Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2004. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 226-232). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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Traditionally, the racial views of whites towards blacks have been studied in the context of old-fashioned styles of racism. This meant that, methodologically, attitude items were often direct and crude in content, reflecting the openly racist sentiment of the time. Recent research, however, provides evidence to suggest that racism has changed and people no longer endorse or support blatantly racist expression. As a result, racial attitude research methods have had to adapt from obtrusive, to more sophisticated, unobtrusive methods. Over 10 years since its first democratic election, South Africa stands as a particularly important context in which to explore the racial views of people and more specifically, the theories of contemporary racisms; yet, research in this area remains largely unexplored. From a methodological perspective, South African research has also been flawed with 2 fundamental problems. First, few locally developed racial attitude measures exist, compelling the use of modified international measures. These scales, however, may prove problematic in that they may not demonstrate adequate content and face validity for the South African context. Second, this research reflects a sample bias of studying the views of white students. In response to these methodological flaws, the present research set out to develop a contemporary, multi-racial response measure of racial attitudes for the South African context. The Racial Justice Scale (RJS) was developed in accordance with the stylistic requirements of contemporary theories of racism on the basis of 2 sources of information; (1) a database of racial attitude items; and (2) a database of over 7000 discursive statements expressed by multiple race groups in the country on racial issues in South Africa. These expressions were derived from various newspaper articles, ranging from the years 1977 - 2001. Initial explorations of the RJS indicated it to be highly reliable for both whites and Indians (cronbach alpha's were 0.82 and 0.72 respectively), however, not as effective for blacks and coloureds. The RJS and the notion of contemporary racism is discussed in the context of contemporary South Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Vegetables and fruit appear to confer protection against various diseases, but most adults in South Africa eat substantially less than the recommended amounts. Many barriers and factors that influence vegetable consumption have been identified in the literature. One major barrier is the perishability of vegetables. Frozen vegetables can be a useful way in encouraging greater intakes. Some consumers are, however, of the opinion that processing destroy nutrients to a large extent. There is, therefore, a lack of understanding of the freezing process. Research on the attitudes of consumers towards frozen vegetables in South Africa is limited. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of consumers regarding the link between frozen and fresh vegetables and health and the attributes of frozen vegetables. Subjects/Setting: One thousand nine hundred and ninety seven South African respondents, representative of the four major race groups of South Africa (whites, blacks, coloureds and Indians) were randomly chosen from metropolitan areas from the nine provinces in South Africa. Questionnaires, existing of 17 food-related sections, including subsections on vegetables and health, were designed by researchers in co-operation with business partners. MARKINOR, a market research company, was contracted to collect the data. Respondents were questioned regarding their attitudes towards the link between frozen and fresh vegetables and health. Statistical analysis performed: The quantitative data produced by the survey was analysed by using the StatisticaⓇ-programme in order to generate the relevant tabulations, descriptive statistics and statistical tests. Results: Overall, the attitudes of consumers towards frozen vegetables were found to be negative. Practical and statistically significant attitude differences towards frozen vegetables were found between most variables. Results from this study revealed that different levels of education, age and gender do not have a big influence on consumer's attitudes towards frozen vegetables. However, practical and statistically significant differences were found between the various LSM (Living Standards Measure) groups, especially with regard to the convenience of frozen vegetables. Results also indicated that Indians, the age group 61+ and males were the most negative towards frozen vegetables. Almost 75% of all consumers indicated that they never eat frozen vegetables. Only 1% of consumers in the LSM group 2 own a fridge/freezer. An alarmingly 26% of all consumers indicated that they are not convinced that vegetables are healthy. Application/Conclusions: Nutrition professionals should use these findings to target messages in health-promotion programmes to increase the overall consumption of vegetables. The use of frozen vegetables by consumers with frozen storage facilities should be promoted aggressively. Consumers also need practical advice on how to overcome the barriers to dietary change. Nutrition counseling efforts should also be aimed specifically at increasing frozen vegetable consumption among targeted subgroups, particularly Indians, males and the age group 61+. It is strongly recommended that suitable measuring instruments be developed for assessing the knowledge and attitude of South Africans towards vegetable and fruit consumption and the ability of individuals to improve their health. The results of this study may prove to be very useful in this regard. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

When Kate arrives at Heathrow airport, her best friend Jake convinces her to go clubbing with him. And so starts her journey into London's clubbing subculture with Jake as her guide. The novel is structured around Kate's exposure to the ethos of the different clubs she visits. The narration is propelled by the tension set up between the potentially salacious material these experiences provide and the 'flat' account given of it by the narrator. Kate's reserved perspective plays off against the usual expectations one has of the 'confessional' mode. This becomes particularly telling as she recounts Jake's spinning off into increasingly destructive patterns. The reader is left to deal with the cycle of spectacle and experience presented in the work on his or her own terms. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Vegetables and fruit appear to confer protection against various diseases, but most adults in South Africa eat substantially less than the recommended amounts. Many barriers and factors that influence vegetable consumption have been identified in the literature. One major barrier is the perishability of vegetables. Frozen vegetables can be a useful way in encouraging greater intakes. Some consumers are, however, of the opinion that processing destroy nutrients to a large extent. There is, therefore, a lack of understanding of the freezing process. Research on the attitudes of consumers towards frozen vegetables in South Africa is limited. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of consumers regarding the link between frozen and fresh vegetables and health and the attributes of frozen vegetables. Subjects/Setting: One thousand nine hundred and ninety seven South African respondents, representative of the four major race groups of South Africa (whites, blacks, coloureds and Indians) were randomly chosen from metropolitan areas from the nine provinces in South Africa. Questionnaires, existing of 17 food-related sections, including subsections on vegetables and health, were designed by researchers in co-operation with business partners. MARKINOR, a market research company, was contracted to collect the data. Respondents were questioned regarding their attitudes towards the link between frozen and fresh vegetables and health. Statistical analysis performed: The quantitative data produced by the survey was analysed by using the StatisticaⓇ-programme in order to generate the relevant tabulations, descriptive statistics and statistical tests. Results: Overall, the attitudes of consumers towards frozen vegetables were found to be negative. Practical and statistically significant attitude differences towards frozen vegetables were found between most variables. Results from this study revealed that different levels of education, age and gender do not have a big influence on consumer's attitudes towards frozen vegetables. However, practical and statistically significant differences were found between the various LSM (Living Standards Measure) groups, especially with regard to the convenience of frozen vegetables. Results also indicated that Indians, the age group 61+ and males were the most negative towards frozen vegetables. Almost 75% of all consumers indicated that they never eat frozen vegetables. Only 1% of consumers in the LSM group 2 own a fridge/freezer. An alarmingly 26% of all consumers indicated that they are not convinced that vegetables are healthy. Application/Conclusions: Nutrition professionals should use these findings to target messages in health-promotion programmes to increase the overall consumption of vegetables. The use of frozen vegetables by consumers with frozen storage facilities should be promoted aggressively. Consumers also need practical advice on how to overcome the barriers to dietary change. Nutrition counseling efforts should also be aimed specifically at increasing frozen vegetable consumption among targeted subgroups, particularly Indians, males and the age group 61+. It is strongly recommended that suitable measuring instruments be developed for assessing the knowledge and attitude of South Africans towards vegetable and fruit consumption and the ability of individuals to improve their health. The results of this study may prove to be very useful in this regard. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Motivation: Abdominal obesity (hereafter referred to as "obesity") is becoming the biggest "global epidemic" of our modern times. It is associated with a range of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. Recent research showed that an increase in sympathetic activity is of central importance in the pathogenesis of obesity-related diseases. Increased leptin levels and impaired baroreflex sensitivity have both been independently associated with abdominal obesity and increased sympathetic activity. A perception of poorer health may also contribute to the physiological characteristics of obesity-related diseases. A lack of data regarding sympathetic activity, leptin levels, baroreflex sensitivity and perception of health in Africans, serves as a motivation for conducting this study. Objective: To investigate the contributions of leptin levels, baroreflex sensitivity and perception of health data to increased sympathetic activity in lean and obese African women from South Africa. Methodology: The manuscript presented in Chapter 2 made use of the data obtained in the POWIRS (Profiles of Obese Women with the Insulin Resistance Syndrome) study. A group of 102 urbanized African women, living in the North-West Province of South Africa, was recruited according to body mass indexes. Only 85 subjects were included for analysis due to incomplete datasets. For this study, subjects were divided into lean and obese groups according to their waist circumferences. Anthropometric measurements were done according to standardized methods. Resting cardiovascular measurements were obtained from Finometer observations. Resting, fasting levels of leptin were calculated after radioimmunoassay analyses. Subjective perception of health was determined by means of the 28-item General Health Questionnaire. Comparisons between the groups were done using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) whilst adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors (age. smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity). Correlation coefficients were determined to indicate any associations between leptin, baroreflex sensitivity and perception of health with sympathetic activity (represented by heart rate) and other cardiovascular variables. The study was approved by the Ethics committee of the North-West University and all the subjects gave informed consent in writing. The reader is referred to the Methods section in Chapter 2 for a more detailed description of the subjects, study design and analytical procedures used in this dissertation. Results and conclusion: Results from this study indicate that obese African women, compared to lean African women, were older, reported higher physical activity, and exhibited higher diastolic and mean blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, arterial compliance, leptin and hypertension prevalence rate values. In lean African women social dysfunction was positively associated with diastolic and mean blood pressure and arterial resistance, and negatively with arterial compliance. In obese African women baroreflex sensitivity was negatively associated with diastolic blood pressure, which could be an indication of impaired baroreflex sensitivity. In this obese group a perception of social dysfunction was associated with decreased heart rate. Although leptin and heart rate were significantly higher in the obese Africans, no significant correlations existed between these variables to reflect leptin's enhancement of sympathetic activity. However, leptin correlated weakly but positively with cardiac output (p = 0.054, r = 0.32). In conclusion, baroreflex sensitivity (although similar between groups) and leptin seem to contribute to blood pressure and thus hypertension in obese African women, possibly through increased sympathetic activity and volume loading. A perception of poorer health, especially a perception of social dysfunction, could possibly contribute to this image. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Physiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Human Movement Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Physiology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Aim and objectives: This study set out to investigate the diet and blood lipid profiles of subjects in transition in the North West Province in South Africa. It looked specifically at how the diet differed between rural and urban areas, how the blood lipid profiles differed between rural and urban subjects, establishing an association between dietary fat, fatty acid and cholesterol intakes respectively and blood lipid profiles, as well as investigating the differences in blood lipid profiles at different ages, body mass index (BMI) and genders respectively in rural and urban areas. Design: The present study was a cross–sectional data analysis nested within the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study that is currently undertaken in the North West Province of South Africa amongst other countries. Methods: Baseline data was obtained in 2005. A randomised paper selection was done of people between 35 - 70 years of age with no reported chronic diseases of lifestyle, TB or HIV of those enrolled into the PURE study if they had provided written consent. Eventually a paper selection was made of 2000 subjects, 500 people in each of the four communities (rural, urban–rural, urban, established urban). For the interpretation purposes of this study, data was stratified for rural (1000 subjects) and urban (1000 subjects) only, with no further sub–division into communities. Physical activity levels and habitual diets were obtained from these subjects. Demographic and dietary intake data in the PURE study was collected using validated, culture sensitive questionnaires. Anthropometric measures and lipid analysis were determined using standardised methodology. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations and proportions) were calculated. One–way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences between the different levels of urbanisation on blood lipid profiles and dietary intake. When a dietary intake variable proved to be significant for different levels of a factor (urbanisation, blood lipid profile), post–hoc tests were calculated to determine which levels for specific variables differed significantly. Bonferroni–type adjustments were made for the multiple comparisons. Spearman correlations were calculated to determine associations. Results: Mean fat intake was significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas (67.16 ± 33.78 g vs. 32.56 ± 17.66 g, p<0.001); and the same was true for the individual fatty acid intakes. Fat and fatty acid intakes were still within recommendations even for urban areas, and low for rural areas. N–3 intake was very low in both rural and urban areas. Serum lipids did not differ significantly between rural and urban areas. Almost half of rural (43%) and urban (47%) subjects presented with elevated total cholesterol (5.0 mmol/L). In rural areas 52% and in urban areas 55% of subjects had elevated LDL–C (3.0 mmol/L). Amongst 23% of males in rural areas and 18% of males in urban areas HDL–C levels were decreased. Of the females living in rural areas 34.3% had decreased HDL–C levels and 39% of those who lived in urban areas presented with lowered HDL–C levels. In rural areas 16.3% of subjects and in urban areas 23% of subjects presented with high triglyceride levels. TC, LDL–C and triglyceride levels were higher in higher body mass index (BMI) classes, however, obese subjects did not differ significantly from overweight subjects in terms of blood lipids, suggesting that values stabilise after reaching overweight status. These blood lipids were also higher in higher age groups and higher in women than men, probably due to the high incidence of obesity in women. Conclusions: Associations between the diet and blood lipid profiles were weak, and diet is not likely to be the only factor responsible for high TC and LDL–C levels. Blood lipid profiles did not differ significantly between rural and urban areas due to the fact that the diet was prudent in terms of fat intake in both rural and urban areas. Higher prevalence of underweight was noted in males (32% in rural areas and 28% in urban areas), while overwieght was a bigger problem amongst women (48% in rural areas and 54% in urban areas). TC, LDL–C and TAG were higher with higher BMI’s, while HDL–C levels were lower. TC, LDL–C, and TAG were higher in higher age goups while HDL–C levels were lower. Female subjects presented with higher mean triglycerides than males, probably due to higher prevalence of overweight and obesity. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.