No description available.

Background: We are very individualistic in how we present ourselves to the world. Whilst we are healthy and self-caring we have control over the way we undertake self-groom. Once we need care the situation may change. In the setting of health and social care the emphasis has been on hygiene; aspects of personal grooming [PG] may be overlooked. Few studies exist in the health and social care literature that explore this crucial daily activity of living. Aim: This study aims to address the imbalance on what is known of PG. It seeks to thoroughly explore the concept of PG, identifying the normative activities involved, and the age-related behaviours that occur across the lifespan. Methods: Utilising a grounded theory [GT] methodology, an eclectic data collection approach was taken. Consequently a pilot group, four focus groups (child-focused; males 18-45; females 18-45; over-46), and a visual methodology formed the first phase of the study. The second phase consisted of a formal concept analysis, drawing on literature and data from the focus groups. The final phase of the study involved one-to-one semi-structured interviews with retired persons. A total of 26 participants took part in the study and both genders were represented. Analysis was undertaken using the range of coding consistent with a GT approach and the notion of constant comparison. Findings: New knowledge on PG emerged; an academic definition of PG; PG was found to have ‘four elements’: hygiene, appearance management behaviours, body modification and enhancement. There was a ‘spectrum’ of grooming recognised, which ranged from the wild, un-groomed state to that of being over-groomed. The term ‘allo-grooming’, which means grooming of another, was used to explore the part families play in social learning about PG. A timeline of PG behaviours was created to illustrate how PG changes over the lifespan. Additionally, information on grooming activities, other than those of hygiene, was recorded. Implications: PG is complex and the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of concentrating on hygiene may not meet the needs of service users. Some body areas, for example, are not included in the published documents that help to guide care services. There appears to a gap in educational programmes of health and social care workers, in respect to PG. Recommendations for practice, policy, education and further research are proposed.

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Creating photorealistic animals in computer graphics is common within the VFX industry and is increasing as the technology advances. With CG you can nowadays create almost realistic and believable animals. One of the biggest challenges in creating a realistic animal is creating realistic fur. The question is what challenges poses creating realistic fur and what is the process to achieve it? How does groom affect the other departments in the pipeline such as modeling and texturing, what are things you need to keep in mind when creating fur? In this thesis, the study of recreating a realistic fur for a lion was conducted while examining the challenges posed while creating it. The study shows that grooming demands more out of the other departments and while creating realistic fur is one thing, accomplishing realistic hair within a context such as for a specific animal is an elaborate process which demands both technical and artistic skills in conjunction with a structured approach.

Workers in colonies of European honey bees Apis mellifera L. clean their nestmate's body by allogrooming behavior. This behavior may be initiated by either grooming dancers or by the allogroomers themselves. The first occurs less frequently (ca. 17 %) than the later (83 %). By using the inner edge of mandibles, allogroomers comb the hairy parts around the receiver wing bases, sites around which are unreachable by the receiver herself, and where adult females of the tracheal mite Acarapis woodi and the ectoparasite mite A. dorsalis commonly harbor. There are two groups of allogroomers : the specialist, which grooms six or more nestmates within one bout of allogrooming, and the non-specialist, which grooms fewer nestmates. A specialist that groomed 132 nestmates in one bout was observed in this study. Although allogrooming may be initiated by the grooming dancer, the relationship between the two behaviors is negligible. Worker bees perform allogrooming behavior more as a routine task rather than as a response to the grooming dance. Sunlight intensity, and probably temperature, outside the hive influence allogrooming intensity. The intensity increases during sunny days and decreases at night. It also decreases when the day is cloudy or rainy. An intensity of fourteen events per 1000 workers every two minutes was observed during sunny days, so that all the workers in the colony would be groomed ca. eight times within 24 hours. There is very little temporal basis for allogrooming behavior. It is performed by workers of any age above two days. Any nestmate, regardless of age, can be groomed. However, it was observed that bees of foraging age were groomed less frequently. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (Ph.D.(Zoology)) -- University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this essay is to analyse the descriptions of young girls' experiences of internet contacts, which have led up to sexual abuse. The aim is to give additional understanding and knowledge concerning grooming.       Grooming means that somebody gets in contact with someone else with the intention of committing sexual violations at a later stage. In most cases this concerns adults who contact children. We have chosen to confine ourselves to focusing on the grooming on internet that has happened to girls. By means of thematic analyses of texts from the books Jag kände mig speciell, grooming på internet, 2012 and Alexandramannen, vår tids största nätsexhärva, 2009, we have found certain themes and linked them up with previous research-work and also theory of social psychology. We have used previous research that describes young people's inclination for internet, which has primarily dealt with the control, anonymity and freedom they have experienced. We have also used studies that describe how male interpretative priority affects sexual acts, and discovered that this fact makes it complicated to report sexual abuse for women. The theories of social psychology we have used are Fromm's mechanisms of escape and Gidden's ontological security, which explain the development of the individual, and how that person is influenced by the conditions during his/her childhood and youth, and also Goffman's theories regarding the dramaturgic acting and internet as a specific arena. In this study it has shown that internet is a specific arena with specific rules that affect the girls' space of action and interaction. It has also shown that the girls' already difficult conditions during childhood and youth, for example because of having family problems and parents who are addicts, have influenced the girls' self-identity and self-integrity, which has created mechanisms of escape that has made it possible for

This paper provides the theoretical component to a blog I wrote as part of an academic program in Cultural Studies for a period from March 2, 2011 until September 30, 2011. Called The Last Triangle: Sex, Money and the Politics (http://www.thelasttriangle.com), I set out to explore the increasing normalization of pubic hair removal among women in North America. The reasons for the upswing in the popularity of pubic hair removal are hard to pinpoint, but seem to be motivated by a number of forces. From the ready accessibility of pornography, where pubic hair is currently so rare it has spawned its own fetish, to the widespread attention Brazilian waxing has received in the media, pubic hair removal is merely one among a myriad of body grooming practices many women increasingly indicate they feel obliged follow. This paper will explore some of those ideas, taking a critical view of the practice in light of questions around performing femininity, how pubic hair removal pertains to body control, and how pubic hair removal is, for many, increasingly viewed as a practice closely connected with good hygiene. Because it is intimately tied to the purchase of dedicated products, pubic hair removal will also be considered in as much as it relates to capitalism. Because the blog was a fundamental component of my research experience, excerpts of both my own writing, as well as comments from readers, will be included in conversation here with the theoretical questions. / Thesis (Master, Cultural Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-10-14 09:54:11.802

Thesis (Ph. D)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

<p dir="ltr">Recent developments in computer technology have increased the number of internet stalkers, child pornographers, traffickers and sexual predators. In a world where digital literacy is on the rise and people strive to keep up with the latest technology, this paper explores the relationship between digital literacy and online grooming(computer-mediated sexual grooming) and offline grooming (localized sexual grooming) and the effect of age, gender, marital status and parental status on the way individuals perceive grooming. This data was collected via a survey from 256 respondents who are 18 years and above and classified as parents within the United States. Several analyses such as correlations, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis H test were conducted, and our results suggest that there is a relationship between digital literacy and the perceptions of grooming, which may have implications on cybersecurity awareness training. The results highlight the importance of digital literacy in the perception of computer-mediated sexual grooming and familial sexual grooming, with enough evidence to support its essential role in people’s sense of safety. In conclusion, this study emphasized the need for targeted programs and campaigns to create education and awareness with the aim of improving parental digital literacy skills, understanding of grooming risks, and responsible Internet use education across society.</p>