The pace of changes in South African education institutions has profound effects on the teachers. Due to internal and external influences teaching is a much more demanding occupation than in the past, with significant consequences for the teacher. All the changes in the education system cause stress. Possible outcomes impacting on the teacher are burnout, work disengagement, job dissatisfaction and organisational commitment. The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between occupational stress, burnout, job satisfaction, work engagement and organisational commitment of educators on senior level in the Sedibeng West District - Vanderbijlpark. The research method was by means of two separate studies, each consisting of a brief literature overview and an empirical study. A cross-sectional survey design was used. A stratified random sample of educators on senior level in the Sedibeng West District - Vanderbijlpark (N = 140) was used. Six questionnaires were administered, namely, the Maslach Burnout Inventory- General Survey (MBI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the ASSET Organisational Stress Screening Tool, the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ), the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire and a Biographical questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out with the help of the SAS-program and Amos. Limitations of the research are discussed, followed by ecommendations for the teaching profession and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2004.

Occupational stress is considered to be a rising concern in many organisations in South Africa; it is, moreover, a pervasive problem in our communities in general. The consequences of high-stress environments are typically a, reduction in the quality and quantity of job performance, high levels of absenteeism, an increase in turnover, an increased number of grievances and increased frequency of accidents. Correctional Services has been reported to be the most challenging and frustrating component of the criminal justice system. Factors such as having a high level of responsibility, genuine threats to personal safety, rotating shifts, meager salaries and unpleasant surroundings, all add to the stress of Correctional Service Officials. The results of uncontrolled stress are costly to both the individual and the organisation. It is thus important for both the organisation and employees to learn or acquire ways of coping with stress. The empirical objective of this study was to investigate relationships between occupational stress and i l l health among employees of Correctional Services in the Vereeniging Management Area, in order to contribute towards an understanding of the interaction between these variables, and the implication thereof for the management of occupational stress and i l l health in the specific setting. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data and to attain the research objectives. The study population included the entire population consisting of (n= 197) employees of Correctional Services in the Vereeniging Management area. Management and production levels were fully represented. The Correctional Official Stress Inventory, General Health Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were used as measuring instruments. The reliability and validity of all questionnaires were found to be acceptable. The findings revealed that increased levels of occupational stress lead to increased levels of exhaustion and this may in turn lead to increased experience of somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. Higher levels of exhaustion and cynicism were associated with higher levels of somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and severe depression. The findings again revealed that an increase in the frequency of stress might lead to an increase in the experience of exhaustion, somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. It was also found that stress could have some predictive value with regard to burnout, work engagement and health. It is recommended that more awareness need to be created about the symptoms and effects of occupational stress and burnout on individuals as well as organisations. This study was conducted in a small correctional institution, as a result the study population was too small, which made it difficult to generalise beyond the study population. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

The purpose of this study was to engage with a group of students from a diverse school environment about how they construct value or status in their own and others bodies in physical education (PE) and sport. This study was premised on the notion that young people s constructions of bodies that have value affect both their sense of self and their (dis)engagement with physical activity in and out of school. Sport, physical activity and education are not value-free in their purpose or practices, and constitute arenas in which young people learn about what those values are and how they apply to their own bodies. Learning more about how young people make embodied decisions to engage in physical activity can aid in understanding how best to create inclusive, positive experiences within PE and youth sport. The feminist / poststructuralist theoretical framework that this research draws upon focuses attention on the constructions of embodied subjectivities through an individual s subject positions amongst multiple discourses. These discourses are (re)produced but shift as individuals take up and negotiate positions through the multiple narratives available to them. By linking these notions to that of physical capital, this study explores how individuals practices affect how they might be seen as valued. This study pays particular attention to gendered and racialised constructions of bodies in PE and sport, as literature identifies concerns about equity in participation and representation. Data were generated over one school year with a cohort of students in Year 9 of an ethnically diverse secondary school in the East Midlands, UK. Fourteen boys and eleven girls volunteered to take part in a collaborative visual ethnographic project consisting of a fortnight s photo diary and the sharing of participant-produced images in group interviews. Taped group interviews, participants photographs, field notes from observations of the participants PE lessons and researcher s photographs of the school notice boards were collated and analysed using a combination of thematic, discourse and content analyses. Findings indicated that the participants constructed as valued bodies those that are good at PE : meaning competency, strength and a desire and ability to win. Alongside this, students also valued fit, not fat bodies, and the display of effort or trying one s best. These constructions were often tied to their potential to perform convincingly. The students took up positions in relation to these notions of status, sometimes investing in practices that would develop their bodies in these ways. Participants fluid subjectivities as they negotiated different activities, physical cultures, and assumptions about gendered and racialised bodies affected their choices not just whether to engage but in what ways they would engage in physical activity.

Since its inauguration in 1948, the National Health Service (NHS) has been providing “free at the point of delivery” healthcare to all UK citizens. However, lately, there has been unprecedented concern over the capability of most NHS hospitals to demonstrate best value in providing non-clinical service to NHS Trust customers. Demonstrating value is particularly important because of the current multi-billion pound expenditure towards modernising the healthcare service estate. Consequently, the present research aimed to respond to the need to demonstrate satisfactory Whole Life Value (WLV) delivery of healthcare facilities. This has been achieved by focusing on the improvement of front-end processes of construction briefing and optioneering, where most value can be embedded before progressing onto design and construction. The study reviewed extant literature in an attempt to construct a theoretical linkage between the three concepts of WLV, strategic briefing and optioneering. In addition, through a qualitative empirical study comprising interviews, workshops observations and a detailed case study, the same concepts were investigated within the context of NHS healthcare facilities. Key findings indicated that having a specific project strategy is vital to WLV delivery; and that selecting the right project and design options is dependent on first agreeing and clarifying a clinical service model/plan with clinicians. It was also found that improved construction briefing and optioneering involves adequately defining a customised whole life solution informed through purposeful communication and engagement with relevant stakeholders in contributing towards issues that directly affect how they use a healthcare facility. Another key finding was that WLV of healthcare facilities is defined through a whole life solution which is directly linked to its usefulness or utility value realisable by service users in achieving expected clinical outcomes over the facility's design life. Therefore, through briefing and optioneering, a healthcare facility's project strategy must be directly linked with specific needs and requirements (among other things) in order to reflect exactly what the stakeholders and end-users value in a healthcare built environment in the long term. These research findings were applied to inform the formulation of a better briefing and optioneering guidance framework applicable during project definition for satisfactory WLV delivery of healthcare schemes.

This dissertation presents the findings of an exploratory collective case-study examining corporate innovations arising from voluntary dyadic engagement between UK firms and nonprofit organisations (NPOs) focused on social issues. Whilst the extant literature demonstrates that pro-active engagement with NPOs can assist firms innovate, there has been no empirical work which explores the relationship between the engagement and the innovation outcome: a gap which this research addresses. In doing so, it illustrates how concepts and constructs from the innovation management literature can be applied usefully to the stakeholder and cross-sector collaboration field. To date, empirical studies addressing firm-NPO engagements have concentrated overwhelmingly on partnerships to address environmental issues. This study provides insights into cross-sector engagements focused on addressing social issues. Using a form of analytic induction to evaluate qualitative case-data from ten dyadic engagements, this dissertation addresses the question: “how do firms innovate through engagement with social issues nonprofit organisations?” The research found that product and service innovations resulted from engagements where the firm had an external stakeholder orientation and was focused on delivering tangible demonstrations of corporate responsibility. Process innovations, by contrast, were produced from engagements where firms had an internal stakeholder orientation. Two distinctions were noted in the innovation process, too. Firstly, a more exploratory approach to dyadic engagement activities, which resulted in an emergent innovation process; and secondly, a focused and pre-determined search activity to exploit the resources of the nonprofit partner which demonstrated a more planned innovation process. In addition, two distinct boundary spanning roles were identified: in dyads with no direct management involvement in the engagement, the role was associated with formal responsibilities from senior management to „manage‟ innovation opportunities and outcomes. In dyads where senior management were involved, there was no such formality; the boundary spanner acted to „facilitate‟ search and exploration to locate opportunities for innovation through idea exchange. The application of innovation constructs to the business and society field has enabled firm engagement with nonprofit stakeholders to be examined through a new lens and demonstrated how firms innovate from such relationships. In particular it has highlighted the key role played by the firm boundary spanner (relationship manager) and how this role alters depending on senior management involvement: a distinction which has not been made in the extant literature and would benefit from further examination.

This thesis looks at the ways in which performance can integrate participants and local context into the development of new devised work. This practice-led research is based on a methodology that grew out of three performance case studies completed in diverse international settings with a varied range of participants. The case studies are: Napoli Scorticata completed in 2007 in Naples, Italy; Youth Visions, completed in 2008 in Northeastern Ghana, West Africa; Triangulated City, completed in 2009 in Beirut, Lebanon. Within these diverse contexts the research questions the role of authorship when working in socially engaged practice, focusing on how practitioners can shift the focus from the artist to the body politic. Merging social engagement with a site-responsive approach, the research proposes that the artistic medium is the social system and as such argues that the modes of employment require a focus of appreciation on the generative process, context and product combined. The research is presented in two parts. Part I is an interactive DVD with images of the development process and final presentations as well as a video of each performance work. Part II is a written thesis that explores the modes of engagement, outlines the methods of development and structures a general working methodology that can be referenced by other performance practitioners. The thesis proposes Applied Live Art as a term to describe practices that include a hybrid of time-based media options, which include a social component as their primary focus. The research outcomes conclude with an analysis of place making and its importance when working with both site and society.

The engagement of stakeholders in a dialogue on the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and the retrieval and treatment of nuclear waste in the UK has proved challenging. The action orientated research presented here has used a mixed methodological approach to examine participants’ perceptions regarding the nature of dialogue being carried out by the NDA National Stakeholder Group (NSG), with the emancipatory aim of raising participant awareness regarding their role and the nature of the dialogue used. Exploration of the emergent theme of fairness has enabled the researcher to provide a contribution to stakeholder theory. This research adds to the theory of the deliberative institution (Reed, 2008), providing evidence for why the effective influence of stakeholders on decision making, communication about this influence, and the institutionalization of stakeholder participation is as important as the engagement itself. The work also provides an important epistemological contribution regarding the role of dialogue within the concept of social sustainability.

The decline in traditional methods of civic engagement is a cause for concern in many Western democracies. Similarly, studies of American party politics point to a transformation from locally-based volunteer organizations to national ones assisting candidate-centered, professionally-run campaigns, leaving little room for volunteer participants. This thesis analyses the recent resurgence of grassroots participation and organization in the United States. Using interpretive methods, I present a study of grassroots participants in Massachusetts Democratic Party primary campaigns in 2006. Primary documents, interviews with volunteers and paid members of field staff, and observations of canvassing work all detail the personal and organizational contexts of participation, illuminating the meanings individuals found in campaign work. Grassroots participation takes place in a loosely organized set of candidate-based campaigns, local party committees, and civic spheres. When participants first engage in this environment, they become socialized into a community with learned norms, practices, and ways of knowing. While those interviewed shared some of the motivations of party activists in previous studies, the motives and beliefs described by both professional organizers and volunteers were less policy focused than expected, and blurred the distinction between ideological and social categories. Indeed, while organizers and volunteers build distinct identities through their campaign participation, they share many more similarities than the literature on activism and professionalism in parties would suggest. Participants also serve a crucial role as translators between party elites and their fellow citizens, with important implications for linkage and the problem of decoupling. Rather than a return to traditional methods and structures of political engagement, the participants observed take part in and are building communities which have much in common with new forms of non-traditional participation. These findings contribute to the development of party organization theories and point towards the need for greater dialogue between scholars of party politics, organizational studies, and civic engagement.

This project responds to the question: How do communication educators encourage students to enact the communicative practices necessary for a life of rhetorically engaged civic action? In responding to this question, the academic field of communication studies is recognized as a site for implementing the lessons of rhetoric, democracy, and civic engagement. This project contributes to the civic engagement scholarship from a communication studies perspective by foregrounding human communication as an essential component of the civic engagement process. As an interpretive inquiry, the philosophical thought and the pragmatic action of twentieth-century rhetorician and social activist Jane Addams (1860-1935) provides a hermeneutic entrance point for identifying and understanding the ways in which faculty members in higher education might conduct service-learning in a more responsive and engaged manner. <br> Practicing situated communicative service-learning, a pedagogical approach that embraces the historical moment and the challenges facing service-learning on today's college campus, provides one possibility. Addams's philosophical thought and communicative practices inform the integration of situated communicative service-learning into the communication studies field and college campus through the understanding of commonplace stemming from the Greek understanding of topoi (Aristotle). This praxis-centered approach to service-learning provides ground for students to understand the rhetorical and communicative practices necessary for a life of engaged civic action. By grounding individual communicative practices in a communication classroom setting, communicative habits can grow and flourish in communities. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD; / Dissertation;