Responsibility in the Face of Adversity

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-307
Author(s):  
Natasha Arndt ◽  
Luzelle Naudé
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
South African ◽  
Peer Relations ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Black African ◽  
Black South African ◽  
The Face ◽  
Responsibility Education

The aim of this study was to explore Black South African adolescents’ sense of self as it emerges through their direct and indirect environments. Black African adolescents ( N = 57; 52.63% male; 47.37% female) participated in eight focus groups, which were analyzed thematically. The emphasis fell on the interconnectedness and interdependency between individuals and social systems. The importance of family and peer relations, as well as the juxtaposed needs of belonging and separation, was also reiterated. This research highlighted adolescents’ awareness regarding the importance of reciprocity and interdependence in relationships. Not only was the need for having role models articulated, but also for being role models. They were acutely aware of the sacrifices made (especially by their parents) investing in their development, and were feeling responsible for “paying back” (to their family and community). Due to bearing this responsibility, education and scholarship were viewed as essential aspects of adolescents’ sense of self.

Physiological function and neuromuscular recruitment in elite South African distance runners

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy D Noakes ◽  
Yolande XR Harley ◽  
Andrew N Bosch ◽  
Frank E Marino ◽  
Alan St Clair Gibson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Exercise Physiology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Running Economy ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Black Athletes ◽  
Training Environment ◽  
Complex Biological System ◽  
Black African ◽  
Black South African

AbstractPhysiological studies of elite and sub-elite black South African runners show that these athletes are typically about 10–12 kg lighter than white athletes and that they are able to sustain higher exercise intensities for longer than white runners. Such superior performance is not a result of higher V O2max values and hence cannot be due to superior oxygen delivery to the active muscles during maximal exercise, as is predicted by the traditional cardiovascular/anaerobic/catastrophic models of exercise physiology. A marginally superior running economy is also unlikely to be a crucial determinant in explaining this apparent superiority. However, black athletes are able to sustain lower rectal and thigh, but higher mean skin, temperatures during exercise. Furthermore, when exercising in the heat, lighter black athletes are able to maintain higher running speeds than are larger white runners matched for running performance in cool environmental conditions. According to the contrasting theory that the body acts as a complex system during exercise, the superiority of black African athletes should be sought in an enhanced capacity to maintain homeostasis in all their inter-dependent biological systems despite running at higher relative exercise intensities and metabolic rates. In this case, any explanation for the success of East African runners will be found in the way in which their innate physiology, training, environment, expectations and genes influence the function of those parts of their subconscious (and conscious) brains that appear to regulate the protection of homeostasis during exercise as part of an integrative, complex biological system.

How good gets better and bad gets worse: measuring the face of emotion

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 133-143
Author(s):  
Bolanle Adetoun ◽  
Maggie Tserere ◽  
Modupe Adewuyi ◽  
Titilola Akande ◽  
Williams Akande
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Repeated Measure ◽  
Emotional Climate ◽  
African Students ◽  
Black South African ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of

How good gets better and bad gets worse: measuring the face of emotion Given the history of the past, black South African students from different settings face unique academic and emotional climate. Using the Differential Emotions Scale (DES) which focuses on ten discrete emotions, and building upon Boyle's (1984) seminal work, this study reports a repeated-measure multiple discriminant function analysis for individual items across raters. The findings further indicate that majority of the DES items are sensitive indicators of the different innate and universal facial expressions. However, the construct requires revision so that it offers the examiner maximum flexibility in assessment at diverse levels, in terms of more extensive norming and programmatic replication. In brief, the DES potentially has much to offer provided that it is adequately developed for use in non-Western nations or contexts.

scholarly journals Causal and Putative Pathogenic Mutations Identified in 38.6% of Children with Primary SRNS in South Africa

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louansha Nandlal ◽  
Cheryl A. Winkler ◽  
Rajendra Bhimma ◽  
Sungkweon Cho ◽  
George W. Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Exome Sequencing ◽  
South African ◽  
Pathogenic Mutation ◽  
Black African ◽  
Black South African ◽  
African Children ◽  
Pathogenic Mutations ◽  
Whole Exome ◽  
Novel Variants ◽  
Steroid Sensitive

Abstract The aim was to identify causal mutations in genes implicated in steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) within a South African population. We enrolled 119 children with primary NS; 71 SRNS and 48 steroid-sensitive NS. All children with SRNS underwent kidney biopsy. We first genotyped the NPHS2 gene for the p.V260E variant in all NS cases (n= 119) and controls (n= 219). To further identify additional variants, we performed whole-exome sequencing and interrogated ten genes (NPHS1, NPHS2, WT1, LAMB2, ACTN4, TRPC6, INF2, CD2AP, PLCE1, MYO1E) implicated in SRNS/FSGS in 56 SRNS cases and 29 controls; we also performed exome sequencing on two patients carrying the NPHS2 p.V260E mutation as positive controls. The overall detection rate of pathogenic mutations in children with SRNS was 27/70(38.57%): 15(21.43%) carried the NPHS2 p.V260E mutation and 12(17.14%) carried a pathogenic mutation in the heterozygous state in INF2 (n=8), CD2AP (n=3) or TRPC6 (n=1) genes. NPHS2 p.V260E homozygosity was specifically associated with biopsy-proven FSGS, accounting for 23.81% of Black children (15 of 63) with SR-FSGS. No causal mutations were identified in NPHS1, WT1, LAMB2, PLCE1, MYO1E and ACTN4. We report four novel variants in INF2, PLCE1, ACTN4 and TRPC6.Conclusion: The NPHS2 p.V260E mutation is a prevalent cause of SR-FSGS among Black South African children occurring in 23.81% of children with SRNS. Screening all Black African children presenting with NS for NPHS2 p.V260E will provide a precision diagnosis of SR-FSGS and inform clinical management.

scholarly journals Modifiable Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors Trends in Urban Black South African Females and the Implications for Health Promotion Interventions

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Jeanne M. Grace
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
South African ◽  
Sedentary Lifestyle ◽  
Risk Profile ◽  
Risk Status ◽  
Black African ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Chd Risk ◽  
Chd Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Multiple risk factors can contribute to the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) in an individual, yet any change in the modifiable CHD risk status of Black South African females in recent times is unknown.AIM: The researcher aimed to establish the current CHD risk status of urban Black African females and to report on any trends over a 10-year period with the purpose to direct health promotion programs.METHODS: Data from 62 urban Black females (Mean age 32.4 ± 8.5 years) in 2006 was paired for age with that of 67 women (Mean age 32.0 ± 9.0 years) in 2016. The modifiable CHD risk factors assessed were cigarette smoking, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.RESULTS: Physical inactivity (72.6% of the sample in 2006 vs. 75.8% in 2016) and obesity (42% in 2006 vs. 38.8% in 2016) were the top-ranked risk factors for CHD with the pattern unchanged in 2016. Significantly fewer participants (4.5% vs. 16.6%; p < 0.05) were hypertensive and significantly more women had hypercholesterolemia (5.6% vs. 23.9%; p < 0.05) in 2016. The multiple CHD risk profile showed that 42.4% had at least one CHD risk factor (an increase of 25%) and significantly fewer (27.3% vs. 45.2%; p < 0.05) had two CHD risk factors in 2016.CONCLUSION: A sedentary lifestyle and obesity were the highest CHD risk factors. Also, the multiple CHD risk profile of Black African women changed over a period of 10 years from higher to lower and normal risk. Health promotion strategies must be directed towards weight reduction, increasing physical activity levels and be tailored for the population for which the health promotion programs have been designed.

scholarly journals You've Got to Be Real: Authenticity, Performativity and Micro-Celebrity in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Callan Dunn ◽  
Nicky Falkof
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Role Models ◽  
African Women ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Light Skin ◽  
Slender Bodies ◽  
South African Women ◽  
Physical Features

For many young black South African women, the competitive arena of social media offers access to significant social and cultural capital, which can be invaluable in the unequal context in which they live. In order to succeed in this high stakes environment young women carefully construct the identities and idealised selves that they present on platforms like Instagram. They display a lifestyle of glamorous consumption, showcasing exclusive brands and fashionable items and modifying and modelling themselves to fit a beauty ideal that emphasises youth, light skin, slender bodies and straight hair. As well as these physical features, young women on Instagram are also hyper-aware of the need to appear “authentic”: to have their online lives and selves appear natural, easy and free of artifice in order to further enhance their status as role models to other women. This article draws from in-depth interviews with 10 black South African “micro-celebrities.” It reveals the central role of authenticity in these young women's online performances of self, and considers the contradictory impulses that require them to both “feel” and “appear” real. Within the framework of existing hegemonic structures, these women appear to be exercising their freedom as neoliberal citizens within a post-feminist setting. Despite the promises of freedom, however, this article reveals the way in which their performances of selfhood are powerfully constrained by normative ideas about aspiration and success.

Scripting Black African Muslim Presence in South African Islam: A Quest for Self-understanding beyond the Moment of Conversion

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-178
Author(s):  
Tahir Fuzile Sitoto
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Epistemic Closure ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Black African ◽  
Conversion To Islam ◽  
The Moment

What does it mean to be forever framed as a Muslim cultural “Other”? And what kind of epistemic closure does such framing imply? The little that is written (academic and popular) about the Black African Muslim experience and encounter with Islam in South Africa often entraps this sector within the theme of “conversion to Islam”. This essay examines, therefore, the following question: to what extent does the theme and “narrative of conversion” perform a sort of racial coding that unintentionally writes off Black African Muslim identity as less authentic and therefore not fully Muslim? Taking as its data the available literature on the Black African Muslim sector, limited as it is, as well as selected pieces by a Black African Muslim writer and poet, the essay posits a reading that is attentive to Black African Muslim self-understanding, subjectivities and sense of self beyond the moment of conversion.

Reframing Xenophobia in South Africa as Colour-Blind: The Limits of the Afro Phobia Thesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-444
Author(s):  
Amanuel Isak Tewolde
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Conflict Theory ◽  
Black African ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Online Newspaper ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Realistic Conflict Theory

Many scholars and South African politicians characterize the widespread anti-foreigner sentiment and violence in South Africa as dislike against migrants and refugees of African origin which they named ‘Afro-phobia’. Drawing on online newspaper reports and academic sources, this paper rejects the Afro-phobia thesis and argues that other non-African migrants such as Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Chinese) are also on the receiving end of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. I contend that any ‘outsider’ (White, Asian or Black African) who lives and trades in South African townships and informal settlements is scapegoated and attacked. I term this phenomenon ‘colour-blind xenophobia’. By proposing this analytical framework and integrating two theoretical perspectives — proximity-based ‘Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)’ and Neocosmos’ exclusivist citizenship model — I contend that xenophobia in South Africa targets those who are in close proximity to disadvantaged Black South Africans and who are deemed outsiders (e.g., Asian, African even White residents and traders) and reject arguments that describe xenophobia in South Africa as targeting Black African refugees and migrants.

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