie van TB gevalle is internasionaal goed gedokumenteer. Die akkuraatheid en volledigheid van roetine data word selde gemoniteer. Doel: Hierdie studie het rekordkoppeling gebruik om die akkuraatheid en volledigheid van data in TB behandelingsregisters te ondersoek. Voorts is die uitvoerbaarheid van die vangshervangsmetodes vir die beoordeling van die volledigheid van bakteriologies bevestigde pulmonale TB registrasie in twee hoë-insidensie gemeenskappe ondersoek. Metodes: Alle gevalle van bakteriologies bevestigde TB, gedefinieer as 2 smeer-positiewe resultate en/of ten minste een kultuur-positiewe resultaat, is in die studie ingesluit. Rekordkoppeling is onderneem tussen drie databronne: (1) TB behandelingsregisters; en (2) alle smeer- en kultuurpositiewe resultate van (a) die naaste sentrale laboratorium, en (b) die verwysende hospitaallaboratorium. Om die volledigheid van TB behandelingsrekords te ondersoek is drie-bron log-lineêre vangs-hervangs modelle gebruik met interne geldigheidsontleding. Resultate: Die TB registers het 435 aangetekende TB gevalle bevat waarvan 204 (47%) bakteriologies bevestigde gevalle was. 'n Bykomende 39 gevalle wat as nie-bakteriologies bevestigde gevalle aangeteken was in die TB register is hergeklassifiseer as bakteriologies bevestig. Daar is ook 63 bakteriologies bevestigde gevalle geïdentifiseer vanuit die laboratorium databasisse wat nie in die TB register aangeteken was nie. Die finale totale aantal bakteriologies bevestigede TB gevalle oor al drie databasisse heen was 306, 'n toename van 50% in vergelyking met wat aanvanklik in die TB register aangeteken was. Die log-lineêre vangs-hervangs model het die aantal bakteriologies bevestigde gevalle wat nie in enige van die databronne gevind kon word nie as 20 gevalle geskat, wat gelei het tot 'n totaal van 326 (95% VI 314-355) bakteriologies bevestigde gevalle. Die volledigheid van registrasie van bakteriologies bevestigde TB gevalle was 79% na rekordkoppeling en 75% na die vangs-hervangs skatting. Gevolgtrekkings: Die resultate wat in hierdie tesis voorgelê is beklemtoon die besorgdheid oor die akkuraatheid en volledigheid van die aanmelding en optekening van roetine TB data. 'n Hoë persentasie van bakteriologies bevestigde gevalle van beide laboratoriums is nie in die TB register opgeteken nie. Vangs-hervangs kan nuttig wees, maar nie noodsaaklik nie, in die evaluasie van TB beheerprogramme, ook in hulpbron-arm omgewings, maar die metodologie moet omsigtig beoordeel word. Die huidige studie het die omvang van die probleem van onderrapportering van TB in Suid-Afrika beraam en uitdagings in die proses geïdentifiseer. Intervensies om onderrapportering te verminder word dringend benodig.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / This thesis acknowledges the extent to which the South African society has been polarised by the policies and practices resulting from Apartheid. The safeguarding of rights, equal access to and the guarantee of service delivery to all South African citizens became one of the cornerstones of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996) and one of the vehicles of change and redress. The legislative framework created guides the manner in which the three spheres of government achieve these objectives as one in which they work in a cooperative manner to secure its developmental objectives as captured by the United Nations in the Millennium Development Goals. The growth and development strategies, for which the three spheres of government are responsible, are identified, outlined and analysed to demonstrate the common developmental thread of the three spheres of government. A case is built for the use of the Human Development Index (HDI) as one of indices that could be used as a means of assessing human development. It is further described as an effective methodology in determining the developmental level of people. This methodology is used as an illumining tool to provide support for the provisional comparative analysis of the growth and development strategies of the three spheres of government on the City of Cape Town and the alignment of these strategies to the MDG. The writer will calculate the HDI of the inhabitants of the City of Cape Town and compare these to the provincial and national HDI. The results and findings will be analysed and recommendations and conclusions will follow. The calculations and provisional tentative findings of the HDI of the three spheres of government are provided in Appendix A. Interrelatedness of strategies and deliberate cascading of objectives will be emphasised in terms of the benefit of directive focusing of energies for all three spheres of government. The writer will demonstrate the degree to which these strategies have been deliberately integrated and jointly coordinated by the three spheres of government. The difficulty experienced in accessing adequate data sets has emphasised the need for all three spheres of government to prioritise the coordinated collection, compilation and making data available to ensure that the policy options that are chosen are evidence based and outcomes focussed. This is a significant concern since UN based funding is dependant on well-documented and researched policy options. Findings and recommendations with respect to the comparative analysis are presented in the final chapter with recommendations for future study.