The behaviour of a group of nursery school children with respect to a novel object in a familiar playground was recorded on videotape and film. Recording sessions of half an hour's duration took place on 5 consecutive days. The behaviour was analysed according to receptor-contact patterns, and recurring patterns of behaviour derived from McGrew's (1972) list of social behaviour patterns. Evidence is discussed to support the hypothesis that group exploratory behaviour contained elements of wariness and competition as well as a general trend from specific to diversive exploration (Berlyne 1960). Sex differences in exploratory behaviour are discussed as well as the proposition that boys are generally more suited to an active exploratory role whereas girls tend to perform a communicative role. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1977.

On-going research into township family life in Natal has pointed to the need to develop a conceptualisation of the family that is appropriate to local historical and material conditions. In particular, such a conceptualisation should take account of the effects of rapid social change on township family relations. On the basis of a critical review of existing definitions of the family, the present report contributes to' the establishment of such a conceptualisation. To this end, it draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with 22 members of-five township families in early 1988, where respondents spoke in 'detail about their family life. It draws on these interviews with the aim of establishing "grounded theory" viz: a theory of the family 'grounded in the concrete-experience' of township residents as reflected in their accounts of their day-to-day experience. Drawing on a detailed analysis of these interviews, the report outlines an indigenous theory of the family. This theory reflects the implicit definition of the family underlying the township respondents' accounts of their family experience. This indigenous theory of the family defines it in terms of (i) the composition of the family; (ii) power relations within the family; and (iii) functions of the family. On the basis of the interview data, the report outlines a conceptual framework which builds on the notions of contradiction and culture. This framework is offered as a potentially useful analytic tool for investigating the impact of social change on the family, as defined by the indigenous theory. The report concludes with a critique of the concept of 'family disintegration', which is often used to describe changing social relations in township families. It is argued that the' family is currently the strongest and most empowering social institution in the disrupted fabric of township social life. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1989.

Current research in masculinity studies has emphasised the social construction of a masculine identity rooted in historical and cultural contexts. This view excludes the psychological processes involved in the construction of a sense of self. Social constructionist and psychoanalytic perspectives tend to offer polarised views of the development of a sense of self. By adopting a combined approach incorporating both social constructionism and psychoanalysis, this study investigated how men negotiate social expectations regarding an 'acceptable' personal masculinity, and how they position themselves and others (men and women) in relation to these expectations. The participants were faced with an ideological dilemma regarding whether to conform to social expectations regarding hegemony versus being unique. This ideological dilemma was not easily resolved, resulting in a fragile sense of masculine self. This study shows that socially sanctioned masculine ideologies have significant implications on men's sense of self and the construction of a masculine identity. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

This study explores the ways in which masculinity and sexuality is constructed among 18–24 year old young male university students and how these constructions intersect with their sexual practices. A plethora of literature about masculinity and sexuality reveals a normative masculinity where being a man is associated with risky practices. Through literature review it is also emphasised that although masculinity is rather stable, it is contested and subject to struggle and change. Hence there is a call for flexible descriptions of what it means to be a man. The study is situated in a social constructionist framework. Semi-structured interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Themes are determined and analysed using discourse analysis. Participants’ reflections bring to the fore how idealised construction of masculinity is valued and the extent to which men conform in order to earn the status of manhood. Some discourses that emerged from participants contribute to the idealised construction of masculinity. The university context seems to provide a better space for the attainment of this idealised masculinity as opposed to the home (with parents/members of the family), which is perceived to be placing a strain or restriction on masculinity. The study further found that men are reluctant to use condoms, and label women who initiate condom use. This reluctance and labelling reinforce their urge to present themselves as invulnerable, virile, brave, initiators and thrill seeking. The study concludes that it is impossible to tackle the scourge of HIV/AIDS without looking into the construction of masculinity and sexuality among males. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Self-harm is a behaviour constructed as ostracised and abhorrent in most social discourses. While there is an abundance of available research about self-harm, a distinctive gap in the literature concerns how an individual begins to self-harm. Research has indicated that having a friend or family member who self-harms is the strongest predictor of future self-harm, yet no published studies have sought to explain this in detail. This thesis explored how self-harming participants construct their first self-harming experience – a behaviour which appears prima facie to be outside of socially accepted conventions, and suggests that this behaviour may become normalised through knowing other self-harmers. It was found that both participants had a self-harming friend prior to the onset of their self-harming behaviour, and that both participants confided in someone who subsequently began to self-harm. Participants positioned these two categories of individuals in different ways. Participants relied on a ‘victim’ discourse to establish their self-harm as meaningful in a way which limited any blame or stigma attributable to them, but which subsequently limited their agency in their narratives. The discourse of attention-seeking heavily influenced participants’ narratives, and was acknowledged as the dominant discourse self-harmers must contend with in presenting their behaviour as meaningful and rational. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

This study investigates levels and sources of stress, coping, and spiritual wellbeing of a sample of nurses. It also examines the relationship between these \ ariables. The sample is drawn from three public hospitals. The Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) measures the sources and levels of stress while the revised Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) measures coping. The Spiritual Wellbeing Scale (SWBS) measures the spirituality of the sample. The study found that nurses are moderately affected by all the stressors measured by the NSS. It also found that nurses use emotion as well as problem-focused coping. Spiritual wellbeing was found to be high and may explain why nurses experience moderate stress levels. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD's) represent some of the most common developmental disorders amongst children today (Rapin, 1994), yet knowledge and interventions for these disorders remain minimal. Access to resources for diagnosis and intervention for children with ASD's in South Africa appears to be limited to a few families. For this select population, many difficulties and much dissatisfaction with diagnostic processes remain. This study aimed to capture the experiences of parents whose children had received ASD diagnoses. This study was qualitative in nature and took the form of semi structured interviews with a total of eight parents of ASD children (7 mothers and 1 father). These interviews highlighted key issues in the area of ASD's in South Africa, including: a lack of knowledge amongst professionals, an unwillingness to diagnose, and lack of available support and facilities. Data collected from this sample revealed that the average age of diagnosis of children was 6 years old, and the average number of years taken to reach diagnosis was 3 years 3 months. Although these figures correlate with international research, participants of this study revealed that it had taken on average 7.2 medical practitioners to diagnose their children with ASD's. This number is significantly higher in South Africa than research from other countries indicates. These findings are discussed in this research study, with emphasis being placed on implications for early intervention in South Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

The research explored how women from the University of KwaZulu-Natal balanced both their personal and professional roles in order to advance into senior management positions. The study used a qualitative research methodology in which semistructured interviews were conducted on nine participants. The data were then analysed using Qualitative Thematic Analysis. The findings of this study revealed that although the participants faced various challenges, which were related to their gender they did manage to advance into senior management positions. What facilitated their advancement was that these women learned how to balance their dual roles through observing and imitating positive role models, which is supported by Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. The findings of the study were both confirmed and disconfirmed by the literature. However what this study does show is that women are managing to advance into positions of senior management despite challenges that they may face and thus indicting that the glass ceiling is cracking. Management should therefore be prepared to manage this new breed of managers in their echelons. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The Order Dominance Scale (ODS) was constructed and proven reliable by Jones (2009). The scale is based on the combination of two theories; namely, Broken Windows Theory or BWT (Wilson & Kelling, 1982) and Reversal Theory (Apter, 1982). BWT provided the gap in the literature on which the personality trait of order dominance is based, while Reversal Theory provided the means with which to measure this trait. The purpose of this research was to take the completed scale constructed by Jones (2009) and test it for various types of psychometric validity. The research was able to establish predictive validity (although not in the way it would conventionally be done) and construct validity (which was established in conjuncture with convergent and discriminant validity). After going through testing for both reliability and validity, the ODS can now be considered a worthwhile scale by psychometric standards. The sample with which the data for this research was collect yielded a new set of norms for the ODS. The new set of norms gives it a mean of 31.38 with a standard deviation of 7.79, an absolute range of 0-50, an observed range of 8-48, and a reliability coefficient (alpha) of 0.7527. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Stereotype threat and lift occur when a negative or positive group stereotype results in a shift in task performance for group members. Social identity theory (SIT) explains that the socio-structural variables influence the group members’ strategy to maintain a positive group identity and predicts that perceived intergroup conflict would interact with status to affect their experience of the stereotype and potentially impact on stereotype threat and lift on test performance. The experimental design manipulated the task-related group status of science students (assigning 122 students to high status, low status or control conditions) and their perceived intergroup conflict (high and low) with an out-group of humanities students whom they believed to be real but were actually simulated. The high and low status were manipulated using test instructions that activated the stereotype that the science group compared a humanities group either possessed an analytic cognitive ability that was required for test performance and post degree success (high status) or possessed an alternate flexible cognitive ability that was not required for post degree success (low status); whilst the status control condition excluded a diagnostic comparison of cognitive ability. The inter-group conflict and cooperation were experimentally manipulated by presenting hostile or cooperative feedback using intergroup matrices adapted from Tajfel (1981) in a computer simulated interaction with a virtual humanities out-group. The change in status (stereotype threat and lift) and conflict were measured using the Ravens Advanced Progressive matrices (APM) which was presented as the test of performance which measured post degree success. The APM was used as a dependent measure of the group level stereotype-related differences in performance for high conflict-threat, high conflict lift, high conflict control, low conflict threat, low conflict lift and low conflict control conditions. The results showed that status and conflict interact to impact on test performance outcomes of the science students. Specifically, the change in stereotype threat is reversed when science students receive cooperative feedback from the humanities out-group. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermartizburg, 2011.