Thesis (M.Ed. (Education Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Background: The global burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is escalating as part of the rapid health transition that developing countries are experiencing. This increase is associated with shifts in demographics and economics, two of the major factors that affect diet and activity. The term social drift phenomenon (SDP) is used to describe the observations that: in the early stages of the epidemiological and nutrition transitions, it is usually the more affluent, higher socio–economic groups that are affected; in the later stages, it is the poor, lower socio–economic groups that display the consequences of these transitions. Therefore, in developing countries at the beginning of the transition, affluent people have higher prevalence of obesity and increased CVD risk. In developed countries, at much later stages of the transition, obesity and increased CVD risk is more prevalent in the lower socio–economic groups. In South Africa, the Transition and Health during Urbanisation of South Africans (THUSA) study which was done in 1996/1998 indicated that at that time, most of the risk factors for CVD were observed in the more urbanised (richer) subjects. It is not known if this pattern changed in any way due to the present rapid urbanisation of South African blacks. Therefore, in this study we explored the associations between socio–economic status (SES) (measured by level of urbanisation, education and employment) and CVD risk factors in an African population undergoing transition in the North–West Province of South Africa, that were prevalent in 2005 when the baseline data for in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study were collected. Objectives: The main objective of this dissertation was to examine the SDP in an African population in a nutrition and health transition, by: (i) Reviewing the literature on associations between socio–economic variables and biological health outcomes focusing on CVD risk factors in developed and developing countries; (ii) Analysing the baseline data from the 2005 PURE study to examine the relationships between components of SES, namely level of iii urbanisation, education and occupation, and nutrition–related CVD risk factors in men and women participating in the PURE study; and (iii) Comparing results on these associations between CVD risk factors and SES from the PURE study with those found in the THUSA study, which was conducted almost 10 years earlier, to examine if social drift in these associations has taken place. Study design: The dissertation is based on a comparison of the CVD risk factors and socio–economic status of the THUSA and PURE studies. Secondary analysis of the baseline cross–sectional epidemiological data from the PURE study was executed. The South African PURE study is part of a 12–year Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology study which investigates the health transition in urban and rural subjects in 22 different countries. The main selection criterion was that there should be migration stability within the chosen rural and urban communities. The rural community (A) was identified 450 km west of Potchefstroom on the highway to Botswana. A deep rural community (B), 35 km east from A and only accessible by gravel road, was also included. Both communities are still under tribal law. The urban communities (C and D) were chosen near the University in Potchefstroom. Community C was selected from Ikageng, the established part of the township next to Potchefstroom, and D from the informal settlements surrounding community C. The baseline data for PURE were collected from October to December 2005. A total of 2010 apparently healthy African volunteers (35 years and older), with no reported chronic diseases of lifestyle, tuberculosis (TB) or known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were recruited from a sample of 6000 randomly selected households. Methods: A variety of quantitative and qualitative research techniques was used by multidisciplinary teams to collect, measure and interpret data generated from biological samples and validated questionnaires. For this study, the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) package (version 17.0, SPSS Inc) was used to analyze the data. Means and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of CVD risk and dietary factors were calculated. Participants of both genders were divided into different groups (according to urbanisation, education and employment levels) and compared. Estimated significant differences between rural and urban participants were determined with analysis of variance using the general linear model (GLM), multivariate procedure. Univariate analysis was used to explore further the influence of education on CVD risk factors and dietary intakes. Employment was used as a proxy for income, and pairwise comparisons using GLM, multivariate procedure were done for comparing the three groups (Not answered, employed and not employed). Tests were considered significant at P<0.05. Results: Comparison of urban with rural subjects participating in the PURE study showed that urban men had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressures and lower fibrinogen levels than rural men. In women, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and serum triglycerides were significantly higher in urban subjects whereas fibrinogen levels were significantly lower among urban subjects. After examining the relationship between the level of education and CVD risk factors, we observed that men with higher education levels had significantly higher BMI. In women, serum triglycerides and blood pressure were lower and BMI was significantly higher in the educated subjects. Because it was difficult to distinguish between reported household and individual income levels, we compared CVD risk factors of employed and unemployed subjects. Employed men had significantly higher BMI whereas the unemployed men had significantly higher fasting glucose and fibrinogen levels. Although mean blood pressure of employed men was higher than that of unemployed men, the difference did not reach significance. In women, the only significant difference seen was that employed women had lower high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose, triglycerides and fibrinogen levels, but they had a significantly higher BMI. Employed women had significantly higher BMI than unemployed women (27.9 [26.3–29.4] versus 26.5 [26.0–27.0] kg/m2). It seems that most of the nutrition related CVD risk factors were still higher in the higher socio–economic group, a situation similar to that reported in the THUSA study. v Conclusion: The results of this study showed little evidence of a major social drift in CVD risk factors from subjects participating in the 1996/1998 THUSA study to those in the 2005 PURE study. Most cardiovascular disease risk factors are still higher in the higher SES groups. However, there were some indications (increased fibrinogen in both men and women living in rural areas; higher triglyceride and fasting glucose levels in unemployed women; no significant differences in blood pressure and total cholesterol across different SES groups which existed in the THUSA study) that a social drift in CVD risk factors in our African population is on the way. This means that promotion of healthy, prudent diets and lifestyles should be targeted to Africans from all socio–economic levels for the prevention of CVD. / Thesis (M.Sc (Dietetics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The injuries happening to children in the household or during leisure time activities constitute the most frequent injury types. The injuries caused by shaking constitute a specific group. The information of lay public in the Czech Republic with regard of the Shaken Baby Syndrome is almost at zero level. The basic precondition to reduce the injury rate consists in identification of risk factors causing the origination of the injury or making the individual vulnerable. The factors include environment, health, behaviour, socio-demographic and social factors. The goal of the thesis consists in mapping children injuries in the household and during leisure time activities. A partial goal consists in mapping the use of protective devices for injury prevention. Another goal of the thesis consists in mapping the information of the parents on the Shaken Baby Syndrome, as well as in mapping the techniques of comforting crying babies and the related parents' feelings. The research method consists in quantitative prospective research; two structured questionnaires are used for data collection. The data collection took place in 2009-14. The first questionnaire is focused on acquisition of information on child injuries in the household and during leisure time activities. The goal of the study consists in analyzing children's injuries in ages from 0 to 18 years. The second questionnaire is focused on the Shaken Baby Syndrome and consists of several partial areas: child crying, techniques of managing and comforting child crying, parents' feelings and level of information on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). Based on the research results, the approach to primary prevention of children's injuries can be improved by increased observation of the child, by increased efficiency of preventive procedures, by increased dispensarization, control or increased efficiency of implemented primary injury prevention.

Socio-spatial differentiation is natural phenomenon observable in almost all scales. However, the causes and consequences of this phenomenon can be different in particular areas or the era. Income inequality has increased in the Czech Republic since 1989, as well as unemployment and various social problems, which are reflected in the social environment of villages and towns as well as in municipal decision-making. The aim of the diploma thesis is to identify social (educational) diferentiation at several spatial hierarchy levels. The main part of the thesis emphasizes understanding the evolution of socio-spatial differentiation at local level in micro-region České Budějovice from 1989 to the present using the education level of the population and identifies areas with positive and negative development. The education is considered as the indicator of socio- economic status, human capital or relative income. The intention of the thesis is to identify the areas with higher concentration of people with higher and lower socio-economic status and also find the main factors and mechanisms that create these spatial patterns. This thesis works primarily with the cencus data. The diploma thesis also provides basic development maps of the population patterns with lower and higher social status from the...

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Substance abuse is recognised as one of the greatest health and social problems in South Africa (SA). There is a need to explore the problem of substance use in the South African context in terms of the Bio-ecological Systems Theoretical Framework. All of the reviewed local and international studies on instruments that are used to measure factors associated with adolescent substance use, while yielding useful information; do not adequately address the issues of an instrument that successfully includes all the levels of the Bio-ecological Systems Theoretical Framework at the dimension level. As a result, a need for an applicable instrument exists. The overall purpose of the current study was to evaluate the content validity of the dimensions of the proposed self-administered questionnaire in terms of the Bio-ecological Systems Theoretical Framework, which will assist the factors associated with youth at risk of substance abuse in low socio economic status communities in the South African context. The study was framed in psychometric test theory focusing specifically on the procedures for content validation. It is being increasingly recognized that the development of a valid test requires multiple procedures, which are employed sequentially, at different stages of test construction. Validity is thus built into the test development from the outset. Participants were selected by means of purposive sampling. The sampling method was appropriate since the participants were required to meet certain inclusive criteria. The participants comprised of two groups of community leaders within two different communities on the Cape Flats. An adapted version of the Nominal Group Technique method was employed to collect data. The data for aim one was collected using a self administered questionnaire (Content Validity Questionnaire) consisting of two sections. The first section was presented in the form of a ranking scale with all relevant factors associated with adolescent substance use. The second section of part 1 was in the form of open-ended questions. The second aim was collected in the form of focus groups. Data was analysed quantitatively and qualitatively in the relevant sections. Data collected from the Content Validity Questionnaire (CVQ) was analysed quantitatively by means of statistical analysis making use of frequencies, and the open-ended questions of the content validity and data from the focus groups was analysed qualitatively by means of thematic analysis. The study concluded that all factors presented in the CVQ are important factors associated with adolescent substance use in the two low socio-economic statuses communities that were analysed in both the quantitative and qualitative components of the study.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The purpose of the study was to gather validity evidence for a South African developed instrument designed to measure individual and contextual factors associated with adolescent substance use in low socio-economic status communities in the Western Cape, South Africa. Studies report high rates of substance use in these communities. This possibly points towards the impact of typical post-apartheid contextual factors on the development of adolescent substance use. The South African Substance Use Contextual Risk Questionnaire (SASUCRQ) measures adolescents’ subjective experiences of their own psycho-social and their communities’ functioning.

Thesis(M. Com.(Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study examined the determinants of learner performance by employing an education production function approach using the descriptive statistics, ordinary least squares (OLS) and quantile regression techniques in 2016. The study utilised the data obtained from SA-SAMS of Bankfontein combined school at Mpumalanga province. In the education production function, learner performance was estimated against variables such as age, gender, days absent and socio-economic status. The results of this study indicated that in the rural combined school, learner performance is strongly influenced by age, absenteeism and socio economic status. For instance, results revealed that absenteeism had a negative effect on learners‟ educational performance. An increase in absenteeism by 1 day led to a reduction in learner‟s examination score by approximately 0.1 percentage points during the chosen period. The “socioeconomic status” variable revealed a statistically significant and negative impact on learners‟ educational performance. The results demonstrate that poverty leads to poor educational performance as measured by examination scores. It is recommended that schools should manage learner diversity (age, gender and socio-economic factors), introduce learner motivation programmes, teacher performance improvement interventions, and improve organisational planning and development, parental involvement among others to retain learners at school. Furthermore, schools should enforce education policies that stipulate entry and exit age at different levels of schooling.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study focused on the 16PF (SA 92), a personality questionnaire that was developed in the USA and adapted for South African conditions. The main aim of the study was to determine whether the scores of the 16PF are comparable in a cross-cultural setting in South Africa. The influence of age, language, socio-economic status and gender on the scores were also determined. The sample consisted of black, white, coloured, and Indian university students and were drawn from the University of Western Cape, University of Pretoria, University of Durban- Westville, and University of Natal To achieve the aims outlined construct comparability studies and item comparability studies were conducted. In addition, descriptive statistics were also calculated to provide a general picture of the performance of the various sub-samples. A qualitative study was also conducted to determine some of the reasons for the occurrence of item incomparability of the racial sub-sample. The results showed that the racial variable had the greatest influence on the scores obtained. Problems existed with the construct and item comparability of the 16PF when the different race groups were compared. In addition, significant mean differences were also found on the majority of factors when the scores of the different race groups were compared. The results of the qualitative study showed that participants whose home language was not English or Afrikaans had difficulty in understanding many of the words and the construction of sentences contained in the 16PF. The implications of using the 16PF in South Africa, with its multicultural population was outlined, taking the new labour legislation pertaining to selection into consideration. Finally, a number of options for test users, and users of the 16PF in particular were presented.

Objective: To assess occupational tobacco use and the impact of a tobacco-free policy in the Central Appalachia, an environment characterized by high tobacco use and production. Methods: This study was an Internet-based survey conducted on 2,318 university employees. Descriptive, chi-square, and logistic regression statistics were performed. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with respective 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were reported. Results: The survey response rate was 50.8 %; of the respondents, 9.0 % were current smokers. Smoking prevalence among faculty, administrators/professionals, and clerical/support staff was 6.1, 8.1, and 13.1 %, respectively. While those respondents aged 30-39 years showed a significantly increased likelihood of being a current smoker (AOR 5.64, 95 % CI 1.31-9.26), knowledge that secondhand smoke is harmful (AOR 0.22, 95 % CI 0.07-0.70) and support for tobacco-free policy (AOR 0.11, 95 % CI 0.04-0.27) decreased the likelihood. Conclusion: Low tobacco use among faculty and administrators confirmed the relationship between tobacco use and socio-economic status, even in a tobacco-producing environment. Disaggregation of tobacco use data assists the public health community in the efficient allocation of efforts and resources for cessation programs to reduce tobacco use in such environments.

Objective: To assess occupational tobacco use and the impact of a tobacco-free policy in the Central Appalachia, an environment characterized by high tobacco use and production. Methods: This study was an Internet-based survey conducted on 2,318 university employees. Descriptive, chi-square, and logistic regression statistics were performed. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with respective 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were reported. Results: The survey response rate was 50.8 %; of the respondents, 9.0 % were current smokers. Smoking prevalence among faculty, administrators/professionals, and clerical/support staff was 6.1, 8.1, and 13.1 %, respectively. While those respondents aged 30-39 years showed a significantly increased likelihood of being a current smoker (AOR 5.64, 95 % CI 1.31-9.26), knowledge that secondhand smoke is harmful (AOR 0.22, 95 % CI 0.07-0.70) and support for tobacco-free policy (AOR 0.11, 95 % CI 0.04-0.27) decreased the likelihood. Conclusion: Low tobacco use among faculty and administrators confirmed the relationship between tobacco use and socio-economic status, even in a tobacco-producing environment. Disaggregation of tobacco use data assists the public health community in the efficient allocation of efforts and resources for cessation programs to reduce tobacco use in such environments.