Thesis--Copenhagen University. / Summary in Danish. Includes index. Bibliography: p. 139-162.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1965. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-106).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992. / Also available in print.

E-&ndashcadherin (CDH1) is a cell adhesion molecule that coordinates key morphogenetic processes regulating cell growth, cell proliferation and apoptosis. Loss of CDH1 is a trademark of the cellular event epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), which increases the metastatic potential of malignant cells. PTEN is a tumor suppressor gene commonly mutated in many human cancers, including endometrial cancer. In the mouse uterus, ablation of Pten induces epithelial hyperplasia, leading to endometrial carcinomas. However, loss of Pten alone does not affect longevity until around 5 months. Similarly, conditional ablation of Cdh1 alone does not predispose mice to cancer. We characterized the impact of dual Cdh1 and Pten ablation using Pgr-Cre (Cdh1d/d Ptend/d) in the mouse uterus. We observed that Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice died at postnatal day 15-&ndash19 with massive blood loss from their reproductive tract (abnormal metrorrhagia) with prevalent vascularization in both the endometrium and myometrium. Their uteri were abnormally structured with curly horns, disorganized epithelial structure, and increased cell proliferation. Co-&ndashimmunostaining of KRT8 and ACTA2 showed invasion of epithelial cells into the myometrium. Further, the uteri of Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice had prevalent vascularization in both the endometrium and myometrium. We also observed reduced expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors, loss of cell adherens and tight junction molecules (CTNNB1 and claudin), as well as activation of AKT in the uteri of Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice. However, complex hyperplasia was not found in the uteri of Cdh1d/d Ptend/d. Collectively, these findings suggest that ablation of Pten with Cdh1 in the uterus accelerates cellular invasiveness and angiogenesis, and causes early death. Thus, this model does not allow sufficient time for the emergence of advanced, clinically over aggressive endometrial tumorigenesis and metastasis. Additionally, we looked at a new Cre system to ablate Pten and Cdh1 only in the epithelial cells of the uterus. Sprr2f, an estrogen dependent gene that is found highly expressed in the uterus, helps with structure and barrier function of epithelial cells. Prg-Cre turns on at postnatal day 3-5 before development of the uterus; whereas, Sprr2f-Cre is active around 3 weeks which is after uterine development. We have driven the ablation of Cdh1d/d Ptend/d using the Sprr2f-Cre. The Sprr2f-Cre Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice successfully lived to 2 months. The Sprr2f-Cre Ptend/d mice displayed hyperplastic epithelial cells, most prominently in the glandular like structures of the uterus. Lack of cellular structure was observed in the Sprr2f-Cre Cdh1d/d Ptend/d mice. We also developed a model of orthotopic tumor transplantation to study further tumor development including cell invasion, dissemination and metastasis. The uteri of control, Cdhd/d, Ptend/d and Cdhd/d Ptend/d mice were collected and dissected to approximately ~1 mm in diameter. Then, the tissue fragments were orthotopically implanted into the uterine wall (endometrium) of wild-type syngeneic host mice. We have observed successful implantation and sustainability of the tissue through this technique. The tissue viability was successfully verified by implanting donor uterine pieces under the kidney capsule of recipient wild type mice. This study has shown that the ablation of Cdh1 and Pten in the mouse uterus initiates a more aggressive form of type I endometrial carcinoma when using Pgr-Cre as well as Sprr2f-Cre. However, neither conditional ablation approaches allowed us to fully observe the progression of the carcinoma to a metastatic disease. Our intrauterine endometrial/myometrial implantation technique proved to be an incomplete method to further study the metastatic potential of the PgrCre/+ Cdh1f/f Ptenf/f mice.

Since the mid-2000s, there has been a significant increase in female directors in Japan. Organized around the central feature of this emerging wave, this dissertation is a multifaceted project that combines historical research with reception studies, industry studies, gender studies, and formal analysis of films and marketing paratexts. In exploring the connections between film production, reception, exhibition, and auteur personas, I argue that the recent emergence of women into commercial cinema is fueled by gendered marketing tactics that seek to target contemporary female consumers. This focused gendering of auteur, product, exhibition space, and presumed spectator is changing the landscape of cinema in Japan, a process some refer to as "feminization." My dissertation rethinks the history of Japanese cinema with regards to the relationship between filmmakers as gendered bodies, distribution companies and marketing as patriarchal power structures, and the capital wielding demographic of female spectators as influential, but often neglected, consumers. / 2015-07-11

The research in this thesis (composed of a written element, audio documents and a live performance) focuses on the relationship of the female speaking voice to her own body and others’ bodies within the particular temporality of performance space. Arguing that the female voice can be theorised as a resistant theatre material, which through its volatile nature can escape attempts at control, the work here develops practical strategies and methods for discovering how the voice eludes any easy identification or ownership as part of a feminist agenda. Following Michelle Duncan who writes that ‘voice puts matter into circulation, matter that is more, or other than language,’ the research undertaken investigates how this matter can be manipulated in performance so that the sound material of the voice makes meaning. Concentrating on how a female body might ‘handle’ the voice as matter, with the body in question being both performer of voice, and director/designer of voice, the work develops a methodology of the “auditorcomposer,” the female body who speaks through careful listening to others’ voices. Introducing the model of the auditor-composer through a rethinking of the character of Ophelia, both the practical and textual research undertaken then investigate how bodies compose through longdistance time and space, activating the return of past voices to reverberate in the present. Animating and patterning elements of the theoretical projects of Gina Bloom and Elin Diamond and using Gertrude Stein as a theorist of motion and return, the research argues that the material movement of sound happens in the continuous present, and as such the single voice cites many voices in the action of its live sounding

The study investigates female empowerment through online entrepreneurship on Taobao in Chinese society, from female entrepreneurs’ individual perspectives. Thus, the study is positioned in the dynamic e-commerce landscape of China.   This small-scale case study has been conducted, which involves 14 female online storeowners on Taobao. Online female entrepreneurs constitute the base of this study, and share their accounts of the dramatic changes in their lives after they initiated their online businesses. The entire study departs from their actual experiences and opinions, which provide multiple perspectives, so as to garner further insights into the dominant research of female empowerment within the context of e-commerce. Their actual experiences and accounts are interpreted and examined, based primarily on Sen’s capability approach, while their actual capabilities and functionings are evaluated, based on the selected aspects of their situations.   This study claims that even though the female online storeowners believe they have a higher autonomy in managing their time and household duties, and an ability to act according to their will to achieve what they desire, the female online storeowners still do not regard themselves as entrepreneurs. The enhancements in the capabilities of the female online storeowners and their achieved functionings do not necessarily go beyond the online environment. This study aims to provide a solid departure for any further investigations into women’s empowerment through e-commerce on a societal level.

South African female swimmers have become a frequent feature in online media articles since zero female swimmers managed to qualify for the 2015 FINA World Championships and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. Despite this being a valuable area to focus on, majority of the online articles reviewed have neglected to provide South African female swimmers with the opportunity to share their experiences, perceptions and personal interpretations on being a female swimmer in South Africa. As such, this research study explored the lived experiences of South African female student-athlete swimmers who are in the process of competing at an elite level. A qualitative research approach was utilised in this study, with interpretative phenomenological approach as its paradigmatic point of departure. One in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted with each of the eight South African female student-athlete swimmers from a swimming club located within a Tshwane-based university. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to interpret the transcripts. Six main themes surfaced; the context, the body, the social and relational, the decision, career, and staying afloat. Along with this, numerous corresponding subthemes and two integrated themes (the emotional self and ways of thinking) also emerged from analysis. These themes highlighted the complexity of these participants’ lives as female student-athletes as well as South African female swimmers. These findings can assist coaches, parents, and other relevant role players to gain an enriched understanding of these participants’ experiences and needs so that they may better support and lead this population group; in doing so, they may be better equipped to reach their full potential. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted

This mini-dissertation examines selected poems by three female poets who deal with what I have termed ‘the personal’ in relation to specifically female concerns in their poetry, namely Anne Sexton, Antjie Krog and Finuala Dowling. There has been a considerable rise in personal and autobiographical writing in the last few decades, and this trend shows no sign of decreasing. This kind of writing has provoked much heated debate, both regarding its content and its style(s). Many critics and poets, such as Robert Lowell or James Dickey, disapprove of the frankness with which female poets discuss subjects which are specific to women, and consider the poems to be too graphic or crude. Personal poems which are not graphic are also criticised as being boring, irrelevant or lacking in artistic craft. Those in favour of poetry of the personal, such as Collette Inez and Alicia Ostriker, believe that contemporary poets’ freedom to examine any topic they like is a positive development. Instead of considering these poems to be irrelevant to readers, they believe that personal poetry can be a means for both writers and readers to explore identity and to navigate various female roles. This mini-dissertation argues in defence of personal poetry, and addresses the common criticisms of this type of writing briefly mentioned above. It highlights women’s issues and questions of female identity throughout. The different ways in which female writers approach personal poetry are also examined, and the mini-dissertation compares the controversial aspects of Sexton’s writing with Krog’s candour and Dowling’s understated humour. Through close textual analysis, the mini-dissertation highlights both similarities and differences in the work of these poets, in support of the value of such poetry for both readers and writers. The mini-dissertation is accompanied by a portfolio of my own creative work. My poems also fit into the category of female poetry of the personal, so while I do not directly discuss my own work in the mini-dissertation, the portfolio and mini-dissertation are thematically linked. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / English / unrestricted

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