The past few decades have witnessed unprecedented changes increase in the numbers of ethnic minorities in our Nations' public schools. Due to changes in demographic scene of our country, serious concerns have been raised with regards to mental health and academic achievement of school-age children from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The major purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between a set of psychological well-being variables (life satisfaction, self-esteem, and ethnic identity), mental health (depression), intergroup interactional competence, and academic achievement. A total number of 131 subjects in grades 9th through 12th were sampled to participate in the study. All sampled subjects came from low social economic status families of Mexican-American ethnic background. Seven measures were administered to each student in small groups of 10-12 students each. These measures have been found to have adequate reliability and validity in previous studies (Suzuki-Crumly & Hyers, 2004). However, the reliability of all the measures was also assessed in this study and was found to be in the moderate to high range. Implications of the study as well as recommendations for future research in this area are discussed.

The Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) focuses on measuring the process of change experienced by teachers involved in the implementation of new curriculum materials and/or instructional practices, and how interventions by change facilitators affect that process (Anderson, 1997). The purpose of this mixed-methods study was twofold: 1) identify peak concerns of teachers currently implementing Project/Problem Based Learning (PBL), and 2) determine if a two-week professional development program on PBL resolved teachers' concerns. Results indicated that regardless of the years teachers were associated with the innovation, concerns requiring more information about PBL and how it would affect them personally were present. In addition, concerns of teachers were resolved after completing the two-week professional development designed to administer to those concerns.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The purpose of the study was to come up with recommendations that would improve condom use in men in the Dikgatlong Sub-district in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Although condom use in this province followed the national tendency in South Africa of an increase in condom use amongst men of all age groups, men from the Northern Cape had the lowest prevalence of condom use amongst men in South Africa. The research methodology used was qualitative, descriptive and consensus seeking in design. The nominal group technique was used to collect data from men who were recruited from the primary health care facilities and from schools in the Dikgatlong Sub-district. An exploratory study was conducted to test the relevance and the clarity of the question. The study consisted of two nominal groups of older men (49 years and above) and two nominal groups of younger men (18-24 years). Atrained facilitator from the University of the Free State conducted the nominal group discussions. This structured interview technique allowed prioritizing recommendations proposed by participants as to how to improve condom use amongst men in the Dikgatlong Sub-district. Data obtained during the interviews was analysed according to the steps proposed by van Breda and categories and themes identified according to the steps proposed by Tesch. The categories identified were client education, quality assurance, attitude, communication and availability of condoms. The category, client education was further divided into the following themes: content, strategy, responsibility and target group. The category, quality assurance had two themes namely, manufacturing and cost. Whereas the category attitude had one theme namely, change. The category communication had one theme namely, interpersonal. The last availibility category had also one theme namely, sites. Trustworthiness of the data was supported by upholding the criteria of credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability. Recommendations from the study were ordered according to the identified categories and themes. Briefly the results indicated that parents, community leaders, educators and the Department of Health in collaboration with other governmental departments have role to play in encouranging the sexual behavioural change in men. Policies and guidelines regarding the use and distribution of condoms were found to be available and should reach the community. The results of the study will be forwarded to the Department of Health in the Northern Cape and the implementation of these recommendations will be in their hands.

Midwives, in the absence of medical practitioners are the most readily available health professionals to render care in Primary and Community Health Care settings. After obtaining a qualification in Advanced Midwifery and Neonatology, midwives should be placed and utilized in areas where they can use their competencies for the benefit of the mother and the baby. The aim of this study was to describe the practice of advanced midwives including their placement and utilization. A non-experimental and descriptive design was used. After a thorough literature analsis as well as a focus group discussion was done, a questionnaire for data collection was compiled. The data was collected after approval was obtained from the relevant roleplayers as well as from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Science from the local University. The population consisted of all (178) practicing advanced midwives who trained at the University of the Free State during 1995-2007. No sampling was done and 178 questionnaires were distributed to the practicing advanced midwives. Sixty nine questionnaires were returned (39% return rate) and analysed. The findings indicated that only 13 (n=13, 19%) of advanced midwives were placed and utilized correctly. Advanced midwives that were not placed and utilized correctly expressed a loss of self-confidence, lack of support and a lack of recognition. They also reported an inability to demonstrate their expertise in practice due to inappropriate placement and utilization. Nurse academics and Advanced midwifery Practitioners should publish research articles in Health Sciences Journals to make their competencies known. That might ensure that they are recognized by their colleagues and given the opportunity to practice what they have trained for.

Not available

A dearth of literature exists surrounding the sport of Body Building. Anecdotally, when preparing for a competition, most elite body builders in South Africa will go through two totally different phases of training and dieting. The first phase is the bulking- or weight-gaining phase. During this phase, a structured diet with high carbohydrate component and moderate to high fat content will be followed for several months. During the weight-gaining phase, Androgenic-Anabolic Steroid (AAS) substances are used in moderately high doses compared to the pre-contest period. The second phase of training and dieting, is called the pre-contest preparation phase. This is a very intense phase of high volume training that usually starts about 16-13 weeks from the time of the competition. During this phase, extremely strict, structured diets are followed, with each meal being weighed. During the pre-contest phase, a multitude of chemical substances are used to enhance the desired physique â this strategy of using combinations of different classes of drugs, is called âstackingâ. This will be the period with the highest AAS substance milligram usage per week. Very little current information on the profile of these athletes is available to the South African Medical Community, especially the Sports Medicine Community. There exists only a small body of knowledge in the literature on the dosing protocols abused by these athletes and the side effects they incur. Little is known of the usage of high dose AAS amongst the elite, competitive South African Body Building population and the possible side effects. A rare opportunity was presented to the author to study a group of elite level body builders during the 2010 competitive season. Obtaining participants for this cohort was difficult as these athletes form part of a very secluded group of sportsmen. Though the present cohort was disadvantaged in small cohort size, the opportunity to study such a group in depth will not be readily repeated. This is a novice study â to present, no similar study has been conducted in South Africa. All the athletes registered with the International Federation of Body Building South Africa were invited to participate in the study. Interested volunteers were asked to contact the researcher. More than 200 invitations were sent out to the existing database â only 19 athletes conveyed their interest in participation. Eventually, only 14 athletes partook in the full protocol. Blood assays were performed on each athlete on 3 different occasions, while anthropometric measurements and blood pressure readings were taken on 4 different occasions over the length of the competitive season. Each individual athlete recorded his AAS abuse, while some athletes provided sample diets as well. Data was captured on Excel spread sheets and forwarded to Department of Biostatistics, University of the Free State, South Africa. Along with the concomitant abuse of high doses of AAS over extended periods, the present study also found: - Minimal changes in blood pressure - Initial decrease in lean mass, followed by rapid increase in lean mass in just one week and failure to maintain that gain over the following weeks - Disturbed carbohydrate metabolism with increased risk for pre-diabetic status - Lipid profile changes, with decreased HDL, unchanged Total Cholesterol and decreased LDL - Liver enzyme changes highly suggestive of AAS-driven adverse effects - Hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism status - Very high Androgen Status for the cohort with mean total AAS abuse per week measuring 1638,3 mg, with average AAS cycle lengths of 17.43 weeks. In conclusion, it should be noted that the present studyâs cohort differed vastly from cohorts from other studies in the literature, as none of the latter observed cohorts under full pre-contest preparation conditions. It should also furthermore be understood that body builders under full pre-contest preparation will respond differently to the use of special diets, different training strategies and different types of AAS abused, than compared to when they train under normal out-of season conditions. The author recommends that sports physicians should continuously target their efforts at counselling adolescents and other athletes about the potential long-term harms of AAS abuse, as well as regularly and prudently follow-up on the potential adverse effects that may develop in current AAS abusers. The author further recommends that, if an opportunity to study such a secluded group of body builders would present itself again, it should be immediately fully utilised.

Shortboard surfing continues to increase in popularity. In South Africa, surfing is not yet truly a profession. Successful u/20 surfers are rewarded with lucrative sponsorships, prize money and selection for national surf teams. For many competitive u/20 surfers, their ultimate goal is to qualify for the lucrative World Qualifying Series (WQS) and World Championship Tour (WCT). The competitive junior surfer and his support team (family, coach, and sponsors) invest a lot of time, commitment and money in striving for success. Whilst the u/20 surfer strives for quality water time in all conditions, he will benefit should his support staff be well informed about mental skills and nutrition. The aim of this research was to identify variables which can influence the surferâs ability to perform consistently at a higher level of competition. Past research in surfing has shown that, although smaller in stature than other elite sportsmen, physical traits in surfing are less important than mental skills and correct nutrition. 107 Surfers entered in the 2008 Billabong Junior Series of 5 contests around South Africa. 41 Of these surfers participated in this research. Their anthropometric variables namely height, mass, body density, body mass index and % fat were recorded. Waist to hip, chest to waist and chest to hip ratios were measured. The Ottawa Mental Skills Assessment Tool was used to assess mental skills and a 24 hour dietary recall questionnaire was completed. The main findings were that with a shorter stature, the surfers chose a sport which suited their physique best. The mental skills of commitment self-confidence and goal setting scored high, but stress reactions and refocusing skills were poor. At the contest venues, the food and fluid available determined their diet. They had no definite pre heat, inter heat or post heat eating plans. We concluded that mental skills and correct nutrition are two factors which a competitive surfer can utilize to improve their surfing performance. We recommend that a 12 variable progressive forward discriminant analysis be applied to talent identification in surfing, as also to identify and to improve necessary skills which are lacking in the competitive u/20 surfer.

None

Objectives: Rugby union is a contact sport with a high injury rate. The tackle situation in rugby union is the cause of most injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate biomechanical aspects of the tackle in professional rugby to identify possible mechanisms of injury in the tackle. From this recommendations can be made to make the tackle safer. Methods: Video material from six Super 14 rugby matches involving the Cheetahs was analysed. The number of tackles (20) resulting in injury to a player was reported and nine further associated factors explored by determining differences using 95% confidence intervals. Significance was set at p = 0.05 and calculated from the proportional number of injuries from each category relative to the total number of tackles made. An odds ratio was calculated to determine practical significance where clinical significance could not be found. A total number of 744 tackles were analysed which occurred during 480 minutes of rugby accounting for 7200 player minutes. Results: From the 744 tackles that were made or received, 20 (2.7%) tackles resulted in injury, accounting to 167 tackle injuries per 1000 player match hours. The study found that significantly more injuries (p = 0.048) were sustained by tacklers performing a tackle in the attacking 22m compared to the other field positions. Most of the tackles occurred in Channel 2+ (n = 622, 83.6%) which resulted to the vast majority of tackles occurring in this game situation. Seventeen (85.0%) of the 20 injuries were sustained during Channel 2+ play, of which 13 (65.0%) ball carriers and 4 (20.0%) tacklers were injured. This had an odds ratio with practical significance. The body part hit in the tackle was often not the body part injured. Muscle contusions were the most common type of injury. Conclusions: A high incidence of tackle injuries was recorded. The tackle remains the most dangerous phase of play in rugby union. Different biomechanical aspects occur in the tackle that contribute to injury. The field position where a tackle takes place was found to be an important risk factor in the cause of injury. Front-on tackles and high impact vectors are associated with increased injury rates. The channel of play was also an important area where ball carriers sustained injuries. Factors influencing the tackle situation in certain areas of the field and certain channels of play can be made safer by placing emphasis on mental coaching, composure in pressure situations and maintaining the correct playing and tackle techniques to prevent tackle injuries in these areas and channels of play. Further research on these aspects is recommended.