Magister Curationis - MCur / The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a formative and summative assessment method used in several health science disciplines. The primary focus of this research study was to explore and describe the experiences of student midwives of the OSCE as used in a specific university context and determine how effective it is in preparing student midwives for clinical practice. However the researcher acknowledges the value of the OSCA (Objective Structured Clinical Assessment), which was not used in the context where the study was conducted. Due to the scarcity of academic literature in South Africa and internationally regarding the experiences of student midwives of OSCE assessments, this research study attempted to increase evidence of students’ experiences for improving the OSCE as an assessment method at a school of nursing used in this study. Research purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe student midwives’ experiences of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, at the SoN, at a university in the Western Cape, and ascertain whether it prepared them adequately for clinical practice. Research design: A qualitative approach with an exploratory descriptive design was used for the investigation of the student midwives' experiences of this assessment method. Sample: Purposive sampling was utilised to select third year Bachelor of Nursing students, who completed the OSCE during semester one in 2014, at a University in the Western Cape. Nine participants were interviewed. Data collection: The data collection was obtained through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis: The data analysis was done manually using the Thomas (2003) data analysis process. Saturation was reached after nine interviews, when no new relevant knowledge was being acquired. Findings: OSCE preparation was supported by theory and clinical learning opportunities. The OSCE environment was found to be challenging and stressful. Alignment of OSCE stations to clinical skills, theory, clinical practice and appropriateness of time allocation. Students had differing views about their level of confidence and competence. Recommendations: Although the OSCE is a valued instrument in the summative assessment of midwifery students, attention must be given to the careful planning of the OSCE environment and the use of simulation techniques. Adequate support for students is essential, and adherence to a standard method of facilitation in clinical learning, in the skills laboratory, is crucial to fairness in learning and assessment. The direct input from valuable stakeholders in clinical training, such as educators and clinical supervisors, must be considered in order to identify ways to improve the OSCE.

Magister Curationis - MCur / The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is widely accepted as an effective means of assessing clinical competence and nursing skills. However, little is known the stress amongst first year nursing students associated with the first OSCE in all universities. In view of the paucity of literature available on stress associated with the OSCE, this study determined the perception of stress by the first year nursing students' associated with their first OSCE at this university. A quantitative, descriptive survey design is employed. The instrument used is an adapted form of an existing self-administered Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaire. This measures perception of stress, factors causing stress and the incidence of stress. Of the total of 213 first year nursing students who were invited to be part of the study, 82 completed the questionnaires. This represents a response rate of 38%. The data was analysed using Statistica 13. Descriptive statistics are used do the calculations. The results are presented in percentages and tables.The findings indicate that more than half (n=54), of the respondents experienced moderate stress levels. For these respondents, the most prevalent factor causing stress was the insufficient time to complete the OSCE. Ninety three percent (93%) (n=74) of the respondents perceived the incidence of stress at a moderate level. There was a statistically significant difference between those who perceived factors causing stress at a low level and those who perceived factors causing stress at a moderate level. Based on the findings of the study on perception of stress during the OSCE, it is recommended that practice session assessments should be conducted throughout the year to help to reduce stress for students during the OSCE. A follow-up qualitative research study should also be conducted in the same setting so the students’ experiences of stress during the first OSCE can be explored in depth. Although the relatively small sample of this study (38%) means the results cannot be generalised, this study does contribute to the literature on the stress experienced during the OSCE.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Large numbers of students tend to experience failure and dropout in their first year at university. The fundamental aim of this research was to explore protective factors that could foster resilience amongst first year students. It is hoped that resilience research can give young adults the skills and support to survive academic challenges with the help of the university. This study undertook to determine resilience traits that could contribute to academic success. Students who enrolled at the University of the Western Cape for the first time during the year 2003 participated in this study. / South Africa

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / South Africa

Magister Bibliothecologiae - MBibl / South Africa

Magister Curationis - MCur / It is not mandatory for the student to declare a pregnancy to her educational institution. It does however become more complicated for the student nurse, because she has to provide a health service while she is a student during her clinical placement. The researcher has noticed that student nurses do fall pregnant during their undergraduate studies at the University of the Western Cape. The researcher was unsure why this phenomenon is occurring amongst undergraduate nursing students. He identified the need to measure the level of knowledge of pregnancy prevention amongst undergraduate nurses, their level of utilization of such services and their attitudes towards falling pregnant during their studies. This study is of a quantitative nature whereby the researcher made use of a descriptive design. The method of data collection utilized was an anonymous self administered questionnaire form. The population under study was the registered undergraduate nursing students in 2008 at the University of the Western Cape. This population consisted of 1031 individuals. Their ethnic background represents the South African demography. An exhaustive sampling approach was used and 401 individuals gave consent to participate in the study. Through this research the researcher hypothysed and proved that the level of knowledge of contraception amongst undergraduate student nurses is indeed inadequate and that this low level of knowledge on the subject area leads to incorrect and inconsistent and non use of contraception in their own lives. / South Africa

Magister Artium - MA / In the thesis, I endeavour to create a platform on which to construct an understanding of 'integration' in a multilingual and multicultural setting, post-apartheid. I have selected UWC as the research site as it is an institution of higher education and an inherently South African one which houses a large number of diverse ethnicities, cultures and languages. I appeal to the poststructuralist approach as it is one that explores the possible sociopolitical, economic and historical influences on which I argue and which forms the backdrop to understanding integration amongst the various groups. I am especially drawn to the topic of integration as there is to date no well-defined definition of what that means in the 'new' South Africa. Different identities are explored in relation to how students identify themselves within their social networks, across various cultures and through language choices. In particular, I look at the three dominant 'South African' groups, namely: Indians, Blacks and Coloureds and also two international student groups, the Batswanas and Chinese. use a qualitative approach and undertake focus groups and one-to-one interviews as well as participant observations and analyzing documentation. Data analysis is achieved through Discourse Analysis of transcribed interviews. One of the conclusions is that integration will not occur overnight. However, the broadening and exercising of linguistic options could be seen as a step in right direction to integration across the various ethnic groups. The study ends with recommendations and gives an overall view of integration at UWC. One of the recommendations is that UWC needs to give students more opportunities to practice their multilinguality and thereby broaden their linguistic repertoire which could in turn facilitate integration. / South Africa

Magister Artium - MA / This research is interested in the linguistic choices people use to express and negotiate subjective, inter-subjective and ideological positions through the graffiti within the confines of selected men's and women's toilets on the UWC main campus. The focus is on attitudes, one aspect of appraisal theory. The aim of investigating the attitudes inherent in the toilet graffiti is to obtain an insight into the evaluative discourse of men and women with regard to their emotional, judgmental and evaluative stance in their writings. This form of analysis is on the level of meaning. Differences with regard to the attitudinal content in terms of occurrence (quantitative) and content (qualitative) are investigated. The data shows that 'male' (gender) are implicit when expressing emotions, whereas female is explicit in its expression of emotions. In addition, in terms of the evaluation of emotions, the data indicates that 'females' are insecure in terms of their emotional disposition, whereas males mostly express emotions of unhappiness in the toilet graffiti analysed. Both males and females have a tendency to judge each other with regard to their capacities. In terms of judgement of behaviours and things, males can be said to have interesting and even creative ways of evaluation, which include punctuation, taboo varieties and pictures. / South Africa

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Playing related musculoskeletal disorder (PRMD) is common among instrumentalists, professionals, amateurs and music students with a prevalence ranging from 39-47% with an impact on playing and performance. This is synonymous to the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among other work population. Risk factors such as lack of warm ups, awkward posture, long playing hours and bad techniques has been consistently indicated as risk factors influencing the incidence of PRMDs among instrumentalists. The aim of this study is to design a warm up programme for instrumentalists. The study population and sample are instrumentalists at the Centre for Performing Arts, University of the Western Cape. A cross sectional study design with a quantitative approach was utilized in this study to determine the prevalence, severity, distribution of PRMDs and its association with quality of life. All the instrumentalists learning or playing a musical instrument of the Centre for Performing Arts was approached to participate in this study. In the first phase of the study, a self administered questionnaire was used to collect data regarding prevalence, distribution and the severity of PRMDs and health related quality of life. The instruments for this study are the standard NORDIC questionnaire for musculoskeletal disorders to determine pain distribution and prevalence, the visual analogue scale to determine the pain severity and the WHOQOL –BREF, a quality of life questionnaire and an adapted questionnaire to determine the knowledge of instrumentalists about injury prevention strategies. The second phase of the study, a systematic review of evidence was done on the pattern of warm up and practice habits of instrumentalists. The third phase of the study to design the content of the study was done using a Delphi study. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi square was used to determine the association of prevalence, distribution and severity on quality of life. Alpha level was set at 0.05. Ethical clearance and permission to conduct study was sought, written informed consents from participants was sought clearly stating the right to participate and withdraw from study was respected and anonymity and confidentiality was be ensured. The results of the study show that 82.4 % lifetime prevalence and current prevalence of 23.5 % among instrumental musicians in a Centre for Performing Arts. The shoulder (41.2 %), neck (29.4 %) and the wrists and hands (29.4%) are the mostly affected region on the body. The most common symptoms are tightness and soreness. However, the results of the systematic review shows that there is a lack of operational term for warm up in the performing arts and this therefore could be responsible for the variations in the influence of warm up on the prevention of PRMDs. The content of the warm up programme was designed using a Delphi study and stretching and postural awareness were included with musical warm up as part of a regular warm up exercise, although, consensus was not reached on the duration of the warm up programme. Strengthening and conditioning were included to in a different exercise program done three times per week. Education on injury prevention strategies were also included in the programme and the mode of instruction agreed on was active learning and group instruction in classroom. The role of warm up exercise in the prevention of PRMDs using this model could reduce the incidence of PRMDs. However, it is important to note that the programme should be tested in order to determine the overall effect it has on PRMDs. / South Africa

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / In addition to football and basketball, volleyball has become a very popular sport globally over the last 30 years. The International Federation of Volleyball represents about 150 million players in approximately 170 countries. While a large body of research has been conducted regarding the nature and prevalence of volleyball injuries internationally, very little has been done locally or on the African continent to assess the status of injuries incurred at professional or amateur levels. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of injuries sustained by professional volleyball players of a club in the WPVU in one season. An exploratory, descriptive, nonexperimental approach was used for this study on 42 volleyball players at the University of the Western Cape Volleyball Club. A self–administered questionnaire that was based on a questionnaire used in a Dutch national volleyball study was used in the present study. A response rate of 89.4% was obtained. The collected data were captured and analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Science version 14.0 (SPSS). The associations between variables were evaluated by means of the chi-square test and a 5% level of significance was used. The results were displayed using tables, bar chart, and pie chart. Most of the volleyball players sustained one or more injuries in the season, giving a prevalence rate of 88.1%. The incidence rate was 1.2 injuries per player. Injuries prevalence was higher among male players 54.1% than female players 45.9%. Among the injured players, ankle and knee injuries showed the highest injury prevalence with 25.5% for each followed by 19.6% for shoulder injuries. The study revealed 69.2% injury prevalence with a higher significance (p=0.04) that players who are injured in the ankle were in contact. Half of the injuries (50%), which occurred gradually, were prevalent in the shoulder, followed by the knee (28.6%), then the ankle and fingers (14.3%). Players in the left and right front row were significantly (p=0.008) more prone to be injured during spiking. Awareness programmes highlighting prevention strategies and physiotherapy intervention are required for coaches and players at the University of the Western Cape Volleyball Club to assist in the prevention of volleyball injuries