Zugl.: Fribourg, Univ., Diss., 2006

This thesis investigates consumer perceptions of a Chinese luxury fashion brand in Sweden. The impact of nation brand image in terms of consumer buying behaviour and perception is examined by performing a case study of Shanghai Tang, comparing it to the American luxury fashion brand Ralph Lauren through the brands’ country of origin and brand history. Then a questionnaire is developed to analyse the luxury consumers’ perception of the Chinese brand Shanghai Tang and calculate the probability of customers purchasing luxury goods by Shanghai Tang. Finally, the future of Chinese luxury in Sweden will be discussed through an in-depth interview.

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The twilight of a tempestuous nineteenth-century saw the rise of a new order and a newly defined nation in Porfirian Mexico (1876-1911). Given the martial background of General Porfirio Di­az, and the warfare that marked the times, military involvement in the modernizing country was not altogether surprising. But relative stability and technological advances now enabled a much reduced army to exert itself in unprecedented ways. Far out of proportion to their size, the armed forces absorbed half the national budget and penetrated every area of society with military officers making up, among other things, many of the most important politicians, engineers, and writers. Thousands of young men, often forcibly conscripted, entered a national army that extended the State into regions previously beyond centralized influence or surveillance. Yet the regime's ostentatious public rituals of parade and manoeuvre stood in stark contrast to the violent eradication of bandits, dissidents, and indigenous rebels. Hatred of Porfirian brutality and decadence has obscured the truly significant contributions the military made to the nascent Mexico.By devising and enacting their particular visions of the nation, and embodying it through practices that ranged from crime and duels to parades and battle, the military proved integral to the formation of nationalism and its constituent identities of gender, class, and racial organization. I contend that the role of the military offers important clues to the making of the modern nation. Both the history of its impact as an institution and the role of soldiers in civil society shed light on the historical roots of Mexican cultures and politics that persisted into the twentieth century, and offer insights into the roots of some persisting challenges-- machismo, corruption, and distrust of public institutions. The military comprises both lens and exemplar of how the process of becoming modern shapes the foundations of what is understood as the nation.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Canada Reads program, based on the popular television show Survivor, welcomes five Canadian personalities to defend one Canadian book, per year, that they believe all Canadians should read. The program signifies a common discourse in Canada as a nation-state regarding its own lack of coherent and fixed identity, and can be understood as a nationalist project. I am working with Canada Reads as an existing archive, utilizing materials as both individual and interconnected entities in a larger and ongoing process of cultural production – and it is important to note that it is impossible to separate cultural production from cultural consumption. Each year offers a different set of insights that can be consumed in their own right, which is why this project is written in the present tense. Focusing on the first ten years of the Canada Reads competition, I argue that Canada Reads plays a specific and calculated role in the CBC’s goal of nation-building: one that obfuscates repressive national histories and legacies and instead promotes the transformative powers of literacy as that which can conquer historical and contemporary inequalities of all types. This research lays bare the imagined and idealized ‘communities’ of Canada Reads audiences that the CBC wishes to reflect in its programming, and complicates this construction as one that abdicates contemporary responsibilities of settlers. / Thesis (Master, Gender Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-14 21:44:50.087

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between adversity, resiliency and substance use among Manitoba First Nation girls living on reserve, ages 12 to 17 years. Five hundred and fifty girls completed an in person survey of 138 items on a variety of health and well-being issues. The results of this study indicate that the prevalence of substance use is disturbingly high among First Nation girls. A logistic regression analysis determined that age, family discord, and parental substance abuse were all significant predicators of increased substance use among First Nation girls. Family connectedness, visiting and spending time with family were protective against substance use. Surprisingly, high cultural engagement was not protective against substance use in this study, but beliefs in the importance of cultural activities were protective. In conclusion, this study showed that taking a resiliency approach to examine health behaviors among First Nation girls is beneficial and can best inform policies and programs to reduce substance use.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between adversity, resiliency and substance use among Manitoba First Nation girls living on reserve, ages 12 to 17 years. Five hundred and fifty girls completed an in person survey of 138 items on a variety of health and well-being issues. The results of this study indicate that the prevalence of substance use is disturbingly high among First Nation girls. A logistic regression analysis determined that age, family discord, and parental substance abuse were all significant predicators of increased substance use among First Nation girls. Family connectedness, visiting and spending time with family were protective against substance use. Surprisingly, high cultural engagement was not protective against substance use in this study, but beliefs in the importance of cultural activities were protective. In conclusion, this study showed that taking a resiliency approach to examine health behaviors among First Nation girls is beneficial and can best inform policies and programs to reduce substance use.

Background: Prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease among First Nations populations in Canada is higher compared to the non-First Nations population. Consistent monitoring of this epidemic is required. In addition, cardiovascular risk factors derived from research on non-First Nations populations may not be applicable to First Nations populations. Therefore, better understandings of risk factors specific to First Nations populations are required. Purpose: To characterize cardiovascular risk in a Manitoba First Nation population. Methods: Data from the 2002/2003 and 2011/2012 Diabetes Screening Studies in Sandy Bay First Nation were used, including fasting blood, anthropometric, and self-report data. The studies were conducted using a community-based participatory framework. All non-pregnant community members aged ≥18 years old were invited to participate in both study periods. First, using a repeated cross-sectional design, the burden of cardiovascular risk in the community in the 2011/2012 sample (n=482) was compared to the 2002/2003 sample (n=596). Second, by linking 2002/2003 and 2011/2012 data, an eight-year follow-up of participants was developed (n=171). Results: Repeated cross-sectional design. Sex- and age-standardized prevalence of diabetes in the adult population of the community was estimated at 39.2% (95% CI: 35.3, 43.1) in 2011/2012 and was not significantly different from 2002/2003. Significantly higher crude prevalence of obesity, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome among women compared to men persisted from 2002/2003 to 2011/2012. At 80.0%, the crude prevalence of current smoking was significantly higher in 2011/2012 compared to 2002/2003. Prospective cohort design. There were 35 (95% CI: 26, 45) new cases of diabetes among 128 participants without diabetes at baseline (27% over 8 years or 3.3% per year). Two-thirds of those with diabetes at follow-up lost weight, including 35.1% of men, and 18.9% of women that lost greater than 10kg. Both men and women lost weight in association with decreases in fasting blood insulin, while men also lost weight in association with uncontrolled blood glucose. Conclusions: This research contributes to the understanding of the diabetes epidemic and how this epidemic has evolved in a high-risk community. Unintentional weight loss related to diabetes is a problem in this population. Further research is needed to better understand how diabetes-related weight loss may contribute to morbidity and mortality.

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