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Instagram and male body image: an in-depth study of perceptions surrounding Instagram-related body ideals amongst gym-going, male students at Rhodes University.

  • Authors: Nikiforos, Declyn Michael Costa
  • Date: 2024-04-03
  • Subjects: Instagram (Electronic resource) , Body image in men South Africa Makhanda , College students Attitudes , Rhodes University , Disciplinary power , Social comparison theory
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/434584 , vital:73087
  • Description: Guided by the disciplinary power and social comparison theories, this study sought to explore the perceptions of Instagram-related male body ideals amongst young, gym-going men enrolled at Rhodes University. Seven in-depth interviews were conducted, and the responses suggested that Instagram use shaped young men’s body-related perceptions in a variety of complex ways. The findings suggested that Instagram exposed users to a lean and muscular body ideal and that perceptions of this ideal were shaped by factors such as Instagram’s positivity bias, the age of users, and the exposure to the idealised bodies of fitness influencers. Furthermore, perceptions of Instagram’s male body ideal were influenced by context. Black South Africans that attended majority white high schools were more likely to conform to the male body ideals associated with their school environment. In such instances, individuals rejected the body norms associated with their ethnic backgrounds in lieu of striving for a lean and muscular body. Additionally, perceptions of body dissatisfaction were evident in cases where upward social comparisons were made with unrealistic male body ideals. Conformity to Instagram’s male body ideal also suggested that male users were subjected to a coercive form of power that resulted in their active participation in the reproduction of male body ideals. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2024
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The prevalence of alcohol use disorders among university students in developing countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

  • Authors: Ndlovu, Philani
  • Date: 2023-10-13
  • Subjects: College students Alcohol use Developing countries , Prevalence , College students Conduct of life , College students Attitudes , Alcohol Physiological effect
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425019 , vital:72202
  • Description: High alcohol misuse is associated with many challenges, including (a) unsafe sex, problems with the criminal justice system, absenteeism, academic failure, death, injury, and alcohol related harm, both in the developing and developed world. Despite the above, no meta-analysis had been conducted in the literature to comprehensively study the prevalence of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) amongst university students in the developing world. This study reviewed literature related to AUDs among university students in developing countries. It described the concept of AUD and the harmful effects of excessive alcohol use, including biological, cognitive, psycho-social, and economic impacts on the individual and the family. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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“It’s not just me on a video call with someone…” Students’ experiences of a forced transition from face-to-face psychotherapy to online psychotherapy during COVID-19: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

  • Authors: Keet, Nicole Tahnee
  • Date: 2023-03-30
  • Subjects: Online therapy , COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Influence , Interpretative phenomenological analysis , Psychologists Training of , College students Attitudes
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/408845 , vital:70531
  • Description: The aim of this study is to explore university students’ experience of a forced transition from face-to-face therapy to online therapy during COVID-19. This pandemic was unexpected and affected all areas of life, including the closure of universities, which left therapists and clients alike unsure of how to navigate these unchartered territories. Although there is a considerable amount of international research on experiences of online therapy, there is little research on a forced transition to online therapy because of COVID-19 and even less within the South African context. A sample of six participants between the ages of 20 and 30 years old were selected through purposive and convenience sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was utilised to ascertain how participants make sense of their worlds in relation to the transition to online therapy. The analysis provided three main superordinate themes, which are supported by subordinate themes. The superordinate themes are: 1) Online therapy as authentic and continuous, where the participants experienced the comfort and convenience of online therapy, the continuity of care and the anonymity of online therapy. 2) Online therapy as disruptive and invasive, where participants experienced issues with privacy, an intrusive environment, technological challenges, lack of body language and therapy feeling more disposable. 3) Getting used to online therapy with some help from the therapist, where participants felt an adjustment period was necessary as well as transparency and containment from the therapist to help with the transition. These findings support some existing South African literature; however, it also engages with findings unique to this study, that will hopefully be used for further exploration. The study ends with recommendations for training therapists on using online therapy. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2023
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Profiling Rhodes University students’ substance use during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown: comparing the AUDIT and CCAPS-62 substance abuse sub-scale

  • Authors: Goosen, Jeslyn Chrismaré
  • Date: 2022-10-14
  • Subjects: College students Substance use South Africa Makhanda , College students Alcohol use South Africa Makhanda , College students Mental health South Africa Makhanda , College students Attitudes , College students Economic conditions , COVID-19 (Disease) , Rhodes University
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/405974 , vital:70224
  • Description: Students are vulnerable to academic distress and mental health concerns. Many struggle to effectively cope with the many demands placed on them from various factions; included but not limited to institutional demands, financial concerns, and parental expectations. With the most recent outbreak of the SARS-Co V-2 (better known as the COVID-19 pandemic) many students have struggled to effectively cope with the changes relating to the nationwide lockdown. Universities had to change the way in which they provide students with the necessary academic material, and many had to return to their familial homes. This had a deleterious effect on the way students performed their daily activities and coping. A rise in impaired mental health was noted. Many students used alcohol as a means of coping during this tumultuous and unprecedented time. Undergraduate students at Rhodes University were asked to complete a survey questionnaire via SurveyMonkey, an online survey service. Data was collected over a ten-day period during July 2020. The AUDIT and the CCAPS-62 Substance Use subscale were used to measure their alcohol intake during lockdown and results was compared. Results indicated a significant positive correlation between the CCAPS-62 substance use subscale and the AUDIT (r = 0.80, n = 930, p < 0.01). Outcomes identified that men tend to drink more than females, and white students tend to drink more than black students. Findings suggests that the CCAPS-62 a multidimensional instrument measuring general distress among students could positively contribute to the reliability and validity of the measure used in a multicultural and multilingual society such as South Africa. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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Be more than a bystander, break the silence on violence: a discursive analysis of student responses to anti-rape poster campaigns

  • Authors: Skae, Shannon Lalla Rookh
  • Date: 2022-04
  • Subjects: Women Violence against South Africa , Women college students Violence against South Africa , Women college students Abuse of South Africa , College students Attitudes , Sex crimes Prevention , Anti-rape movement South Africa , Bystander effect South Africa , Rape culture South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's thesis , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232866 , vital:50033
  • Description: University students are a population vulnerable to sex and gender-based violence (SGBV). The use of alcohol is prominent in university life and is argued to contribute significantly to SGBV in South Africa and worldwide. Interventions to reduce SGBV at South African universities are thus a relevant social concern. One increasingly popular approach to addressing SGBV on university campuses is the bystander intervention. The bystander intervention goes to the cause of SGBV by targeting peer acceptance as the primary foundation supporting rape; arguing that witnesses to SGBV can be empowered to interrupt potential SGBV situations. The aim of this thesis was to investigate student responses to anti-rape intervention campaigns of various kinds. Different theories were examined, and this research then proceeded from a social constructionist theoretical perspective, which was relevant as it is about what individuals say, the societies formed, the rules made, the language used to pass on knowledge and the interactions experienced with others and how they all form the reality people inhabit. The study focused on the individual constructions and talk about the posters and the discursive positions he or she took up in relation to them, which is what social constructionism is interested in, as it is concerned with the language and talk people use and how these are molded by society. Forty five student volunteer participants were shown two examples of anti-rape poster campaigns (one using the bystander approach and the other not), and were asked to respond to a structured open-ended questionnaire. Responses to the questionnaire were subjected to Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA). The analysis revealed the ways in which the constructions of sexual violence, perpetrators and victims in the poster campaigns shaped and limited participant responses and talk about SGBV in different ways, according to which of the two posters were being responded to. Key findings of this study showed that the bystander intervention poster produced more positive change in response to dominant discursive constructions in relation to the SGBV poster than did the non-bystander intervention poster. This means the establishment of the potential for success of the bystander intervention in helping to prevent SGBV in a South African context. , Thesis (MA) -- Humanities, Psychology, 2022
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Academic distress & disordered eating in students during the Covid-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study at a South African university

  • Authors: Du Toit, Mae
  • Date: 2021-10-29
  • Subjects: COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020- Influence , Eating disorders , College students Attitudes , College students Mental health , Stress (Psychology)
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192626 , vital:45244
  • Description: University students are at risk for reduced mental wellbeing, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and among the most common problems experienced are academic distress and eating concerns. Through a stress-coping model lens, a link between academic distress and disordered eating in student populations appears possible but has not previously been explored. The present study examines this relationship in a South African undergraduate sample. Data were collected during the Covid-19 pandemic using a cross-sectional, correlational survey design and the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS). The results of a multiple regression analysis indicate that academic distress most strongly predicts eating concerns, followed by the demographic variables of female gender and black racial identification. This novel finding suggests that academic institutions should consider the broader academic environment as point of intervention for the prevention and treatment of disordered eating in students. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 2021
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An evaluation of the impact of the Rhodes University Master of Education in Mathematics Education Programme in Namibia from the perspectives of its graduates

  • Authors: David, Johannes
  • Date: 2021-10-29
  • Subjects: Master of education degree Namibia , Rhodes University. Department of Education , Mathematics Study and teaching , Critical thinking , Master of education degree Evaluation , Career development Namibia , Educational change Namibia , College students Attitudes
  • Language: English
  • Type: Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191942 , vital:45181
  • Description: Rhodes University (RU) has been offering a MEdME (Masters in Education, Mathematics Education) degree in Namibia for over 12 years without evaluating its success and impact. This study aimed to evaluate the MEdME programme’s impact on the graduates and on mathematics education in Namibia from the perspectives of its graduates. The study also evaluated the factors that enabled or limited the impact of the programme from the perspective of RU staff members. A three-phased research study was implemented to achieve this. Phase I was a MEdME theses audit to analyze what each graduate researched which then guided the sampling process. Phase II was a distribution of a questionnaire to willing MEdME graduates to elicit their views about the programme's impact. In Phase III, selected graduates were interviewed to follow up on the questionnaire. The RU academic staff members were also interviewed about the programme's design and rationale, as well as their perspectives on its impact on graduates' professional lives. The study found that graduates believed that the programme made them more critical reflexive practitioners (CRPs) who: are now self-introspective, can reflect in context and are competent researchers. This is a sign of the programme attaining its objectives of developing and growing CRPs and graduates, who have advanced in their fields, including their ability to do research. The programme also created opportunities for graduates to study further and/or publish papers. The programme further opened up opportunities for graduates’ promotion into positions of influence in the Ministry of Education where they can positively impact on mathematics education transformation in Namibia (METN). The graduates consequently noticed improvements in some areas but they also noticed room for improvement in other areas of mathematics education in Namibia. This study therefore suggests that more mathematics teachers study further, improve their research capacity and contribute more to METN. The study also suggests a national campaign to increase mathematics teachers' content knowledge. Furthermore, the programme should reintroduce coursework to address students’ subject content knowledge. RU is also advised to explore offering a Professional MEd in Namibia for students who want to focus more on improving their mathematics content knowledge. It is also proposed that Namibia establish a research bank where researchers can upload their theses for wider dissemination. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2021
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Negotiating shame: An exploration of the body experience among young South African women who have attended or are attending University

  • Authors: Spyker, Jessica Grace
  • Date: 2021-10-29
  • Subjects: Shame , Body image in women , Body image Social aspects , College students Social conditions , College students Attitudes , Feminist aesthetics , Self-perception in women
  • Language: English
  • Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/294880 , vital:57265
  • Description: Guided by phenomenological and feminist phenomenological perspectives, this research aimed to explore the ways in which young South African women, who were attending or had recently graduated from university, navigated body shame. It interrogated the socially situated ‘lived body’ and the way it was impacted by restrictive appearance ideals. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted, mostly through the video conferencing website Zoom. It became evident that women experienced their bodies in complex ways. There was evidence of conformity to as well as resistance against the “regime of shame”. Conformity and resistance often happened simultaneously. Both of these kinds of experiences were viewed as valid and explored in their own right. External messages around women’s bodies and how they should look had greatly influenced participants experiences of their own bodies. This included messages from discourses such as postfeminism and the body positivity movement, which informed the ways in which they navigated shame. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Sociology, 2021
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An exploratory study of students’ expectations and perceptions of service quality in a South African higher education institution

  • Authors: Williams, Alyssa Shawntay
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: SERVQUAL (Service quality framework) , Relationship marketing , Consumer satisfaction , Sampling (Statistics) , College students Attitudes , Universities and colleges South Africa
  • Language: English
  • Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MCom
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63844 , vital:28496
  • Description: Within the past few years, higher education institutions have come under an exorbitant amount of pressure to restructure, increase funding and grow student numbers, whilst still preserving the service quality they offer. The purpose of this study is to measure students’ expectations and perceptions in a higher education institution and establish how significant of a gap exists between what is expected and what is perceived. The instrument utilised within the present study is SERVQUAL. A convenience sampling approach was adopted, furthermore, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data pertaining to the objectives concerning students’ gap between expectations and perceptions and hypotheses regarding the gap between students’ differences in each faculty, respectively. The study found that there were gaps in all dimensions with the order being, from highest to lowest: Reliability – Responsiveness – Assurance – Empathy – Tangibility. In addition, the significant difference in means according to faculty was established and the only dimension with a significant difference was Empathy. These results were used to offer recommendations to management, faculties and departments of the higher education institution under study about where they are deficient, consequently, improving their services to enhance their service quality and increase their competitive advantage but without financial strain. Overall, the conclusions the present study reached was that students and higher education institutions need to have a mutual interest in their relations. This means that as much as higher education institutions need to provide high service quality to students, students need to be willing to provide feedback and interact.
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The changing face of Rhodes University: exploring aspects of visuality, sexuality and protest between the apartheid and postapartheid periods

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