M.A. / This study looks into the types of stressors specific to the Emergency Medical Services. The study was undertaken over a period of two years with the following objectives: • A literature survey regarding stress, organisational stress in general and stress in the context of Emergency Medical Services in particular. • An investigation of the personnel of the Emergency Medical Services to ascertain the stressors perceived as stressful by them. • Recommendations on how to prevent or lower stress in the Emergency Medical Services. The first part of this study is devoted to a theoretical investigation which gives an overview of stress in its broadest sense as well as stress in organisations which includes cumulative stress/burnout. Critical Incident Stress and Post Traumatic Stress are also closely examined, as well as the personality characteristics of members of the Emergency Medical Services. The point of departure for the researcher is an ecosystemic perspective where objectivity itself is questionable. Therefore, qualitative research was called for and the transactional/interactional model of Richard Lazarus was used to categorise stressors. The research results suggest that what the Emergency Medical Service personnel perceive as stressful are mainly organisational stressors but they acknowledge that in the long term the continual dealing with death and trauma starts to take its toll. Criticisms that could be levelled against the study are that the results are only generalisable to the personnel of the Johannesburg Emergency Services, whose demographic characteristics and backgrounds differ, for instance, from those who work at Bryanston, or Pretoria. As the study relied solely on personal disclosure and observation the results can be seen as somewhat subjective in nature. What was communicated as stress-related events was what was perceived as stressful by the personnel as well as the researcher's subjective perception of whether certain events were perceived as stressful for the personnel. After working on the ambulance with these personnel for over three years, the researcher is an accepted part of their system, and became subject to the same blunting of affect and depersonalisation of victims as the Emergency workers. Over an extended period in time, it became harder to divorce the researcher from the "worker" while on duty, to maintain a scientific perspective and to write objectively. However, the findings of this study concur with those done by previous researchers on this subject such as Sparrius (1992) and Du Toit & Botes (1996).

Ljudens och musikens påverkan på människan har alltid intresserat mig i egenskap av violinbyggarmästare men också som cellopedagog. Forskningen inom detta område är starkt begränsad och rör till största delen terapeutiska metoder och då främst musikterapi. Dock använder sig musikterapeuter inte av utifrån kommande frekvenser i sitt arbete och de alternativa terapeuterna har inte vetenskapliga belägg för frekvensernas verkan. Syftet med studien har varit att utföra en grundforskning om hälsoklanger som kan inspirera till vidare forskning om hur utifrån tillförda ljud och musik påverkar människan samt exemplifiera hur några musikterapeuter och tomatiskonsulter i Sverige och Tyskland erbjuder musik och ljud som behandlings- eller träningsform. Studien genomfördes genom en kombination av kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder: med en enkätundersökning, intervjuer samt personlig kommunikation med musikterapeuter och alternativa terapeuter, en stressforskare och två tomatiskonsulter. Resultaten tyder på att ljud och musik både kan ha stimulerande och lugnande inverkan på människan, men att en tillförlitlig vetenskaplig värderingsmetod saknas för dem som erbjuder behandlingar. En fortsatt forskning blir att vidare undersöka hur utifrån tillförda ljud och musik påverkar människan. Förutsättningen för att kunna mäta detta är att de valda ljud- eller musikavsnitten inte förekommer enbart punktuellt utan under en längre sammanhängande tidsperiod samt att tillgång finns till därför passande medicinsk mätutrustning och en undersökningsgrupp vars storlek utgår från ett antagande om hur stora effekter man kan förvänta sig på en viss definierad utfallsvariabel (2.7 Musikens påverkan på kropp och själ). Studien kan i bästa fall även ge inspiration till fortsatt forskning kring förbättring av negativa bullriga ljudmiljöer. / The effects of sound and music have always been of great interest to me, both as a Luthier, as a Cellist and Strings teacher. Research in this area is very limited and mainly confined to methods of therapy, in particular Music Therapy. Music Therapists, however, do not employ the use of different sound frequencies in their therapy and the effects of frequencies in other forms of alternative therapy have not yet been scientifically researched or validated. The object of this study has been to research how external sounds and music affect people, and to examine the means by which this is used in therapeutic contexts, such as in Music Therapy and Tomatis training. This research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods, through surveys, interviews and personal communication with Music Therapists, Alternative Therapists, Stress Researchers and two Tomatis Consultants. The research suggests that sound and music can have a stimulating as well as a soothing influence on people, but that a thorough scientifically based investigation into how external sounds and music affect people is needed for professionals in this field of work. Continued research in this area would involve using chosen external sounds or excerpts of music that are not only short impulses but of a longer duration, access to relevant medical equipment to measure the effects of these sounds and an appropriately sized group of research subjects to correlate with the expected effects of a defined research variable. (2.7 Musikens påverkan på kropp och själ) It is hoped that this study will provide a foundation for further research into the effects of frequencies, sound and music, also with a view to finding means to improve negative, disturbing sound environments.

M.A. / The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between trait anxiety, years of service and posttraumatic stress disorder in the South African Police Service. This study was regarded as important because posttraumatic stress can have a significant influence on the personal life and work-related performance of police officers. One hundred and twenty white, male police officers volunteered to participate in the study. A structural model of the relationships between trait anxiety, years of service and posttraumatic stress was postulated. The model specified that trait anxiety and years of service influence posttraumatic stress both individually and jointly. Trait anxiety is operationalised by means of the IPAT Anxiety Scale and posttraumatic stress disorder by means of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Interview Schedule. The fit of the postulated model with the observed data was investigated by means of structural equation modelling. The results indicated that the postulated model showed an acceptable fit with the observed data. The estimated parameters of the model indicated that the subscales of the IPAT Anxiety Scale and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Interview Schedule are good indicators of their respective constructs. It was further shown that trait anxiety and years of service have a significant influence on posttraumatic stress disorder. The results support those of previous studies where it was shown that these variables can influence posttraumatic stress disorder. The present study emphasizes that trait anxiety may predispose police officers to the development of trait anxiety. The study also shows that if police officers are exposed to extended periods of traumatic experiences, they run the risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder.

M.A. / Health problems, physical and mental, in industry have an enormous influence on productivity of organisations in South Africa. Certain models of stress implied the perspective that many stressors may serve as possible inputs into the system, for example remuneration, substance abuse, teamwork, management support, change and self control. Outputs from the system include aspects such as accidents, illness, low productivity levels and psycho-social problems. The problem is that illness and absenteeism often have unspecific causes and a complex interaction perspective has been developed in looking at the employee as system in his working environment.

M.A. / The effective management of resources is of cardinal importance to ensure the continued existence of an organisation. Within the context of the South African Police Service police officials render a service to their clients on a daily basis, which entails working with people and being in constant contact with people. Their work relates to trauma and problems and involves extensive exposure. As a result of the intense and dynamic nature of the service providers' contact with the community, they expend a lot of energy and suffer emotional exhaustion. Excessive exposure to trauma, a considerable workload regarding dossiers, a poorly functioning judicial system, official red tape in the organisation, frustration at the administrative system and severe staff shortages lead to individual burnout. Burnout in the work environment is a dynamic phenomenon and is assessed as a syndrome. The occupational fatigue syndrome is a distinctly defined reaction which occurs in the human science professions. It is a multidimensional syndrome on account of complex interactions in the work environment. Occupational fatigue is of a progressive nature and manifests itself in various degrees of severity. Police personnel are furthermore subjected to an ongoing process of transformation as a result of political and constitutional changes in the country. Continuous adjustment and constant exposure to trauma and contact with clients lead to exhaustion and decline in productivity.