There is currently no legislation counteracting the impact of workplace bullying on South African employees, consequently generating an open invitation for all perpetrators in the organisation. The significance of bullying by superiors and bullying by colleagues is explored in this regard. Workplace bullying refers to behaviour which harasses, offends, excludes and affects the employees’ work tasks. This behaviour occurs repeatedly, frequently and over a period of time. As a result, the impact of bullying on employees has massive consequences on the absenteeism, profitability, turnover intention and the compensation claims of the organisation. The most common solution of workplace bullying results in resignation. Thus, this study also explores perceived organisational support (POS), acting as a moderator, to counteract workplace bullying in this regard. POS is defined by employees experiencing: role clarity, participation in decision–making, colleagues’ support, having sufficient job information and good supervisory relationships. This will not necessarily put an end to this phenomenon but creates awareness in the South African context. Many international researchers focused on defining bullying, exploring different perpetrators and identifying characteristics associated with targets of bullying. Nationally, research is still in its infancy, hence, this research explores workplace bullying in general, by focusing on different sectors across South Africa. This research addresses the main perpetrators, the impact on turnover intention and explores POS acting as a moderator in the relationship between workplace bullying and turnover intention. The objectives of this research was 1) to determine how workplace bullying, perceived organisational support and turnover intention are conceptualised according to the literature; 2) to determine the relationships between workplace bullying by superiors/colleagues, the sub–facets of perceived organisational support (role clarity, job information, participation in decision–making, colleague support and supervisory relationships) and turnover intention; 3) to determine the moderating role of the sub–facets of perceived organisational support (role clarity, job information, participation in decision–making, colleague support and supervisory relationships) in the relationship between workplace bullying (superiors and colleagues) and turnover intention. An availability sample of N =13911 participants were gathered over a spectrum of 9 provinces and 5 sectors. Hierarchical regression analyses was conducted in order to determine if POS acts as a moderator in the relationship between workplace bullying (either by superiors or by colleagues) and turnover intention. Results highlighted the prevalence of workplace bullying in the South African context. The statistical analysis revealed that workplace bullying by superiors and by colleagues has a negative relationship with all the sub–facets of POS. This implies that when bullying by superiors or colleagues increases, the sub–facets of POS will decrease. The intention to leave the organisation correlated negatively with the sub–facets of POS. This suggests that when POS exists in organisations employees will be retained. There is a positive relationship between both bullying by superiors and bullying by colleagues and the propensity to leave the organisation. In practice, this implies that when bullying increases (by either superiors or colleagues) more targets of bullying will be inclined to leave the organisation. According to the empirical results, POS, role clarity, participation in decision–making and supervisory relationships, was the only facets which acted as moderators in the relationship between workplace bullying by superiors and turnover intention, whereas no moderation was found with bullying by colleagues. Recommendations were made for the organisation and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The South African mining industry is facing rising levels of skills shortage. According to reports, there are a number of reasons for this, one being the low number of graduates who enrol for engineering related qualifications versus the number of graduates who eventually graduate with an engineering qualification. More emphasis needs to be placed on bursaries for university candidates, as well as training in organisations, to groom graduates in this field. The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between job characteristics, communication with the manager, organisational commitment, social support and job satisfaction for a sample of employees in South Africa, and specifically to determine whether social support plays a moderating role in this relationship. The participants were a convenience sample of trainees in a mining training academy, in the North–West Province. Participants’ informed consent was sought by explaining what the general purpose of the study is as well as including on the cover page of the questionnaire information around details of the study. Participants had the option of either posting the questionnaires after completing it in their own time (stamped envelope was supplied) or handing the completed questionnaire into their human resource department. This method allowed everyone to complete the questionnaire in their own time. Regarding the relationship between job characteristics (i.e. job autonomy, job challenge, and communication with the manager); all were positively correlated to the outcome variable, namely job satisfaction. None of the interaction terms were significant predictors of the outcome variable (job satisfaction). A conclusion can be drawn from this that social support does not have a moderating effect on the relationship between the measured independent variables (job characteristics and manager communication) and the outcome variable (job satisfaction). However, when only social support from supervisor and colleagues and the job characteristics were considered, it was seen that job autonomy, feedback and social support from colleagues are significant predictors of job satisfaction. This finding indicates that it is not only important for trainees to experience autonomy in the execution of their tasks, but that they also need collegial support and good feedback about such performance in order to experience job satisfaction. In conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The mining industry in South Africa plays a significant role in the economy of the country. South Africa is rated as one of the world’s largest producers of key reserves - gold, manganese ore and platinum– and the high level of industrial and production skills in the mines also contributes to the country’s success. Although the gold mining industry’s contribution is of the utmost importance, it is also under pressure to remain competitive and cost–efficient. Old shafts, worsening health of employees, ore bodies that are not always in their prime phase, the radical increase in the annual electricity tariffs and the possibility of decreased gold prices contribute to the decline in the gold mining industry’s success. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between role–specific stress and physical and psychological health, and to determine whether social support has a moderating effect in this relationship for employees in a mining training academy. A cross–sectional survey design was used and a convenience sample (n=437) was taken from a South African gold mining company, where the only criterium for inclusion was to be employed by the organisation at the time the research took place. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The measuring instruments used in this study were proven to be reliable. The results indicate that role stressors and physical and psychological health problems are positively related. It also shows that social support can decrease role–specific stress and that social support – especially from colleagues and supervisors – can help to reduce depression and improve the quality of sleep. Furthermore, logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether role stress and social support hold any predictive value regarding physical and psychological health. It was found that if participants’ experience role–specific stress and they receive support – especially from supervisors – it can predict their quality of sleep and the use of medication (physical viii health). The findings also indicate that role stress can predict the experience of depression with regards to psychological health. However, the moderating effect of social support between role stress and depression was not supported in this research. To conclude, recommendations for the organisation and future research are made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

South Africa is a very diverse country. There are eleven spoken official languages, different cultures, beliefs, backgrounds, educational levels, races as well as differences in socioeconomic status. Psychometric measuring instruments used in South Africa are mostly imported from Europe or America and are often not standardised for the South African context. The translation of such imported measuring instruments usually results in bias, in contravention of the Employment Equity Act (1998) which stipulates that all psychometric assessments should be bias–free, equivalent, and fair. It is of tremendous importance to take a country's political, economic and social history into account before developing a psychometric instrument, to ensure that the instrument will adhere to all legal requirements. A quantitative research design was used in this study. The sample consisted of students from tertiary institutions in North–West and Gauteng Provinces (SH–1: n = 473; SH–2: n = 476). Convenience sampling was used since the aim of the study was to test the reliability and validity of a newly developed instrument. Questionnaires were distributed amongst the participants from the tertiary institutions, to be completed within a set time and collected immediately after completion. The first objective of the study was to develop a valid and reliable measuring instrument that scientifically assesses the Hostility, Gratefulness and Active Support subclusters of the Soft–heartedness cluster of a new personality measure being developed for the South African context, namely the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI). Items were derived from person–descriptive terms gathered through a qualitative research design. The aim of this qualitative research design was to gather as many person–descriptive terms as possible and integrating these terms into a personality instrument. A principal component analysis was conducted to determine the item correlations, and items that did not function as expected were removed. Internal consistency coefficients were calculated to determine the item reliabilities. The second aim of this study was to determine the factor structure for the three subclusters of the Soft–heartedness cluster included in this study (pertaining to these three subclusters). A factor analysis was performed. A higher–order factor was present and a second–order analysis was performed, using the factor correlation matrix as input on the results. From the three subclusters assessed in this study, only two subclusters were extracted, and were labelled Hostility and Congenial Behaviour. This could be an indication that the positive and the negative items are clustering together in two separate groups, one indicating positive behaviour and the other negative behaviour. Finally, the construct equivalence across different race groups was evaluated by considering Tucker's phi coefficient and comparing the factor pattern matrices of the two factors obtained to compare the factor solutions between the white and African race groups respectively. The results indicated that each of the facets had similar loadings on their posited factors for both groups and that the two factors were represented by the same facets irrespective of the race groups. Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

There is currently no legislation counteracting the impact of workplace bullying on South African employees, consequently generating an open invitation for all perpetrators in the organisation. The significance of bullying by superiors and bullying by colleagues is explored in this regard. Workplace bullying refers to behaviour which harasses, offends, excludes and affects the employees’ work tasks. This behaviour occurs repeatedly, frequently and over a period of time. As a result, the impact of bullying on employees has massive consequences on the absenteeism, profitability, turnover intention and the compensation claims of the organisation. The most common solution of workplace bullying results in resignation. Thus, this study also explores perceived organisational support (POS), acting as a moderator, to counteract workplace bullying in this regard. POS is defined by employees experiencing: role clarity, participation in decision–making, colleagues’ support, having sufficient job information and good supervisory relationships. This will not necessarily put an end to this phenomenon but creates awareness in the South African context. Many international researchers focused on defining bullying, exploring different perpetrators and identifying characteristics associated with targets of bullying. Nationally, research is still in its infancy, hence, this research explores workplace bullying in general, by focusing on different sectors across South Africa. This research addresses the main perpetrators, the impact on turnover intention and explores POS acting as a moderator in the relationship between workplace bullying and turnover intention. The objectives of this research was 1) to determine how workplace bullying, perceived organisational support and turnover intention are conceptualised according to the literature; 2) to determine the relationships between workplace bullying by superiors/colleagues, the sub–facets of perceived organisational support (role clarity, job information, participation in decision–making, colleague support and supervisory relationships) and turnover intention; 3) to determine the moderating role of the sub–facets of perceived organisational support (role clarity, job information, participation in decision–making, colleague support and supervisory relationships) in the relationship between workplace bullying (superiors and colleagues) and turnover intention. An availability sample of N =13911 participants were gathered over a spectrum of 9 provinces and 5 sectors. Hierarchical regression analyses was conducted in order to determine if POS acts as a moderator in the relationship between workplace bullying (either by superiors or by colleagues) and turnover intention. Results highlighted the prevalence of workplace bullying in the South African context. The statistical analysis revealed that workplace bullying by superiors and by colleagues has a negative relationship with all the sub–facets of POS. This implies that when bullying by superiors or colleagues increases, the sub–facets of POS will decrease. The intention to leave the organisation correlated negatively with the sub–facets of POS. This suggests that when POS exists in organisations employees will be retained. There is a positive relationship between both bullying by superiors and bullying by colleagues and the propensity to leave the organisation. In practice, this implies that when bullying increases (by either superiors or colleagues) more targets of bullying will be inclined to leave the organisation. According to the empirical results, POS, role clarity, participation in decision–making and supervisory relationships, was the only facets which acted as moderators in the relationship between workplace bullying by superiors and turnover intention, whereas no moderation was found with bullying by colleagues. Recommendations were made for the organisation and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The South African mining industry is facing rising levels of skills shortage. According to reports, there are a number of reasons for this, one being the low number of graduates who enrol for engineering related qualifications versus the number of graduates who eventually graduate with an engineering qualification. More emphasis needs to be placed on bursaries for university candidates, as well as training in organisations, to groom graduates in this field. The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between job characteristics, communication with the manager, organisational commitment, social support and job satisfaction for a sample of employees in South Africa, and specifically to determine whether social support plays a moderating role in this relationship. The participants were a convenience sample of trainees in a mining training academy, in the North–West Province. Participants’ informed consent was sought by explaining what the general purpose of the study is as well as including on the cover page of the questionnaire information around details of the study. Participants had the option of either posting the questionnaires after completing it in their own time (stamped envelope was supplied) or handing the completed questionnaire into their human resource department. This method allowed everyone to complete the questionnaire in their own time. Regarding the relationship between job characteristics (i.e. job autonomy, job challenge, and communication with the manager); all were positively correlated to the outcome variable, namely job satisfaction. None of the interaction terms were significant predictors of the outcome variable (job satisfaction). A conclusion can be drawn from this that social support does not have a moderating effect on the relationship between the measured independent variables (job characteristics and manager communication) and the outcome variable (job satisfaction). However, when only social support from supervisor and colleagues and the job characteristics were considered, it was seen that job autonomy, feedback and social support from colleagues are significant predictors of job satisfaction. This finding indicates that it is not only important for trainees to experience autonomy in the execution of their tasks, but that they also need collegial support and good feedback about such performance in order to experience job satisfaction. In conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

The mining industry in South Africa plays a significant role in the economy of the country. South Africa is rated as one of the world’s largest producers of key reserves - gold, manganese ore and platinum– and the high level of industrial and production skills in the mines also contributes to the country’s success. Although the gold mining industry’s contribution is of the utmost importance, it is also under pressure to remain competitive and cost–efficient. Old shafts, worsening health of employees, ore bodies that are not always in their prime phase, the radical increase in the annual electricity tariffs and the possibility of decreased gold prices contribute to the decline in the gold mining industry’s success. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between role–specific stress and physical and psychological health, and to determine whether social support has a moderating effect in this relationship for employees in a mining training academy. A cross–sectional survey design was used and a convenience sample (n=437) was taken from a South African gold mining company, where the only criterium for inclusion was to be employed by the organisation at the time the research took place. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The measuring instruments used in this study were proven to be reliable. The results indicate that role stressors and physical and psychological health problems are positively related. It also shows that social support can decrease role–specific stress and that social support – especially from colleagues and supervisors – can help to reduce depression and improve the quality of sleep. Furthermore, logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether role stress and social support hold any predictive value regarding physical and psychological health. It was found that if participants’ experience role–specific stress and they receive support – especially from supervisors – it can predict their quality of sleep and the use of medication (physical viii health). The findings also indicate that role stress can predict the experience of depression with regards to psychological health. However, the moderating effect of social support between role stress and depression was not supported in this research. To conclude, recommendations for the organisation and future research are made. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Text in Afrikaans / Die huisouermodel word tans internasionaal in kinderhuise gevolg. ’n Huisouer of huisouerpaar tree as surrogaatouer(s) op en woon saam met die kinders in ’n huis in ’n gewone woonbuurt, weg van die hoofkampus van die kinderhuis. Direkte waarneming van die daaglikse funksionering van huisouers binne die huisouermodel het die navorser bewus gemaak van die kompleksiteit van die huisouer(s) se take. Die doel van hierdie navorsing was gevolglik om ’n verkennende studie te onderneem, ten einde te bepaal watter bydrae kernrolspelers kan lewer om huisouers binne die huisouermodel van ’n kinderhuis in die uitvoering van hulle take te ondersteun. Om hierdie doel te bereik is ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingstudie uitgevoer waartydens semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met huisouers en kernrolspelers van drie satelliethuise van ’n kinderhuis, as data-insamelingsmetode benut is. Die kwalitatiewe data is geanaliseer en die bydrae wat kernrolspelers kan lewer om huisouers in die uitvoering van hulle take te ondersteun, is beskryf. / Internationally, children’s homes follow the houseparent model. A houseparent or houseparent couple act as surrogate parent(s) and live with children in a home, away from the main campus of the children’s home. Direct observation of the functioning of houseparents within the houseparent model brought awareness with regards to the complexity of houseparents’ tasks. The goal of this research was to conduct an exploratory study to determine what contribution key role players can make to support houseparents within the houseparent model with the fulfilment of their tasks. To achieve this goal, data was gathered through the application of a qualitative research study, utilising semi-structured interviews that were conducted with houseparents and key role players within three satellite homes. The qualitative data was analysed and the contribution that key role players can make to support houseparents in the fulfilment of their duties was described. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Spelterapie-rigting)

This study addresses the fatigue life of the head–to–skirt welds of tall distillation columns. Fatigue tests were done on two types of weld geometries which approximate the head–toskirt configurations. From the fatigue tests it was determined that the fatigue life of the experimental samples can be substantially improved by applying weld build–up between the head and the skirt. The expected fatigue life of the test samples was determined by way of calculation employing the so called Nominal–Stress–Approach, the Effective–Notch–Stress–Approach and the Stress–Life–Approach. For both the Nominal–Stress–Approach and the Effective–Notch–Stress–Approach the predicted fatigue life was found to be overly conservative compared to the experimental results. The Stress–Life–Approach predicted the fatigue life to within a factor of 1.3 for both the geometries under investigation when displacements due to welding are taken into account. If displacements due to welding is omitted this factor is increased, for the geometry without weld build–up, to 2. For the geometry with weld build–up the factor remains 1.3. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This study addresses the fatigue life of the head–to–skirt welds of tall distillation columns. Fatigue tests were done on two types of weld geometries which approximate the head–toskirt configurations. From the fatigue tests it was determined that the fatigue life of the experimental samples can be substantially improved by applying weld build–up between the head and the skirt. The expected fatigue life of the test samples was determined by way of calculation employing the so called Nominal–Stress–Approach, the Effective–Notch–Stress–Approach and the Stress–Life–Approach. For both the Nominal–Stress–Approach and the Effective–Notch–Stress–Approach the predicted fatigue life was found to be overly conservative compared to the experimental results. The Stress–Life–Approach predicted the fatigue life to within a factor of 1.3 for both the geometries under investigation when displacements due to welding are taken into account. If displacements due to welding is omitted this factor is increased, for the geometry without weld build–up, to 2. For the geometry with weld build–up the factor remains 1.3. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.