My work uses hair as both a subject depicted in drawings, paintings, and prints; as well as a medium for sculpture, installation, and video created with synthetic hair pieces and wigs. I am interested in deconstructing gendered codes of appearance, and visions of the ideal woman and man as objects. I remove all identifiable traits from my characters, apart from their hair which appears to be consuming or erasing them. In doing so, I force the people viewing my work to rely on cultural stereotypes associated with hair to identify my characters. My work is heavily influenced by Drag culture and Camp, for their ability to mock identity, gender, and cultural stereotypes and portray them as something fluid that can be constructed and changed on a daily basis, instead of a biological trait forced upon them at birth. I view my artwork as my own form of Drag.

The purpose of the current study was to examine a process model of combat-related and mental-illness related processes that explain increased likelihood of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This dissertation proposed the development of PTSD may occur due to cultural, social, and self-related pathways associated with veterans’ dual encounters with combat (i.e., severity) and mental illness symptoms. Participants were 195 military veterans recruited from multiple sites and strategies to maximize sample size and representation. Participants were asked to complete several self-administered assessment inventories, including: the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military, the Trauma Symptom Checklist, the Combat Experiences scale, the Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, an adapted version of the Iraq War Attitude Scale, a perceptions scale, an adapted version of the Likelihood of Disclosure Scale, the Unit Support Scale, the Post-Deployment Support Scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3), as well as covariates that included demographics and details of military service (e.g., deployment information). Overall, results revealed that the impaired social support indicator of social isolation was linked to PTSD, whereas impaired unit support and impaired postdeployment support were not predictive of PTSD. Results also revealed that it is the cultural stereotypes and stigma associated with military and war but not of mental illness that plays a role in social isolation and subsequently PTSD. Overall, evidence supports the combined explanations of combat-related processes and mental illness processes in understanding likelihood of PTSD.

The problem addressed in this study is the difference in patterns of verbal and non-verbal communication across gender and generational groups, specifically between members of traditional and urban communities. These differences, it is argued, are linked to differences in values, attitudes, beliefs, views, etc., i.e. cultural differences, between the groups. Misunderstanding in such communicative interaction arises because people are unaware of the role of cultural differences in the construction and interpretation of texts/cases of language use, for example, the gender differences in the way men and women from different age groups and different habitats (rural vs. urban) can generate misunderstanding. In the Ndebele community, there is a marked diversity in communication patterns and practices by gender. These differences in communication patterns between men and women are socially constructed and are related to power. For example, women are not expected to maintain eye contact with their male counterparts in mutual conversation. Where they disregard these communicative norms, it would be regarded as socially unacceptable and such behaviour would be regarded as disrespectful by the traditional members of the society. Non-verbal behaviour may also impede effective communication because there are different systems of using and understanding gesture, posture, silence, touch and physical appearance in different gender, age and rural/urban communities. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Afrikaans / unrestricted

The aim of the thesis is to answer the question how differ the attitudes of zoologists and general public on suitability of various mammals kept in zoos. The theory of cultural stereotypes is theoretical starting point where i assume that evaluation is influenced on the basis of cultural stereotypes among general public (n = 100) versus expert evaluation of graduates of zoology (n = 60). Questionnaire with a scale enumeration concerning the assessment of the suitability of selected groups of mammals for breeding in zoos was used as the main data collection instrument. Results of the survey showed that experts evaluated the suitability of mamals for breeding in zoo more positive than laymens in general. According general public were equines and rodents rated as relatively unsuitable for breeding in zoos in comparison with expert evaluation. Elephant, orangutan, platypus, tiger, bear and cheetah were rated as relatively suitable for breeding in zoos by general public against expert evaluation. The possible interpretation might be that these mammals belong to the most popular and therefore respondents want to experience personal contact with them. Statistical testing found no gender differences in the rating. Key words: zoos, public attitudes, zoologists' attitudes, mammals, cultural stereotypes,...