OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Louw, Johann"

Browsing by Author "Louw, Johann"

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Open Access
Access to alcohol and drug treatment for people from historically disadvantaged communities in the Cape Town metropole
(2007) Myers, Bronwyn Jane; Louw, Johann
This study examined factors associated with access to alcohol and drug treatment for people from historically disadvantaged communities in Cape Town, South Africa. The Behavioural Model of Health Services Utilisation was used as a conceptual framework for variable selection, data analysis and the interpretation of findings. A mixed methods design was used that comprised a case-control study and qualitative in-depth interviews. For the case-control study, data were gathered from 434 cases who had accessed treatment and 555 controls who had alcohol or drug problems but had not accessed services. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to gather data on socio-demographic variables, indicators of treatment need, and barriers to service use.
Open Access
Achievement goal profiles, trait-anxiety and state-emotion of young female competitive horse riders
(2011) Duff-Riddell, Caroline; Louw, Johann
The goal orientations of female riders (N=83) between the ages of 9 and 20 were investigated with a view to extracting goal profiles from the collected data. Goal orientations were identified by means of the Achievement Goal Questionnaire for Sport (AGQ-S), which is based in the 2x2 achievement goal model. Goal profiles were created using cluster analysis. Seven distinct goal profiles emerged from the data. The goal profiles were compared to measures of the rider's trait-anxiety and state-emotion in competitive horse riding. The profile that was high in the approach orientations and low in the avoidant orientations emerged as the most emotionally robust profile. It was also the most competitively successful profile. The profiles where the avoidant orientations were high emerged as the most emotionally vulnerable profiles. Furthermore, they did not demonstrate any particular competitive success.
Open Access
Activity and life satisfaction in the elderly : a study at seniors' centres
(1994) Gillespie, Charles William Ian; Louw, Johann
Although the activity theory of optimal ageing has attracted much interest amongst psychological gerontologists since its explication by Havighurst and Albrecht {1953), little work has been done in the South African context. As the many seniors' centres which now exist in South Africa have the beneficial effects of heightened life satisfaction through improved social activity as their rationale, a study was undertaken at six seniors' centres in Cape Town to examine the connection between social activity and life satisfaction.
Open Access
Attitudes and perceptions towards organizational functioning in substance abuse treatment facilities across South Africa
(2008) Bowles, Steven; Louw, Johann
This study examined the attitudes and perceptions of directors and treatment staff towards organizational functioning within substance abuse treatment facilities across South Africa. In South Africa a history of socio-political factors have hindered substance abuse treatment. Large disparities existed between racially defined population groups and the quality and allocation of resources to substance abuse treatment services across South Africa have not been equitable. Understanding organizational functioning within substance abuse treatment facilities is essential to identifying and prioritizing treatment facility issues that both directors and staff believe need attention. The identification and examination of these issues facilitate the development of appropriate strategies to promote treatment facility improvements and the adoption of evidence-based treatment practices. Cross-sectional surveys of substance abuse treatment facilities were conducted in the Western Cape (2005) and in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, and Kwa-Zulu Natal (2006). Forty-four treatment facilities participated in this study from a population of 89 facilities. The Texas Christian University survey of Organizational Functioning (TCU ORC) was used to assess directors' and staff's attitudes and perceptions towards organizational functioning within their treatment facilities. One-way analysis of variance tests were used to examine whether certain contextual and demographic variables influenced directors' and staff's attitudes and perceptions. Results indicated that directors and staff displayed favorable attitudes and perceptions towards the TCU ORC domains organizational climate and staff attributes, and indecisive attitudes and perceptions towards the motivation for change domain. Demographic variables including: ethnicity, levels of education, amount of work experience, and provincial location were found to influence directors' and staff's attitudes and perceptions towards organizational functioning.
Open Access
The Cape Town Child Guidance Clinic, 1935-1971 : an historical analysis
(1990) Hay, Andrea; Louw, Johann
The study traced certain themes in the history of the Child Guidance Clinic during the period 1935 to 1971, in order to support the following hypotheses: (1) The establishment and development of the Clinic corresponded to the rise and growth of clinical psychology in South Africa. (2). The development of clinical psychology in this country reflected international developments in the field. (3) The practice of psychology was initially ensconced in education. (4) The role of the psychologist expanded in conjunction with the expansion of the psychologists' knowledge base. (5) As a result of the growth in practical and applied psychology, the professionalization of psychology emerged. The study aligned itself generally with those historiographies that view the history of psychology from a contextual approach. The work of Rose (1985) and Van Hoorn (1983) in particular, broadly informed the way in which the study was approached. Archival data consisting of the Clinic's Annual Reports dating from 1935 to 1972 were used as primary sources. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the past director, Dr. Grover. The development of the Clinic was placed within the context of the Mental Hygiene Movement of the early 1900s. An analysis of the Clinic's work illustrated its close involvement in education, in the form of identifying "problem" children arising initially mainly from the school. The importance ascribed to intelligence testing was indicated. The subsequent growth of a base of psychological knowledge and an increased specialist psychological role was then explored in relation to the procedure followed at the Clinic. It was argued that psychologists occupied a dominant position within the Clinic's multi-disciplinary team, their knowledge base became more specialized over time, as shown from an analysis of the classificatory systems used, and that the Clinic succeeded in popularizing psychology to the general public. The development of the Clinic was then placed against the background of the issues of professionalization in South Africa. It was shown how, being situated between university, educational and clinical practice, the Clinic constituted an appropriate setting for the future training of clinical psychologists in South Africa. The developments in clinical psychology in this country were broadly compared to those within the international realm throughout the text.
Open Access
Childhood depression, expressed emotion and psychotherapy : associations and interactions
(2003) De Wet, Debbie; Louw, Johann
This study is concerned with the pursuit of ascertaining the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy in the treatment of childhood depression. Additionally, it is concerned with exploring possible associations between childhood depression and expressed emotion and whether expressed emotion, changes in relation to changes in levels of childhood depression following a therapeutic intervention.
Open Access
Chronic illness and the personal construction of self: the case of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
(1992) Weinberg, Mark; Louw, Johann
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) has attracted a great deal of media attention in recent years, resulting in a fallacious term, 'Yuppie Flu', being publicly identified with the syndrome. In addition, many studies have identified ME as psychological in origin. Thus, despite increasing evidence that ME has a viral, immunological or neurological aetiology, such negative p_ublicity has led to people with ME experiencing negative reactions from medical doctors and lay-people who have regarded them as depressed at best, an,d malingerers at worst. Hence, a number of questions arise; including: What is the effect of·such negative reaction on the self-concepts of sufferers? Did diagnosis improve self-concept? What effect does a negative public view of ME have on the self-concepts of sufferers? To test these questions, a rating-style repertory grid was drawn up after semistructured interviews with a sample of fifteen diagnosed ME sufferers and was administered to a larger sample of fifty people with ME. The results of this retrospective study indicate that a change in self-concept had indeed occurred since contracting ME, but diagnosis has no effect on this change in self-concept and ME sufferers actually identify themselves in the same terms as they perceive their public stereotype. Reasons for these findings are discussed with reference to both Personal Construct Theory and, as a post hoc explanatory tool, Social Identity Theory.
Open Access
Colonialism and the production of psychiatric knowledge in the Cape, 1891-1920
(1996) Swartz, Sally; Louw, Johann
This dissertation describes the evolution of psychiatric practice in the Cape during period 1891-1920, following the appointment of the colony's first Inspector of Asylums. It was a time during which legal reform and social and economic change brought about significant shifts in management of the Cape insane population. The dissertation describes conditions of increasingly strict segregation of patients according to racial categorisation and gender. It argues that this period was pivotal in establishing psychiatric practices closely related to those in Britain. Particular attention is given to the history of Val ken berg Asylum. which opened in 1891, and was the colony's first whites-only asylum. The dissertation describes those features of colonialism rendered visible through Cape psychiatric practice, and explores their implications for the management of the Cape insane. It argues that Cape psychiatry mirrored and contributed to the racist and sexist attitudes upon which exploitation of the colonised population was predicated, though the production of racist knowledge about the colonised population. The dissertation uses management of the insane in the Cape as an example through which to explore the complex ways in which the 'mother' country was made present in colonial practice through the creation of structures which not only insisted on a hierarchy of knowledge and power flowing from coloniser to colonised but also constructed the indigenous as susceptible to rule. The dissertaion argues that texts have primacy as the medium through which knowledge is formulated, circulated and sustained. Discourse analysis of a wide variety of texts provide a reading of the institutional and discursive practices associated with Cape colonial psychiatry. Doctors, around whose activities psychiatric practice was constellated, are the dominant voice in theses texts. However, the subaltern voices of the insane can be distinguished in the contradictions, and silences of the case records, analysis of which is a central focus of the study. Case records are a largely neglected resource in histories of insanity, psychiatry, and asylums. This dissertation formulate and illustrates a method of reading case records which attempts to address the theoretical and methodological problems which have, in the past, contributed to their neglect as a resource.
Open Access
Developing a monitoring and evaluation system for the ceasefire gang violence programme in Hanover Park, Cape Town
(2014) Mahamed, Mahamed Rage; Louw, Johann
This study is a formative evaluation of the Ceasefire gang violence programme in Hanover Park, Cape Town, South Africa. The primary audience of this evaluation is the Ceasefire programme management. The Ceasefire programme is a project of the City of Cape Town's Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading Unit (VPUU). The Ceasefire programme is run by the First Community Resource Centre (FCRC) in Hanover Park. The main aim of this evaluation is to develop a results-based monitoring and evaluation system for the Ceasefire programme.
Open Access
Developing program theory for purveyor programs
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2013) Oosthuizen, Christa; Louw, Johann
BACKGROUND:Frequently, social interventions produce less for the intended beneficiaries than was initially planned. One possible reason is that ideas embodied in interventions are not self-executing and require careful and systematic translation to put into practice. The capacity of implementers to deliver interventions is thus paramount. Purveyor organizations provide external support to implementers to develop that capacity and to encourage high-fidelity implementation behavior. Literature on the theory underlying this type of program is not plentiful. Research shows that detailed, explicit, and agreed-upon program theory contributes to and encourages high-fidelity implementation behavior. The process of developing and depicting program theory is flexible and leaves the researcher with what might be seen as an overwhelming number of options. METHODS: This study was designed to develop and depict the program theory underlying the support services delivered by a South African purveyor. The purveyor supports seventeen local organizations in delivering a peer education program to young people as an HIV/AIDS prevention intervention. Purposive sampling was employed to identify and select study participants. An iterative process that involved site visits, a desktop review of program documentation, one-on-one unstructured interviews, and a subsequent verification process, was used to develop a comprehensive program logic model. RESULTS: The study resulted in a formalized logic model of how the specific purveyor is supposed to function; that model was accepted by all study participants. CONCLUSION: The study serves as an example of how program theory of a 'real life' program can be developed and depicted. It highlights the strengths and weakness of this evaluation approach, and provides direction and recommendations for future research on programs that employ the purveyor method to disseminate interventions.
Open Access
Eating attitudes and behaviours in a diverse group of high school students in the Western Cape
(2003) Russell, Basil; Louw, Johann; Le Grange, Daniel
A total of 813 male and female high school students in the Western Cape between grades 10 and 12 completed a questionnaire survey on their eating attitudes and behaviours. The mean age for the sample was 16.77 years. The survey included a Demographic Questionnaire, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Bulimic Investigatory Test, Edinburgh (BITE), the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns Revised (QEWP-R) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
Open Access
An ecosystemic assessment of the 'children of divorce intervention program' for children between the ages of eight to twelve years
(1997) Lloyd-Young, Mandy; Louw, Johann
This study has been an attempt to understand the progression of twenty-eight 'children of divorce' as they have participated in the Children of Divorce Intervention Program (CODIP) and through the fifteen-month follow-up period thereafter. There were 15 girls and 13 boys; their ages ranged from 7 to 13 years; they were in grades 2 to 7 at school; 20 children were of middle-class status, 8 children were from lower socio-economic backgrounds; 7 children had parents whose divorce was pending, the other 21 children had parents who had been divorced between 3 months and 11 years; and 26 of the 28 children were in the custody of their mothers.
Open Access
Employee assistance programmes : a needs assessment and cost-benefit analysis
(1994) Meyer, Annemarie; Louw, Johann
The aim of the research was firstly-to conduct a needs assessment for an employee assistance programme (EAP) at a financial company, in other words, to determine whether the employees of the financial company actually needed an EAP, and if so, what would be the most suitable form the EAP should take on. Several categories of information were collected, including the nature and frequency of personal problems experienced by employees of the company, current ways in which personal problems were handled, the form of assistance employees would prefer, and the attitude of employees towards a possible EAP at the company. This information was collected by means of a questionnaire developed for this research, and answered by a representative group of employees, as well as interviews conducted with the welfare officer and personnel practitioners at the company. The data were analysed by means of frequency tables, whereafter the results of the needs assessment indicated that there appeared to be a need for an EAP at the company. Recommendations concerning the most suitable EAP were then ~ made. The second aim of the research was to conduct an economic evaluation by means of a cost-benefit analysis of an EAP at a utility company, and comprised a monetary comparison of the estimated costs and benefits (savings) of the EAP. Thereafter the economic efficiency of the EAP was expressed in terms of savings per rand invested. The benefits of the EAP were represented by estimated savings due to reduction in absenteeism and increase in job performance due to EAP intervention. The costs attributable to the EAP include personnel salaries and benefits, training, administration costs, cost of materials and equipment, and travelling costs. The cost and benefit data were extracted from company records. The results indicated that the costs of operating the programme exceeded the benefits, that the EAP was possibly not run cost-effectively, and therefore that further evaluation of the procedures concerning the EAP was needed. In addition, the cost- benefit analysis indicated relatively high absenteeism and low levels of job performance among EAP clients, and on average this did not change after EAP intervention, in fact it became worse. This indicated the need for further research to determine whether there were other factors except personal problems that influenced absenteeism and job performance of EAP clients. If this was indeed the case then the fact that the costs of the EAP exceeded the benefits, could possibly not be blamed on the EAP.
Open Access
Evaluating a governmental training and development programme
(2010) Coetzer, Anje; Louw, Johann
The current study examines the Contractor Development Model (CDM) as used by Working for Water. The overarching goal of the WfW programme is to alleviate poverty by creating short to medium term jobs for unskilled workers through clearing alien vegetation. WfW aims to appoint contractors based on targets from the Expanded Public Works Programme which are 60% women, 20% youth (18 - 36 years) and 2% disabled people. The CDM’s main objectives can be seen as: the employment of youth, women and people with disabilities; skills development through training. The programme aims to to develop contractors so that they become less dependent on WfW. It aims to develop contractors’ alien clearing and business skills to such an extent that contractors eventually exit the CDM in order to pursue more lucrative opportunities outside of WfW.
Open Access
Evaluating the implementation of Options for Health in the Western Cape: an intervention aimed at increasing ARV adherence and reducing sexual risk among people on ARVs in Cape Town, South Africa
(2012) Dewing, Sarah; Louw, Johann; Mathews, Catherine
Options for Health is an evidence-based intervention for reducing sexual risk behaviour among people living with HIV. Options has been proposed as a feasible strategy for integrating HIV prevention with care and supporting adherence to antiretroviral treatment in the public healthcare sector in the Western Cape. To determine the feasibility of this intervention for strengthening the antiretroviral adherence counselling programme delivered by lay counsellors in Western Cape clinics.
Open Access
An evaluation of a home-care project for people with HIV and AIDS
(1997) Soal, Judith Ann; Louw, Johann
This dissertation documents the evaluation of a community health pilot project initiated to care for people living with HIV and AIDS. The evaluation, which was conducted at the request of the project management, emphasises the importance of evaluation for project workers, participants, funders and policy makers, as well demonstrating the role that academics can play in supporting and informing the work of community projects. The evaluation was conducted in two stages. The formative evaluation was initiated in February 1994 and results presented to the project in August 1994. The second phase of the evaluation began in February 1995 and was presented to the project in October 1995. Formative evaluation: The objective of the formative stage was to provide the project with information that would assist in the development of an appropriate and sustainable model of care. The evaluation was based on qualitative methods and a record review of project documentation. In-depth interviews with PWA and their families and household members, observation on visits by project staff to clients' homes, interviews with project staff and committee members, and interviews with people involved HIV clinics in local hospitals, HIV/AIDS organisations and primary health care projects were conducted. The evaluation recommended: * A reduced focus on attendant home nursing of PWA. * A revision of the organisation of care, with professional nursing staff passing more responsibility to the community home-carers. * The extension of services offered to include secondary prevention of AIDS-related illness and increased psychosocial services. * The adoption of the principles of primary health care. Secondary evaluation: The main objective of this phase of the evaluation was to obtain a more quantitative description of clients' experiences of the project. A simple random sample (N=36) of 50% of the project's clients were interviewed to determine their demographic and health profiles; the nature of their involvement with the project; their needs and the extent to which these had been met by the project; their assessment of the services; and their HIV/AIDS knowledge.
Open Access
Evaluation of a pilot crime prevention project in the Western Cape
(2002) Nel, Natasha; Louw, Johann
The non-governmental organisation U Managing Conflict (UMAC) is responsible for the implementation of a local crime prevention initiative in the Western Cape. The pilot project involves establishing community safety forums (CSFs) consisting of representation from government departments, communities and civil society. The CSFs project has two primary goals. The first is to facilitate information sharing and co-operation between relevant local stakeholders, and the second is to ensure that role players participate in multi-agency crime prevention planning and project initiation.
Open Access
An evaluation of a school leadership development programme
(2015) Jansen, Rethar; Louw, Johann
This study set-out as an evaluation of Symphonia's Partners for Possibility leadership development programme for school principals in South Africa. Broadly, the goal of the programme is to improve the educational outcomes of under-resourced schools. The primary audience of this evaluation is the Partners for Possibility Operations Manager. During initial engagement with the programme stakeholders the feasibility of different evaluation types were considered. These deliberations centred on one of, or combination of, the following evaluation types: theory evaluation, process evaluation and outcomes evaluation. At first it appeared that an outcomes evaluation was entirely possible. After examining if an outcomes evaluation is feasible it became clear it was impossible to do this. As a result the focus shifted from outcome evaluation to what other kind of evaluation was feasible and acceptable to programme staff. In order to determine this, the evaluability assessment approach was utilised in order to conduct a theory evaluation and to determine if it was possible to obtain, at reasonable cost, relevant performance data. The revised programme theory behind the Partners for Possibility's programme was derived via semi-structured interviews with the programme Stakeholder Engagement Consultant and Operations Manager. A thorough analysis of programme documentation and the programme website also informed the development of the revised programme theory. The plausibility of the revised programme theory was assessed by conducting a literature review of similar evaluations and related literature. The literature review suggests that the revised programme theory is plausible. The revised programme theory can be summarised as follows: if the programme incorporates activities associated with both the instructional and transformational leadership development models then principals will be able to address the barriers that prevent their school from improving its educational outcomes. The results of the investigation into, is it possible to obtain relevant performance monitoring data, found that this was not possible. This investigation did determine that the programme has designed a monitoring system that effectively maps onto the process theory that was developed as part of the theory evaluation. However, semi-structured interviews with the Operations Manager and Stakeholder Engagement Consultant revealed that this monitoring system was not systematically maintained and that data was not available. This finding is what compromised the ability for an outcomes evaluation to proceed. It is strongly recommended that the programme staff implement and make use of their monitoring system. If the programme staff do this then a process evaluation is recommended for the programme in order to determine if the programme is implemented with fidelity.
Open Access
An evaluation of an after-school programme for high school learners in Cape Town, South Africa
(2017) Benkenstein, Alex; Louw, Johann
Poor academic achievement in relation to developing country peers, together with a range of other issues such as violence in schools, high drop-out rates and high teenage pregnancy rates, contribute to the perception of a crisis in South African education. In this context, after-school programmes have been developed in order to supplement the education and support learners receive during school. There is a large and growing body of literature which supports the view that after-school programmes can deliver positive outcomes, particularly for low-income students. Such positive outcomes, however, are far more likely to be observed with high quality programmes. This study presents an outcome evaluation of the EduCentre programme, an after-school programme targeted at high school youth. The EduCentre is implemented by a nonprofit organization in Vrygrond, a low-income community situated 25km south of Cape Town's central business district near the suburb of Muizenburg. The research design is pre-experimental and is based on the Success Case Method (Brinkerhoff, 200). A survey of a selected cohort of programme participants were surveyed in order to assess perceptions around programme design and impact, as well as assessing social and emotional skills. Following the Success Case Method, interviews were subsequently conducted with selected 'success' and 'non-success' cases, supplemented by interviews with programme staff. The study concludes that, within the limits of the pre-experimental methodology, there is evidence for the beneficial impact of the programme. The study concludes with recommendations to support programme design and future monitoring and evaluation efforts.
Open Access
An evaluation of the City of Cape Town Municipality's waste wise sustainable education and school recycling programme
(2014) Armien-Ally, Jameyah; Louw, Johann
This dissertation examines the City of Cape Town municipality's Waste Wise Programme. It examines one of the three models, namely the Sustainable Education and School Recycling model and consists of a theory as well as a process evaluation. On commencement of the theory evaluation, the evaluator investigated the plausibility of the programme theory. In order to extract this information, a literature review on international and local literature was completed to answer the evaluation questions. The literature review suggests that the programme theory is plausible but that it could be further enhanced by incorporating a few additions to the programme. It investigated the Waste Wise Programme's impact theory, the service utilisation and the organisational plans, and found that, with a few minor amendments, the beneficiaries of the programme may benefit more.