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Countertransference experiences of community service psychologists in multi-racial clinical settings : a psychodynamic perspective
Get PDFAbstract: The ramifications of apartheid’s racialised divisions continue to infiltrate into the therapeutic relationship in the form of unconscious racial dynamics. Addressing the racial countertransference to bring unconscious racial material to conscious awareness is crucial to enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Some previous research found that Black South African psychologists felt compelled to be neutral in response to their racial countertransference. As a result, I aimed to explore community service clinical psychologists’ (CSCPs’) countertransference experiences when working in a multi-racial, clinical setting. I conducted semi-structured interviews with 9 CSCPs. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. I used interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) and interpreted the findings through the lens of a relational psychoanalytic approach. I identified four superordinate themes. The first theme highlights that CSCPs’ countertransference in a multi-racial, clinical setting was shaped by race as well as culture, gender and age. According to the second theme, the content of the racial countertransference included negative emotions, strong feelings related to power dynamics, being unable to think and extreme caution. The third theme shows how CSCPs seemed ambivalent about addressing their racial countertransference. The fourth theme demonstrates that CSCPs valued supervision and personal therapy as strategies to manage their racial countertransference yet were critical of their university training. The findings indicate that CSCPs experience challenges with addressing their racial countertransference. The challenges are most likely the result of a complex interplay between their difficulties tolerating their racial countertransference and the current challenges in clinical psychology training on countertransference management. Future research should explore how therapists can better manage these difficulties.M.A. (Psychology
Improving employee performance using training evaluation in South African financial organisations
Get PDFAbstract: Employee performance is a strategic aspect within financial organisations in South Africa (SA). It is argued that poor performance can be addressed through training and development. Training and development are implemented to ensure employee performance improvement; however, organisations in SA do not regard training and development as an investment but as a loss to the company. This study aimed to establish whether employee performance improvement can be revealed through the training evaluation tools administered after training interventions. Trainees are encouraged to practice what was learned from training interventions to improve their job performance. The success of training and development on business results can be demonstrated when employee performance is correctly measured. A qualitative research approach using semi-structured interviews was conducted with Human Resource Development (HRD) professionals, training providers, performance management specialists, line managers and trainees. The study found that despite the efforts of training interventions within financial organisations, managers do not frequently assess employee performance or provide feedback to employees regarding their performance after training interventions. In addition, employees do not apply what was learned from training to improve performance due to time constraints, work overload, lack of motivation from managers and colleagues, and insufficient resources. HRD professionals argue that while training evaluation tools can reveal employee performance improvement after training intervention, these tools are not being correctly used and managed. This study contributed theoretically by adding to the body of knowledge on Human Resources (HR), training and development, performance management and training evaluation practices. Practically, the study provides HR managers and professionals a strategy for effectively using training evaluation tools to measure performance improvement after training.M.Phil. (Human Resource Development
Local economic assessment of community work programmes as a job creation mechanism
Get PDFAbstract: South Africa’s unemployment rate is among the highest in the world and is ever increasing. It is consistently measured above 20 percent. This is a national crisis, along with two of the country’s other big socioeconomic challenges, namely poverty and inequality. To address poverty and unemployment, various programmes were implemented at the local government sphere, such as the Community Work Programme (CWP), aimed at empowering the community through the provision of employment and skills to provide a safety net to the poor by allowing them to earn a monthly wage. The aim of this study was to investigate the CWP’s contribution towards employment or job creation within Region 1 of the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality community, specifically in Erasmus and Soshanguve. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire and 219 respondents were interviewed face-to-face. An OLS model was employed and the dependant variable was respondents’ level of satisfaction with the programme, and the independent variables were skills transfer, age, level of education, and the length of employment/participation rate within the programme. The results of this study revealed that the CWP is contributing positively to the community of Erasmus and Soshanguve as most respondents were of the opinion that the CWP would be their safety net until they acquire another job. It was also revealed that respondents were not only satisfied with the skills they gained in the programme but also with the overall programme. Nevertheless, it is recommended that participants in these programmes should be provided with advanced and adequate skills to assist them in securing a long-term job, such as technical and administrative labour-absorption skills.M.Com. (Local Economic Development
Tourism as a tool for local economic development in King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality
Get PDFAbstract: The importance of tourism to local economies is well-documented in both international and local scholarship. Tourism is viewed as a potential driver for local economic development and assisting the economic transformation of localities that are facing stagnation from the decline of other economic sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing or mining. The aim in this research is to investigate the potential of tourism as a tool for local economic development of King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in South Africa‟s Eastern Cape Province. The focus is on both the towns of Mthatha and Mqanduli. The study uses a qualitative research method to investigate the perceptions of key private and public sector stakeholders to the challenges of tourism and local economic development in King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality. The research uses documentary sources in terms of local planning documents and most importantly the data collected from 53 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the municipality. The findings indicate that tourism has been in decline since the early 2000s in the KSDM. Nevertheless, the municipality has identified tourism as one of its priority sectors for promoting local economic development and addressing local problems of poverty and high unemployment. The research shows that the KSDM has significant potential for tourism development and that the municipality has a number of critical assets that can be used to support tourism development. Nevertheless, the analysis reveals that municipal assets are under-performing for tourism development. The stakeholder interviews confirm that major challenges exist for the successful leveraging of tourism for local economic development. These include crime, infrastructural shortcomings, lack of proper tourism product package, limited budget allocation for tourism and lack of marketing. The study concludes with recommendations on how the underutilised potential of tourism might be enhanced in order to improve the local economy in one of South Africa‟s poorest regions.M.Com. (Tourism and Hospitality Management
An artificial intelligence model to enhance the chartered accountancy profession
Get PDFAbstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) in today’s society has changed the way in which people live and work; however, organisations are yet to fully realise the benefits of incorporating AI in the chartered accountancy (CA) profession. This research investigates the impact that AI will have on the CA profession, specifically within the discipline of applied information systems. The importance of this study lies in ensuring that CAs are kept abreast of the changes and opportunities presented in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A quantitative approach was adopted. Questionnaires were distributed in electronic format to CAs in one of the big four auditing firms in South Africa. Data was analysed and processed to facilitate comparisons and identify relationships that existed within the data. The questionnaire identified that there was indeed a need to upskill CAs in (i) AI, (ii) big data analysis, (iii) cyber security, (iv) robotic process automation and (v) Python for Accounting and Finance Professionals. This study further recommended areas for future research by including other audit firms, conduct more analyses among the respective audit firms and to increase the number of unit analyses such as the SAICA and other institutions that provide chartered accountancy accreditation.M.Com. (Applied Information Systems
White creatives, black lives : the portrayal of black characters in selected finance and insurance adverts on South African television
Get PDFAbstract: Race remains a sensitive topic in South Africa, even 26 years after the formal dissolution of apartheid. This seems ideal to take stock, because inequality is at its worst, and the freedom dividend is not paying off as expected. Indeed, in some respects, the country is experiencing diminishing returns in its democratic experiment. South African industries, for instance, are stuttering through transformation. One of these is the advertising industry. In a country where the black population is over 80%, the advertising industry is still firmly in the hands of a white minority. The configuration of the advertising agencies partly reflects whether the white dominated economy is transformed, and the degree to which it is doing so, and the manner of doing so. The purpose of the study was to understand the creative process that leads to the type of representation of black characters that is seen often on television adverts. Since key creative positions are largely occupied by white creative directors, how do they conceptualize the black consumer market? Using race critical theories as a theoretical lens, the study adopted a qualitative approach, through in-depth interviews with 10 creatives. Through the discussion of five main themes, namely the tough product category, the white boys club, it’s them not us, team diversity, and transformation, the study confirmed that the South African advertising industry is lacking in diversity. But this is not a surprise. What is a surprise is the manner in which the industry seems to deliberately and actively keep itself untransformed. The observation made was that there is a subtle white washing in progress, with a tendency to overstate the progress made to distract from the reality that white creatives care little about changing the status quo. Indeed, they are comfortable with their overrepresentation in the industry, and generally seek to defend this normative state of affairs, or at least to fabricate issues. The study recommends that industries of such great influence require a paradigm shift if they are to be genuinely transformed, and not the same old business-as-usual, “self-regulatory” approach currently preferred. The strategies of the last two and a half decades have by and large failed, and left black creatives frustrated, bitter and suffering in silence, with many choosing to exit mainstream agencies and start their own independent companies. The study identified the need for expansion in this research area to hear more views from black creatives who currently work in the industry, especially those have opened their own black-owned agencies or have left the industry due to the hurdles they experienced. The study concludes that it is from the black creatives that the most authentic solutions will come. The “white boys club” is not going to reform itself.M.A. (Communication Studies
Design of layered double hydroxide nanocomposite for extraction and recovery of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs)
Get PDFAbstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.Ph.D. (Chemistry
Do Mark 7:1–23 and Matthew 15:1–20 condone the unusual practices of New Prophetic Pentecostal Churches?
Get PDFAbstract: The leaders of certain New Prophetic Pentecostal Churches (NPPCs) perform rituals that are very unusual when compared with traditional church rituals and practices. These practices include eating grass, rats or snakes, drinking petrol and spraying Doom on people so that they would be healed and be closer to God. The trend to perform these unusual rituals has spread throughout South Africa. Leaders from NPPCs often quote Mark 7:14–19 and Matthew 15:10–11, 16–18 to justify their actions. In this study, these parallel texts will be considered in their literary and socio-cultural contexts to determine whether or not they can be taken to condone the activities of these church leaders. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study will find that Mark 7:14–19 and Matthew 15:10–11, 16–18 either condone or do not condone the unusual activities of NPPCs and their leaders. Either way, the findings will be relevant for New Testament studies, practical theology, religion studies and systematic theology
Trends in functional food development with three-dimensional (3D) food printing technology : prospects for value-added traditionally processed food products
Get PDFAbstract: One of the recent, innovative, and digital food revolutions gradually gaining acceptance is threedimensional food printing (3DFP), an additive technique used to develop products, with the possibility of obtaining foods with complex geometries. Recent interest in this technology has opened the possibilities of complementing existing processes with 3DFP for better value addition. Fermentation and malting are age-long traditional food processes known to improve food value, functionality, and beneficial health constituents. Several studies have demonstrated the applicability of 3D printing to manufacture varieties of food constructs, especially cereal-based, from root and tubers, fruit and vegetables as well as milk and milk products, with potential for much more value-added products. This review discusses the extrusion-based 3D printing of foods and the major factors affecting the process development of successful edible 3D structures. Though some novel food products have emanated from 3DFP, considering the beneficial effects of traditional food processes, particularly fermentation and malting in food, concerted efforts should also be directed toward developing 3D products using substrates from these conventional techniques. Such experimental findings will significantly promote the availability of minimally processed, affordable, and convenient meals customized in complex geometric structures with enhanced functional and nutritional values
Projectification in the South African mining industry
Get PDFAbstract: Projects or project-orientated approaches have become a common form of work in nearly all sectors of economies. This has led to concepts such as ‘projectified’ and ‘project orientated’ organizations. By defining projectification of a company, industry, or economy as the share of project work in total work, one can reasonably determine the impact that project management, and by default projectification, has had on that company, industry, or economy in terms of staff optimization and allocation. This paper presents the results for such a projectification study of the South African mining industry. This sector has long been a significant contributor to the country’s economy from a gross value added (GVA) and employment point of view. Understanding the impact of projectification and the project management way of work on this industry may potentially add significant value to both the mining and project management knowledge areas. We show that although the mining industry is considered by some to operate in archaic ways, the level of projectification has increased over time, and now represents approximately one third of all work conducted
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