Browsing by Author "Pretorius, Karla"

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    The effects of hot-deboning on the physical meat quality and microbial quality and safety of ostrich (Struthio camelus) meat
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Pretorius, Karla; Hoffman, Louwrens C.; Gouws, Pieter Andries; Marais, Jeannine; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Agrisciences. Dept. of Food Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to investigate hot-deboning as an alternative excising method for the South African ostrich industry. The majority of research conducted on hot-deboning is on beef (pre-rigor meat), whilst research on the hot-deboning of ostrich meat (post-rigor meat) remains within a limited scope. Fifteen ostriches were used for the study with the muscles hot-deboned (within 90 min post-mortem) from the left leg and cold-deboned (<4°C, 24 h post-mortem) from the right leg. Half of the sixteen hot-deboned muscles’ weights were heavier (p ≤ 0.05) than those cold-deboned. Five ostrich muscles: fan fillet (M. iliofibularis); rump steak (M. iliotibialis lateralis); big drum (M. gastrocnemius, pars interna); moon steak (M. femorotibialis medius) and triangle steak (M. flexor cruris lateralis) were used to establish meat quality at day three post-mortem. The varying ultimate pH (pHu) values between muscles (p = 0.01) were still within the expected range for ostrich meat with the big drum having the highest pHu (means ± standard deviation; 5.95 ± 0.16) linking with its low drip loss percentage (0.90% ± 0.30). The fan fillet had amore red (a* = 13.43 ± 1.21), saturated (Chroma = 16.58 ± 1.61) colour whereas the big drum was more blue (b* = 9.68 ± 1.52), with the lowest colour intensity (hue angle = 35.64 ± 3.79). Concerning Warner-Bratzler shear force values, the fan fillet was the most tender (35.34 N ± 8.26) in contrast with the moon steak (72.23 N ± 15.81) which can be linked to the high cooking loss percentage (37.05% ± 1.90) of the latter muscle. A vacuum packaged ageing trial for 28 d post-mortem (0 - 4°C) was conducted on the above-mentioned five muscles. Hot-deboning did not have an effect on the pHu (p = 0.50). Although a few significant differences in the colour coordinates (CIEL*a*b*, hue angle and Chroma) were found. Neither the cumulative moisture loss nor the cooking loss percentages showed significant differences between the hot- and cold-deboned muscles (p > 0.05). Concerning Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) values, only the hot-deboned rump steak was tougher (p ≤ 0.05) at day 28 post-mortem as compared to cold-deboned with a value that is still considered within the tender meat range (34.74 N vs. 26.55 N). Microbiological analysis conducted on the aforementioned five muscles showed an absence of Salmonella spp. in all hot- and cold-deboned samples. Hot-deboning did not have an effect on the mean Aerobic Counts (AC) nor the Enterobacteriaceae counts over the 28 d ageing period (p ≤ 0.05). Aerobic and Enterobacteriaceae counts for hot- and cold-deboned muscles were however higher in comparison with fresh meat standards used by the ostrich industry; whether this is standard or due to the specific execution of the experiment per se is unclear. Regarding these findings, hot-deboning is deemed a suitable alternative to cold-deboning for the ostrich industry of South Africa.
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    The impact of the presence of a full-time live-in caregiver on the parents of a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University., 2020-03) Pretorius, Karla; Pretorius, Chrisma; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Psychology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects 1 out of 59 children as well as their families across the world. Parents of children diagnosed with ASD have reported various challenges in the search for appropriate support services. These challenges range from a lack of information about the availability of various support services to a paucity of respite from trained professionals. The lack of respite that parents report has a negative impact on the functioning of the family and might lead to demands on resources, such as difficulties in sustaining a successful marriage or partnership due to an increase in stress. Having a full-time live-in caregiver is an example of support and respite that may address the challenges, and ultimately demands, on resources that parents with children diagnosed with ASD report, but there is a paucity of research about this. The aim of this study was therefore to explore the experiences of parents with a child diagnosed with ASD who have employed a full-time live-in caregiver. The focus was on the capabilities and demands that parents experienced related to having a full-time caregiver. The study was qualitative and exploratory in nature. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with individual parents (participants). The semi-structured interviews included specific questions related to the experience of having a child diagnosed with ASD. The interview questions also provided an opportunity for each participant to elaborate on their answers or experiences. A total of 11 participants were interviewed that were all clients of AG, which is a pseudonym for the organisation that formed part of this study. A total of 11 participants were interviewed for the current study.The responses were thematically analysed and the themes that were identified through the thematic analysis were conceptualised according to McCubbin and Patterson’s (1983) Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model. Four main themes were identified through the process of thematic analysis, namely: (1) the experience of the parents (from diagnosis to finding a suitable live-in caregiver), (2) their family functioning, (3) social interaction and independence, as well as (4) support services currently available for their child, diagnosed with ASD.The findings of this study suggest that although participants experience various challenges during the period of needing more support, they were able to utilise the capabilities that a full-time live-in caregiver offered to decrease demands. An overarching theme that emerged throughout the process of data analysis was the value that the consistency of having a full-time live-in caregiver in various environments added to the experience of the participants. The value of this inconsistency was evident in particular through the generalisation of skills and strategies from one environment to another. This study provides a point of departure for future studies to further investigate the effects of full-time caregiving services to the families of children diagnosed with ASD. It is possible that these findings might increase the awareness of the value related to employing a full-time live-in caregiver that might be required for parents and their children diagnosed with ASD. Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, full-time live-in caregiver, capabilities and demands