4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions

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    Caregiver experiences of Attachment and Bonding Practices in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Gauteng, South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Prinsloo, Engela Maria; Neill, Joanne; Sawasawa, Cynthia
    Background: Infant attachment and bonding are crucial within the early post-natal period to ensure a secure and healthy relationship from which the infant can explore the world thereby allowing for the development of a variety of skills. Context and culture are known to influence attachment and bonding practices. Then considering the challenging Neonatal Intensive Care Unit environment it is crucial to explore how this environment might influence attachment and bonding with a specific focus on context and culture. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the experiences of caregivers regarding attachment and bonding practices in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in central Gauteng, South Africa. Methods: A qualitative design was used to explore caregiver experiences around attachment and bonding practices concerning context and culture in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. An advertisement was posted on online forums for caregivers in South Africa who have had infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Non-probability, purposive sampling and snowball sampling was used to collect data. Both in-person and remote semi-structured interviews took place and were used to collect data. Thematic analysis was used as data analysis. Results: The following themes and subthemes were identified; the act of mothering in the NICU (with subthemes loneliness and disempowerment of caregivers, the emotional roller coaster ride, and the need for psychological/emotional support), Culture in the NICU (with subthemes care in the NICU, the influence of culture and caring for a baby in the NICU, and limited information-giving practices in the NICU), and a Sense of missing out (with subthemes unexpected pre-term birth, feeling estranged, and the tension between society’s image and the reality of having a baby in the NICU). While context and culture influence attachment practices amongst caregivers, in the case of an infant being admitted to the NICU, these practices do not take precedence, but rather the health of the infant. Implications: Methodological recommendations include alternative sampling and data collection methods than online advertised snowball sampling that allow for a larger and more diverse sample size. Policy and practice recommendations for NICUs include improving accessibility to psychological support services and orientating information on the NICU for caregivers.
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    The effects of entrepreneurial resources on the allocation of entrepreneurial effort in Gauteng SMME Sector
    (2020) Mampuru, Alice Khantso
    Past research looked at the contribution of the small business sector in economic development. Some literature suggested that the performance of this sector continued to face challenges that are attributable to SMME characteristics such as demographic profiles of individual entrepreneurs. Trivial research has focused on contextual issues affecting the SMMEs sector of South Africa. This research, therefore, took a closer look at the effects of entrepreneurial resources (context) on the allocation of entrepreneurial effort in an attempt to understand how these variables applied in South Africa's SMMEs sector. Using a quantitative approach, the study collected data from a sample of 206 SMME operators. Through empirical scrutiny, this study found that demographic profiles of entrepreneurs had a significant role in explaining the variance in the allocations of entrepreneurial effort. Taken with internal entrepreneurial resources, a modest yet significant variance was explained in the allocation of entrepreneurial effort. Empirical results, however, rejected the hypothesis that external resources negatively influenced the allocation of entrepreneurial effort. While a positive yet insignificant amount of variance in value creation could be explained by external entrepreneurial resources, a strong and significant variation in value appropriation was found to be associated with external resources. The study further found that resource combinations had a positive effect on the allocation of entrepreneurial effort. Policymakers can benefit significantly from this research in their efforts to formulate a policy that is indigenous to specific contexts. Practitioners can use the insights gained from this research to elucidate and measure entrepreneurial outcomes. This could improve the processes and mechanisms used in entrepreneurship ecosystem development. This study makes a unique and significant contribution to the ongoing debate about the role of context in the allocations of entrepreneurial effort. It further appreciates the significant contribution of Baumol’s Theory of Entrepreneurship allocations in explaining the phenomenon, making a unique contribution to the vast knowledge about contextual influences on the allocations of entrepreneurial effort.