11613 research outputs found
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Obedience and servant leadership: Apollis, Appies, Buti, Buys
No full textAbstract not availableNational Research Foundation (NRF)
Department of Practical and Missional Theology
Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of the Free State (UFS)Published versio
Using the realistic mathematics education approach to enhance the teaching of mathematical linear programming at Technical and Vocational Education Training Colleges
No full textDeceased Sentient: an Eternal Reefs Memorial Centre at the Cape Recife Lighthouse and nature reserve, Port Elizabeth
No full textLife and Death. An endless cycle we see devoured, held, controlled by time. Always similar but
never the same, yet the means in which we memorialise never changed. Traditional burial has
always held the most dignity in civilisation, although Greek and Buddhist cultures has always
upheld cremation. The evolution of burial has but remained variables of a gist in all beliefs and
cultures where the origins and legitimacy are subject for a different debate. But is there a thread,
or substance of the same origin, something that we as modern man can reconnect to in order to
have a neutral goal for this life and the next one. Is mother earth our only salvation for this life
and the afterlife? Do we only have these lands and waters for all eternity?
We can predict very little, but learn a lot from the past. For destruction and discovery has led to
this world, so what to do but reconstruct this haven as a heaven for all living beings.
For our planet to be the sole haven, for what seems eternity, in order to preserve all life for only this
life we have, evidently, must become human nature. Preserving nature has to be in our nature
Perceptions of first time child offenders regarding their adjustment to a correctional environment
No full textThe impact of incarceration on offenders’ psychological well-being and functioning can be detrimental. Literature on incarceration identifies significant stressors such as loss of freedom, homesickness, isolation, and exposure to intimidation. Child offenders have been described as particularly vulnerable to the impact of incarceration on their well-being and functioning. This study aimed at exploring and describing first-time child offenders’ perceptions of adjustment in a correctional environment. The transactional model of stress and coping and lifestyle exposure model of offending within the correctional environment served as the theoretical lens, guiding the understanding behind the participants’ perceptions and the subsequent impacting factors. A qualitative research approach with a multiple case study design was used to gain a deeper understanding of these child offenders’ perceptions of adjustment in a correctional environment. Eight participants were obtained through the purposive sampling method, and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted, including a focus group with four of the participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, concurrently with the hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. Findings indicated three prominent main themes, namely (i) contributing factors to maladjustment, (ii) protective factors to success in adjusting, and (iii) child offenders’ adjustment strategies. Previous perceptions of life in incarceration, deprivations of incarceration, and the correctional centre's perceived legitimacy appeared to contribute towards the child offenders’ maladjustment. Rehabilitation and emotional support, however, aided in adjustment. Lastly, child offenders employed strategies such as self-discipline and seeking social support
Development of an instrument to measure the clinical learning environment in health sciences
No full textA positive and stimulating clinical learning environment (CLE) is key to health professional students’ as it increases their opportunities to transfer learning and become competent professionals. The evaluation of the CLE is crucial to determine the quality of the students’ clinical experience and learning opportunities, as well as to promote a supportive CLE for students. The CLE has received ample attention from researchers over the past three decades. From the literature, four major aspects are identified to contribute to a positive CLE, including the atmosphere of the clinical settings; teamwork; staff and student workloads; and learning opportunities offered by clinical settings to students to practice people-centred care. An instrument that is used to measure the CLE is expected to address these aspects to promote a positive CLE. An overview of existing CLE measuring instruments, however, revealed that the instruments failed to address all four of these major aspects. Failing to address those aspects in the measuring instrument may lead to the failure to identify weaknesses in current systems, or to measure new CLEs in terms of its potential contribution to work-integrated learning (WIL). Ultimately it may have a negative impact on the clinical learning of students. Therefore, a more comprehensive, valid and reliable instrument is needed to measure the complex characteristics of CLEs, and to determine whether they provide the essential learning opportunities for professional students. Therefore this research aimed to develop an instrument that measures the clinical learning environments of students in health sciences, addressing all major aspects associated with a positive CLE. This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase included the development of an instrument that measures the CLE based on pre-existing instruments and literature. Nineteen instruments, consisting of 454 items, were identified. The items were thematically analysed and refined to develop the first version of the instrument. The first version instrument consisted of 66 items. The second phase included a Delphi study to determine the face and content validity of the first version instrument. A consensus Delphi technique, with an agreement rate of 70% was used to validate the inclusion of items for the final instrument. An expert panel of qualified healthcare professionals proved to be most suitable to obtain the face and content validity of the items. The panel members included diverse expert healthcare professionals from various African countries and healthcare facilities. Of the 54 experts initially invited, 36 indicated an interest to participate. During the first round, 22 panel members responded to the instrument while 16 panel members responded during round two. Ten panel members took part in the third and final round. A possibility for professional attrition may be that all healthcare practitioners were called to the frontline during the CoVID-19 pandemic. Based on the results of the Delphi-study, four of the original 66 items were eliminated due to a lack of consensus. The remaining 62 items were judged to have face and content validity and were included in the final instrument. The 62 items in the second version of the instrument address all major aspects that contribute to a positive CLE. The instrument developed in this research can benefit a range of role-players involved in the WIL of students in the healthcare profession. It could be used as an evaluation instrument for new CLEs, and to measure its potential contribution to WIL; it could assist in identifying inherent weak areas in the system that need strengthening; professional governing bodies could use it to accredit clinical settings for placements of health professional students. It is recommended that the construct validity and reliability of the instrument be tested in future research
A syntactic analysis of phrasal coordination in Biblical Hebrew
No full textThis study provides a syntactic analysis of phrasal coordination in Biblical Hebrew (BH). Iinvestigate every occurrence of conjunction waw at the phrase (as opposed to the clause) levelin the Pentateuch, a total of 2,714 tokens, employing the framework of Minimalist Syntax.My analysis draws upon cross-linguistic typology studies on coordination, and employs a complexity approach that treats language as a connected whole with the interacting levels of syntax, semantics, prosody, morphophonology, and discourse. Much of what has been written on waw consists primarily of semantic observations on clausal coordination. Common questions considered in previous studies include the following: Should one always translate waw, and how many meanings and uses are associated with waw? By approaching coordination with waw from a semantic viewpoint, it is impossible to determine precisely how coordination is distinct from either subordination or apposition. This thesis demonstrates the value of developing a sound linguistic theory of the structure of coordination and the function of the coordinator. I argue that the structure is hierarchical with the conjuncts as specifier and complement and the coordinator as a defective head. Within this framework, I answer three questions. First, does waw have one or multiple functions? Second, what determines when waw occurs overtly? Third, how does waw interact with prosody, linear order, syntactic categories, scope-taking elements, and verbal agreement? As a result of coordination being a hierarchical structure, I demonstrate that waw always forms a sub-constituent with one of the conjuncts. As a proclitic, the allophones of waw are determined either by the phonology of the second conjunct or by how the second conjunct aligns with a prosodic break as represented by the Masoretic accents. Further, the usage of pronominal suffixes consistently binds the second conjunct to the first, a direct consequence of the hierarchical structure of coordination in BH. As a result of the conjuncts functioning as specifier and complement, I show that neither conjunct can move and that all cases of “split coordination” are a result of clausal ellipsis: gapping, stripping, or right node raising. Cases of conjunct drop and “comitative waw” are better explained as involving ellipsis or a verbless clause. In cases of initial coordination, the first waw functions not as a coordinator but as a parasitic Focus particle. Finally, there are only two types of coordination structure with more than two conjuncts: multiple coordination, which consists of multiple coordinator heads and allows for sub-constituency, and final coordination, which consists of multiple specifiers and does not allow for sub-constituency. As a result of the coordinator being a head element, it maintains a function when it is null-expressed. Within multiple coordination, a null coordinator marks the left edge of a subconstituent structure; completely-null coordination blocks a sub-constituency reading. As a defective head, waw projects the category of the first conjunct, and may merge different syntactic categories, as long as they hold a semantic coherence in relatedness or resemblance. Moreover, waw allows negation, the object marker, and prepositions to take either narrow or wide scope over the conjuncts, producing distributive or collective readings of the conjuncts. In relating this theory to apposition, this study creates new knowledge by distinguishing four structures: stacked appositives, embedded appositives, coordinate-complex appositives, and coordinated appositives. The final category provides both a motivation and a limitation for coordinating co-referential phrases in BH. This study also makes a novel contribution regarding partial agreement with conjoined subjects. BH always favours the higher, rather than closest, conjunct—something not reported in another partial-agreement language—and I interpret the significance of the pattern of optional agreement using a complexity approach
An evaluative case study for undergraduate community service-learning in physiotherapy
No full textSocial and educational transformation was needed in post-Apartheid South Africa (SA) to address numerous social problems that the country was experiencing. Higher educational institutions were identified as vehicles to bring about transformational change to addressing inequalities in the South African society. As such, Education White Paper 3 laid the foundation for making community service, community engagement and service-learning integral to higher education. Building on national directives, the University of the Free State (UFS) established community engagement and community service-learning (CSL) to bring about transformational change. The Department of Physiotherapy at the UFS adheres to the Higher Education Quality Committee directive that CSL in South African educational programmes is used to enhance social transformation. Physiotherapy departments need to ensure that their CSL offerings remain relevant to educational directives and changes in the profession, the higher education environment as well as communities by way of continuous evaluation. The aim of this evaluative case study was to evaluate the undergraduate Physiotherapy CSL module at the UFS. This evaluation involved engaging with relevant literature, including national and institutional policies and guidelines as well as with all stakeholders involved in the named UFS CSL module. The key concepts identified by the different authors in the literature review closely corresponded with the Good Practice Guide for managing the quality of CSL. Key concepts included partnerships, planning, teamwork/collaboration, management of the CSL process (including orientation, assessment and sustainability), recognition and celebration, evaluation of the impact and/or monitoring as well as expansion and/or termination and teamwork/collaboration. The Good Practice Guide was identified as a tool to evaluate the undergraduate physiotherapy CSL module as it encapsulates all the important aspects of CSL. The researcher used three different data collection methods, namely focus groups with UFS CSL experts and physiotherapy academics, semi-structured interviews with service providers and questionnaires with community members and physiotherapy students. The limited quantitative data collected through a questionnaire survey was mainly analyzed as descriptive statistics to describe the profile of the study participants. For the qualitative data analysis, the researcher used thematic analysis by identifying and summarizing data from the transcripts and questionnaires. A wide variety of themes were extracted from the data such as communication, collaboration, equality, social responsibility, graduate attributes, assessment strategies, sustainability, as well as the quality and impact of the module. In building sustainable partnerships, acknowledgement of community elders at first contact is cardinal. The importance of student and community preparation before commencing a community project also arose as critical in this study. The community voice that plays an integral role, even in the planning of a CSL module, was emphasized. Another important aspect was to monitor the impact of a CSL project on the different stakeholders. It also came to light that CSL programmes should continuously be evaluated against abovementioned concepts, policy directives and stakeholders’ expectations for adherence. In terms of the undergraduate physiotherapy CSL module at the UFS, recommendations included that informal connections and relationships be formalized, interaction be effective and a reciprocal participatory approach to development initiatives be followed that engages community members/leaders in fostering equality in the triad partnership. Celebration with all partners is recommended as this helps acknowledge and appreciate all partners playing a part in the CSL module and serves as motivation for future partnerships. In addition, constructive alignment and scaffolding of information must be applied consistently to outcomes and assessment strategies in the CSL module. The study’s value lies in that it provides comprehensive (i.e. multi-stakeholder) insight into the current CSL undergraduate physiotherapy module at the UFS and may influence changes to the module in terms of teaching and learning, and equal and inclusive partnerships. Inter-professional collaboration to expand and incorporate more stakeholders was suggested to improve the impact of CSL and possibly reduce the fragmentation of CSL. This study also serves to encourage more and extensive research in the field of CSL in physiotherapy education on a national level. This could be facilitated by the Good Practice Guide and Self - evaluation Instruments for Managing Quality of SL as it proved to be a very valuable tool in creating a comparable space for CSL offerings in HEIs and, more specifically, physiotherapy
The influence of social media on buyer choices in Maseru, Lesotho
No full textDissertation (MBA (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2020Introduction: The buying decision-making process can be quick, spontaneous and done without much thought. For some buyers however the deliberate intent to buy takes time as they first research and thoroughly investigate available options before making any commitment to buy. This study aimed to assess the influence of social media platforms on the ultimate buyer decisions made particularly by young, middle-class professionals in Maseru, Lesotho. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the influence of social media from the perspectives of young, middle-class professionals in Maseru, Lesotho on buyer choices. It explored critical factors that influenced buyer choices and also if increased social media participation yielded any better returns for businesses that use social media marketing. Methodology: The research was qualitative and the sample size was limited to 12 individuals. Convenience sampling was used as per the ease of accessibility of the respondents. The sample was based on middle-class professional individuals, young men and women aged between 25 and 45 years of age who reside in Maseru, Lesotho.
Findings: The respondents displayed a great level of maturity, discernment and sensibility towards social media. Although people may have their eyes peeled to what is available in the market and may from time to time listen to or read review sections, they still prefer to dig deeper, to do their own research and to rely rather on their physical inner circles than online circles. Conclusion: The researcher has, therefore, come to the conclusion that social media does indeed have a great influence on buyer's choices. Whether they use it to seek inspiration or peer reviews on certain products, ultimately they rely on social media to validate their researches. It does also have a great impact on business's performance. Businesses that did not use social media to advertise their merchandise proved to be less successful than their counterparts who used it
Exploring academic experiences of deaf children in a primary school in Zimbabwe
No full textThesis (Ph.D. (Educational Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2020It is important to consider that deaf children use sign language as their language in all communications although some school staff members could not sign. The study aimed to explore the academic experiences of deaf children at a primary school in Zimbabwe. The Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. The study adopted a qualitative approach. The study also adopted the interpretive paradigm. A narrative case study design was used as a master plan for the conduction of the study. The sample was purposively selected to get relevant and rich information on the academic experiences of deaf children at the selected school. The sample comprised three educational psychologists (n=3) in the Harare Metropolitan Province in which the school is located, five deaf children (n=5), two administrators (n=2), twelve teachers (n=12) and one deaf teacher (n=1) all from the selected school. Interview schedules were used as data collection instruments to collect data from school administrators, psychologists, the deaf teacher and deaf children while focus group discussions guides were used to collect data from teachers. Data were presented in narrative form and analysed using Riessman’s interactional model. Findings suggested that deaf children were placed in the school by the Schools Psychological Services after psychological and audiological assessments. The mainstream school curriculum was used to teach deaf children. The school offered deaf children academic and psychosocial supports while the government weighed in with financial support and psychosocial supports as well. The Department of Schools Psychological Services also offered deaf children psychosocial supports mainly in the form of guidance and counselling.
Deaf children mainly learnt in resource units which were manned by specialist teachers and occasionally attended mainstream classes. Examinations were adjusted to meet the time and language needs of deaf children. The study found that time was only allowed when deaf children needed it while Sign language catered for their language needs. The study found that resources were generally neither accommodative nor adequate for the education of deaf children. The resource units were not accommodative and visual learning aids which were critical in the teaching and learning of deaf children were not available. The study also found that relationships between the deaf and hearing children were sour due to communication challenges between them. The study further found that deaf children participated in exclusive sports but performed all duties and responsibilities performed by the hearing children. It was interesting to find that deaf children learnt cultural norms and values of the mainstream society from primary school. The study found that there was no policy specific to the education of deaf children or children with disabilities in general. A policy specific to the education of deaf children was recommended. The study also recommended the use of a modified curriculum that fully accommodates the needs of deaf children in primary schools. In light of the scarce teaching and learning resources specific to deaf children, the study recommended the procurement of resources specific to deaf children in their education
The disclosure of HIV status to vertically infected HIV positive children before the age of 12 years at Pelonomi Centre of Excellence
No full textHIV is a chronic infection which, although cannot be cured, can be controlled with life-long treatment, provided there is good adherence. Good adherence requires a holistic approach. The patients need to have adequate food, good social support system and participation in their treatment decisions. The lack of any of the above-mentioned factors can have deleterious effects. This is particularly a problem in children. Adherence is dependent on the carer when they are still young. Once they get to teenage years, they start asking questions. The National Department of Health has provided guidelines on step wise disclosure for children. This study explored the prevalence of disclosure to vertically infected children from 6 to 18 years of age. The study was conducted in a South African tertiary hospital paediatric HIV clinic in Bloemfontein, Pelonomi Hospital. Data was collected in the form of a questionnaire, which was completed by the caregiver, and in those that met the criteria the children filled a different section. Convenient sampling method was used. The results showed a better outcome (76% disclosure prevalence, 65% being full disclosure), compared to the other studies (Western Cape, South Africa, 23.7%, 2019 and Zimbabwe, 29.6%, 2019). The difference in the level of care of the current study compared to the previous studies, which were mostly primary level of care, could contribute to the results as well. Of note is that the patients in this study were complicated patients, most of whom were on second line treatment. The suggested average age of disclosure by the children themselves was 12, which is higher than the South African guidelines of full disclosure by the age of 10 years. The best person to disclose and the place where it should be done was also suggested by the children. This study augments the platform that has been set for the authorities to implement a disclosure program into paediatric HIV care