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Social work practice in child welfare is widely acknowledged as a challenging field. Most social workers who choose to enter this field of practice do so with the knowledge that they will be exposed to difficult, at times traumatic, situations. They expect that the job will be stressful; that they will need to manage complex and challenging cases; and they will do so with few resources and often little public support. They also expect to be supported by their workplace in carrying out their mandated roles, however increasingly, a disconnect exists between those administer child welfare services and their understanding of front-line work (Herbert, 2007). Social workers’ wellbeing in child protection practice is directly affected by workplace culture; a subject that is often unexamined when addressing the high turnover of staff in the field. Instead, workers who leave child welfare practice – as well as though who stay while experiencing compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma - are viewed by administrators as being unsuitable for the work, a way of individualizing systemic issues (La Rose, 2009). This study sought to understand the ways that the culture of the workplace contributes to worker experiences of vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue and burnout. Survey research was conducted anonymously with child protection workers in Southern Ontario to understand the aspects of workplace culture that child welfare workers find helpful and supportive in managing the day-to-day of their work, as well as in addressing mental health in the workplace. From the seventy responses that were received, a number of themes emerged including Workplace Culture; Worker Well-being; Agency Support; Safety; Systemic Issues and Training. In this study, participants identified informal peer support and reflexive, supportive supervision as key areas that either sustained their practice or worsened their experiences. Workplace culture emerged as a significant factor in determining worker well-being and resiliency. Survey participants provided examples that illustrated clearly the ways in which neo-liberal policies and austerity measures have contributed to a workplace culture in which workers expressed feeling replaceable, devalued, and in precarious situations. Cutbacks to services and staffing, crushing workload and increasingly complex client situations contribute to the sense of being overwhelmed experienced by workers. Addressing experiences of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma requires a paradigm shift from exclusively individual responsibility and towards an understanding of the broader systemic context and organizational responsibility (Antonopoulou, 2017; Mathieu, 2012; van Dernoot Lipsky, 2009). Organizational strategies to support worker wellbeing are shown to be significant factors in addressing and preventing compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma, ultimately preventing burnout and staff turnover. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Recruitment and retention of public child welfare workforce is in crisis due to turnover caused by 1) dissatisfaction with job; 2) excessive stress and burnout, including vicarious trauma; and 3) a lack of support from supervisors and organizations. No instrument was found to evaluate the impact of supervisory support and the use of organizational and professional strategies. The Supervisory and Organizational Support (SOS) survey instrument was created in response to the need for reliable and valid instruments to measure issues related to child welfare workforce turnover. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the SOS survey instrument and was designed to address the following research questions: 1) Does the instrument have demonstrated content validity? 2) Does the instrument have demonstrated construct validity as developed through factor analysis techniques? 3) Does the instrument have demonstrated reliability? 4) To what extent do the instrument and its' subscales correlate with measures of theoretically related and unrelated variables? The results of this study with a sample of 387 employees in 18 Virginia Department of Social Services agencies provide good beginning evidence of content, construct, convergent, and discriminant validity, and reliability of the SOS survey instrument. As such, the SOS survey can be used in studies of social services workforce turnover/ retention. However, to increase confidence in this recommendation, further research should address the implications and limitations of the current study and provide replication of the results with a different sample using confirmatory factor analysis. Finally, the SOS survey instrument may serve to assist in the evaluation of practice and policy efforts aimed at increasing worker retention. / Ph. D.

A two week self-study was conducted to explore the use of self-care and its impact on well-being on the life of an art therapy graduate student. This study examined self-care through the use of weekly exercise, yoga and art as well as looking at the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle Notes that focused on five areas of well-being (Coping Self, Creative Self, Social Self, Essential Self, and Physical Self) which was documented bi-weekly. The literature review covers self-care, well-being and identifying barriers, the rationale for investing in self-care, and selfcare activities: exercise, yoga and art. Further implications of the use of self-care activities such as exercise, yoga and reflective art making were reviewed for clinical application in the field of art therapy, both for the client and art therapist. This research process allowed for an in depth exploration of the self, it furthered our knowledge regarding the efficacy of self-care and developed a deeper sense of self/self-awareness which benefitted our well-being personally and professionally.

Die vorgelegte Arbeit behandelt die Haftungsbelastung des Arbeitnehmers, wenn dieser im Rahmen seiner Arbeitstätigkeit einen Dritten schädigt. Es handelt sich um eine rechtsvergleichende Betrachtung, die sich die Erstellung eines europäischen Regelungsentwurfes zum Ziel gemacht hat. Rechtsvergleichend konnte festgestellt werden, dass im europäischen Rechtsraum teils gravierende Unterschiede bei der Haftungsinanspruchnahme des Arbeitnehmers zu verzeichnen sind. Diese Unterschiede beruhen auf divergierenden Wertungen der Frage ob eine Haftungsaufteilung zwischen Arbeitgeber und Arbeitnehmer geboten ist. Von den untersuchten Argumenten für und wider einer Haftungsentlastung des Arbeitnehmers haben sich die Fürsorgepflicht des Arbeitgebers und das Betriebsrisiko als tragende Argumente für eine Haftungsverlagerung erwiesen. Es wird daher die Haftung des Arbeitnehmers nur für vorsätzliches Verhalten vorgeschlagen. Im übrigen wird das Haftungsrisiko dem Arbeitgeber zugewiesen. Für den europäischen Rechtsraum wird eine Versicherungspflicht empfohlen. Die Pflichtversicherung tritt hierbei für den entstehenden Schaden ein. Nur im Falle der Vorsatzhandlung durch den Arbeitnehmer kann diesem gegenüber Regress genommen werden. Die Versicherung wird nach diesem Modell durch den Arbeitgeber abgeschlossen. Eine Mindestversicherungssumme soll festgelegt werden. Im Einzelfall wird bei hinreichend nachgewiesener Liquidität eine Befreiung von der Versicherungspflicht ermöglicht. Die Beitragsgestaltung richtet sich nach der Gefahrgeneigtheit der im Betrieb durchgeführten Arbeiten sowie nach der Häufigkeit von Haftungsfällen, so dass das individuelle Schadensrisiko des Unternehmens berücksichtigt wird. Eine zuverlässige Kontrolle des Versicherungsabschlusses soll von staatlicher Seite aus gewährleistet werden. Eine Vereinheitlichung dieser Haftungsfrage im europäischen Rechtsraum sollte nur im Rahmen eines europäischen Zivilrechtsbuches erfolgen. Es wurden die bestehenden Harmonisierungsmöglichkeiten untersucht. Eine Privatrechtsvereinheitlichung kann nach Autorenauffassung am besten über den Weg eines Modellgesetzes umgesetzt werden. / The present dissertation deals with the liability an employee bears in case he injures a third person in course of employment. It’s a comparative study which aims to draft an outline for a unified European rule. There were apparent differences between the compared European laws regarding the topic of vicarious liability. The variations in how liability is shared between employee and employer are created by dissimilar morals and values. Of the studied arguments for or against the principle of vicarious liability have two persuaded in favour of a shared liability between the parties of employment. The first is the employers obligation to care for the welfare of his employees and the second the inherent risk of the business itself which puts an obligation on the employer to share the liability for damage done to third parties in course of employment. In detail this study suggests to keep the employee liable for intended acts only. Apart the liability is to be carried by the employer. The concept proposes further a compulsory insurance which is to be paid for by the employer. The insurance however is obliged to step in for all the damage done in course of the employment by the employee. Only in case of intention there is the right of the insurance to take regress at the employee. Part of the concept is a minimum sum to be insured. State enterprises and comparable solvent companies shall have the opportunity to apply for an exception of the requirement to insure. Insurance rate should connect to the individual risk of the business, considering the risk-level in course of the operation of the particular business and the quantity of actual damages done. A reliable control by officials is necessary to ensure that the employer cared for the insurance. A unification of the matter should only take place in a European context of a unified civil law. A study of the existing possibilities to harmonise private law in Europe led to the conclusion that the subject of vicarious liability within a new European civil code should be drawn in the shape of a model law.

Diese rechtsvergleichende Arbeit behandelt die Haftung für Erfüllungsgehilfen. Dass § 278 BGB im chinesischen Recht keine wörtliche Erwähnung findet, veranlasst zum Nachdenken, wie und auf welcher gesetzlichen Grundlage chinesische Gerichte den Fällen begegnen, die im deutschen Recht mit dem Stichwort „Erfüllungsgehilfe“ verbunden sind. Hinsichtlich des deutschen Rechts sind vor allem die Grundgedanken sowie der historische Ursprung des § 278 BGB zu berücksichtigen, da eine genaue wissenschaftliche Untersuchung dieser Aspekte bei der praktischen Rechtsanwendung zu einem wertvollen Erkenntnisgewinn führen kann. Trotz der Vielschichtigkeit der Einzelfragen stellt vor allem die ausführliche Behandlung von tatbestandlichen Voraussetzungen der Erfüllungsgehilfenhaftung einen besonders elementaren Gegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit dar. Die Bedeutung einer derartig detaillierten Auseinandersetzung ergibt sich aus Sicht eines rechtsvergleichenden Betrachters insbesondere daraus, dass ebendiese für die Untersuchung von chinesischen Parallelvorschriften unerlässliche, instruktive Vergleichsmaßstäbe liefert. Mit Art. 121 CVG, der hinsichtlich der Zurechnung fremden Verhaltens zumindest äußerlich einige Gemeinsamkeiten zum § 278 BGB aufweist, können chinesische Gerichte in einigen Fallkonstellationen zu vergleichbaren Lösungen gelangen. Eine zu wortgetreue Anwendung bzw. die Vernachlässigung der dem Art. 121 CVG zugrundeliegenden Wertung birgt aber die Gefahr einer uferlosen Haftung seitens des Schuldners. Darüber hinaus spielt in diesem Zusammenhang die chinesische kollektivistische Volkstümlichkeit in Bezug auf die Verschuldenszurechnung eine nicht unwesentliche Rolle. Das Zurückgreifen auf derartig abstrakte und oft schwer fassbare Vorstellungen ist doch bedenklich. Außerdem ist das Zusammenwirken mit Art. 65 CVG und Art. 43 CAGZ erforderlich, um die Regelungslücke des missglückten Art. 121 CVG auszufüllen und eine Flexibilisierung der Rechtsanwendung zu sichern. / This comparative work focuses on the liability of the debtor for persons whom he uses to perform his obligation (as “vicarious agents”). The fact that Art. 278 of the German Civil Code (GCC) does not have a corresponding term in the Chinese law leads to wonder how and with which term Chinese courts deal with the cases that regularly connected with the keyword "vicarious agent" in German law. On the part of German law, the basic ideas and the historical origin of Art. 278 GCC that leads to fruitful knowledge gain both in academic research and in the practical application must be taken into account. Despite the complexity of individual questions, a detailed discussion of the prerequisites for the responsibility of the obligor for third parties also constitutes a particularly interesting subject of this work. For a comparative legal scholar from China, the significance of such a detailed examination is especially evident in providing instructive benchmarks for the research of Chinese parallel regulations. With Article 121 of Chinese Contract Law (CCL), which at least has some similarities with regard to the responsibility for the wrongdoing of those others, the Chinese courts can reach comparable solutions in some case constellations. However, a rigid understanding of Article 121 CCL or the neglecting of his basic concepts entails the risk of unlimited liability of the debtor. In addition, Chinese collectivistic values play a significant role in terms of fault attribution. Relying on such an abstract and often elusive concept is however debatable. To rectify the existing legal omission due to Article 121 CCL and ensure the flexibilization of the application of law is applying Article 65 CCL and Article 43 of General Principles of the Chinese Civil Law necessary.

Optimistiese self-evaluasies oor die vermoë om take uit te voer is belangrik vir sukses in verskeie aspekte van menswees. Wanneer mense sulke self-evaluasies doen en selfdoeltreffendheids-persepsies vorm maak hulle van inligting uit verskeie bronne gebruik. Volgens teorieë wat spesifiek verband hou met self-evaluasie is mense tydens die vorming van sulke persepsies omtrent die self veral afhanklik van inligting bekom deur sosiale vergelyking. Hierteenoor beklemtoon teorieë wat meer met selfdoeltreffendheid verband hou, die belangrikheid van self-verwysende inligting soos gevorm tydens prestasie-ervarings. Die doel met hierdie navorsing is om die ordening van die bronne van inligting, wat tydens die vorming van selfdoeltreffendheids-persepsies gebruik word, te ondersoek. Die resultate sal bydra om belangrike vrae te beantwoord oor die voorbereiding van mense vir die uitvoering van uitdagende take. In 'n eksperiment (N=1 723) wat op 'n Solomon-vier-groep-ontwerp geskoei is, is drie vorme van inligting wat persepsies kan beïnvloed aan drie eksperimentele groepe verskaf terwyl daar vyf kontrolegroepe was. Die effek van die ingrepe is met 'n vraelys gemeet. Die resultate toon dat selfdoeltreffendheidspersepsies meer deur selfverwysende inligting as deur sosiale vergelykings-inligting beïnvloed word. Dit is ook bevind dat die verskaffing van addisionele inligting nie 'n kumulatiewe effek tydens die vorming van selfdoeltreffendheidspersepsies het nie. Die implikasies van die resultate ten opsigte van die praktyk en teoretiese beskouinge is in die laaste instansie bespreek. / Optimistic self-evaluation regarding the ability to cany out tasks is important for success in various fields ofhuman endeavour. When people do such self-evaluations and fmm self-efficacy perceptions, they make use of information from various sources. According to theories related to self-evaluation, people engaged in forming such perceptions about themselves largely depend on information gained through social comparison. However, theories of self-efficacy emphasize the importance of self-referenced information, such as those formed through enactive attainments. The purpose of this research is to examine the collation of sources of information used in forming self-efficacy perceptions. The results will help to answer important questions about preparing people to perform challenging tasks. In an experiment (N=l 723) modelled on the Solomon Four Group Design, three types of information likely to influence perceptions were supplied to three experimental groups, while there were five control groups. The effects of the interventions were measured by means of a questionnaire. Results confirmed that perceptions of self-efficacy are more profoundly influenced by self-referenced information than by social comparisons. It was also found that additional information did not have a cumulative effect dming the forming of self -efficacy perceptions. The implications of the results with respect to practical and theoretical viewpoints are discussed in the final instance. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sielkunde)

A study was conducted to describe and interpret the personal strategies that South African Police Service officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, use in their line of work. These are strategies to deal with the impact of the primary victims’ critical incidents of rape, domestic violence, murder and road accidents. The focus was on describing the impact of the critical incidents that the officers are exposed to, which manifest in a form of traumatic stress, namely, vicarious traumatisation, and management of this impact. Twenty participants were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling techniques from the family violence, child protection and sexual offences, domestic violence, field training, detective and social crime prevention units. Unstructured open-ended interviews, diaries and follow-up telephone interviews were used as data collection methods and data were collected in the participants’ home languages, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Data gathered necessitated looking into both the aspects of the officers’ organisational and operational work. Data were thus analysed through the content thematic and constant comparative data analysis methods. The results first presented a profile of police vicarious traumatisation in the Vhembe District, which include the types of critical incidents exposed to, the organisational and operational stressors that lead to vicarious traumatisation, and the description of vicarious traumatisation symptoms. Second, a theoretical framework of the process of police critical incidents impact management (PCIIM) was developed. The framework shows that the management of the impact of the encountered incidents is inspired by various coping needs and subcultures of the officers, and the management takes place through the use of two styles of trauma management, namely, the linear and multilateral styles, which refer to application of coping strategies successively and the combination of horizontal and vertical application of coping strategies, respectively. The coping strategies used by the officers help them to have an objective understanding of the critical incidents encountered, have less severe symptoms of vicarious traumatisation, some symptoms last for shorter periods than before, and other symptoms are no longer experienced. Resilience to the encountered incidents is shown through the development of coping strategies to handle the incidents, facing them, and showing cognitive hardiness. The officers also manage to reflect on the experiences encountered, engage in narratives about them and mutual help thus still working towards attaining posttraumatic growth. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Optimistiese self-evaluasies oor die vermoë om take uit te voer is belangrik vir sukses in verskeie aspekte van menswees. Wanneer mense sulke self-evaluasies doen en selfdoeltreffendheids-persepsies vorm maak hulle van inligting uit verskeie bronne gebruik. Volgens teorieë wat spesifiek verband hou met self-evaluasie is mense tydens die vorming van sulke persepsies omtrent die self veral afhanklik van inligting bekom deur sosiale vergelyking. Hierteenoor beklemtoon teorieë wat meer met selfdoeltreffendheid verband hou, die belangrikheid van self-verwysende inligting soos gevorm tydens prestasie-ervarings. Die doel met hierdie navorsing is om die ordening van die bronne van inligting, wat tydens die vorming van selfdoeltreffendheids-persepsies gebruik word, te ondersoek. Die resultate sal bydra om belangrike vrae te beantwoord oor die voorbereiding van mense vir die uitvoering van uitdagende take. In 'n eksperiment (N=1 723) wat op 'n Solomon-vier-groep-ontwerp geskoei is, is drie vorme van inligting wat persepsies kan beïnvloed aan drie eksperimentele groepe verskaf terwyl daar vyf kontrolegroepe was. Die effek van die ingrepe is met 'n vraelys gemeet. Die resultate toon dat selfdoeltreffendheidspersepsies meer deur selfverwysende inligting as deur sosiale vergelykings-inligting beïnvloed word. Dit is ook bevind dat die verskaffing van addisionele inligting nie 'n kumulatiewe effek tydens die vorming van selfdoeltreffendheidspersepsies het nie. Die implikasies van die resultate ten opsigte van die praktyk en teoretiese beskouinge is in die laaste instansie bespreek. / Optimistic self-evaluation regarding the ability to cany out tasks is important for success in various fields ofhuman endeavour. When people do such self-evaluations and fmm self-efficacy perceptions, they make use of information from various sources. According to theories related to self-evaluation, people engaged in forming such perceptions about themselves largely depend on information gained through social comparison. However, theories of self-efficacy emphasize the importance of self-referenced information, such as those formed through enactive attainments. The purpose of this research is to examine the collation of sources of information used in forming self-efficacy perceptions. The results will help to answer important questions about preparing people to perform challenging tasks. In an experiment (N=l 723) modelled on the Solomon Four Group Design, three types of information likely to influence perceptions were supplied to three experimental groups, while there were five control groups. The effects of the interventions were measured by means of a questionnaire. Results confirmed that perceptions of self-efficacy are more profoundly influenced by self-referenced information than by social comparisons. It was also found that additional information did not have a cumulative effect dming the forming of self -efficacy perceptions. The implications of the results with respect to practical and theoretical viewpoints are discussed in the final instance. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sielkunde)

At the incarnation, Jesus Christ assumed the fallen human nature that He found. Having lived a life of perfect obedience in the fallen human flesh that He assumed, He voluntarily and willingly bore the sins of the entire human race and died the second death for, and in our place; thereby paying the penalty for sin. Jesus Christ bore our sins (acts or behaviours) vicariously, while sin as nature or a law residing in the fallen human flesh that He assumed was condemned in that flesh and received eternal destruction on the cross. Thus, on the cross, in Christ, God saved the entire humanity. On the cross, the condemnation that the entire humanity had received by being genetically linked to Adam was reversed in Christ. Thus, the entire human race stands legally justified. But this is a gift, which can either be received or rejected. Therefore, salvation is not automatic. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Systematic Theology)