Browsing by Author "Young, Marie"
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Item An exploratory study of essential life skills for adolescent elite athletes in South Africa(University of the Western Cape, 2016) Woodruff, Roger Jeremy; Young, MariePursuing a career as a professional athlete has become a viable option for talented athletes to pursue. However, in their pursuit of athletic excellence many athletes neglect their academic, work and post sport career planning. To help athletes with participation, educational, development and lifestyle issues many countries have developed athlete assistance programs. To achieve the objective of a Winning Nation and help talented South African athletes develop and perform at a higher level the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) plans to establish a national academy system. The role of the academy system is to assist in addressing the demographics of the national teams by accelerating the development of talented athletes particularly those from the disadvantaged groups. To ensure that a holistic approach is taken towards athlete development one of the services that will be provided is life skills training. To develop a successful life skills program, it is essential to identify the important life skills to include. Aim The aim of the study was to explore and identify the life skills necessary for inclusion in Life Skills programs in South African elite sport focusing on the development of adolescent athletes to enable them to grow up competent, healthy and reach their full potential. Design A pure qualitative research design was employed using thematic analysis. Data was analysed through the lens of Positive Youth Development (PYD) theory. Moreover, a semi-structured interview guide, consisting of open ended questions, was developed utilizing the 5 C’s of PYD as themes to facilitate the interview process. Nine current adolescent elite South African athletes, on the MacSteel Maestro’s program, participated in the study. A purposive sampling procedure informed the sampling process and a thematic coding framework was developed to analyse the interview data. Results Findings of the research provided a contribution to the literature in two ways. First, it provided a South African perspective of the life skills needed by elite adolescent athletes. Secondly, it identified the life skills elite adolescent South African athletes deemed important for their holistic development to include in life skills programs in South African elite sport. Time management and self - esteem / self – confidence skills were identified as the crucial life skills to be developed. Conclusion In general it can be concluded that the participants have benefitted from being on the MMP, and that the participants exhibited characteristics of competence, confidence, character, connection and caring / compassion both in and out of sport.Item An exploratory study of the experiences of receiving funding support for elite sport in South Africa(University of the Western Cape, 2015) Adom-Aboagye, Nana Akua Achiaa; Titus, Simone; Keim, Marion; Young, MarieDespite government’s formation of financial support grants such as the Operational Excellence Programme to provide much needed assistance, South African elite athletes have not been performing to expectation at recent international championships, such as the Olympic Games. International experiences demonstrate the importance of a well-structured and implemented funding support system to improve elite athlete performance at international levels. This has led to questions of how to improve this situation for elite South African athletes who receive funding support from the South Africa Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee and to revisit the implementation of the funding support for elite athletes. This study will take, experiences of South African elite athletes as well as sport managers into consideration and will also look at international lessons of experience of the funding support of elite sport to provide improved options for financial support and elite athlete development. Using qualitative research methods, this study explored the underlying factors regarding funding support of elite athletes in South Africa based on experiences and perceptions of elite athletes. Within the context of the study, elite athletes would refer to senior track and field athletes and senior swimmers who had been a part of Team South Africa and represented the nation at international competitions. Data was collected in three ways: a) A literature review in the form of an analysis of the high performance policies of: the National Olympic Committee of South Africa and the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee that has governed elite sport in South Africa post 1994 and the policies that govern high performance funding support within Athletics South Africa and Swimming South Africa; b) interviews with eight preselected elite athletes to discuss career performances and funding support received and c) interviews with four coaches/managers of the preselected elite athletes to discuss their perspectives on the funding support their athletes received. Strict ethics considerations were also adhered to insofar as written consent was obtained from all participants beforehand, as the intended interviews would be either audio recorded or video recorded. Pseudonyms were also used for participants with the assurance that participation was voluntary. The eventual findings of the study brought to light that the implementation of the funding support provided by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee was good in theory but not necessarily so in practice. Overall, participants were grateful for the support received but felt that certain changes needed to be considered going forward for the improvement of future performances.Item Exploring the utilisation of the “law of attraction” in the sport of kickboxing from an African perspective(University of the Western Cape, 2015) Cloete, Josh Cassius; Young, Marie; Travill, Andre; Davids, CharlThe law of attraction, which is referred to as a pseudo-science by most scientists, focuses on the ability of athletes to reach deep within their soul/ energy sources to re-align their thoughts and feelings in order to achieve their desired outcomes or goals. This study explores whether kickboxers within the African continent are using the phenomenon of the law of attraction in order to enhance their kickboxing performances. In context of law of attraction, kickboxers attract achievements or experiences that they focus on into their life’s, weather these are positive or negative. This means that if they stay focused on the good and positive things in their lives, they will automatically attract good and positive things into their lives. Being part of the cosmic Universe, we are, in our smallest form, nothing but energy with magnetic abilities, hence, we have the ability to attract things or push things away. This belief can contribute to the fulfilment of the desires of kickboxers and can ultimately enhance their sport performances. A qualitative methodology was followed to explore the use of the law of attraction by kickboxers within the sport of kickboxing to achieve optimal results. The population of this study was chosen from kickboxers in countries within the continent of Africa where kickboxing is practiced. These participants were elite athletes (international competitors). A semi-structured interview guide (questionnaire) was used to interview selected kickboxers. Data was recorded and analysed in order to verify the use of the phenomenon of the law of attraction. It was found that most of the participants were unaware that they were utilizing elements of law of attraction and that some elements are intertwined with various sport psychological tools being utilised for sport enhancement. Findings further indicated that the thought process of the participating kickboxers was occupied by various desires or goals that needed to be achieved. The kickboxers found it difficult to prioritize or to streamline their thoughts and this created a situation where energy flowed in the wrong direction. Their feelings in terms of what they thought, what they wanted to achieve and what they could achieve must be in sync. This did not come out strongly because the kickboxers concentrated on their own physical capabilities and kickboxing skills and, at the same time, felt very stressful prior to a kickboxing contest. It was recommended that the phenomenon of law of attraction should be explored more extensively in relation to its application in kickboxing and moreover in sport. It is further recommended that the study be repeated exploring the perspectives of the coaches in the application of law of extraction in their coaching techniques. This study concludes that the law of attraction is not used to its fullest extent in the practice of kickboxing even though some elements were already used by kickboxers.Item Learning from experience in Hangzhou: WLCE leisure experience research opportunity(Taylor & Francis, 2020) Bastiaansen, Marcel; Young, Marie; Verdet, Isabel; Elekes, Zsombor; Fransen, Storm; Jiaqi, An; Li, Qian; Proveyer, Maria-Liz; da Silva, Leandro Ribeiro; Wang, Yan; Wang, Zhe; Yang, Yinghui; Zheng, Xiatong; Zhou, Yuyan; Zhu, KaihongThis text was collaboratively written by the 12 students – from Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Hungary – who participated in the WLCE Leisure Experience Research Opportunity, a fieldwork project focusing on resident, national and international visitors to the Chinese city of Hangzhou. The project, designed and implemented by the WLO, was supported by the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce and Hangzhou Commerce and Tourism Group, and supervised by Dr. Marcel Bastiaansen (Breda University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands), Dr. Marie Young (University of the Western Cape, South Africa) and Dr. Isabel Verdet (WLO Secretariat).Item Stress in the SA Navy: Piloting and evaluating the validity and reliability of a developed therapeutic recreation stress leisure and appraisal tool(2021) Cozett, Marlin; Young, MarieThe nature of naval member’s job demands is that they experience high levels of stress. Stress is introduced in military training to familiarize sailors with real life stressors. This study is located in piloting and validity theory. It focuses explicitly on validating an existing tool, the Therapeutic Recreation Stress Leisure Appraisal Tool, to measure stress in the South African Navy. This study aimed to pilot and evaluate the validity and reliability of the developed tool in an African context in the South African Navy. A multi-stage procedure of instrument development using the instrument development model will be used, consisting of the following steps: 1) preliminary phase, 2) questionnaire development, 3) pilot testing, and 4) evaluation. The scope of this study, is only focused on stages three and four. The current study followed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. In this study, the qualitative phase was done first, followed by the quantitative phase. The mixed-method design is used to build upon the same research questions. PHASE 1, the pilot-testing phase (qualitative, n=50), explored if the developed appraisal tool is interpreted correctly and contains the necessary applicable questions. This population and sample were purposefully selected from the navy. Data were collected in focus groups taking place at a naval base. Five focus groups of ten members each were completed using interview schedules. Recorded data was transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis with data coding to extract themes. This study is an extension of from a masters study linked to the current study, which contributed towards the finalisation of the questionnaire. Iterative exploratory factor analyses were used at the item and scale levels to select and reassign the items and scales. PHASE 2, the evaluation phase (quantitative, n=1000), determined the validity and reliability of the refined, developed appraisal tool. The population (N=7000) and sample (n=1000) consisted of senior and junior ranks from the officer core, conveniently selected from a naval base. PHASE 1 informed PHASE 2, the evaluation phase.Item Stress in the SA Navy: Piloting and evaluating the validity and reliability of a developed therapeutic recreation stress leisure and appraisal tool(University of Western Cape, 2021) Cozett, Marlin; Young, MarieThe nature of naval member’s job demands is that they experience high levels of stress. Stress is introduced in military training to familiarize sailors with real life stressors. This study is located in piloting and validity theory. It focuses explicitly on validating an existing tool, the Therapeutic Recreation Stress Leisure Appraisal Tool, to measure stress in the South African Navy. This study aimed to pilot and evaluate the validity and reliability of the developed tool in an African context in the South African Navy. A multi-stage procedure of instrument development using the instrument development model will be used, consisting of the following steps: 1) preliminary phase, 2) questionnaire development, 3) pilot testing, and 4) evaluation.Item Towards the development of a standardized appraisal tool for the therapeutic recreation stress management intervention model for military staff in a South African context(University of the Western Cape, 2016) Cozett, Marlin; Young, MarieThe job demands of naval members are such that they experience high levels of stress. Stress is often introduced during military training so that real-world stress is more familiar and easy to mitigate. This is often referred to as “train how you fight”. In order to train a stressful task, a stressful environment is often created in the military. The aim of the study was to develop a standardised appraisal tool for the Therapeutic Recreation Stress Management Intervention Model measuring stress, stress coping and leisure behaviour of military staff in the South African context. This study utilised a qualitative research design and followed a multi stage procedure in developing the appraisal tool while making use of the model of instrument development to achieve the aim. The model identified four stages of instrument development: Phase 1, preliminary phase; Phase 2, questionnaire development, Phase 3 pilot testing, Phase 4 Evaluation phase. For the purpose and scope of this study, the researcher focused on phases 1 and 2. Phase 1, the Preliminary phase focused on the translation of the study needs into variables, current literature, interviews and focus group discussions. Three focus groups comprised of eight participants per group and were purposefully selected from military naval staff. In addition, semi-structured interview guides were used for interviews conducted with key informants. Five senior officers and two psychologists from the Institute of Maritime Medicine (IMM) were interviewed. Data was analysed deductively due to the existence of pre-determined themes. In Phase 2, based on the data collected in phase 1, the researcher developed the appraisal tool. The appraisal tool was constructed within the scope of the theoretical framework focusing on the perceptions of naval staff on stress; previous and current leisure experiences; knowledge, skills, resources, behaviour; leisure-coping beliefs; and stress- coping strategies. The literature in the present study revealed that there were six pre-determined themes. The themes included: Theme 1 – Stressors in the military, Theme 2 –support in the military, Theme 3- operational deployment of military members, Theme 4- Impact of stress on military families have been identified as theme four, Theme 5- leadership and Theme 6- sport and recreation in the military. Salient topics included the following: Stress assessment salient topics are personal stress, occupational stress, wellness and operational deployment. Leisure behaviour salient topics include social activities, passive activities, physical activities and outdoor activities. The findings in the study revealed that stress had an adverse effect on military readiness and the wellbeing of staff. This study reiterated the need for greater attention in the rendering of support services needed to military members and their families, preparing families for separation and improved communication between deployed soldiers and the home front. Job-induced separations affect not only the soldier and the spouse, but also their children. The role of the supervisor played a large part in how satisfied and committed the members were regarding their job. Sport and Recreation programs are vital to alleviate the symptoms of stress. The appraisal tool developed needs to be piloted and evaluated in order to recommend it for use in SANDF information systems.