http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2941 2013-05-24T13:22:55Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/9348 Adolescents' experiences of the therapeutic effects of sport participation Southwood, Mark Richard This research study is a qualitative research study which examines the experiences of adolescents in Soshanguve who are participating in sport. The aim of the study is to explore the value of sport participation as a therapeutic tool. The problem statement is how adolescents experience the effects of sport participation. The research study was conducted using ethnomethodology which examines how people make sense of their daily lives. The intention was to focus on how the participants interpreted their everyday activities. The absence of symptoms that one would expect from the participants was viewed as an indicator of therapeutic effects of sport participation. There appeared to be an absence of depressive and anxious symptoms, no substance use and sound academic results. Participants also displayed a generally positive outlook on their futures. The conclusion was that sport participation has some benefits for adolescents. 2013-05-07T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/9292 A grounded theory of critical incidents impact management among SAPS officers in the Vhembe District, Limpopo Province Gumani, Andronica Masefako 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. 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/9221 Psychosocial effects of parental loss on children orphaned by HIV and AIDS perspectives from caregivers Muhadisa, Tshimangadzo Caroline This study focused on the psychosocial effects of parental loss on children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The primary aim of the research was to explore the psychosocial effects of parental loss on children orphaned by HIV/AIDS through the eyes of the caregivers. Five participants were selected for this study using convenience sampling. The data was collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis and themes were extracted and presented. The results of this study indicate that children orphaned by HIV/AIDS living in the children’s home experience many psychosocial problems. Further research on the psychosocial issues specific to orphaned children raised in children’s homes in rural areas is recommended 2013-04-26T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10500/9204 Hair representations among Black South African women : exploring identity and notions of beauty Marco, Jenna-Lee South Africa is a country of diversity, culture and various identities; and beneath this diversity, lays the complexity of defining and owning a space for oneself. This study was motivated with the intention to understand Black women’s representations in South Africa as well as the social interactions evident in the relationship between a Black woman and her hair. Literature elucidates on the historical richness of representation for Black people as well as the contemporary relevance of representation for Black women in particular. Furthermore, beauty discourse extends beyond the merely corporeal and finds meaning in historical, political, and circumstantial frames of thought. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with Black women. These interviews generated three discursive themes – hair and politics, hair and media and finally, circumstantial self-representation. Exploring these themes revealed that hair, as a projection of the self, is constantly redefining itself and its meaning in a progressive social culture. Furthermore, women assume agency and a degree of importance and identity from the hairstyles they choose to wear on a daily basis. 2012-11-01T00:00:00Z