No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1991.

This dissertation examines youth consumer culture in South Africa through a case study of cellular phone consumption. The hypothesis is that it is possible to draw some conclusions about identity formation, particularly among young people, by examining how they use cellular phones. Two methods were employed to understand three key research questions regarding the youth (aged 18-25). They were: Why do youth use cellular phones and what gratifications do they experience? From a marketing perspective, what web promotions are in place to target this youth market? How do the youth respond to these messages? The first method utilised a questionnaire investigating young people‟s perceptions, sampled from a group of students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). This objective was to reveal why young people have cellular phones and how they respond to marketed messages encouraging cellular phone consumption. The second method applied a semiotic analysis of the South African oligopolistic cellular networks' websites. This showed how marketers perceive their youth segment and how they harness the Internet as a marketing medium. Significant findings that foster consumption were presented regarding this youth sample. One such finding is that self expression is articulated through consumption. This is particularly evident in the purchasing of cellular phones and airtime and how the purchasing decision reflects the individualisation of self. Further, the importance of social institutions emerged with family instilling or attempting to instil discernment regarding diligent and necessary spending. The opposite is evident with peer pressure influencing unnecessary consumption. Lastly, advertising emerged as a central driver in creating brand awareness and stimulating the consumption of cellular phones and packages amongst this youth segment. Against the research results discussed, relevant literature gave support and further insights into youth consumer culture. This dissertation provides, and concludes with, a deeper understanding into the dynamics of youth and their cellular phone consumption in South Africa, particularly in an area where there has been very little research. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The focus in this project is on the analysis of empirical evidence collected from the #Khomani and Ngwatle communities relating to representation, theories of reflexivity and research methodology, as well as responses to The Healing Land (2001) by Rupert Isaacson, in relation to research methodology, representation and ethical concerns. This project will examine if and how research can be beneficial to the San, and interrogate whether auto-ethnography/reflexivity as research methodology can be used as a way of representing indigenous people in ways that empower them. Films and books often give little indication of how, by whom and for what reasons they were produced, which imposes limitation on the knowledge gained by the reader/viewer. Reflexivity is a methodology that incorporates the producer and the production process into the final product. Reflexivity directs attention to the' process and the power relations involved in constructing cultural texts. Representation of the San Bushmen has had a long history of othering, of perpetuating colonial domination. The "Other is never simply given, never just found or encountered, but made" (Fabian, 1990:755). The application of reflexive methodology could have the potential to undo the perceptions and stereotypes projected by unidimensional films, writing and pop-anthropology which give no indication of/attempt to disguise the relationship between producer, process, product and viewer in the representation of indigenous people. Awareness of the interaction between observer and observed also leads to consideration of ethics, power relations and responsibility of academics and filmmakers towards their subjects. This project discusses encounters in the Kalahari in relation to research methodology, auto-ethnography and representation. The primary text critiqued is Rupert Isaacson's book The Healing Land (2001). The application of reflexivity to my own project incorporates discussion of methodology, the nature of the encounter, and negotiating my own subjectivities. "To be reflexive is to structure a product in such a way that the audience assumes that the producer, the process of making, and the product are a coherent whole. Not only is an audience aware of these relationships, but they are made to realise the necessity of that knowledge" (Ruby, 1977:4). Unrealistic and disempowering representation of the San is related to their political and social marginalisation. This also relates to the issue of responsibility of researchers to the subject communities which are their sources of images and information. The subject communities have certain expectations of academics and filmmakers. If these expectations are not met or fulfilled in some way, the local informants tend to feel that they are being exploited. The San often have unrealistic expectations and are unaware of the differences between profit-making films and research; financial constraints on academics, writers and filmmakers; and the processes by which policy is implemented that prevent their hunger and thirst being immediately alleviated (Tomaselli, 2001a). I attempt to test these kinds of assertions and examine whether there are instances where the San feel that they have benefited from and are satisfied by the encounter, and how the principles allowing for a mutually beneficial encounter can be developed. Thus this project will deal with empowerment and development for the San. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Among the Baliem valley Dani of the central highlands of Irian Jaya, Indonesia, infants play a prominent role in social relations. Infant mortality rates among the Dani are above two hundred and fifty deaths per thousand live births and birth rates are low. To these patterns of infant survival and growth the Dani consistently ascribe complex meaning. Drawing from anthropological research conducted in 1994--1995 in the Baliem valley, this dissertation demonstrates that indigenous meanings about the infant body and assessments of infant health link the infant to political relations within polygynous families, to antagonistic gender relations, and to affiliations with powerful ancestor spirits. Gender relations play a prominent role in explanations about infants. When an infant dies, parents explain the death in ways that reflect the lower social status of women in relation to men. A study of sex ratios during the first year of life and biased use of health services by gender of the infant suggest that the Dani may generate and validate cultural patterns of gender inequality during the earliest months of life. / Infants also play an important role in national politics. In Indonesia's attempts to assimilate indigenous peoples into the country's economic development agenda, the infant appears in health promotions as a member of a contrived ideal family. These national cultural models, grounded in a concern with population control, translate into an applied health agenda for infants that has little impact on the mortality rates of the very young in Dani society. / The infant, though mute, is a powerful figure at the center of many social and political relations. The richness of meaning attributed to infants in the Baliem valley suggests that further research is needed to correct lacunae in anthropological theory about one of life's key social figures.

The nutritional and sociocultural significance of Canada Goose was documented through field research in Wemindji, Quebec and laboratory analyses (proximate composition, trace elements, fatty acids and heavy metals) at McGill University. Consumption of different parts varies by age/gender groups. Cooked flesh samples contained 25.04--36.46 g/100g protein, 6 19--26.35 g/100g fat, 5.58--11.68 mg/100g iron, 2.77--4.81 mg/100g zinc, 4.91--27.59 mg/100g calcium and 0.22--0.75 mg/100g copper. Lung and liver samples contained high amounts of iron (44.24 and 49.18 mg/100g, respectively). Canada goose provides lower amounts of saturated fatty acids and higher amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids as compared to lard. Heavy metal content of Canada goose was found to be very low, with exception of several samples containing high lead levels. Canada goose is a highly valued food, providing important amounts of energy, protein, iron, zinc and copper. This resource also has significance in spiritual, cultural and social life of the Cree.

Nursing students have perceived stress associated with nursing education.The purpose of this descriptive correlational research was to determine if there is a relationship between lifestyle practices and stress among baccalaureate nursing students. The sample consisted of 72 junior and senior level baccalaureate nursing students, which was 69.9% of the 102 questionnaires distributed from three schools of nursing of mid-size universities in the midwest. The procedures for protection of human subjects were followed.Pender's Health Promotion Model (1996) served as the theoretical framework for this study. Healthy lifestyle was examined using Pender's Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile (HPLP). Perceived stress was measured by Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).Findings included student's perceived stress some of the time. The mean for the PSS was 2.14. A healthy lifestyle was determined by a mean of 2.6 on the HPLP. The relationship between healthy lifestyle and perceived stress was significantly negatively correlated at a significant level (r=.4949, p=.001).The HPLP consisted of 6 subscales which measured specific components of a healthy lifestyle. Health responsibility was the first subscale. Overall, students reported never to sometimes seeking a healthcare professional to discuss health concerns or reporting unusual symptoms. Physical activity was subscale number two. Overall, one-fourth to one-third followed a planned exercise program with the same percentage reporting regular exercise. Nutrition was the third subscale. The majority of nursing students sometimes ate a healthy diet with an even larger amount never to sometimes limiting use of foods containing sugar. The fourth subscale was spiritual growth with over 40% feeling connected to some force greater than self Sub scale five was interpersonal relations. Responses to the interpersonal relations subscale indicated that students had support systems in place 80% of the time often to routinely. Stress Management was the sixth subscale of the HPLP. Almost 75% of the nursing students experienced stress and rarely participated in activities to reduce stress.Conclusions were that stress was obvious in nursing education. Stress can be reduced by components of a healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle is a controllable factor in life. Since nursing students are students of health., a healthy lifestyle should be practiced by nursing students. Eating a balanced diet, exercising, and participating in activities to reduce stress are some of the components of a healthy lifestyle.This study was significant because findings provided information about lifestyle and the relationship to perceived stress levels. Since high stress levels may reduce academic performance, and unhealthy lifestyles may increase stress, educational programs could be initiated to reduce stress and improve lifestyle behaviors. Support groups could be instituted to provide a way to support healthy lifestyle and ways to reduce stress.The study has implications for nursing students and nursing faculty. Implications include stress assessment of students and stress management education for students. Nursing faculty must educate students about possible causes of stress and provide ample ways to reduce stress by leading a healthier lifestyle. Nursing students and nursing faculty should lead a life of a health practitioner. / School of Nursing

Particular aspects of contemporary Jamaican culture are revealed as they have been experienced. and perceived by one of its members. Selected events in the life history of a rural Jamaican male are presented and analyzed in terms of his explanations for them and behavioral responses to them. These events also serve as exemplifications or indicators of specific socio-cultural dynamics in Jamaica today. An emphasis is put on economic, ideological, and familial factors generally found in contemporary Jamaica that influenced the perception, attitudes, and behaviors of the subject.

Since the arrival of Robert and Helen Lynd to Muncie, Indiana, in the 1920s, Muncie has perhaps become the most studied city. The Lynds, who referred to Muncie as "Middletown," produced two studies on the city looking at sociological topics. In the 1970s, Theodore Caplow and a team of researchers reproduced the study with Middletown residents to create Middletown III. A recent, still unpublished, Middletown IV was conducted in the city again by Caplow's group in 1999.Yet in all of these years of studies and through all of the attention the studies received in various media, the human side of Muncie has been neglected. There have been no articles written about the people behind the statistics, the very citizens who make up Muncie. Nor has much elaboration been done concerning the geographic class divide that the Lynds first identified in the 1920s.For these reasons, four families were sought to be profiled in-depth concerning the same topics that were presented in the Middletown studies: work, education, family, religion, and leisure and community activities. They were also asked for their opinions on Muncie as a community. To characterize the existence or prove the nonexistence of the geographic class division in the city, two families were selected from each side of town using Indiana 32/Jackson Street as the division between north and south Muncie.Though the four families are only a very small part of the population in Muncie, together they fulfilled most of the Middletown studies' findings, including that there is indeed a division between north and south Muncie. / Department of Journalism

This dissertation is a descriptive study of speech acts encoded in Kirundi marriage transactional discourse and the strategies used by the participants to encode them and attempts to understand the interrelationships between the speech acts and the strategies.Chapter 1 states the objectives and describes the data to be studied and the approach to go about it. Chapter 2 provides the reader with some background information on Burundian society and culture in the area of matrimony.Chapter 3 explores the conversation activities and the management of the interactions between the interactants in the sociocultural context of marriage transactions. Formality participation status are discussed and shown to be crucial factors for the semantic and pragmatic interpretation of the participants' verbal contributions. Chapter 4 investigates the nature and the function of the speech acts performed by the interactants. The speech act identification and categorization are based on the social aspects of linguistic action and on the conventionality and contextuality of discourse. Chapter 5 inquires into the strategies applied by the interactants to encode and decode them. Chapter 6 is a summary and conclusion. / Department of English

The purpose of this study is to reinterpret the influence of domestic ideology on middle-class Anglo women during westward migration using the Oregon Trail as a case study. By analyzing traditional cultural constructs which portrayed women as "reluctant drudges" or " stoic helpmates," a new paradigm for trail women emerged. The inculcated tenets of domesticity, comprised of a domestic routine and a values system, seemed to have equipped women with domestically-related role identities, and thus facilitated the accommodation of these women to the challenges of trail life. In addition, this ideology served as the basis for establishing relationships with Native American women, for Anglo women recognized similaritiesbetween the domestic routine of Native Americans and themselves. Finally, shared domestic chores and values enabled Anglo women to develop non-competitive, mutually beneficial relationships with each other, in contrast to the often competitive nature of interaction between men. / Department of History