Browsing by Author "Albertyn, Ruth M."

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
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    Architects of recovery from alcohol misuse : narrative exploration of coaching employed professionals
    (Oxford Brookes University, 2020-08) Solheim, Thobias; Albertyn, Ruth M.
    Recovery coaching is a lesser-recognised support service to individuals who pursue recovery from addiction. This narrative inquiry research explored the experiences of recovery coaches working with employed professionals in recovery from alcohol misuse. Findings indicate that recovery coaches work in the field of recovery, not addiction and that they were credentialed by their skills as a coach. Recovery coaching may be a useful service to professionals in recovery. Insight into perspectives of coaches regarding goals, processes, challenges and outcomes of recovery provides enhanced understanding of how coaching can facilitate employed professionals to become architects of their own recovery.
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    Bringing the community into higher education
    (AFRICAN SUN MeDIA, 2016) Albertyn, Ruth M.
    Introduction: The third core function of community interaction in higher education is often viewed as the peripheral activity in the triad of academic tasks. Community interaction is seen as an imperative which often results in reluctant compliance rather than enthusiastic engagement. Notional value of community initiatives has been well articulated both internationally and nationally and calls on the sense of social justice, making a meaningful contribution to society, mutual benefits and reciprocity (Boyer 1990; Kolawole 2005; Waghid 2009; Hall 2010; Lange 2012). Community initiatives can contribute to transformation that is so vital in the historical context of South African higher education (Albertyn and Daniels 2009; Bitzer and Albertyn 2012; Leibowitz 2012; Petersen and Osman 2013). Despite cognition of the well-documented benefits of engaged activity, it is widely felt that many academics pay lip-service to community interaction and try to get away with the bare minimum. Undoubtedly, the reason for this could be ascribed to the innate tensions currently faced by universities and academics. This situation may be due to on the one hand, the reality of the globalised economy with the competitive, individualised focus of knowledge economies (James, Guile and Unwin 2013), and on the other hand, the social agenda which encourages engaged citizenship.
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    Designing a coaching intervention to support leaders promoted into senior positions
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2017-05) Terblanche, N. (Nicky) H. D.; Albertyn, Ruth M.; Van Coller-Peter, Salome
    Orientation: Coaching is sometimes used in organisations to assist and support people when they are promoted into senior leadership positions. These coaching interventions are not optimally designed. Research purpose: The objective of this research was to investigate how a transition coaching intervention should be designed to cater specifically for people promoted into senior leadership positions. Motivation for the study: Leaders face daunting challenges when promoted into a senior position. Coaching could offer powerful support, but very little research exists on how to design a transition coaching intervention specifically aimed at supporting recently promoted senior leaders. Research design, approach and method: A constructivist, grounded theory approach using purposeful, theoretical sampling was used to identify 16 participants (recently promoted senior leaders, coaches, Human Resource [HR] partners and a line manager) from various organisations with whom open-ended interviews were conducted on their experiences of coaching during a transition. Main findings: Transition coaching is used reactively, started too late and was not continued for long enough. Transition coaching design should take cognisance of coach–coachee matching; goal setting that includes the organisation’s goals; location of coaching session (away from the office); should include reflection and active experimentation; and use assessments and involving the line manager, mentors and the new leader’s team in the process. Practical and managerial implications: The findings of this research provide practical recommendations for applying coaching during transitions into senior leadership positions and may be useful to human resource practitioners when designing leadership support and succession planning interventions. Contribution and value added: To address the serious and real possibility of failure once leaders are promoted, and to optimise the time and money spent on coaching during career transitions, this research provides insight into the design and execution of tailor-made transition coaching interventions to help recently promoted senior leaders succeed in their new role.
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    Developing leaders by supporting their transitions into senior positions
    (AOSIS, 2018) Terblanche, Nicky H. D.; Albertyn, Ruth M.; Van Coller-Peter, Salome
    The need for social transformation in South Africa is intrinsically linked to the transformation of corporate South Africa. Strong senior leadership is required to ensure that organisations remain sustainable during this transformation. There is, however, a shortage of skilled senior leaders, hence the need for leadership development. When leaders transition into senior positions, they face a plethora of personal and systemic challenges. Many fail with resulting disastrous effects on individual (micro) and organisational (macro) levels. This research investigates the challenges faced by newly promoted senior leaders in order to lay the groundwork for designing support strategies for individuals and organisations. The qualitative findings suggest that leadership transitions present unexpected challenges on a personal and systemic level to such individuals and that they do not receive adequate support from their organisations. For transformation to be successful and sustainable on macro level, concurrent and appropriate micro-level support and development are essential.
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    Factors determining the vulnerability of woman to sexually transmitted HIV : a literature review
    (AOSIS OpenJournals, 2008) Macleod-Downes, Leslie; Albertyn, Ruth M.; Mayers, Pat
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Gender-related vulnerability is described as a crucial factor contributing to increased susceptibility of women to HIV, accounting for more women than men being infected. At the same time, empowerment interventions are being promoted as effective strategies for increasing the ability of women to adopt protective behaviours. The aim of the review was to identify, collate and categorise the factors determining the gender-related vulnerability of women to sexually transmitted HIV. A review of literature from theoretical and empirical studies using diverse methodologies was undertaken. Reports included those identified through electronic and manual searching. Twenty factors, forming five clusters, were identified as influencing the ability of women to adopt protective behaviours. Each factor was analysed to describe its component parts and the relationship between a factor, gender-related vulnerability, HIV risk level and empowerment status. Further analysis provided a description of markers named predictors and indicators. The literature portrays markers that can be identified and used to describe gender equality status, HIV risk level and related empowerment. This provides the potential to identify factors in gender equality status and HIV risk level to address in programmes designed to empower women in order to lower their risk to sexually transmitted HIV.
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    The importance of metacognition and the experiential learning process within a cultural intelligence–based approach to cross-cultural coaching
    (AOSIS, 2018) Van der Horst, Catherine A.; Albertyn, Ruth M.
    Orientation: Research on cultural intelligence (CQ) is increasingly used to evaluate, explain and predict the cross-cultural efficacy of management behaviour in everyday cross-cultural interactions. However, there is limited evidence in cross-cultural coaching of the use of a CQ-based approach incorporating metacognition and experiential learning theory (ELT). Research purpose: This article explored the theoretical linkages, benefits and directions of CQ for enhancing cross-cultural coaching. Motivation for the study: Exploration of theoretical perspectives of CQ for application in cross-cultural coaching. Research design, approach and method: A critical interpretative synthesis research methodology was employed to identify and study key concepts. The methodology is sensitive to the emergence of meaning in a diverse body of literature from adjacent disciplines. Main findings: This research suggests four findings motivating a CQ-based approach for cross-cultural coaching: firstly, the recognition of the use of metacognitive strategies in (cross-cultural) coaching; secondly, the usefulness of metacognition to cross-cultural coaching for grasping and transforming cultural experience and insights into culturally appropriate behaviour; thirdly, an understanding of the significance of suitability and predisposition of certain learning styles to cross-cultural learning effectiveness and lastly, acknowledging the importance of a heightened focus on the experiential learning process within the cross-cultural coaching engagement. Practical and managerial implications: Key concepts and insights from research on CQ have application in cross-cultural coaching in pursuit of the transformation of cultural awareness and insight into culturally appropriate behaviour. Contribution/value-add: This research motivates the use of a CQ-based approach incorporating metacognition and ELT to cross-cultural coaching.
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    Siyazama entrepreneurial development project : challenges of a community-university partnership within a Faculty of Theology
    (Faculty of Theology, University of the Free State, 2012) Botha, Marietjie J.; Albertyn, Ruth M.
    Calls for global relevance and accountability are prevalent in private-public partnerships. Current community engagement projects in higher educational institutions reflect this focus. The academic partner can play a boundary spanning (bridge building) role in a community–university partnership. The university partner often enters the partnership without full realisation of the challenges of its role. The Siyazama Craft Project, an entrepreneurial development intervention for poverty alleviation in Stellenbosch is an example of the boundary spanning role of the academic partner in the Faculty of Theology. This intervention is in line with the community interaction policy of the faculty and the university. The Siyazama entrepreneurship project is described, and challenges experienced during the course of planning, implementation and evaluation are presented. Identification of challenges in projects of this nature could provide insight for university partners in development projects. Findings could be applied to the broader context of public-private partnerships, which form part of corporate social responsibility projects in response to needs for relevance, accountability and responsible sustainable development.