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Food insecurity has emerged as a leading health care problem in the United States, impacting college students’ health, well-being, and academic performance. The aims of this study are: 1) to assess the prevalence of food insecurity at Mississippi State University, 2) to explore the coping mechanisms employed by students faced with food insecurity, and 3) to identify college students' perceptions about food access resources, 4) to identify ways in which a scenario that requires social distancing impacts food security in a college student population, and 5) to explore students' expressed needs from the university in improving food security status for all, whether they are learning on campus or in a distance environment. A mixed methods approach was used to assess the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study aims. An online survey to gather demographic information and assess food security status using the 6-item version of the U.S. Household Food Security Scale Module (HFSSM) was administered. Next, qualitative focus groups with subsets of participants was conducted to gain further insight into the perceptions, coping mechanisms, and resource utilization issues related to food insecurity. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on focus group data collection, an open-ended qualitative questionnaire was designed and sent to original survey participants to gather further data. This study found 34.1% of undergraduate college students to be food insecure. The strongest predictors of food insecurity were having received some type of food assistance in the past year and having received free- or reduced-lunches in elementary or secondary school. The data demonstrates that students with a meal plan are less likely to be food insecure. Qualitative data identified key influencers of food insecurity: 1) personal beliefs, 2) life skills, and 3) the university. The results of this study contribute to the literature focused on food insecurity prevalence in college students and help to fill in gaps in understanding food insecurity from the university student perspective. This will allow relevant interventions to be developed that are congruent with students’ needs, enhancing resource utilization to increase food security status among college students.

This paper seeks to examine the underlying factors that will influence international security in the coming decades. In contrast to the Cold War era, it will be argued that two fundamental issues will largely determine the evolution of conflict - the widening socio-economic polarisation and problems of environmental constraints. Taken together with the proliferation of military technologies, the paper argues that attempts to maintain the present world order in the interests of a minority elite are unlikely to succeed and will, instead, enhance the risks of conflict. A radical re-thinking of western perceptions of security is necessary that will embrace a willingness to address the core causes of insecurity at their roots.

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are responsible for the care of America's aging population. CNAs are paid a miniscule amount of money and are often ineligible for medical benefits through their employers. CNAs bathe, change, feed, and help toilet the residents of long-term care facilities. The stressful work and personal lives of CNAs leads to many problems such as high turnover rates, absenteeism, health problems, and elder abuse. In the United States, food insecurity is a concern for many of the uninsured working poor. The purpose of this study was to assess the overall perceived concerns, barriers, and solutions of CNAs in both their work and family environments, identify where nutrition and food security fits into the priorities of CNAs, and identify educational strategies to improve their health and overall quality of life. Twenty-nine CNAs participated in six focus groups across the state of Virginia. Triangulation techniques were used to compare both qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (participatory activities and questionnaires) research. Participatory activities showed that the top home concern of CNAs was money management. CNAs ranked keeping their family healthy fourth (9.6%), and they ranked preparing fast easy meals eighth (1.7%). The top work concern of CNAs was time management. Staying healthy at work ranked fourth (12.9%), while packing a nutritious lunch was sixth (3.4%). The preferred methods of education for the participants were watching videotapes, attending classes at a central location, and having a mentor to help them with their problems. / Master of Science

In spite of decades-long development programs, Lesotho faces an ongoing problem of water insecurity with far- reaching individual and social impacts. The purpose of this research was to understand how women in Lesotho are impacted by the synergistic epidemics, or syndemics, of water insecurity and HIV/AIDS and how they respond to these forces. Little has been done to address how water insecurity, defined in terms of both sufficient amount and quality of water, catalyzes the syndemic impact on the people of Lesotho. Access to safe and reliable sources of water is crucial for all individuals, particularly those who have been affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. First, water is essential for adequate nutrition since it is required for the growing of agricultural products and for the preparation of adequate foods needed to maintain the nutritional health of those already infected with the virus. Second, food and water security is essential for the treatment of AIDS, as the complex drug regimes of anti-retroviral (ARV) medications require reliable and constant access to safe water and nutritious foods to facilitate compliance with medications. This research was also concerned with understanding the psycho-emotional experience of water insecurity. Water insecurity constrained people's ability to effectively care for their families and, as a result, created additional work and stress. Indeed, quantitative findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between water insecurity and psycho-emotional distress, and that water insecurity predicted higher scores on the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25), holding constant socio-economic variables and food insecurity. Water security is dependent on many dimensions from adequate availability, secure access, and having enough water for one's daily needs. However, worry about water safety emerged as an important focus in both the qualitative and quantitative data. Water safety was a noted stress in people's daily lives, and significantly predicted increased scores on the HSCL-25. More broadly, this research theoretically informs critical medical anthropology and development anthropology. While this research was conducted in three villages in the Lesotho lowlands, this research must be contextualized within larger anthropological theory regarding international development and women in relation to it. This research combines several theories used in anthropology, international development, and social geography including political economy and structural violence, post-structuralism and governmentality, and theorizations about space and place to understand how women in Lesotho respond to globalization. Despite the proliferation of the terms participation and participatory development nearly 20 years ago, these constructs remain important in international development. While the ideology of participation originally stems from activist understandings of the role of communities in development, the use of participation has become depoliticized. As opposed to grassroots mobilization and the foregrounding of local realities, participation often means little more than a method for facilitating project implementation. Furthermore, respondents routinely discussed programs coming into communities and leaving without notice or explanation. It is imperative for donor organizations to consider the ethics of sustainability when planning and implementing new programs. In terms of community programs and grassroots organizing, findings from this research indicate that there are many material and social barriers to participation. Understanding not only women's other responsibilities but also the support they may receive from family and friends is important in any discussion of community participation. Many feminist critics of development argue that gender and class considerations have not been meaningfully addressed in policy and development programs. As global feminists argue that development aims should understand the heterogeneity of women worldwide, more research on women's perceptions of their vulnerability and their position in society is needed to inform development. Women in the global South are not passive victims and their views are important in delineating the goals and methods of development plans. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that participation may not always be in women's, or men's, best interest and that often activism and collective organizing may be more subtle than expected. In short, neither globalization nor resistance are complete power is contingent and negotiated, and thus this research reaffirms the importance of ethnography in uncovering the lived experience of globalization, or a critical ethnography of globalization.

Across the world, job insecurity plays a critical role in organisations. This insecurity affects not only the individual, but also the organisation. In South Africa, the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998), and the Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining Industry (Mining Charter), brought changes to the mining industry policies and decision-making process in terms of selection and recruitment, which could in turn lead to feelings of job insecurity. Other factors such as the availability of gold left to be mined, restructuring and strikes increase work-related stress. The objectives of this study were to investigate the role of job insecurity in predicting health related behaviours, and to determine whether coping moderates the effect of job insecurity on health behaviours for a group of managers in a South African gold mining company. A cross-sectional design was used. The study population (n = 206) consisted of managers in a gold mining company in South Africa The Job Insecurity Scale, Cybernetic Coping Scale and Health Complaints Questionnaire were used as measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics (e.g. means, standard deviations and kurtosis) were used to analyse the data. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test for the hypothesized moderating effect of coping on the relation between job insecurity and health-related behaviours. The results of the regression analyses showed that qualitative job insecurity was a significant predictor of health complaints. Qualitative job insecurity was also a significant predictor of health complaints in employees who smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol, and exercised at least once a week. Quantitative job insecurity did not play a role in predicting health-related behaviour. Coping did not moderate the effects of job insecurity for employees with health complaints. Rather, it is suggested that using negative coping behaviours may actually contribute to health complaints. Recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Across the world, job insecurity plays a critical role in organisations. This insecurity affects not only the individual, but also the organisation. In South Africa, the Employment Equity Act (No. 55 of 1998), and the Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining Industry (Mining Charter), brought changes to the mining industry policies and decision-making process in terms of selection and recruitment, which could in turn lead to feelings of job insecurity. Other factors such as the availability of gold left to be mined, restructuring and strikes increase work-related stress. The objectives of this study were to investigate the role of job insecurity in predicting health related behaviours, and to determine whether coping moderates the effect of job insecurity on health behaviours for a group of managers in a South African gold mining company. A cross-sectional design was used. The study population (n = 206) consisted of managers in a gold mining company in South Africa The Job Insecurity Scale, Cybernetic Coping Scale and Health Complaints Questionnaire were used as measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics (e.g. means, standard deviations and kurtosis) were used to analyse the data. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test for the hypothesized moderating effect of coping on the relation between job insecurity and health-related behaviours. The results of the regression analyses showed that qualitative job insecurity was a significant predictor of health complaints. Qualitative job insecurity was also a significant predictor of health complaints in employees who smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol, and exercised at least once a week. Quantitative job insecurity did not play a role in predicting health-related behaviour. Coping did not moderate the effects of job insecurity for employees with health complaints. Rather, it is suggested that using negative coping behaviours may actually contribute to health complaints. Recommendations for future research are made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This thesis focuses on the relations between job insecurity and its consequences by addressing several specific research aims. The first research aim focused on expanding the range of job insecurity consequences by studying the relation between job insecurity and work–family conflict over time. In Study 3 it was found that job insecurity affected work–family conflict one year later among men. The second research aim addressed mechanisms involved in the job insecurity–outcome relations, focusing on factors that might make employees more vulnerable to, or buffer against the negative effects of job insecurity. Coping styles were investigated as potential moderating factors in Study 1, where it was found that problem-focused coping did not function as a buffer, nor did devaluation or avoidance coping. Avoidance coping was actually a vulnerability factor for men, and related to more negative reactions to job insecurity in terms of well-being. Two forms of job dependence as potential moderating factors of the relations between job insecurity and its outcomes were investigated in Study 2. It was found that the relative contribution to the household income functioned as a vulnerability factor for men. Higher levels of work centrality combined with either quantitative or qualitative job insecurity were related to higher levels of job satisfaction among women. Finally, in Study 3, workload was investigated as a mediating variable of the relation between job insecurity and its outcomes, where workload linked job insecurity to work–family conflict one year later among men. The third research aim of this thesis addressed gender, where differences between men and women were found in all three studies. Overall men seemed to suffer more from job insecurity. The results of the thesis confirm the negative impact of job insecurity, but also provide information regarding important areas for future research to study, such as the investigation of mechanisms and the role of gender. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Submitted. Paper 2: Submitted.

L’enquête victimation et sentiment d’insécurité réalisée par l’IAUîdF montre que près d’un francilien sur deux redoute d’être agressé ou volé dans les transports en commun. Basée sur une trentaine d’entretiens réalisés auprès d’étudiants de l’Université Paris 13, cette étude vise à rendre compte des mécanismes de production de ce phénomène social. Deux principaux résultats émergent de cette recherche. On identifie d’abord trois catégories de facteurs à l’origine de l’insécurité personnelle dans les transports collectifs. La première, de nature sociale, insiste sur la perception du risque suscitée par l’isolement et certaines catégories d’usagers. La seconde est liée aux modalités de fonctionnement des transports en commun, dont certaines caractéristiques renforcent la peur des voyageurs. La troisième porte sur l’architecture et plus spécifiquement sur le cloisonnement des espaces et ses différents effets selon le nombre d’usagers. À l’aide du concept de disposition, on propose ensuite une explication aux nombreuses variations individuelles en matière de perception du risque de victimation. On insiste alors sur le passé incorporé des enquêtés, façonné sur la base des expériences menaçantes, des représentations du danger et des caractéristiques individuelles de chacun, pour rendre compte de leurs réactions dans les situations présentes. Cette analyse permet de dégager deux profils d’usagers, chacun subdivisé en trois sous profils. Les sécures d’abord rassemblent les fragiles, les assurés et les tranquilles. Les inquiets ensuite se répartissent entre les vigilants, les protégés et les résistants. / Survey on Victimation et sentiment d’insécurité survey conducted by the Institut d’aménagement et d’urbanisme de la region Île-de-France shows that almost one in two residents of the region feels worried about being robbed or mugged while travelling in public transportation. Based on thirty interviews with Université Paris 13 students, this study examines the mechanism of production of this social phenomenon. Two main results emerge. First, three types of factors leading to the emergence of fear of crime in public transportation are identified. The first is a social factor, relating to how isolation and certain categories of other passengers increase the perception of risk. The second relates to the operations procedures of the public transportation system, some of which reinforce passengers’ fear. The third concerns architecture and, more specifically, the partitioning of spaces and its varying effects depending on the number of passengers. Then, using the concept of disposition, we propose an explanation of the many individual variations in perceived victimization risk. We insist on the past as incorporated by the respondents, shaped by the earlier threats they experienced, by their social and cultural representations of danger and by their individual characteristics, to account for their reactions to the present situations. This analysis leads to the elaboration of two users’ profiles, each subdivided into three sub-profiles. The first are deemed Secures, and include fragile, self-confident and tranquil public transportation users. Worried and is split into the watchful, the protected and the resistant.

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