No description available.

This is the first study undertaken into the way in which voluntary workers, untrained in information skills and working in community information services, collect, organise and use the information they provide to assist clients needing it for their day-to-day survival. The study is placed in perspective through a survey of the literature relating to community information services. This is supplemented by a study of documents relating to the Pretoria Citizens' Advice Bureau. Data was collected by means of participant observation at the Pretoria Citizens' Advice Bureau and interviews with voluntary workers in the Bureau. Analysis of the data was carried out according to the grounded theory approach. It was found that untrained volunteers creating information storage and retrieval tools for use by their fellow volunteers, work without a knowledge of information storage and retrieval theory. They tend to make ad hoc decisions and create tools that are not as user-friendly as they could be with some background in the theory of information science. On the other hand, volunteers searching for information make the same kind of demands of the information storage and retrieval system they use as do professional and scientific information users, in that they want direct access to as much relevant information as possible in one place. They want the information repackaged in a manner to suit their purpose. When under pressure, they are reluctant to consult multiple information storage and retrieval tools not within easy reach. The study culminates in a number of recommendations for the improvement of the service of the Pretoria Citizens' Advice Bureau in particular. Recommendations are also put forward for a centralised computerised database providing processed information to community information services in South Africa. Some suggestions are made concerning education and training of volunteers and professional information workers with a view to providing a better understanding of community information services. / Information Science / D. Lit. et Phil.

This is the first study undertaken into the way in which voluntary workers, untrained in information skills and working in community information services, collect, organise and use the information they provide to assist clients needing it for their day-to-day survival. The study is placed in perspective through a survey of the literature relating to community information services. This is supplemented by a study of documents relating to the Pretoria Citizens' Advice Bureau. Data was collected by means of participant observation at the Pretoria Citizens' Advice Bureau and interviews with voluntary workers in the Bureau. Analysis of the data was carried out according to the grounded theory approach. It was found that untrained volunteers creating information storage and retrieval tools for use by their fellow volunteers, work without a knowledge of information storage and retrieval theory. They tend to make ad hoc decisions and create tools that are not as user-friendly as they could be with some background in the theory of information science. On the other hand, volunteers searching for information make the same kind of demands of the information storage and retrieval system they use as do professional and scientific information users, in that they want direct access to as much relevant information as possible in one place. They want the information repackaged in a manner to suit their purpose. When under pressure, they are reluctant to consult multiple information storage and retrieval tools not within easy reach. The study culminates in a number of recommendations for the improvement of the service of the Pretoria Citizens' Advice Bureau in particular. Recommendations are also put forward for a centralised computerised database providing processed information to community information services in South Africa. Some suggestions are made concerning education and training of volunteers and professional information workers with a view to providing a better understanding of community information services. / Information Science / D. Lit. et Phil.

The purpose of the current study was to clarify the importance of social relationships in the retention of social workers in Child Welfare agencies. Data had been gathered by the California Social Work Education Center, University of California Berkeley, in a 2-year state funded study, titled "Retention of California's Child Welfare Workers".

South African child and youth care programmes have been challenged to transform to address the needs of vulnerable and/or orphaned young people affected and/or infected by HIV/AIDS. The Isibindi programme was designed by the National Association of Child Care Workers to respond to this challenge to provide viable community child and youth care programmes. Supervision of staff plays a critical part in child and youth care programmes. This study explores the model of supervision being implemented in the Isibindi programme, identifies the elements of this model and stipulates which of these need to be strengthened for effective and efficient services. The research findings indicate that the Isibindi model of supervision reflects the practice of child and youth care services being delivered in the programme. Common child and youth care elements were identified as being essential to the efficient delivery of this model of supervision. / Health Studies / (M. Tech. (Child and Youth Care))

Retirement is a complex undertaking that is influenced by many factors. The variables influence the retirement experience either alone or in combination. Because the factors are intertwined, it is sometimes difficult to determine which are the most significant. The complex nature of retirement often leads to people being under prepared for the challenges they are likely to confront. Despite the importance of the retirement enterprise, there has been little research on the subject among black retirees in South Africa. This is especially true when it comes to the case of retired migrant workers. The purpose of the present study is to explore the experience of life satisfaction during retirement and adjustment to retirement of migrant workers when they return back to their communities of origin in the Eastern Cape Region, South Africa. Research participants for the study were retired persons (N=54) who were selected through snowball sampling method. The data for the study was collected using a Biographical Questionnaire, the Life Satisfaction Index-A, Adjustment Scale and Open-ended Interview Questions. Retired non-migrant workers were also included in the study in order to determine whether there are differences on these measures compared to retired migrant workers. The results of the study indicated that: retired migrant workers had significantly lower levels of life satisfaction and encountered more adjustment problems in retirement than retired non-migrant workers; retired migrant workers had less choice in their decision to retire than retired non-migrant workers; retired migrant workers did not participate in sufficient financial planning for their retirement; and financial situation significantly affects adjustment to retirement and life satisfaction during retirement. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

In the last two decades the IT service support worker has emerged to be a worker-type of considerable socio-economic importance. Such workers are symbolic of the trends towards the importance of information/knowledge and information technology within modern economic/political systems. Such systems, heavily influenced by governmental bodies and business organisations, have aggrandised the use of rationalising customer-centric management techniques. And yet such symbolic workers are largely hidden and unacknowledged as a specific type of worker in the business literature. This thesis represents an attempt to conceptualise the IT service support worker as a worker-type, inducing a conceptual model that identifies three aspects to the worker: information systems worker; knowledge worker and service worker and considers them from each of these perspectives. This qualitative research draws on a rich mix of observational and interview data collected across five UK organisations to produce a narrative that suggests that, for different IT service support workers, those different aspects tend to be variably emphasised within their team roles. The study additionally offers a theoretical conclusion that IT service support workers might reasonably be divided into different classes depending upon not only the design of their team role but also their individual career orientations and the nature of the knowledge they actually use in their work. Four such classes are identified as being of particular significance and these are evocatively named: Resigned Robots ; Constrained Careerists ; Establishment Experts and Aspiring Artisans . Whilst being outside of the scope of this study, it is suggested that this novel typology might also be useful for classifying other worker groupings. The study is intended to be useful for the enhancement of IT service management practice and makes several contributions in this regard. These include the need for managers to recognise the importance of experientially-acquired knowledge for efficiency in IT service support work and a suggestion that managers might tailor HRM practices for different classes of worker.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Department of Occupational Therapy of the University of Stellenbosch has been involved in the development of the Volcano Community Project in the Ravensmead area since 1994. A needs assessment conducted in the area has led to the indentification of the following problems: • there are no after school care services in the area; • limited opportunities for individual attention to learners because of a high learner educator ratio; • high incidence of substance abuse amongst the youth; • children loitering in the streets in the afternoon; and • a quarter of all grade one learners in the area repeat their basis year of school. In order to address the abovementioned problems it was decided to recruit unemployed youth within the community as voluntary workers. This group of volunteers received training in the execution of pre-planned developmental stimulation lessons that they then present to grade one and two learners who have problems. The volunteers undergo a training programme in order to equip them to handle the learners. This project is still in progress and it needs to be evaluated in order to gain information which would help to improve the programme as well as the management thereof. The aim of the research was to establish the impact of programme participation on the voluntary workers and that was done by looking at the following: • what the strengths of the project are; • what the weaknesses of the project are; and • which suggestions there are to improve the project. Qualitative formative evaluation research was the paradigm within which the research was executed. Interviews were conducted with the voluntary workers and the following themes/patterns emerged from the data: Strengths of the project: Turnabout in the lives of the voluntary workers; improvement of self-knowledge; development of skills; work satisfaction; and guidance by the students. Weaknesses of the project: Schools where this project is in progress and facilities available at these schools; management of the project; and the group of voluntary workers. Suggestions regarding the project: Encouragement; management; and other logistics. The researcher took each of these main themes and with the help of process/impact rubrics data was interpreted. From these rubrics factors were identified and recommendations made which may contribute to the improvement of the project for example feedback after completion of the task is very important and should be very specific for an individual. Possibilities for the broader application of findings are also suggested. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Departement Arbeidsterapie van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch, is sedert 1994 betrokke by die ontwikkeling van die Volcano gemeenskapsprojek in die Ravensmeadarea. In Behoeftebepaling in die area het gelei tot die identifisering van die volgende probleme: • geen naskoolse dienste is in die area beskikbaar nie; • beperkte geleenthede vir individuele aandag aan leerders as gevolg van 'n te hoë leerdertoedeling per onderwyser; • hoë voorkoms van substansmisbruik onder die jeug; • kinders wat in die middag in die straat rondslenter; en • In kwart van alle graad een leerders in die area herhaal hul basisjaar van skool. Daar is besluit om bogenoemde probleme aan te spreek deur werklose jeugdiges in die gemeenskap te werf as vrywillige werkers. Die groep vrywillige werkers is dan opgelei om vooraf opgestelde ontwikkelingstimulasielesse aan te bied aan graad een en twee leerders wat probleme ervaar. Die vrywillige werkers deurloop In opleidingsprogram om hulle beter toe te rus om die leerders optimaal te kan hanteer. Die program is nog lopend en evaluering is nodig ten einde inligting te verkry wat kan lei tot die verbetering van die program en die bestuur van die projek oor die algemeen. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was om die impak wat programdeelname op die vrywillige werkers het te ondersoek deur te kyk na: • wat die sterkpunte van die projek is; • wat die swakpunte van die projek is; en • watter voorstelle daar is om die program te verbeter. Kwalitatiewe formatiewe evaluasienavorsing is die paradigma wat in hierdie navorsing gebruik is om die data in te samel en te analiseer. Onderhoude is met vrywillige werkers gevoer en die volgende hooftemas het uit die data na vore gekom: Sterkpunte van die projek: Ommeswaai in vrywillige werkers se lewens; bevordering van selfkennis; ontwikkeling van vaardighede; werksbevrediging; en leiding deur die studente. Swakpunte van die projek: Skole waar die program aangebied word en die fasiliteite beskikbaar by die skole; bestuur van die projek; en die groep vrywillige werkers. Voorstelle ten opsigte van die projek: Aansporing; bestuur en ander logistieke. Die navorser het elk van hierdie hooftemas geneem en met behulp van proses/impakmatrikse is die data geïnterpreteer vir hierdie projek. Uit hierdie matrikse is faktore geïdentifiseer en aanbevelings gemaak wat mag bydra tot die verbetering van die projek, byvoorbeeld terugvoer na afloop van die uitvoering van take is belangrik en moet spesifiek en individueel gerig wees. Wyer toepassingsmoontlikhede van die bevindinge word ook voorgestel.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

The purpose of this study is to identify factors that protect social workers and other clinicians from experiencing burnout. Many things contribute to job burnout among clinicians. Some examples of contributing factors include a shortage of government funding, heavy caseloads, and a lack of autonomy. However, this study will look at workplace factors that are more amendable to change in the agency's environment.