Magister Artium (Human Ecology) - MA(HE) / The research focused on 60 coloured, Afrikaans-speaking men and women residing in Bell ville South who completed a structured questionnaire and open-ended interview questions. Their perceptions held on the influence of male unemployment on family relations with specific reference to gender role perception, relational satisfaction, communication, decision making, finances and labour within the family were investigated. Unemployment of the male partner was found to have no statistically significant differences for the manner in which males and females perceive their gender roles, finances and labour distribution within the family. Statistically significant differences were found for the manner in which males/and females perceive decision-making and communication within the family when the male partner is unemployed. The results revealed that unemployment does not have an influence on role perception and that the respondents uphold a traditional role perception. Decision making was not male dominated, as more egalitarian decision were taken. The respondents expressed combination gender roles with regard to management of finances and appeared to be satisfied with family and partner relations. The minority of respondents who experienced problems with communication attributed this to the consequences of being unemployed. Social agencies need to offer services to empower families to deal with the affects of unemployment on family life to ensure the survival of families during these challenging periods. A multi-disciplinary approach, provided by a team of professionals is the basis for recommendations for proposed support programme development, access and further research.

Magister Artium - MA / Migration has become very prominent in South Africa, and unlike most countries on the continent, it is an extremely prominent destinations for migrants. The country attracts migrants because there is a common perception that there are better economic opportunities, jobs and living conditions within South Africa. Countries like Zimbabwe, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Senegal, Mozambique and Nigeria are statistically high ranking in migrants entering South Africa on a daily basis (Stats SA, 2011). Most forced migration research seeks to explain the behaviour, impact, and challenges faced by the displaced with the intention of influencing agencies and governments to develop more effective responses to address the challenges. As a case study focusing on women, gender and migration at the micro-level, this study deals with the gendered and classed experiences and struggles of women migrants working as hairdressers in street salons in Bellville, Cape Town. The study explores how women who are socially marked as “other” in terms of gender, class, space, identity and nationality navigate an environment in which social worth and belonging is constantly defined by physical appearance and the environment in which the body is physically located. Through a feminist qualitative research method, the study focuses mainly on women’s experiences through interviews and participant observation. The research is therefore deeply grounded and rooted in feminist theoretical perspective and feminist methodological approaches in order to understand women’s lives and gender roles, their body politics and working lives. One of the major findings of this study is that the lack of a gendered analysis of migration has perpetuated stereotypes about who “migrants” are, what access they can have in a foreign country, in what ways they are considered “other”, and, most importantly, how they respond to their experiences of “othering” and political marginalization. It is argued that migration has been constantly changing: many contemporary migrant women are driven by adventure, desire and spirit, and not by famine, war, spouses and poverty. This study therefore develops recommendations for future researchers and policy makers in considering gender and the dynamic changes surrounding migration.

Magister Artium (Human Ecology) - MA(HE) / The research focused on 60 coloured, Afrikaans-speaking men and women residing in Bellville South who completed a structured questionnaire and open-ended interview questions. Their perceptions held on the influence of male unemployment on family relations with specific reference to gender role perception, relational satisfaction, communication, decision making, finances and labour within the family were investigated. Unemployment of the male partner was found to have no statistically significant differences for the manner in which males and females perceive their gender roles, finances and labour distribution within the family. Statistically significant differences were found for the manner in which males and females perceive decision-making and communication within the family when the male partner is unemployed. The results revealed that unemployment does not have an influence on role perception and that the respondents uphold a traditional role perception. Decision making was not male dominated, as more egalitarian decision were taken. The respondents expressed combination gender roles with regard to management of finances and appeared to be satisfied with family and partner relations. The minority of respondents who experienced problems with communication attributed this to the consequences of being unemployed. The survival of families during these challenging periods. A Social agencies need to offer services to empower families to deal with the affects of unemployment on family life to ensure multi-disciplinary approach, provided by a team of professionals is the basis for recommendations for proposed support I programme development, access and further research.

Magister Artium - MA / The way in which people utilise their FREE TIME [that is time left after all commitments (social and physiological) have been met] forms the central theme of this study. An important aspect of this theme for the geographer is the interaction between supply and demand of recreational facilities, because determines the spatial location of facilities in urban areas. In the South African society certain factors which influence the normal interaction between supply and demand have developed which can be identified as problems. In this study the problems which exist regarding recreation and the use of free time are examined with specific reference to the people living in Bellville South, a "Coloured" Group Area on the Cape Flats. Data for the study was collected with the air of a structured questionnaire and thereafter statistically analysed with the intention of answering the following questions: What is the nature and extent of the use of free time during the day, over weekends and during vacations of the inhabitants of Bellville South? How does the politico-economic structure influence the supply of facilities for recreation in Bellville South? What is the influence of the politico-economic structure on the demand for facilities (the recreational behaviour) for the inhabitants of Bellville South? The data which had been collected with the aid of questionnaire, was further supplemented with personal interviews. In order to answer the above questions satisfactorily, recreation resource base in Bellville South was looked firstly. The local supply was measured according to national and international norms based on information obtained from the relevant literature. An attempt was made secondly to determine the demand for recreation generated by the community. It was evident from the literature that the socio-economic level of communities played a vital role in the determination of the extent of their demand. By examining certain socio-economic parameters, it was found that the community of Bellville South consisted mostly of people from the working-class. Subsequently the factors which have an influence on the recreational behaviour of the respondents during the day, weekend and vacation time-periods, were examined. It was found that, as one can expect from a predominantly working class community, recreation was mostly directed at the home environment during all three time-periods. This can be explained by referring to the constitutional constraints (Group Areas Act, Separate Amenities Act), socio-economic constraints and the inadequate recreational facilities in the study area. The interaction between demand and supply within the prevailing politico-economic structures was subsequently examined. The correlation between demographic and socio-economic variables and recreational activities was examined with the aid of crosstabulations. The resulting spatial pattern of the recreational behaviour of the respondents was analysed cartographically. By examining the latent and potential demand for recreational facilities it was found that there are very real needs in the study area. Lastly, recommendations were made with a view of alleviating the problems which have been identified. It was felt that immediate attention should be paid to shortcomings in the supply and maintenance of recreational facilities in Bellville South, while the political problems which make a meaningful utilisation of recreational facilities by everybody in South Africa impossible at the moment, should also be removed.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to explore the relationship between research and policymaking in South African higher education, using the Education Policy Unit at the University of the Western Cape (UWC-EPU) -recently renamed the Centre for the Study of Higher Education - as a case study. The study begins by examining the various models that explain the nature of policymaking in Western democracies, as well as the main theoretical frameworks - namely the "two communities" theory and the enlightenment model of knowledge utilisation - that explain the relationship between the production of knowledge and its utilisation in policymaking. It is argued that, although most of these models were developed to analyse the policymaking process within the context of mature democracies, they nonetheless raise important issues for developing countries like South Africa. The study proceeds to provide an overview of the process of policy development in South Africa. It is suggested that a better way of understanding the evolution of higher education policy development in South Africa is to see it as having gone through four phases, each of which marks a significant turning point within higher education itself, as well as in the broader political context. The process of the policy development, and in particular the role of (higher education) research within it, is shown as one that was largely driven by political and ideological imperatives. The study then shifts to a discussion of the CSHE, commencing with an overview of its organisational history, and highlighting the main objectives of its research programme and the changes that occurred with regard to its research orientation. These are examined in relation to external factors - for example the shift from the development of policy frameworks to the focus on implementation - and in terms of the dynamics that were internal to the University of the Western Cape. This discussion also highlights the challenges that were faced by the EPUs and other progressive academics in the early phases of the policy development process, namely that of engaging in a 'reconstructive' agenda on the one hand, while undertaking intellectual/scientific work on the other hand. In the case of the CSHE, there was also the added challenge of contributing to the development of the nascent field of higher education studies. One of the key issues that emerge in the analysis of the interviews, which form the core source of data collection for this study, is the multifarious understanding of the way in which the research undertaken by the CSHE was to be utilised. The three notions of 'use' that are highlighted - which are also embedded in the objectives of the CSHE as set out in its constitution - are the following: • Utilisation as generation of ideas, and particularly as a contribution to the debates on social reconstruction • Utilisation as input into the policymaking process • Utilisation as contribution to scholarship The study shows that there is a mixed assessment of the extent to which the CSHE was able to address these competing - and sometimes contradictory - challenges. In the main, its efforts were hamstrung by a confluence of factors, ranging from its inability to recruit or attract experienced researchers, to the orientation of its research towards critique, something which was a feature of the scholarship emanating from the progressive academic community at the time. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis is om die verhouding tussen navorsing en beleidsvorming binne die konteks van die Suid- Afrikaanse hoër onderwysomgewing te ondersoek. Met die oog hierop word die Education Policy Unit aan die Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland (UWC-EPU), onlangs herdoop tot die Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CHSE), deur middel van 'n gevallestudie beskryf. Die studie begin met 'n ondersoek na die verskillende modelle wat poog om die aard van beleidsvorming binne Westerse demokrasieë te verduidelik. Verder word die hoof teoretiese raamwerke, tewete die "two communities" teorie asook die "enlightenment model", wat die verhouding tussen die skep van kennis en die aanwending daarvan binne 'n beleidskonteks wil verduidelik, ook ondersoek. Hoewel die meeste modelle van hierdie aard ontwikkel is om die proses van beleidsvorming binne volwasse demokrasieë te analiseer, word aangevoer dat hulle desnieteenstaande belangrike kwessies na vore bring vir ontwikkelende lande soos Suid-Afrika. Die studie gaan verder deur 'n oorsig te gee oor die proses van beleidsontwikkeling in Suid- Afrika. Daar word gesuggereer dat 'n meer verantwoorde wyse om die evolusie van hoër onderwysbeleid in Suid-Afrika te verstaan, sou wees om erkenning te gee aan 'n vier-fase-benadering, waarvan elk 'n betekenisvolle rigtingverandering aangedui het, sowel as die invloed van die breër politieke konteks. Die proses van beleidsontwikkeling, en meer spesifiek die rol van (hoër onderwys) navorsing daarbinne, word aangetoon as synde hoofsaaklik gemotifeer deur politieke en ideologiese imperatiewe. Hierna verskuif die fokus van die studie na 'n bespreking van die CSHE deur te begin met 'n oorsig oor die geskiedenis van die sentrum. Die hoof doelwitte van die sentrum se navorsingsprogram asook die veranderinge wat onlangs plaasgevind ten opsigte van navorsingsoriëntasie, word bespreek. Hierdie aspekte word ondersoek aan die hand van eksterne faktore - byvoorbeeld die verskuiwing wat plaasgevind het vanaf die klem op ontwikkelingsraamwerke na 'n fokus op implimentering - en in terme van die dinamika wat eie is en was aan die Universiteit van Wes Kaapland. Die gesprek poog verder om lig te werp op die tipiese uitdagings waarmee Education Policy Units en navorsers in hierdie veld mee te doen gehad het in die beginjare van die beleidsontwikkelingsproses, naamlik om vanuit 'n rekonstruktiewe agenda te opereer en terselftertyd betrokke te wees met navorsing op 'n akademiese en wetenskaplike vlak. In die geval van die CSHE, het die verdere uitdaging om deurlopend bydraes tot die veld van hoër onderwysstudies te lewer, hoë eise aan die eenheid gestel. 'n Sleutelaspek wat na vore gekom het tydens die analise van die onderhoude (laasgenoemde vorm die sentrale bron van vir die data-versameling van die studie) is dat uiteenlopende interpretasies bestaan van hoe die navorsing soos deur die CSHE onderneem, benut behoort te word. Die drie perspektiewe op benutting ("use") wat uitgelig word, en wat In sentrale deel van die doelwitte van die CSHE uitmaak soos in die grondwet van die sentrum vervat, is die volgende: • Benutting as die skep van idees, en in die besonder as 'n bydrae tot debatte oor sosiale rekonstruksie • Benutting as inset tot die proses van beleidmaking • Benutting as bydrae tot navorsing Die studie toon aan dat die maniere waarop die CSHE in staat was om hierdie kompeterende, en soms teensprekende, uitdagings te hanteer, op uiteenlopende wyses geëvalueer was. In hoofsaak is die pogings van die sentrum aan bande gelê deur 'n sameloop van verskillende faktore wat gestrek het vanaf die probleem om ervare navorsers te lok en aan te stel tot met die probleem om sy navorsing aan te pas en te heroriënteer gegrond op kritiese stemme, dikwels die gevolg van die progressiewe akademiese gemeenskap van die tyd.

THESIS SUBMITED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF TECHNOLOGY OF BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGTY IN THE FACULTY OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS SCIENCES AT THE CAPE PENINSULA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY SUPERVISORS: PROF T.E. MATSHA PROF R.T. ERASMUS DR A. ZEMLIN SUBMITED DECEMBER 2013 / Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) have become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality amongst the global population. Originally thought to be a health burden of high income countries, the prevalence is rapidly increasing in developing countries. For example, in 2008, an estimated 17.3 million died from CVD, and 80% of these (13.8 mil) were from low to middle income countries. Epidemiological data on CVD in Africa is scanty and of poor quality and national vital registration is available in only 5% of Africa’s 53 countries. Furthermore, data on CVD risk amongst the South African population and specifically the mixed ancestry community is poorly described. The increasing global population of people with CVD has been largely attributed to increasing rates of determinants and risk factors which include obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS), type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney diseases (CKD). The prevalence of DM in South Africa is known to be on the rise with more affected communities being South African Asians followed by coloureds. Aims and objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the CVD risk profile of the Bellville South community during a baseline and three year follow-up study, by assessment of known risk factors, MetS, type 2 DM, obesity and CKD. Methods: Participants for this study were drawn from an urban community of the Bellville South suburb of Cape Town. At baseline (January 2008 and March 2009) 946 individuals aged 16 to 95 participated. All participants received a standardized interview and physical examination during which anthropometric measurements were performed three times and their average used for analysis: weight (kg), height (cm), waist (cm) and hip (cm) circumferences. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated as weight per square metre (kg/m2). A blood sample was obtained from all participants after an overnight fast for the determination of biochemical profiles: glucose, glycated haemoglobin, creatinine, total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) which was calculated using Friedewald’s formula. Kidney function test was assessed through estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the cockcroft-Gault and MDRD equations. Blood pressure was measured according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. Participants with no history of doctor diagnosed DM underwent a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test as recommended by the WHO. Metabolic syndrome was determined using JIS, NCEP ATPIII and IDF criteria. The follow-up examination was conducted in 2011 (3 years from vii baseline) using similar procedures. A total of 198 participants formed the follow-up cohort whose measurements were compared to those of the baseline. Finally, the prediction and processes/progression of the risk factors were determined. Results: At both baseline and follow-up studies, females had a higher BMI compared to their male counterparts. The crude prevalence of type 2 DM, including the previously diagnosed type 2 DM was 28.59% (age-adjusted = 33.5%, 95%CI: 30.01 – 36.92), and that of undiagnosed type 2 DM was 17.8% (age-adjusted = 12.4%, 95%CI: 9.8 – 14.8). The overall prevalence of CKD was 28.7% (269) and was higher in females (31.4%) compared to 20.2% in males. MetS was present in 46.5% of the participants. Gender-specific prediction for CVD risk calculated using the 30-year CVD interactive risk calculator showed that high CVD risk was present in normoglycaemic and younger subjects (under 35 years). At follow-up, the cumulative incidence of progression in glucose tolerance status was: 16.2% (32 participants including 11 with new-onset diabetes), and increased in a stepwise fashion with the number of components of MetS. Between baseline and 3-year evaluation glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) increased by 8.7 ml/min (95% confidence interval: 6.9-10.7), reflecting variables trajectories across baseline strata of kidney functions. Conclusion: Given the findings of this study and the estimated increases in the determinants and risk factors of CVD in the mixed ancestry population of South Africa this trend may continue to worsen if current trajectories do not change.