Thesis (MPH.) --University of Limpopo, 2008. / Childhood malnutrition is one of the conditions that have been identified by the world health organisation to be given high priority in terms of their control and management. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of childhood malnutrition in a rural village of Regae in the Limpopo province. The study found that stunting and underweight are 17.5% whilst wasting is at 12.9% in the village. Key words: childhood malnutrition, stunting, wasting, underweight, socioeconomic factors, educational level. / N/A

Lors de notre recherche nous souhaitions démontrer l’importance de l’interaction structure-comportement pour les entreprises en phase de création.Il s’agit effectivement de considérer cette interrelation comme facteur clé en termes de consolidation de la survie et du développement de l’entreprise naissante.Dans notre thèse, nous présentons ainsi la mise en place des outils du manage-ment socio-économique, à partir de l’intervention menée dans douze entreprises en phase de création.À la fin de nos travaux, ce processus est analysé par rapport à ses résultats et ses impacts sur la performance socio-économique de ces organisations. / By means of our research work we wished to demonstrate the importance of the inter-action between structure and behavior for companies which are about to develop their business.It is actually a question of considering this interrelation as a key factor in terms of con-solidation for the survival and the development of these companies.In our thesis, we so present the implementation of the socioeconomic management tools, based on the intervention led in twelve companies in the development phase of their business.At the end of our work, this process is analyzed with regard to its results and its impact on the socioeconomic performance of the studied organizations.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in American society. However, not enough attention has been given to weight change by temporal and dynamic detailed social characteristics, controlled for unobserved heterogeneities nested in county and state. Using the National Longitudinal Survey Youth (NLSY79), this study examined weight change and its development into unhealthy conditions like being overweight or obese, in relation to change in social characteristics including life course events. This study also examined the social characteristics of remaining at a normal weight through all time intervals over a 19-year period. Using hierarchical linear multilevel analysis, this study found that changes in social characteristics over time could be linked to weight status for both males and females. Young males with normal weight are more vulnerable to changes in life events than females. This study's identification of risky life events among young adults could lead to prevention strategies for the obesity epidemic.

Consumption and use patterns for selected dairy products and their substitutes were described and related to certain socioeconomic variables for consumers living in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The data for this thesis were gathered by means of a survey conducted from April 1967 through June 1967. Salt Lake City households were large consumers of fluid milk, evaporated milk, butter, margarine, fruit juice and fruitade when compared to the western region and the nation. By calculating the income elasticities for each of the four types of products, all were shown to be superior products with the exception of canned milk.

The motivating effects of positive and negative verbal reinforcement and researcher attitude on the performance of preschool children were studied in relation to socioeconomic level. Forty children from the Utah State University Child Development Laboratory and forty from Head Start classrooms in northern Utah served as subjects. Each child performed the simple task of placing pegs in a pegboard during a 60- second time interval; once under conditions of positive verbal reinforcement and positive attitude, and again, under one of four experimental conditions: control; positive reinforcement/positive attitude; negative reinforcement/positive attitude; or negative reinforcement/ negative attitude. The findings seemed to indicate that the effectiveness of verbal reinforcement and researcher attitude on the motivation of preschool children varies with socioeconomic level. The variance tends to be one of greater response to either of the four experimental reinforcement conditions by children from the lower socioeconomic class than by those from the middle class. Differences in the effectiveness of various reinforcement conditions were not significant.

The current study sought to explore the relationship between four parent variables and children's Early Screening Inventory-Kindergarten (ESI-K) scores among families from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. The four parent variables were 1) parents' perceptions of school readiness, 2) parents' education, and 3) parents' attitudes towards their child's school, 4) the child's early development. The participants were 63 parents and their kindergarten children from three schools in Hillsborough County Florida. Results showed that parents are relatively good predictors of their children's readiness for school, with that variable alone accounting for 18% of the variance in ESI-K scores. The four variables together explained 41% of the variance in children's ESI-K scores. Implications for educators with regard to helping low-income families prepare their children for formal schooling are discussed.

The present study examined whether external (out-of-school) suspensions are applied equitably to students of different ethnic backgrounds who commit violent and nonviolent offenses. The hypotheses presented in this study were addressed through secondary analysis of disciplinary records from a large metropolitan school district in Florida. The results indicate that, for the group of 1,667 tenth grade students included in this analysis, racial equity was related to the type of offense, as well as to the student's socioeconomic status. Racial differences were found when SES was not considered, with African American students more likely to be suspended from school for status offenses and violent offenses. The same degree of racial disproportionality was not found among low SES students. However, middle and higher SES students appeared to account for much of the racial disproportionality seen in the sample, with African American students in this group more likely to be suspended for both violent and status offenses.

Magister Legum - LLM / The Cape Flats is known for poverty, gangsterism, over population and a general lack of basic necessities. What is often overlooked is where this negative perception emanates from. Generational poverty is an existent issue and has been influential in shaping the Cape Flats to what it is today. What this study aims to do, is to provide a background on a possible theory for this typecast that accompanies the areas broadly known as the Cape Flats. The study will show how the Apartheid era created a ripple effect for future generations, and how this may be the cause of these vulnerable groups of children being failed by a system which have long forgotten about them. The study demonstrates how vulnerable groups on the Cape Flats, struggling and pleading for State intervention in the delivery of basic human rights, have fallen on deaf ears. The study further reveals that the State has not fulfilled its constitutional mandate, neither has it lived up to the enabling provisions contained in international instruments which has been adopted by the South African government, and confirms that all three spheres of government have lacked in the accomplishments it set out to achieve upon the adoption of various pieces of legislation, notwithstanding the proclamation of domestic laws to help the State realise its socioeconomic rights obligations. The study was a particularly challenging task to undertake, as research topics on the issue of socioeconomic rights realisation on the Cape Flats is not a well-studied subject. The intention behind the study is to make an important contribution towards awareness of the issue under discussion, paving the way for future knowledge sharing and an open dialogue focusing on the role of the State in the realisation of socioeconomic rights of children on the Cape Flats.

[pt] O estudo pretendeu investigar a utilização de informações socioeconômicas na produção acadêmica brasileira, com atenção especial para estudos da área de Administração publicados no período de 2004 a 2010. O método bibliométrico foi empregado para analisar 4.687 artigos, publicados em 24 distintas fontes bibliográficas relevantes na área de Administração, 22 periódicos e anais de dois eventos científicos. Buscou-se analisar o que é publicado no Encontro da Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração (EnANPAD), no Encontro de Marketing (EMA) e nas principais revistas brasileiras de Administração, classificadas como A2, B1, B2 e B3 pela CAPES. O levantamento inicial resultou na seleção de 196 artigos, que foram submetidos à avaliação de conteúdo, considerando determinadas variáveis de relevância. Em seguida, os resultados foram quantificados por frequência e apresentados em tabelas. Na segunda etapa do estudo, foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com alguns autores dos artigos selecionados no levantamento bibliométrico, para conhecer impressões e experiências desses acadêmicos em relação ao acesso e utilização dos dados para o desenvolvimento de seus estudos. Os resultados da pesquisa bibliométrica sugerem uma subutilização das informações oriundas de fontes públicas. Entre os periódicos analisados, a Revista de Administração Pública (RAP) foi o veículo que mais publicou artigos baseados em estatísticas públicas. Entretanto, nos anais dos eventos encontravam-se 31 por cento do total de artigos identificados. A maioria dos trabalhos foram escritos por dois autores e abordavam questões acerca do Comportamento do Consumidor. Nas entrevistas foi possível observar que os pesquisadores se sentem seguros em usar dados públicos, em função de sua qualidade percebida, e que a facilidade de acesso gratuito aos dados confere rapidez e segurança aos estudos. Também foi manifestada pelos autores a impressão de que a formação em métodos quantitativos oferecida nos cursos de pós-graduação stricto sensu é precária, favorecendo a preferência pela condução de estudos de natureza qualitativa, especialmente estudos de caso. Já as dificuldades incluem: necessidade de maior clareza na forma de trabalhar das instituições produtoras de dados; demora no atendimento prestado aos usuários das informações; suporte ineficiente; dificuldade para encontrar os dados nos sites dos órgãos; necessidade de programas específicos e conhecimentos aprofundados de estatística, e descontinuidade na produção de determinadas informações. A escassez de recursos destinados à pesquisa no Brasil, o desconhecimento da existência e até certa precariedade dos dados também podem estar desestimulando o uso das estatísticas socioeconômicas produzidas por órgãos públicos. / [en] The study aims to investigate the use of socioeconomic information on the brazilian academic production, with special attention to studies in the area of Business Administration published between 2004 to 2010. The bibliometric method was used to analyze 4,687 articles published in 24 different bibliographic sources relevant to the administration area, 22 journals and proceedings of two scientific events. We tried to analyze what is published in the National Association of Graduate Studies and Research in Administration (EnANPAD), in the Marketing Meeting (EMA) and in major business administration brazilian journals, classified as A2, B1, B2 and B3 by CAPES. The initial selection resulted in 196 articles, which were evaluated for content, considering certain variables of relevance. Then the results were quantified by frequency and presented in tables. In the second stage of the study were conducted in-depth interviews with some authors of selected articles in the bibliometric research, to get to know their views and experiences in relation to access and use of data for the development of their studies. The results of bibliometric research suggest an underutilization of the information produced by public sources. Among the reviewed journals, the Journal of Public Administration (RAP) was the vehicle that published most articles based on government statistics. However, in the annals of events were identified 31 per cent of articles. Most papers were written by two authors and addressed issues related to consumer behavior. In the interviews it was observed that the researchers feel safe using public data, based on their perceived quality, and that the facility of free access to data provides immediate and safe information to their studies. It was also expressed by the authors the impression that training in quantitative methods offered by post-graduate courses is precarious, favoring the preference by conducting qualitative studies, especially case studies. Nevertheless, there are some difficulties: the need for greater clarity in the way of working of the institutions that produce data, delays in services provided to users of the information, inefficient support, difficulty to find data at the websites of the agencies, the need for specific programs and in-depth knowledge of statistical and discontinuity in the production of certain information. The scarcity of resources devoted to research in Brazil, the lack of existence and even somewhat precarious data may also discourage the use of socioeconomic statistics produced by government agencies.

The inflammatory process is important in protecting the body against the invasion of pathogens, but recent research has suggested that a long-term inflammatory response may lead to chronic diseases (e.g., Black, 2003; Wu, Dorn, Donahue, Sempos, & Trevisan, 2002). Two factors that have been implicated in the inflammatory and disease processes are stress and obesity (Black, 2003). While their individual lines of research continue to grow, few researchers have attempted to integrate these factors into one model to explain their effects on inflammation. This study aimed to replicate previous findings suggesting relationships between stress, obesity and inflammation and test an integrated model of stress and obesity by examining a possible interaction between the effects of stress and obesity on inflammation. Socioeconomic Status (SES) and depression were employed to examine the association between stress and the inflammatory marker, c-reactive protein (CRP). The study utilized the data resulting from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; National Center for Health Statistics, 2006). Included in the dataset are 4998 adults (2416 males and 2582 females) ranging in age from 18 years to over 85 years (M = 47.13, SD = 20.86). A subsample (N = 589) completed the Major Depression module of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CDCI). The results indicate that body mass index, waist circumference, income, education, and depression symptoms significantly predict CRP. The data also suggest an interaction between the adiposity variables and the SES variables. This supports the hypothesis that the inflammatory effect of stress on an individual is moderated by adiposity.