Influence of the availability of school libraries on the reading attitude and reading achievement of primary school learners in South Africa

Given the importance of the ability to read, learners must have access to books in schools. The lack of functional school libraries in South Africa, especially in primary schools, is to the detriment of learners’ reading achievement. In the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) study, Grades 4 and 5 children achieved the lowest scores in the reading comprehension tests of the 40 participating countries. The researcher proposes that one intervention that would help solve the low levels of reading literacy among learners would be for schools to have an official school library policy, and to have functional well-stocked school libraries. This study seeks to identify the self-reported reading attitudes of learners who took part in the PIRLS 2011 study using a secondary data analysis, and to investigate by means of a systematic literature review, materials published between 1994 and 2017 on the non-implementation of school library policies. This study recommends speeding up progress in meeting minimum norms for school infrastructure in order to create a space for functional school libraries in all schools. Secondly, it suggests that access to books for primary school learners should be improved, and lastly, that the national guidelines for school libraries on planning and reforming school libraries should be finalised and implemented. KeyInformation ScienceM. Inf. (Information Science

Die verband tussen trekangs, diensjare en posttraumatiese stresversteuring by polisiebeamptes

In the course of duty, officers of the South African Police Services face highly stressful, life-threatening situations. This article discusses a model in which trait anxiety and years of service were specified as potential predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder. Structural equation modelling produced a satisfactory fit between the model and the observed data. In combination trait anxiety and years of service account for about 30% of the variance in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The article also makes recommendations as to how these results may usefully be applied in order to prevent the development of post-traumatic stress disorder among police officers

Die verband tussen trekangs, diensjare en posttraumatiese stresversteuring by polisiebeamptes

In the course of duty, officers of the South African Police Services face highly stressful, life-threatening situations. This article discusses a model in which trait anxiety and years of service were specified as potential predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder. Structural equation modelling produced a satisfactory fit between the model and the observed data. In combination trait anxiety and years of service account for about 30% of the variance in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The article also makes recommendations as to how these results may usefully be applied in order to prevent the development of post-traumatic stress disorder among police officers

Trekangs en diensjare as voorspellers van posttraumatiese stresversteuring onder polisiebeamptes

M.A.The goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between trait anxiety, years of service and posttraumatic stress disorder in the South African Police Service. This study was regarded as important because posttraumatic stress can have a significant influence on the personal life and work-related performance of police officers. One hundred and twenty white, male police officers volunteered to participate in the study. A structural model of the relationships between trait anxiety, years of service and posttraumatic stress was postulated. The model specified that trait anxiety and years of service influence posttraumatic stress both individually and jointly. Trait anxiety is operationalised by means of the IPAT Anxiety Scale and posttraumatic stress disorder by means of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Interview Schedule. The fit of the postulated model with the observed data was investigated by means of structural equation modelling. The results indicated that the postulated model showed an acceptable fit with the observed data. The estimated parameters of the model indicated that the subscales of the IPAT Anxiety Scale and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Interview Schedule are good indicators of their respective constructs. It was further shown that trait anxiety and years of service have a significant influence on posttraumatic stress disorder. The results support those of previous studies where it was shown that these variables can influence posttraumatic stress disorder. The present study emphasizes that trait anxiety may predispose police officers to the development of trait anxiety. The study also shows that if police officers are exposed to extended periods of traumatic experiences, they run the risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder