This thesis is not structured as a conventional empirical study (theoretical background, method, results, discussion), but instead consists of an iterative series of attempts at making sense of same-race prejudice – hopefully systematically homing in on a richer and more acute understanding of the phenomenon. The chapters are grouped together in pairs or triplets – each grouping addressing different but related perspectives on the problem. Chapters 1 and 2 are contextual, setting the scene historically and conceptually. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 introduce three different perspectives on using phenomenology as a means of approaching the issue of same-race prejudice. Chapters 6 and 7 are dedicated to looking at the themes of same-race prejudice, a critical interrogation of the themes from the interview discussions, the literature and how same-race prejudice is experienced, played out and sustained. Chapter 8 links back to Chapter 1 by casting another look at sensitivity and responsiveness to same-race prejudice by organisations whose work is supposedly on prejudice eradication. The chapter further links with both Chapters 3 and 4 by calling upon a phenomenological understanding to humanity as what can bring a liveable change to humanity regarding same-race prejudice. Chapter 9 serves as a summary of all the chapters, what each individually and collectively hoped to achieve, and the general findings and statements about same-race prejudice from the chapters’ theoretical discussions, research interviews, and critical interrogation of both the mundane and theoretical understanding. / Psychology / D. Phil. (Psychology)

Blaming those who are different from us because of skin colour, nationality and language when things do not go right during the process of reconstruction is common among those who are faced with such a task. This assertion is confirmed by our examination and evaluation of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa and post-exilic Israel. In South Africa socio-economic and political reasons are cited for the rejection of African immigrants by some South Africans. The Jews in the post exilic period understood their religious, social and economic problems to be caused by others. What is more disturbing is that the Jews understood their xenophobia to be demanded or legitimised by God. These reasons for them necessitated hatred, isolation, stigmatisation and sometimes negative actions against foreigners. When we compare xenophobia in both post-apartheid South Africa and post-exilic Israel in this study, we find that factors such as identity, notion of superiority, negative perception of those who are different and use of power, play a major role in the exacerbation of xenophobia. In evaluating both situations, using the African principle of Ubuntu and Christian moral values, we are able to demonstrate that xenophobia as found in both situations is morally wrong since it is inhuman, selfish, racist/ethnocentric, discriminatory and often violent. Ubuntu and Christian values and principles such as human dignity, human rights, reciprocity, love, compassion, forgiveness, hospitality and community were sacrificed by South Africans and Jews in their dealings with foreigners in their respective situations. It is argued here that among other things in the case of South Africa, the reduction of inflammatory statements by government representatives and the media, education of the unemployed, the youth and workers; and the meeting of spiritual, material, humanitarian and moral needs by the Church, will help sensitise South Africans to the plight of African immigrants and migrants and will further deepen the ubuntu and Christian values. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D.Th.(Theological Ethics)

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Motivation Alcohol consumption is one of the major risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Excessive alcohol drinking is the fifth leading cause of death worldwide and the prevalence of alcohol abuse continues to increase especially in low-income areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The alarming rate of urbanisation seems to be the driving force for excessive alcohol intake in the developing world. In addition to its influence on CVD, heavy drinking also results in a number of non-cardiovascular consequences that include injury, risky sexual behaviour, violent crime and family dysfunction among black South Africans, contributing to high mortality. Moreover, the highest number of individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in South Africa is partly attributable to high intake of alcohol. HIV remains a major concern in South Africa with significant funding diverted to address the pandemic. The continued increases in mortality from preventable outcomes such as stroke, myocardial infarction and renal failure are largely due to urbanisation, poverty and dysfunctional health systems working with limited budgets. These are some of the factors requiring in-depth study of the scientific aspects of alcohol intake in South Africa. Although there is enough evidence that links excessive drinking with hypertension and CVD, the markers of alcohol intake – self reporting of alcohol, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and carbohydrate deficient transferrin – are still not specific enough to isolate other confounding factors in the association of alcohol intake with CVD. The markers of alcohol that independently predict CVD and mortality need to be explored. Finally, the severe lack of longitudinal investigations on alcohol-related hypertension development and total mortality in black South Africans has compromised the early identification of risk factors associated with these outcomes. This study will therefore attempt to address the limited availability of longitudinal studies and stimulate interest for continued investigation. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate whether alcohol intake of black South Africans is related to specific measures of cardiovascular function (change in blood pressure (BP), hypertension development) and mortality over a period of 5 years. Methodology This study was based on the international Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study which includes 26 countries, investigating the cause and development of cardiovascular risk factors in low, middle and high income countries. This South African leg of the PURE study started in 2005 in which the baseline data was collected from 2021 black South Africans from rural and urban areas in Ikageng, Ganyesa and Tlakgameng in the North West Province. Eleven participants presented with missing data, leaving 2010 participants with complete datasets at baseline. However, data from these 11 participants was useful, especially for Chapter 4. All participants gave informed consent and the Ethics committee of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) approved the study. The follow-up data collection was done in 2010. General health questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, lipid profiles and cardiovascular measurements were taken both at baseline and follow-up using appropriate methods. We also collected blood samples and performed biochemical analyses for lipid markers, liver enzymes, inflammatory markers and percentage carbohydrate deficient transferrin (%CDT). Finally, we obtained data on cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality through verbal autopsy and death certificates. We made use of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi-square tests to compare means and proportions, respectively. We used dependent t-tests and the McNemar test to compare baseline and follow-up variables. Furthermore, we employed single and partial linear regression analyses to correlate alcohol markers with each other and with the cardiovascular measures. Multiple regression analyses were used to correlate dependent variables in the study with various independent variables as required. Finally, we employed multivariable-adjusted Cox regression analyses to assess the association of the selected alcohol markers with mortality while adjusting for several independent variables. Results and Conclusions of each manuscript - With the first research article (Chapter 4), we aimed to compare self-reported alcohol intake estimates with GGT and %CDT, considering their relationship with percentage change in brachial blood pressure (BP) and central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) over 5 years. The results indicated that only self-reported alcohol intake independently predicted % change in brachial BP and cSBP. This was not found for the biochemical markers GGT and %CDT. Self-reported alcohol intake seems to be an important measure to implement by health systems in low income areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where honest reporting is expected. - Given the likely presence of high GGT levels in both alcohol consumption and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the second manuscript (Chapter 5) aimed to compare the cardiovascular and metabolic characteristics of excessive alcohol users and individuals with suspected NAFLD (confirmed with self-report, GGT and %CDT). We found that different sex and cardiometabolic profiles characterised excessive alcohol users and individuals suspected with NAFLD. Lean body mass and male sex were the dominant characteristics in excessive alcohol use while the NAFLD group had a dysmetabolic profile with obese women making up the higher proportion of this group. In excessive alcohol users systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure were independently associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Diastolic blood pressure showed a significant correlation with waist circumference. These disparate profiles may guide healthcare practitioners in primary healthcare clinics to identify individuals with elevated GGT levels who may suffer from NAFLD or alcohol overuse. These results emphasise the importance of modifiable risk factors as the main contributors to CVD and that lifestyle change should be the main focus in developing countries such as South Africa. - The third manuscript (Chapter 6) aimed to determine the measure of alcohol intake (selfreported alcohol intake, GGT and %CDT) that related best with hypertension development, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality over 5 years in the same population of black South Africans. We found that GGT was the only independent predictor of hypertension development, cardiovascular as well as all-cause mortality. Moreover, self-reporting of alcohol intake predicted incident hypertension, confirming our findings from Chapter 4. The third marker, %CDT, a highly specific marker of alcohol intake, was not related with any outcome variable, perhaps due to its low sensitivity. Although self-reported alcohol intake is useful in low-resource primary healthcare settings, measurement of GGT is encouraged due to its predictive value for hypertension and mortality. GGT represents alcohol intake, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and obesity - all known to have severe cardiovascular consequences. Discussion and Conclusions Excessive alcohol intake remains a major concern in the development of hypertension, CVD and premature death in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their weaknesses such as bias and nonspecificity, self-reporting of alcohol consumption and GGT emerged as reliable alcohol markers that independently predicted 5-year change in BP, hypertension development and total mortality in this population. Serum %CDT did not show any association with the mentioned cardiovascular markers. Finally, we were also able to show that black South Africans with suspected NAFLD (i.e. with high GGT levels who do not consume alcohol) are typically obese women, whereas lean men were more likely to have high alcohol consumption. Further prospective investigations are encouraged regarding (a) these mentioned associations, as well as (b) other self-reporting estimates such as quantity and frequency of drinking and (c) the use of %CDT as a highly specific marker of alcohol intake. The simultaneous presence of HIV infection in alcohol abuse in this population also warrants further investigation. / PhD (Physiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Motivation Alcohol consumption is one of the major risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Excessive alcohol drinking is the fifth leading cause of death worldwide and the prevalence of alcohol abuse continues to increase especially in low-income areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The alarming rate of urbanisation seems to be the driving force for excessive alcohol intake in the developing world. In addition to its influence on CVD, heavy drinking also results in a number of non-cardiovascular consequences that include injury, risky sexual behaviour, violent crime and family dysfunction among black South Africans, contributing to high mortality. Moreover, the highest number of individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in South Africa is partly attributable to high intake of alcohol. HIV remains a major concern in South Africa with significant funding diverted to address the pandemic. The continued increases in mortality from preventable outcomes such as stroke, myocardial infarction and renal failure are largely due to urbanisation, poverty and dysfunctional health systems working with limited budgets. These are some of the factors requiring in-depth study of the scientific aspects of alcohol intake in South Africa. Although there is enough evidence that links excessive drinking with hypertension and CVD, the markers of alcohol intake – self reporting of alcohol, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and carbohydrate deficient transferrin – are still not specific enough to isolate other confounding factors in the association of alcohol intake with CVD. The markers of alcohol that independently predict CVD and mortality need to be explored. Finally, the severe lack of longitudinal investigations on alcohol-related hypertension development and total mortality in black South Africans has compromised the early identification of risk factors associated with these outcomes. This study will therefore attempt to address the limited availability of longitudinal studies and stimulate interest for continued investigation. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate whether alcohol intake of black South Africans is related to specific measures of cardiovascular function (change in blood pressure (BP), hypertension development) and mortality over a period of 5 years. Methodology This study was based on the international Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study which includes 26 countries, investigating the cause and development of cardiovascular risk factors in low, middle and high income countries. This South African leg of the PURE study started in 2005 in which the baseline data was collected from 2021 black South Africans from rural and urban areas in Ikageng, Ganyesa and Tlakgameng in the North West Province. Eleven participants presented with missing data, leaving 2010 participants with complete datasets at baseline. However, data from these 11 participants was useful, especially for Chapter 4. All participants gave informed consent and the Ethics committee of the North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus) approved the study. The follow-up data collection was done in 2010. General health questionnaires, anthropometric measurements, lipid profiles and cardiovascular measurements were taken both at baseline and follow-up using appropriate methods. We also collected blood samples and performed biochemical analyses for lipid markers, liver enzymes, inflammatory markers and percentage carbohydrate deficient transferrin (%CDT). Finally, we obtained data on cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality through verbal autopsy and death certificates. We made use of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi-square tests to compare means and proportions, respectively. We used dependent t-tests and the McNemar test to compare baseline and follow-up variables. Furthermore, we employed single and partial linear regression analyses to correlate alcohol markers with each other and with the cardiovascular measures. Multiple regression analyses were used to correlate dependent variables in the study with various independent variables as required. Finally, we employed multivariable-adjusted Cox regression analyses to assess the association of the selected alcohol markers with mortality while adjusting for several independent variables. Results and Conclusions of each manuscript - With the first research article (Chapter 4), we aimed to compare self-reported alcohol intake estimates with GGT and %CDT, considering their relationship with percentage change in brachial blood pressure (BP) and central systolic blood pressure (cSBP) over 5 years. The results indicated that only self-reported alcohol intake independently predicted % change in brachial BP and cSBP. This was not found for the biochemical markers GGT and %CDT. Self-reported alcohol intake seems to be an important measure to implement by health systems in low income areas of sub-Saharan Africa, where honest reporting is expected. - Given the likely presence of high GGT levels in both alcohol consumption and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the second manuscript (Chapter 5) aimed to compare the cardiovascular and metabolic characteristics of excessive alcohol users and individuals with suspected NAFLD (confirmed with self-report, GGT and %CDT). We found that different sex and cardiometabolic profiles characterised excessive alcohol users and individuals suspected with NAFLD. Lean body mass and male sex were the dominant characteristics in excessive alcohol use while the NAFLD group had a dysmetabolic profile with obese women making up the higher proportion of this group. In excessive alcohol users systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure were independently associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Diastolic blood pressure showed a significant correlation with waist circumference. These disparate profiles may guide healthcare practitioners in primary healthcare clinics to identify individuals with elevated GGT levels who may suffer from NAFLD or alcohol overuse. These results emphasise the importance of modifiable risk factors as the main contributors to CVD and that lifestyle change should be the main focus in developing countries such as South Africa. - The third manuscript (Chapter 6) aimed to determine the measure of alcohol intake (selfreported alcohol intake, GGT and %CDT) that related best with hypertension development, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality over 5 years in the same population of black South Africans. We found that GGT was the only independent predictor of hypertension development, cardiovascular as well as all-cause mortality. Moreover, self-reporting of alcohol intake predicted incident hypertension, confirming our findings from Chapter 4. The third marker, %CDT, a highly specific marker of alcohol intake, was not related with any outcome variable, perhaps due to its low sensitivity. Although self-reported alcohol intake is useful in low-resource primary healthcare settings, measurement of GGT is encouraged due to its predictive value for hypertension and mortality. GGT represents alcohol intake, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and obesity - all known to have severe cardiovascular consequences. Discussion and Conclusions Excessive alcohol intake remains a major concern in the development of hypertension, CVD and premature death in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their weaknesses such as bias and nonspecificity, self-reporting of alcohol consumption and GGT emerged as reliable alcohol markers that independently predicted 5-year change in BP, hypertension development and total mortality in this population. Serum %CDT did not show any association with the mentioned cardiovascular markers. Finally, we were also able to show that black South Africans with suspected NAFLD (i.e. with high GGT levels who do not consume alcohol) are typically obese women, whereas lean men were more likely to have high alcohol consumption. Further prospective investigations are encouraged regarding (a) these mentioned associations, as well as (b) other self-reporting estimates such as quantity and frequency of drinking and (c) the use of %CDT as a highly specific marker of alcohol intake. The simultaneous presence of HIV infection in alcohol abuse in this population also warrants further investigation. / PhD (Physiology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This thesis is an examination of why South Africans have converted to Buddhism, how this conversion has come about and what the meaning of the conversion has been in their lives. Chapter one is a literature review which revealed very little literature available on conversion to Buddhism and less on the conversion of South Africans to Buddhism. L.R. Rambo's Theory of Conversion is used in this thesis to see if these conversions to Buddhism can be understood within this theory. In Chapter two Rambo's theory, which is a holistic model for conversion, is analyzed in detail. He proposes seven stages within his model: crisis, quest, encounter, interaction, commitment and consequences. Context is Rambo's first stage and in Chapter three the socio-historic and religious background of these converts is examined. In order to understand how and why these conversions have come about there needs to be an understanding of the background from which these converts come. Taking Refuge (or the Gohonzon Ceremony) was used for the purpose of this thesis to be the turning point from non-Buddhist to Buddhists. In Chapter four the meaning and importance of Taking Refuge is discussed. The empirical aspect of this thesis was to interview twenty South Africans who had converted to Buddhism. Chapter five is a detailed analysis of these interviews and Appendix two gives the questionnaire used. The aim of this analysis was firstly, to investigate whether these conversions to Buddhism can be understood in the context of Rambo's theory, secondly, to see whether Taking Refuge is the correct choice of the turning point from non-Buddhist to Buddhist. In the conclusion it was found that Rambo's theory did not fully account for the conversion of the interviewees to Buddhism, and that Taking Refuge was not necessarily a good focal point in the conversion process. In the light of this a Developmental theory of becoming a Buddhist was proposed which has the following steps: Context, exposure, interest invoked, practical application, commitment and consequences. From the analysis of the people interviewed their conversion to Buddhism was a developmental process rather than a conversion as such. Hence their conversion fitted more closely with a Developmental theory than with Rambo's theory of conversion. This ties in with the discovery amongst the interviewees that none of them experienced one focal point at which they became Buddhist. For most of the interviewees becoming a Buddhist was a developmental process, with many of them having some sort of proto-Buddhist tendency within them before ever hearing about Buddhism. / RELIGIOUS STUDIES & ARABIC / DLITT ET PHIL (REL STUD)

The literature, for example, Black and Stephens (1989), as well as Marchetti-Mercer (2009), emphasise that mental health professionals may be increasingly faced with the challenges linked to migration and expatriate life. There is also a paucity of information regarding expatriate adjustment in South African psychological literature, and to this end, the aim of this study was to examine how South African expatriate families adjust to a foreign environment like the Middle Eastern city of Dubai. In Dubai, many South African expatriates are employed in sectors such as hospitality, medicine, construction, education, including financial services and it is estimated that the number of South Africans living in Dubai are between 40 000 and 100 000 (The Homecoming Revolution, 2008:1). Expatriate families face the challenges of adjusting to different laws, climates, cultures, religions and social systems. They may experience lack of emotional support, grief, feelings of isolation and loneliness. Unfamiliar living conditions and a change of lifestyle may present as a crisis for certain families, manifesting in family conflict and financial hardship. Given the number of South African families living in Dubai, this study aimed to explore how these families adjusted to the living conditions of this region. A second aim of the study was to use the findings yielded from the data to formulate Gestalt therapeutic techniques, enabling family therapists to assist expatriate families with adjustment difficulties. A phenomenological system of enquiry was employed to study the experiences of six South African families and fifteen members of a focus group. Family members of the six family case studies were interviewed, their experiences audio-recorded, and then transcribed verbatim. Three children elected to provide drawings of their experiences. The focus group discussion was also audio-recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Upon analysis, six common themes emerged, namely, social support, personality factors, environmental conditions, acculturation, grief and disillusion. The findings of the study assisted the researcher in formulating five therapeutic Gestalt techniques that would facilitate and optimise communication amongst expatriate family members. Three of the therapeutic techniques were designed by the researcher, and two were adapted from existing Gestalt techniques. It is hoped that the findings in the present study will assist in amplifying the existing knowledge base regarding Gestalt therapy techniques for families and children, including the current research on expatriate adjustment and the psychological ramifications related to this phenomenon. / Social Work / D. Diac. (Play Therapy)

The rapidity of Johannesburg’s growth after the discovery of payable gold in 1886 created a provisioning challenge. Lacking water transport it was dependent on animal-drawn transport until the railways arrived from coastal ports. The local near-subsistence agricultural economy was supplemented by imported foodstuffs, readily available following the industrialisation of food production, processing and distribution in the Atlantic world and the transformation of transport and communication systems by steam, steel and electricity. Improvements in food preservation techniques: canning, refrigeration and freezing also contributed. From 1895 natural disasters ˗ droughts, locust attacks, rinderpest, East Coast fever ˗ and the man-made disaster of the South African War, reduced local supplies and by the time the ZAR became a British colony in 1902 almost all food had to be imported. By 1906, though still an import economy, meat and grain supplies had recovered, and commercial agriculture was responding to the market. / History / M.A (History)

Asians and expatriate Africans have been prominent in the SMME economy of South Africa. This work seeks to establish reasons for the growth and competitiveness of SMMEs run by these groups compared to those operated by local citizens. Reasons for this competitiveness are gleaned from existing literature and presented in accordance with the Perren model which attributes the growth of SMMEs to the owner’s motivation, expertise in managing growth, access to resources, and demand. In this work, the Perren model was first applied to Asians and Lebanese in East and West Africa to set a foundation for comparison with the South African situation. This work concluded that it is the four interim growth drivers acting together that cause competitiveness of Asian- or expatriate African-owned SMMEs. Policy recommendations to improve competitiveness of SMMEs owned by local citizens are then suggested at the end. / Economics / M. Com. (Economics)

African immigrants in contemporary South Africa can be perceived as a problem – the threatening other. Based on a case study of the Johannesburg inner city, this thesis aims to deconstruct this notion. It does so by investigating the nature and types and contribution of African immigrant traders` businesses to the Johannesburg inner city. In deconstructing the perception that African immigrants are the threatening other, and being infinitely aware that perception issues and the experiential realities hospitable to its centred on the human subject, this case study adopted a humanist geographic and critical realist approach by deploying a qualitative in-depth interview technique of both African immigrant and South African traders. This thesis suggests three important outcomes. The first is that: to view all African immigrants as the threatening other is too simplistic an assessment of an otherwise complex and dynamic set of relationships and interrelationships amongst and between African immigrant and South African traders. Second, some African immigrant traders do make a meaningful contribution to the Johannesburg inner city, whereas others do not. Third, the activities of African immigrant traders that may be considered as a threat by a section of the population are treated as a benefit by another. These nuanced insights and findings in this study not only render any analysis that projects all African immigrants negatively as an incomplete appraisal, but also suggest that it can never be correct to view them as such without capturing the dynamics that this work suggests. Such a finding not only challenges distorted and partial reporting by the media and also questions policies, which may be built on the wrong assumption that all African immigrants are a problem, but also extends the study of migration related issues in a South African context. / Geography / D. Litt. et. Phil. (Geography)