Hard Luck Baby is a collection that elucidates the life of a southern, black mother as she grapples with her culture, family, love and the complex reality of black life in America. Hannah, is a woman who was born in the bubbling 40s, raised in the racial 60s and raptured in the drug-infested 80s. It is through these decades that the rough edges of America are exposed. She discusses her life experiences in a manner that allows readers to touch, as much as empathy will allow, the feelings that contour the deepest areas of her barrel. She shares her first example of love and its reverberations along with various accounts of growth. With minimal mention that demands acknowledgment, Hannah achieves an accurate description of American culture, as it relates to poor black people. She juxtaposes multiple societal and familial norms that contributed to her personal development. She is participating in a self-assigned purge of gripping hard-truths, but the crowning moment starts to take shape as she begins to understand herself and her children. Hard Luck Baby is the music of pained grandparents, parents, siblings, and children played over an American landscape. It is a platform for a woman who has been silenced to speak. Written in first person, many of the poems are stories that might have been told from other perspectives with venom, malice or sorrow, but the speaker takes ownership of her role in creating such emotions. As Hannah speaks, the audience may as well, be sitting crossed-legged on a front porch as she rocks in her chair recalling events from her life. She speaks about love, loss, rejection, disappointment, growth, friendship, fight, and forgiveness. At its close, Hard Luck Baby is an elderly woman giving stern-faced lessons to anyone who would dare to sit and listen.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This study is, by its intention at any rate, an attempt at assembling the scattered fragments of Can Themba’s life to make a composite being out of the various existing phenomena that shaped the contours of his life in both literary and literal senses. Given the disjunctive manner in which Can Themba and his work have been represented thus far, a combination of Historical and Biographical research methods will underpin the approach of this study. The resultant approach is the Historical-Biographical method of research. According to Guerin et al (2005, 22) the Historical-Biographical approach “sees the work chiefly, if not exclusively, as the reflection of author’s life and times or the life and times of the characters in the work.” This research is premised on the conviction that an individual is a constellation of multiple factors that play a pivotal role in the construction of their persona. These factors will be traced from his family background, early schooling, tertiary education, socio-economic conditions as well as his contribution to various newspapers and journals. While so much has been written about Themba and his work, there is no comprehensive biography of Can Themba as a person. Most importantly, the factors that contributed to his making as well as his breaking, or destruction, have not been interrogated in a form of comprehensive academic research. Rightly or wrongly, Themba’s meteoric rise into the South African literary canon is often traced from the moment he won the inaugural Drum Magazine short story competition. Themba became one of the most popular journalists and rose within the ranks of Drum to become the Assistant Editor. However, my research demonstrates that winning the Drum short story competition was the culmination of a literary talent that was developed and had been simmering for a number of years. Themba studied at the University of Fort Hare between 1945 and 1951 alongside the likes of Dennis Brutus, Ntsu Mokhehle, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, and many other prominent individuals. He was a regular contributor to The Fortharian, a university publication that published opinion pieces, poems and short stories. This is a vital component of Themba’s intellectual growth and it remains the least explored aspect of his life. As a result, what has been discursively documented by various scholars, writers and journalists, thus far, is a very parochial representation of Can Themba’s oeuvre. / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English Literature)

INTRODUCTION - Plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) has a known relationship with obesity and more specifically with central obesity. Traditionally the physiological contribution of PAI-1 is seen as an indicator of fibrinolysis with increased PAI-1 levels contributing to decreased fibrinolysis. In more recent years, assays have been developed that not only uses proxy markers, such as PA-1, which is considered to be representative of fibrinolysis , but global assays that report on the global fibrinolytic potential of an individual, often reported as clot lysis time (CLT). Investigations into the relationship of CLT with obesity are scarce. Preliminary evidence shows that the relationship of CLT with obesity may differ from that of PAI-1 with obesity although in depth investigations in this regard are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between fibrinolysis markers (PAI-1act and CLT) and various markers of body composition in the South African Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) data collected during 2010. METHODS - Data collected in the PURE study in 2010 were cross-sectionally analysed. The participants (n = 1288) were apparently healthy black South-African men and women 35 years and older, residing in urban and rural settlements in the North-West Province. Experimental methods included anthropometric measurements such as height, weight, hip circumference, waist circumference, skinfolds (triceps, chest, abdominal, thigh and supra iliac skinfolds) and body composition measurements by means of air-displacement plethysmography and biolelectrical impedance analysis. Laboratory analysis of fibrinolysis markers, PAI-1act and CLT were also performed. MAIN FINDINGS - In men, similarities were seen regarding the relationship between PAI-1act and body composition markers and the relationships observed between CLT and body composition markers. In contrast, in the women more and stronger associations were observed between CLT and body composition markers compared to that observed between PAI-1act and body composition markers. CLT showed a linear relationship with body composition markers where PAI-1act levels plateaued at higher body composition categories. Possible reasons for the observed differences may be related to differences in adipose tissue distribution and sequence of accumulation between men and women. PAI-1 is associated with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) where high amounts of stromal cells are found. In men preferential accumulation of VAT may explain similarities in the relationship of PAI-1act with body composition and that of CLT with body composition. Proportionally less VAT, but more subcutaneous adipose tissue in women may explain the observed increase in CLT compared to PAI-1act levels that plateaued over body composition tertiles and categories. CONCLUSION - PAI-1act has a stronger association with central obesity while CLT has a stronger association with total body fat. In women PAI-1act and CLT showed different associations with body composition markers, whereas associations of PAI-1act and CLT with body composition were similar in men. PAI-1act is strongly influenced by type of body fat accumulation whereas CLT is associated with obesity independent of type and sequence of body fact accumulation. Significant associations observed between CLT and body composition variables are, therefore, at least in part, independent of PAI-1act. Additional factors such as, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI), α-2-antiplasmin, plasminogen, prothrombin and fibrin clot structure that influence CLT and are also related to obesity may additionally contribute to the link between CLT and obesity. / MSc (Dietetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

While there have been numerous studies directed at addressing the female Generation Y cohort’s fashion consumption patterns, there is a dearth of published research focused on male consumer fashion conscious behaviour, especially not that of the African Generation Y (hereafter referred to as black Generation Y) males. There are global indications that contemporary males are engaging in fashion apparel shopping more frequently than ever before. Moreover, unlike past generations, today’s male consumers have become increasingly fashion aware and fashion conscious, taking care of their looks and developing their own fashion style. Born between 1986 and 2005, in 2013, black Generation Y individuals made up approximately 83 percent of South Africa’s total Generation Y cohort and 38 percent of the country’s 52 981 991 population. In 2013, black Generation Y males accounted for an estimated 42 percent of the South African population. As a consequence of its size, the black Generation Y male market segment represents a potentially lucrative and attractive market for apparel retailers and fashion marketers. Marketers are particularly interested in those individuals pursuing tertiary qualifications given that a higher education ultimately acts as a predictor of their higher future spending potential and an indication of their social standing and influence within a society. The aim of this study was to determine the causal relationships between black Generation Y male students’ need for uniqueness, fashion awareness, fashion consciousness and fashion conscious behaviour in order to model the determinants of black Generation Y male students fashion conscious behaviour. A self-administered questionnaire was administered on a single cross-sectional sample of 400 black Generation Y male students at three university campuses in the Gauteng province in 2013 – one from a comprehensive university, one from a university of technology and one from a traditional university. From the administered questionnaires, 213 were completed and returned as usable. The collected data was analysed by means of exploratory factor analysis, reliability and validity analysis, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. In addition, structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to test a proposed model derived from the literature. According to the results of the SEM analysis, black Generation Y males’ fashion awareness has a significant positive influence on their fashion consciousness, and their fashion consciousness has a significant positive influence on their fashion conscious behaviour. In terms of the dimensions of the need for uniqueness, unpopular choice has a significant positive influence on black Generation Y male students’ fashion awareness, whilst creative choice has a significant positive influence on their fashion consciousness, and avoidance of similarity has a direct significant positive influence on their fashion conscious behaviour. Furthermore, the findings suggest that their fashion consciousness is reliant on their fashion awareness, which in turn influences their fashion conscious behaviour. Findings from this study will aid marketers’ in better understanding black Generation Y male students’ fashion conscious behaviour. Furthermore, the recommendations provided suggest marketing strategy guidelines tailored at effectively targeting this market segment. / PhD (Marketing Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Current research into language change and evolution focuses on native varieties of English, Schneider’s (2007) settler strand, but we have little knowledge concerning diachronic changes in non-native varieties of English, Schneider’s (2007) indigenous strand. Such a theory must take into account language contact as well as theories pertaining to Second Language Acquisition. This dissertation describes the diachronic changes which occur in one feature of Black South African English (BSAE), namely the progressive aspect. Current synchronic research on BSAE suggests that the progressive aspect is overextended to include stative verbs. This dissertation aims to evaluate the value of this hypothesis, and determine whether there is evidence of this overextension in diachronic data. In order to observe instances of language change, a diachronic corpus of BSAE was complied. This corpus consisted of data from letters, fiction, and newspapers ranging from the 1870s until the 2000s. Using this corpus, analyses were performed in order to determine the frequency of progressive use, the distribution of aktionsart categories, and which temporal meanings were denoted by stative verbs and activity verbs used in the progressive aspect. These analyses were then repeated for data taken from the historical corpus of White South African English (WSAE), in order to ascertain whether changes in BSAE developed parallel to WSAE, or if it follows its own trajectory of change. One further analysis was conducted on BSAE: the aspectual categories of 71 state verbs were analysed in order to determine whether speakers of BSAE indeed do overextend the –ing progressive form onto stative verbs describing states and qualities. The results indicate that the frequency of verbs used with the progressive aspect increases for BSAE, but decreases for WSAE. The comparison of aktionsart distribution indicates that BSAE has a higher overall frequency of communication verbs and accomplishments, while WSAE has a higher frequency of activity verbs, verbs denoting the future, and stative verbs. Achievements are used as expected by both varieties. The analysis of the temporal meanings of stative verbs indicates that speakers of WSAE denote the prototypical short duration associated with the progressive aspect for 74.83% of the verbs, while BSAE uses an extended temporal meaning for 46.86% of the verbs, indicating that speakers of BSAE more likely to overextend the temporal duration of stative verbs than WSAE speakers. The temporal meanings for activities were the same for both varieties; the prototypical short duration is denoted by 77.83% of the total activities in BSAE, and 77.11% of the activities in WSAE. The extended duration in both varieties may be due to language change in general, while the additional temporal meanings for statives in BSAE are a result of substrate transfer. / MA (English)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

INTRODUCTION - Plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) has a known relationship with obesity and more specifically with central obesity. Traditionally the physiological contribution of PAI-1 is seen as an indicator of fibrinolysis with increased PAI-1 levels contributing to decreased fibrinolysis. In more recent years, assays have been developed that not only uses proxy markers, such as PA-1, which is considered to be representative of fibrinolysis , but global assays that report on the global fibrinolytic potential of an individual, often reported as clot lysis time (CLT). Investigations into the relationship of CLT with obesity are scarce. Preliminary evidence shows that the relationship of CLT with obesity may differ from that of PAI-1 with obesity although in depth investigations in this regard are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between fibrinolysis markers (PAI-1act and CLT) and various markers of body composition in the South African Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) data collected during 2010. METHODS - Data collected in the PURE study in 2010 were cross-sectionally analysed. The participants (n = 1288) were apparently healthy black South-African men and women 35 years and older, residing in urban and rural settlements in the North-West Province. Experimental methods included anthropometric measurements such as height, weight, hip circumference, waist circumference, skinfolds (triceps, chest, abdominal, thigh and supra iliac skinfolds) and body composition measurements by means of air-displacement plethysmography and biolelectrical impedance analysis. Laboratory analysis of fibrinolysis markers, PAI-1act and CLT were also performed. MAIN FINDINGS - In men, similarities were seen regarding the relationship between PAI-1act and body composition markers and the relationships observed between CLT and body composition markers. In contrast, in the women more and stronger associations were observed between CLT and body composition markers compared to that observed between PAI-1act and body composition markers. CLT showed a linear relationship with body composition markers where PAI-1act levels plateaued at higher body composition categories. Possible reasons for the observed differences may be related to differences in adipose tissue distribution and sequence of accumulation between men and women. PAI-1 is associated with visceral adipose tissue (VAT) where high amounts of stromal cells are found. In men preferential accumulation of VAT may explain similarities in the relationship of PAI-1act with body composition and that of CLT with body composition. Proportionally less VAT, but more subcutaneous adipose tissue in women may explain the observed increase in CLT compared to PAI-1act levels that plateaued over body composition tertiles and categories. CONCLUSION - PAI-1act has a stronger association with central obesity while CLT has a stronger association with total body fat. In women PAI-1act and CLT showed different associations with body composition markers, whereas associations of PAI-1act and CLT with body composition were similar in men. PAI-1act is strongly influenced by type of body fat accumulation whereas CLT is associated with obesity independent of type and sequence of body fact accumulation. Significant associations observed between CLT and body composition variables are, therefore, at least in part, independent of PAI-1act. Additional factors such as, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI), α-2-antiplasmin, plasminogen, prothrombin and fibrin clot structure that influence CLT and are also related to obesity may additionally contribute to the link between CLT and obesity. / MSc (Dietetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

While there have been numerous studies directed at addressing the female Generation Y cohort’s fashion consumption patterns, there is a dearth of published research focused on male consumer fashion conscious behaviour, especially not that of the African Generation Y (hereafter referred to as black Generation Y) males. There are global indications that contemporary males are engaging in fashion apparel shopping more frequently than ever before. Moreover, unlike past generations, today’s male consumers have become increasingly fashion aware and fashion conscious, taking care of their looks and developing their own fashion style. Born between 1986 and 2005, in 2013, black Generation Y individuals made up approximately 83 percent of South Africa’s total Generation Y cohort and 38 percent of the country’s 52 981 991 population. In 2013, black Generation Y males accounted for an estimated 42 percent of the South African population. As a consequence of its size, the black Generation Y male market segment represents a potentially lucrative and attractive market for apparel retailers and fashion marketers. Marketers are particularly interested in those individuals pursuing tertiary qualifications given that a higher education ultimately acts as a predictor of their higher future spending potential and an indication of their social standing and influence within a society. The aim of this study was to determine the causal relationships between black Generation Y male students’ need for uniqueness, fashion awareness, fashion consciousness and fashion conscious behaviour in order to model the determinants of black Generation Y male students fashion conscious behaviour. A self-administered questionnaire was administered on a single cross-sectional sample of 400 black Generation Y male students at three university campuses in the Gauteng province in 2013 – one from a comprehensive university, one from a university of technology and one from a traditional university. From the administered questionnaires, 213 were completed and returned as usable. The collected data was analysed by means of exploratory factor analysis, reliability and validity analysis, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. In addition, structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to test a proposed model derived from the literature. According to the results of the SEM analysis, black Generation Y males’ fashion awareness has a significant positive influence on their fashion consciousness, and their fashion consciousness has a significant positive influence on their fashion conscious behaviour. In terms of the dimensions of the need for uniqueness, unpopular choice has a significant positive influence on black Generation Y male students’ fashion awareness, whilst creative choice has a significant positive influence on their fashion consciousness, and avoidance of similarity has a direct significant positive influence on their fashion conscious behaviour. Furthermore, the findings suggest that their fashion consciousness is reliant on their fashion awareness, which in turn influences their fashion conscious behaviour. Findings from this study will aid marketers’ in better understanding black Generation Y male students’ fashion conscious behaviour. Furthermore, the recommendations provided suggest marketing strategy guidelines tailored at effectively targeting this market segment. / PhD (Marketing Management)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

Current research into language change and evolution focuses on native varieties of English, Schneider’s (2007) settler strand, but we have little knowledge concerning diachronic changes in non-native varieties of English, Schneider’s (2007) indigenous strand. Such a theory must take into account language contact as well as theories pertaining to Second Language Acquisition. This dissertation describes the diachronic changes which occur in one feature of Black South African English (BSAE), namely the progressive aspect. Current synchronic research on BSAE suggests that the progressive aspect is overextended to include stative verbs. This dissertation aims to evaluate the value of this hypothesis, and determine whether there is evidence of this overextension in diachronic data. In order to observe instances of language change, a diachronic corpus of BSAE was complied. This corpus consisted of data from letters, fiction, and newspapers ranging from the 1870s until the 2000s. Using this corpus, analyses were performed in order to determine the frequency of progressive use, the distribution of aktionsart categories, and which temporal meanings were denoted by stative verbs and activity verbs used in the progressive aspect. These analyses were then repeated for data taken from the historical corpus of White South African English (WSAE), in order to ascertain whether changes in BSAE developed parallel to WSAE, or if it follows its own trajectory of change. One further analysis was conducted on BSAE: the aspectual categories of 71 state verbs were analysed in order to determine whether speakers of BSAE indeed do overextend the –ing progressive form onto stative verbs describing states and qualities. The results indicate that the frequency of verbs used with the progressive aspect increases for BSAE, but decreases for WSAE. The comparison of aktionsart distribution indicates that BSAE has a higher overall frequency of communication verbs and accomplishments, while WSAE has a higher frequency of activity verbs, verbs denoting the future, and stative verbs. Achievements are used as expected by both varieties. The analysis of the temporal meanings of stative verbs indicates that speakers of WSAE denote the prototypical short duration associated with the progressive aspect for 74.83% of the verbs, while BSAE uses an extended temporal meaning for 46.86% of the verbs, indicating that speakers of BSAE more likely to overextend the temporal duration of stative verbs than WSAE speakers. The temporal meanings for activities were the same for both varieties; the prototypical short duration is denoted by 77.83% of the total activities in BSAE, and 77.11% of the activities in WSAE. The extended duration in both varieties may be due to language change in general, while the additional temporal meanings for statives in BSAE are a result of substrate transfer. / MA (English)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

This study was undertaken in order to determine how black teenage primigravidae in the Umlazi area of KwaZulu perceived their pregnancies. This was an exploratory study. An interview schedule was used to elicit information from the primigravida teenagers concerned. One hundred and sixteen primigravida teenagers were interviewed. The sampling frame stretched over 6 antenatal clinics at Umlazi. This study revealed that most primigravida teenagers stand in need of consideration from health professionals of the comprehensive health services. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)