The study's overall objective is to demonstrate the correlation between refugee status and poor oral health outcomes by thoroughly explaining the refugee experience and showing the prevalence of associated oral diseases. All data and information regarding the oral health status of refugees and asylum-seekers are from numerous studies and different institutions. Refugees often experience traumatizing events such as assault, torture, starvation, and extreme dehydration, resulting in the rapid deterioration of health. However, despite the high prevalence of oral diseases such as caries, gum infections, and, oral health continues to be neglected once they arrive at their new destination. In countries like Germany, refugees from Syria and Iraq have a higher incidence of dental caries(Solyman and Schmidt-Westhausen, 2018). In comparison to their German citizen counterparts, who have shown significantly lower caries rates, a possible result from the advancement of a successful caries prevention program for children and adolescents (Splieth et al., 2019). By comparing the oral health status of refugees versus the native population of the country they have entered, the neglect of refugees' oral health becomes evident. This study aims to assess the barriers often experienced by refugee and asylum seekers that lead to poor oral health and examine the role of language, refugee perspective and health literacy education in the promoting dental care in this population. It is clear that a strong association exists between the social and physical barriers refugee experience and oral health. This is especially clear from evaluating the phases of a refugee's migration journey. There is an association between social barriers such as language and health literacy on oral health. It is well documented that when individuals are forced to relocate to new countries where a different language is spoken, healthcare systems can be challenging to navigate. Additionally, language plays a crucial role in shaping refugee perspectives of the oral health community, sometimes negatively; thus, arrival in their new home does not necessarily lead to improved care. Data comparing oral disease in natives versus refugees indicates significantly worse oral health status among recent refugees.

Though the benefits of physical activity are numerous and well-known, very few adolescents are meeting physical activity recommendations. Moreover, past research shows that physical activity declines with increasing age with this decline beginning in adolescence. One approach to promote physical activity is through mobile technology such as a mobile phone. Since mobile phone ownership is relatively high (77%) and there is no digital divide by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status, mobile phones may be suitable for physical activity promotion. Few studies have promoted PA using a mobile phone and those studies showed increased physical activity outcomes. However, more research is needed to explore the effectiveness of mobile phone physical activity promotion especially in more health disparate populations.  The purpose of this research was to develop and test smartphone game application for physical activity promotion in adolescents. The first study included various user-centered approaches (e.g. qualitative data, idea sessions) to get feedback on what was desired from the adolescents in terms of game development and design. The second study examined the degree to which mobile health studies reported on internal and external validity indicators. The last study evaluated the smartphone game applications through a mixed-methods approach. The results of this research showed that physical activity while playing smartphone game applications can yield moderate physical activity intensity. Moreover, adolescents had moderate perceptions of the games and recommended specific changes to the games. Likewise, the data suggest that smartphone physical activity game applications can be enjoyable if they are aesthetically appealing, easy to use, and foster social peer interactions. Overall, this research demonstrated that smartphone games that were developed and designed based on adolescents\' preferences and persuasive technology design principles could increase physical activity in adolescents and provides a tool for further exploration. / Ph. D.

Magister Commercii - MCom / In the past two decades of liberal transformation the post-apartheid Republic of South Africa has been well described as an upper middle-income economy. Despite the country’s strong political and economic affiliations with other developed countries, the nation remains till present faced with socioeconomic impediments deeply rooted within the presence of ceaseless impoverishment, unemployment and inequality. Likewise, there are various factors that explain the nature of deprivation. The application of both the money-metric and non-moneymetric approaches in the conceptualization and measurement of poverty provides an in-depth understanding of efforts (or lack thereof) to establish an equal standard of living for all.

The influence of students' socioeconomic statuses (SES) on their employment expectations is a largely understudied topic in the context of South Africa. There has additionally been little focus on the extent to which students' SESs affect their willingness to settle for lower earnings and their anticipation of socioeconomic discrimination in the workplace. With South Africa's unique SES makeup, as spurred on by the remnants of apartheid, it is important to investigate the effect that students' SESs may have upon their 1) earnings expectations 2) employment expectations 3) anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and 4) willingness to settle for lower earnings. Bandura's (1977) Social Cognitive Learning Theory (SCLT) was used to investigate how students' employment expectations differ based on their environments and core self-evaluations. This theory was therefore used to ground and inform this research. In a quantitative, cross-sectional study with a South Africa student sample (N = 346), this study obtained the following results: 1) SES does not significantly predict students' earning expectations and employment expectations over and above the control variables 2) SES significantly predicts students' anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination and willingness to settle for lower earnings 3) core self-evaluation significantly moderates the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' earning expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and willingness to settle for lower earnings 4) core self-evaluation does not significantly moderate the relationships between socioeconomic status and students' employment expectations as well as between socioeconomic status and anticipated socioeconomic status discrimination. This study has important implications for organizational policy concerning the advocation and implementation of work free from discrimination in South Africa. Through this research, organizations may be provided with insight into how individuals' work expectations may differ based on their SESs, potentially leading to the creation of more inclusive policies and practices. Limitations and future recommendations are outlined.

This dissertation is comprised of two studies that both aimed to understand the population of young adults who dropped out of college. Life course theory and the theory of emerging adulthood were used to create the theoretical foundation for the studies. The first study explored how students who dropped out of college were faring during young adulthood on multiple measures of well-being (personal income, job satisfaction, subjective socioeconomic success, mastery, happiness, depression, and stress). Five latent classes emerged from the data, which demonstrated the heterogeneity within the sample (N = 1,530). The second study then utilized the same sample to examine how transitions into adulthood predicted well-being during young adulthood while controlling for family of origin resources and developmental assets. The transitions to adulthood included timing of marriage, parenthood, and whether or not the young adult was living independently of their parents or not. The hypotheses based on theory were partially supported, with some differences existing between men and women. The discussion reviews the implications for practice and policy. / Ph. D.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / South Africa was considered to have attained universal access to modern energy, this meant that the number of households that have access to energy had successfully increased from 30% in 1994 to 87% in 2012. However, the situation in Nigeria is such that electricity generating figures are very poor and they cannot meet half of the demand of Nigerian households, and the majority of the states have challenges in accessing sufficient fossil fuels. However, recent trends in domestic energy consumption for both countries are becoming biased in favor of fuel-wood energy especially among low-income households, “descending the energy ladder”.

The purpose of this project is to investigate the correlation between wealth and religion, particularly focusing on how financial prosperity influences African American religiosity.  Wealth (specifically in the form of income) is the independent variable (addressing the larger concept of socioeconomic status, which is often abbreviated as SES) and religiosity (as measured by religious service attendance) is the dependent variable.  The aim of this work is to determine whether economic progress is in any way related to the spirituality or religiosity of African Americans. This project attempts to reexamine E. Franklin Frazier\'s thesis in Black Bourgeoisie.  More explicitly, it is focused on how class (and to some degree, status) as an independent variable influences religiosity among African Americans.  It takes a similar view of class distinctions, particularly analyzing the psyches and behaviors of the Black middle class as addressed in Black Bourgeoisie.  Frazier argued that Blacks who reached middle class status soon lose touch with the history of their race, ultimately turn their backs on longstanding cultural values, and opt for inclusion in White, middle class American culture.  These longstanding, neglected values include Black religious traditions and loyalty to the institution of the Black Church.  Thus, reaching middle class status for African Americans may mean that they have bought into the American ideal of capitalism, while simultaneously rejecting African American (or any) religious traditions. I conducted an analysis using data collected from the General Social Survey (GSS).  The sample is drawn from adult respondents who have participated in these surveys since 1972.  The data set includes the years 1972, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2004, and 2010.  The primary focus of this project is to determine whether there is statistically significance between income and religious service attendance among African Americans. / Ph. D.

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Environ & Water Science) / The upper Olifants River catchment, situated in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, is one of the main sources of water for this region. This region face challenges to guarantee future water security due to intensive land use activities e.g. mining, energy production, and agriculture activities. South Africa is the sixth largest producers of coal in the world and the Witbank (eMalahleni) coal fields, situated in the catchment, represents the largest conterminous area of active coal mining in South Africa. The second largest irrigation scheme (Loskop dam Irrigation Board) is also found below the Loskop Dam in the upper Olifants River catchment. The irrigation scheme of + - 480 km of irrigation channels provides water for a R1 Billion export industry of citric fruits to the European Union. Furthermore, the Olifants River in Mpumalanga is also a trans-boundary river that initially flows northwards before curving in an easterly direction through the Kruger National Park and into Mozambique where it joins the Limpopo River before discharging into the Indian Ocean. Although the Olifants River is one of the main river systems in South Africa, it has been described as one of the most polluted rivers in southern Africa, with Loskop Dam acting as a repository for pollutants from the upper catchment of the Olifants River system. Because Loskop Dam is of strategic important for the whole region the aim of the study was to show the implications of poor water quality on the local communities down stream of Loskop Dam that depend on water usage for their livelihood. (1) Developing a modified pollution index for the Loskop Dam, Mpumalanga Province using bioindicator algae species in relationship with water column physico-chemical parameters and national water guidelines as indication of pollution. (2) Analysing the threat of cyanobacteria, microsystin contaminations to crops irrigating by water from the Loskop Dam irrigation canals. (3) Discussing the social economic implication of water pollution on the Loskop Irrigation scheme and its stakeholders.

A plethora of studies have focused on transracial adoption. While these studies have looked at identity development and/or adjustment, they lacked the investigation into some possible causes to include feelings of belongingness as well as socioeconomic status. The current study explored the lack of cultural socialization and belongingness of people adopted into an environment culturally dissimilar from their birth culture. The nonexperimental, correlational design study examined the relationship between adjustment and identity development, and the impact of transracial adoption when considering socioeconomic status and skin tone. The New Immigrant Survey Skin Color Scale, Multiethnic Identity Measure, and Measure of Psychosocial Development test were administered to a purposeful sample of 119 adult transracial adoptees who were adopted prior to age 13.The analysis utilized both a linear regression and hierarchical linear regression. The results indicated there was a significant positive relationship between socioeconomic status and ethnic identity; however, socioeconomic status had no significant impact on psychosocial adjustment. The results also indicated that skin tone difference had no significant impact on the relationship between psychosocial adjustment and ethnic identity. This research can impact social change by guiding social services organizations, adoption agencies, and mental health professionals in their handling and process of transracial adoptions through providing resources both pre and post adoption to both the adoptee as well as the adoptive family.

There is lack of evidence on which of the two highly recommended malaria prevention methods, insecticide treated bednets and indoor residual spraying, is more effective than the other. There is also limited peer reviewed literature that compares the characteristics of people who use the two malaria prevention methods. Based on the Health Belief Model, the research questions tested whether there is any relationship between the use of mosquito bednet or the use of indoor residual spraying and contracting malaria, and whether there is any relationship between sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors and the use of malaria prevention methods. Using a quantitative research design, secondary data from the 2011 Angola malaria indicator survey were analyzed. Chi-square for association, logistic regression, and multinomial logistic regression tests were used. There was no statistically significant association between the use of mosquito bednet and having malaria. However, the use of indoor residual spraying significantly reduced the likelihood of getting malaria. There was also a statistically significant association between place of residence, wealth index, level of education, and number of household members and using mosquito bednet and between wealth index and using indoor residual spraying. In conclusion, the malaria prevention programs should focus on indoor residual spraying. It is recommended that all households in southern Africa malaria prone areas should be regularly sprayed. The findings of this study contribute to positive social change in the sense that by using more effective malaria prevention method, individuals will be able to function normally on daily basis, save on expenses related to employment loses or treatment and care of the sick, as well as loss of life and improve own economic status.