Master of Public Health - MPH / Substance abuse has become a significant public health concern in South Africa, more specifically in the Western Cape province. This has become a source of great alarm as South African Police Service (SAPS) statistics show that 80% of the crimes committed in the Western Cape are related to substance abuse. The Western Cape was the province that reported the highest number of persons treated during the 2008-2010 period. During the period January to June 2016, there were 2,976 admissions across all treatment centres in the Western Cape, which was a slight increase compared to the 2,674 admissions during the previous six-month review period. It has also been reported that substance abuse has increased the burden on an already challenged primary health care system in South Africa. The proportion of new treatment admissions amounted to 71% of all admissions during the period 2015-2019.

Master of Public Health - MPH / The burden of malnutrition continues to persist and is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in children. According to the results of the Zimbabwe Multiple indicator cluster survey in 2019, stunting remains high at (26.8%) and the leading form of malnutrition, affecting 1 in 3 children less than 5 years in Zimbabwe. Suboptimal feeding practices have been identified as one of the many causes of malnutrition. Various studies have shown that many risk factors of malnutrition can be addressed during the crucial first 1000 days of life. Cultural beliefs, values, and practices play a vital role in the pre and postnatal period. However, there is a knowledge gap in how culture influences the caregivers regarding feeding and dietary intake. Therefore, the study’s major aim was to explore the cultural beliefs and practices of caregivers of malnourished children between 6-24 months, regarding dietary intake and feeding practices in Gweru, Zimbabwe.

<div><div>In this work we use and develop Riemann-Hilbert techniques to study the asymptotic behavior of structured determinants. In chapter one we will review the main underlying</div><div>definitions and ideas which will be extensively used throughout the thesis. Chapter two is devoted to the asymptotic analysis of Hankel determinants with Laguerre-type and Jacobi-type potentials with Fisher-Hartwig singularities. In chapter three we will propose a Riemann-Hilbert problem for Toeplitz+Hankel determinants. We will then analyze this Riemann-Hilbert problem for a certain family of Toeplitz and Hankel symbols. In Chapter four we will study the asymptotics of a certain bordered-Toeplitz determinant which is related to the next-to-diagonal correlations of the anisotropic Ising model. The analysis is based upon relating the bordered-Toeplitz determinant to the solution of the Riemann-Hilbert problem associated to pure Toeplitz determinants. Finally in chapter ve we will study the emptiness formation probability in the XXZ-spin 1/2 Heisenberg chain, or equivalently, the asymptotic analysis of the associated Fredholm determinant.</div></div>

The aim of this paper is to study the effect of interest rates on house price changes in Sweden for the case of one and two dwelling buildings. Basically, three procedures were used for analysis. First, correlation analysis was used to investigate and test if there has been any relationship between interest rates and house price in Sweden in the past two decades. Second, multiple regressions analysis with consideration of hetroskedasticity autocorrelation or HAC (newey-west standard) errors was applied to test the impact of changes of interest rates on house price. Finally, distributed lag model was applied to examine the impact of interest on house price through time. The result shows that there is strong inverse relationship between interest rates (governmental bond rates, mortgage bond rates, lending rates and repo rates) and housing price index. The regression coefficients show that the decrease in the interest rate is followed by corresponding increase in the housing price index for all the given interest rates. The other finding is that more than 92 percent variation in the housing price index is explained by changes in interest rates, changes in net house hold disposable income, inflation rate and supply. The result also shows the lag effects of changes of interest rates on housing price. The major implication of this study is that fluctuations in interest affect homebuyers, home sellers, household incomes and investors. The study also suggests that further detail investigation on house price dynamics is crucial for monetary policy.

The management dilemma emanates from the inadequacy and weakly detailed turnaround models available for use by entrepreneurs and turnaround practitioners in South Africa. To add to this problem previous legislation did not provide any protection to the debtor in any turnaround attempts. New debtor friendly legislation comes into effect in 2011. This research aims to identify the verifiers for signs and causes of potential failure. The construct verifier determinant is theoretically defined and included into a practical turnaround framework. The primary objectives of the study are to: <ul><li> Identify and theoretically define early warning sign “verifier determinants” </li><li> To design and include “verifier determinants” as an integral part of a turnaround plan that supports corrective action. </li></ul> The secondary objectives of this study are to: <ul><li> Research the current formal turnaround practices, which are applied in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Africa and informal practices evident in South Africa. These findings are aligned to include the changes in the applicable South African legislation. </li><li> Design and propose a framework for use by turnaround practitioners and entrepreneurs alike (conforming to new legislation). </li><li> Identify which “verifier determinants” will confirm the early warning and apply this outcome to the design of a reliable turnaround framework, acceptable to all creditors and financial institutions. </li><li> The final objective is to contribute to the South African entrepreneurial, turnaround body of knowledge, and future formal studies in this academically ill-represented field. </li></ul> The effectiveness of business turnaround depends on the chosen strategy. The literature review in this proposal deals with the following aspects; venture risk propensity, early warning signs and failure models, legal constraints / opportunities and finally turnaround. Current formal turnaround routes are, due to various negativities and high costs, often not practical and a more informal approach is favoured. Methodology: <ul><li> Through comprehensive literature research to identify and theoretically define “verifier determinants” that confirm the early warning sign and causes. Apply in depth interviews to identify the use of verifier determinants by specialist turnaround practitioners. </li><li> Confirm the actual use and value of the verifier determinants by experts and practitioners during turnarounds, Design and include “verifier determinants” as an integral part of a turnaround framework that supports rehabilitation of the business. </li><li> Compare the formal turnaround practices, which are applied in other jurisdictions such as the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Africa will be investigated. </li><li> Adapt the framework cognisant of Chapter six of the companies Act, Act 71 of 2008 requirements and recommend to formal and informal turnaround practices relevant in South Africa. </li></ul> For this study, a leading commercial bank was selected as the organisation of choice, due to the accessibility to information, research data, and turnaround respondents. For selecting the case studies used for evaluation during interviews, the researcher relied on businesses that were already subjected to BASEL II Accord categorisation criteria and had ex post facto histories. The study applied two research methods. An interview method was used to identify actual verifier determinants used in practice. The interrogation of the participants was done, using the Repertory Grid method, thus forcing choices and explanation of interviewee reasoning. Participants were purposely selected to ensure representation within the identified risk categories. As result, a comprehensive turnaround framework is compiled. The study aligns these findings with the new South African legislation, and designs a turnaround framework for use by turnaround professional practitioners, entrepreneurs and affected persons alike. This study introduced a number of new constructs that can be used in a business turnaround context, namely: <ul><li> business triage</li><li> verifier determinant</li><li> turnaround framework, introducing the constructs “business triage” and “verifier determinant” a timeline schedule for executing the rescue process</li></ul> This study highlighted the importance of establishing the true value of a business in the early stages of the turnaround process. Verifiers can be used successfully to determine the extent of the problem (“depth of the rot”), the difficulties involved and reduce time requirements for analysis. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Business Management / unrestricted

Endometriosis is a gynaecological disorder that affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide. Endometriosis causes serious societal impacts, such as loss of work productivity and effectiveness of non-work-related activities. Regardless that a significant number of women are impacted, many clinical questions remain unanswered, treatment failures are common, diagnosis takes an average of seven and a half years, and there is little investment in investigating disease mechanisms. At the same time, in the last few decades, endometriosis has been repeatedly mislabelled, which still presents indications on the current endometriosis care. Furthermore, there is still a tendency to exclude women's experiential knowledge, which presents one of the biggest burdens of endometriosis. The Degree Project demonstrates communication barriers to early diagnosis from 262 women using survey data and aims to understand women and medicine's power relations. Through this analysis, women's perspective is presented and discussed. The analytical discussion is divided into four chapters: medical knowledge, pain communication, desired communication support and experiential support. The study identifies how the relationship of knowledge and power impact pain communication and consequently the diagnosis of endometriosis. This study contributes to endometriosis, gender and communication for development studies by suggesting the incorporation of women’s experiential knowledge to address the challenges of pain communication and the diagnostic delay.

Objective: Using the Social Determinants of Health as the study's theoretical underpinning, the authors examined the impact of the North Carolina Community Transformation Grant Project farmers' market initiatives on changes in awareness and use of farmers' markets, and fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: During the farmers' market season, the researchers conducted a random digit-dial telephone survey among residents in 3 rural North Carolina counties to examine changes in farmers' market awareness, shopping, and fruit and vegetable consumption. They examined change over 1 year using t tests, chi-square tests, and propensity score matching. Results: In 1 county there were increases in farmers' market shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption, and in 1 county there were decreases in farmers' market shopping and fruit and vegetable consumption. Conclusions and Implications: The impact of farmers' market initiatives may be affected by county-specific socioeconomic contexts.

Introduction and Background Childhood obesity affects 17% of children in the United States (Whooten et al., 2018). It is well understood that many social determinants contribute to the manifestation and improvement of this disease. Purpose Statement I aim to compare the impact of increased health education through medical professional to families and obese/overweight children compared to implemented physical activity in social and personal settings on BMI improvement among the obese/overweight children. Literature Review Searches performed through the Sherrod Library data base at East Tennessee State University included the following key words: social determinants, long-term study, physical activity, clinical, community and family. Research was not limited to the United States population. Findings Review of these studies showed marked improvement in BMI for physical activity programs in association with schools. These activities resulted in BMI z-score improvements of -0.22, when 60 minutes of physical activity was implemented 3-day/week prior to school (Whooten et al., 2018). Studies surrounding medical counseling and education alone reported minimal improvements to BMI and limited sustainable of these results at follow-up. However, frequent routine meeting with medical profession and obese children and their family resulted in increased Pediatric Quality of Life scores. Conclusions While implantation of multiple discipline may be required to improved BMI in obese/overweight children, physical activity in the public social setting shows to be promising compared to increased education and counseling from medical professionals alone in reducing BMI.

MPH / Department of Public Health / Background: Despite modest improvements in child health outcomes during the 20th century, infant and child mortality rates remain unacceptably high in South Africa. South Africa, like many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, is challenged by high levels of under -five child mortality. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the determinants of under-five mortality in a selected village in Vhembe District, South Africa. Methodology: The study was conducted in Mhinga Village in Vhembe District, Limpopo province South Africa. A qualitative approach using a descriptive design was used for the study. A sample of 7 mothers who lost children under 5 years of age through death were selected from the target population by means of snowball sampling. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview. The data collected was analysed using the thematic analytical approach. Results: Four main themes emerged during data analysis namely, diseases and infections as causes of U5M in Mhinga, Maternal and perinatal health as determinants associated with U5M in Mhinga, Health care factors as determinants associated with U5M in Mhinga and cultural factors as determinants contributing to U5M in Mhinga, Conclusion and recommendation: The study recommends that a study be conducted on the factors that affect the utilisation of health and ANC services and strategies to promote the use of health and ANC services in Mhinga. The researcher further recommends that a study be conducted on strategies to reduce U5M in Mhinga. / NRF

Childhood and adolescent obesity are pervasive among single mother households. Obesity causes many health risks including psychological/emotional illnesses. The purpose of this secondary analysis study was to examine the association between the parental feeding styles of single mothers and the degree that ethnicity moderates the rates of childhood obesity. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used with a total of 1,630 children in the study for a total of 842 minorities (African American and Hispanic American); 788 participates were not minorities (European American) with an average body mass indent of 15.9. Using the cross-sectional design, the quantitative study analyzed an association of parental feeding style and overweight/obesity. According to study findings, there was no statistical significance between the parental feeding style and ethnicity status. There was no statistical significance between the child's compliance with the mother's food choice, the child's frequency of compliance nor the child's compliance even when they don't want to eat with overweight/obesity when moderated by ethnicity. Finally, there was no statistical significance when moderated by ethnicity. Educating single mothers about habits and perceptions concerning food is critical so that they are aware they can offer wholesome nutritional food as food choices. Education is a determinate of health that would moderate the parental feeding style