Browsing by Author "Mulder, Anja"

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    Exploring the experiences of breast cancer survivors at various stages of treatment: an analysis of the constructions of breast cancer and of femininity - summary report for CANSA
    (2013-03) Mulder, Anja
    This research was conducted towards an Honours degree in Gender Studies at the University of Cape Town, as well as to contribute to the knowledge base of the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA). The focus of this research was to explore and document the experiences and needs of women with breast cancer, waiting for radiation treatment. By applying a gendered framework through which to view these experiences, emphasis was also placed on breast cancer survivors' conceptualisations of feminine identity and how their breast cancer and treatment trajectory impacted on these. Drawing on the narratives of women's lived experiences, it is my hope that information gained from this study will help CANSA to develop additional emotional support for women.
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    Improving emotional intelligence and developing servant leadership skills : an outcome evaluation of Life Choices' Leaders' Quest programme
    (2016) Mulder, Anja; Chapman, Sarah
    This dissertation presents an outcome evaluation of the Salesians Life Choices' Leaders' Quest programme. The programme targets youth from economically disadvantaged schools in the Cape Flats, and engages with learners during their final two years of high school as well as providing support for an eased transition from school to university, college or employment. Students are exposed to various activities that have been developed to help each individual achieve the programme's goals and objectives. These include developing students' emotional intelligence (EI), improving academic grades, and establishing leadership qualities; helping learners enrol in tertiary education or to obtain employment; and to assume meaningful leadership positions. The organization has been implementing the programme since 2013 and makes continuous attempts to improve elements of the intervention to better serve participants. This evaluation assesses causal mechanisms and assumptions of the intervention against the evidence presented in social science research, and investigates three outcomes based on data collected for the pilot cohort and a control group between 2013 and 2015. The method of analysis includes primary and secondary data collected on measures of an EI tool and a servant leadership survey, as well as information obtained via questionnaires. Quantitative research methods were employed and data were explored using descriptive and inferential statistical analyses.
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    Women's lived experiences of the breast cancer trajectory: the waiting period for treatment and the impacts on feminine identity
    (2012-11) Mulder, Anja
    Breast cancer, according to research, is diagnosed in approximately one in every twenty-nine women in South Africa. Differences in gender, race and class produce disparities in health care, subjecting lower class women to lengthy waiting periods between diagnosis and treatment. Present research studies on breast cancer predominantly use quantitative methods. To understand women's lived experiences of the breast cancer trajectory this study explores experiences encountered during the waiting period, as well as the impacts of breast cancer and its treatment on feminine identity. For this a qualitative method was applied. Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with five black and coloured breast cancer patients residing at two of CANSA's care homes. Participants varied in age and phases of treatment, were all married or widowed, had minor dependants, and had all travelled from distant and outlying areas. Based on a thematic analysis, six themes emerged from the data collected. These included: First experiences of cancer in the body; breast cancer and waiting periods from the patient's perspective; sources of support; meanings and perceptions of being a woman; conceptualising disease, and patients' needs. The analysis illustrates the importance of researching women's lived experiences and highlights that these need to be understood within a framework of socially constructed notions of gender, race and class in order to improve breast cancer treatment and psycho-social care.