Aim: To systematically review lifestyle interventions to treat and prevent obesity in adults, children and vulnerable subgroups. Methods: Cochrane methodology and a "best available evidence‟ approach were adopted to produce a series of published systematic reviews. Results: Adults: diets alone and with exercise and/or behaviour therapy compared with control significantly reduced weight for up to three years (weighted mean difference weight change 4 to 13 kg at one year) and prevented weight gain for up to seven years. Exercise as an adjunct to diet and also meal replacements may be effective in the long-term maintenance of weight loss. 600 kcal/day deficit or low-fat diet; diet and exercise with/without behaviour therapy; significantly reduced the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome compared with control. School-children: 39% of school-based interventions significantly improved mean body-mass index compared with control. Combined diet and physical activity interventions were most effective. It is unclear what elements of interventions are consistently effective in preventing excessive weight gain. There can be significant prevention of weight gain in children from interventions not conceptualized as obesity prevention interventions. Vulnerable subgroups: lifestyle interventions can prevent excessive weight gain in pregnancy and help weight-concerned women stop smoking. Diet and exercise can reduce weight in postmenopausal women. There is insufficient evidence to inform how interventions need to be modified to meet the needs of pre-school children or ethnic minority groups within the UK. Conclusions: This evidence underpins national guidance, informs government policy and influences clinical practice. Population-wide recommendations may be effective in preventing a population increase in prevalence of obesity only as part of a government strategy that includes environmental change and is coupled with targeted interventions to reduce the prevalence of obesity caused at least in part by social inequalities.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Minority Business Enterprises program in the City of Atlanta, and to determine the extent to which this program can be modelled to adequately address the plight of minority businesses in other cities. Attempts have been made to analyze the economic performances of minority businesses at the national level, and, also, attempts have been made to ascertain the extent to which a local Minority Business Enterprise program, such as the one in the City of Atlanta can be targeted to industries whose products and services the city requires. In addition, the techniques which the City of Atlanta utilizes to attract minority businesses in its purchasing and contracting activities show an upward trend since the inception of this program. This case study is important because it demonstrates an attempt by a municipal government, to grapple with, to utilize the techniques for, and to devise solutions to problems besieging minority businesses in the free market economy. The descriptive analysis method was used in this research effort. The researcher employed direct observation, interviews, and trend analysis techniques to gather, to evaluate, and to analyze relevant data. The data utilized in this research were obtained from secondary sources, particularly a study by James H. Lowry, on MBEP in the City of Atlanta; United States Congressional Records; the U.S. Department of Commerce; City of Atlanta; a U.S. Supreme Court Case; a State of Georgia Supreme Court case and the local mass media.

The purpose of this study was: (1) to identify and report the state departments of education in the United States implementing multiethnic/multicultural education programs; (2) to identify and report school districts, identified by their respective state departments of education, implementing multiethnic/multicultural education programs; (3) to determine the types of multiethnic/multicultural education programs, the thrust of the programs, and how the programs were initiated in the school districts; and (4) to determine the degree of implementation of the Curriculum Guidelines for Multiethnic Education, published by the National Council for the Social Studies, in the selected school districts. A total of thirty-two state departments of education responded. A total of 1,498 school districts, reported by their respective state departments of education, were implementing multiethnic/multicultural education programs. A stratified random sampling of the fifty states was used to select the sample for the study. Sixteen hypotheses, which were related to questions in Part I and Part II of the questionnaire, were tested. Significant differences were found by testing the hypotheses using the t-test. No significant differences were found between selected school districts in the southern states and selected school districts in the western states in the degrees of implementation of the Curriculum Guidelines for Multiethnic Education. Significant differences were found between selected school districts in the northeastern states and selected school districts in the north central states in the degree of implementation of the Curriculum Guidelines for Multiethnic Education. No significant differences were found between selected school districts with 10,000 or more pupils and selected school districts with less than 10,000 pupils in the degree of implementation of the Curriculum Guidelines for Multiethnic Education. In addition, significant differences were found between selected school districts in the northeastern states and selected school districts in the north central states in the degree of implementation of the Curriculum Guidelines for Multiethnic Education.

Transgender people, a minority population, are at increased risk for negative health and mental health consequences. Profound societal discrimination and stigmatization lead to systemic institutional barriers and lack of access to health care services. Research with lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations shows a strong association between minority stress and mental health; however, there is a gap in research for the transgender population. This study, based on theories of minority stress, positive psychology, the biopsychosocial model, and the transgender model, was conducted to clarify this relationship for the transgender population. Four research questions were proposed. A final sample of N = 29 transgender participants completed an online survey with 3 measures of minority stress (internalized transphobia, stigmatization, and prejudice events) and 5 measures of mental health (depression, suicide, anxiety, and substance abuse [drug and alcohol]). It was predicted that each minority stressor would have an independent effect upon each mental health variable, and when the effects of the stressors were combined, each would maintain an independent effect on mental health, so that their combined effect would be greater than their individual effects. Regression analyses indicated, as expected, participants with higher perceived stigma scores had higher suicidal ideation scores. Contrary to expectations, participants with higher internalized transphobia scores had lower scores on suicidal ideation. No other significant predictive relationships were found. The results of this study advocate for social change initiatives by presenting information on a poorly understood minority group for the purpose of promoting a positive effect for institutions, professionals, and transgender clients in the context of health care settings.

Tremendous growth in the biomedical science workforce has increased the need for trained scientists. The current workforce is severely underrepresented by minority groups, particularly Native Americans. To address this issue, the federal government funded programs that encouraged Native American students to participate in undergraduate biomedical science courses and research. One such program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is the Minority Student Development Program at Northern Arizona University. Little research has been done on educational programs for minority populations. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe qualities and characteristics of the undergraduate research component of the federally funded Minority Student Development program from the perspective of Native American student participants. Qualitative case study methods were used to: (a) determine program qualities and characteristics, (b) develop a knowledge base about the experiences of Native American undergraduate student participants, ( c) identify career goals of students to determine if program participation influenced career choices, (d) understand the degree to which a student's cultural background influences career goals, and (e) evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Data were collected through interviews, observations, focus group discussions, informal discussions, questionnaire responses, meeting attendance, and document analysis. In all, 15 students, two program staff members, and eight faculty participated in the study. Findings from this study include a description of the background and experiences of three subjects: Leroy, Samantha, and Jeremy. While the three were selected for their Native American ethnicity, differences were discovered in their cultural experiences. The three subjects were positive about their program experiences. Career goals of students were greatly influenced by program participation. Findings related to program qualities and characteristics were identified and found to be closely aligned with stated program goals. Suggestions for program improvement included: (a) formalizing the application process, (b) matching student researchers with faculty mentors based on common research interests and personality, (c) faculty mentors closely supervising students to provide support and encouragement, and (d) communicating program expectations for students regarding conference attendance, presenting, and publishing research results.

Master of Arts / In the southwest corner of China, the confluence of cultural diversity and national integration have produced a new kind of voice in the Chinese language: an ethnic voice. Speaking fluently in the Chinese nation’s language and culturally beyond its Han foundations, minority ethnic writers or shaoshu minzu in China are inciting a challenge to the traditional conceptions of Chineseness. In the PRC, the re-imagining of the boundaries between ethnicity, nation, and the globe is being produced in ethnic voices that resist the monopolizing narratives of the CCP and the Han cultural center. Furthermore, in the West where the antiquated conception of China as a monolithic Other is still often employed, the existence of these ethnic voices of difference demands a (re)cognition of its multifaceted and interwoven ethnic, political, and social composition. Three ethnic poets from the southwest are examined in this thesis: Woeser (Tibetan), He Xiaozhu (Miao), and Jimu Langge (Yi). They represent the trajectory of ethnic voice in China along the paradigms of local/ethnic vision, national culture, and global connections. By being both within and outside the Chinese nation and culture, they express a hybrid struggle that exists within the collision of ethnic minority cultures and the Han cultural center. Like the hybridity of postcolonial literature, this is a collision that cannot be reduced to it parts, yet also privileges the glocal impetus of ethnically centered vision. The poets’ voices speak the voice of difference within China, the Chinese language, and Chineseness throughout the world.

Contemporary scholars of imperialism and colonialism studies have revealed how different imperial spaces were malleable, and they constantly shift through negotiations between diverse agencies. Whereas most existing studies investigate change of imperial space from the view of ‘metropolitan centre’, this thesis attempts to decentralise the dominant view of existing Japanese imperialism studies, and explores the Japanese imperial expansion with a particular focus on people’s subjectivities and agencies on the national border zone. The thesis particularly focuses on the border/boundary between the Yaeyama Archipelago of the Ryukyu Islands and colonial Taiwan. The first chapter explores the boundary between Yaeyama and Taiwan in representation and discourse after Yaeyama was annexed to Japan. I discuss how ‘Yaeyama’ came to appear as a historical subject in the Japanese colonial discourse, by distinguishing itself from the colonised subject as well as criticising the dominance of the main island of Okinawa. In critically examining the previous Yaeyama Studies, I suggest reconstructing Yaeyama’s history in the East Asian regional framework. The second chapter explores how civilians actively committed themselves to defining the national territory during the late nineteenth century. The chapter also aims to reconsider the dominant discourse of Okinawa’s modern history, which tends to focus on conflicts between the Japanese government and the former samurai class of Okinawa prefecture. Chapters 3 further discusses how people on the border zone constructed the boundary between Japan and Taiwan, but I argue that the border between Yaeyama and Taiwan did not only demarcate the ‘metropolitan nation’ and the ‘colony’, but also demarcated the ‘rural’ and the ‘urban’ areas. In other words, the third chapter considers how the national border had different implications to people on the border zone. I explore how new settlers dominated the newly emerging economy of Yaeyama and developed trade links with colonial Taiwan. Furthermore, I discuss how while Yaeyama native farmers were marginalised from the local economy and industry, they also crossed the border in a form of rural-urban migration. Chapters 5 and 6 examine Yaeyama migrants’ experiences in Taiwan. Firstly, I explore in what social and cultural conditions Yaeyama migrants lived and worked during the 1920s to the 1940s. I argue that the distinction between ‘Japanese’ and ‘Taiwanese’ was not instantly determined by the colonial authority, but continuously constructed and negotiated by social agents. In Chapter 6, I examine how Yaeyama migrants shaped their Japanese identity by distinguishing themselves from the colonised subjects. The southern border between the Inner Territory and the Outer Territories were constituted through the interaction between ensembles of practices in the local ‘place’ and the wider imperial networks and ‘space’. Yaeyama people’s experiences of constructing and crossing the boundary effectively demonstrates how the determination of the Japanese national border was incorporated into colonialism, and how Japanese colonialism was associated with the emergence of modernity in East Asia. With a particular focus on the border islands of Yaeyama, this thesis presents an alternative view to Japanese colonial history, East Asian social history as well as Okinawa’s modern history.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 27, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Phyllis McCluskey-Titus (chair), Amelia D. Adkins, Ross A. Hodel, Beatrice B. Smith. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-147) and abstract. Also available in print.

This study examined the influence of contextual risk factors and parental depression on the social-emotional functioning of very young children. Ninety-four young children were recruited as part of a larger ongoing research project recruiting caregivers and children from Early Head Start programs in South Florida. Children ranged in age from 12 to 36 months and included 65 girls and 29 boys. There were 94 caregivers in the current study: 91 mothers, 2 fathers, and 1 foster mother. Caregivers were diverse in terms of age, ranging from 19 to 42 years of age (M = 27.31, SD = 5.75), ethnicity (84% African- or Caribbean-American, 14.9% Hispanic/Latino, and 1.1% Mixed/Other), and in number of years of school completed, ranging from 1 to 16 years (M = 12.02, SD = 1.91). The current study employed a cumulative risk factor perspective in examining the social-emotional functioning of infants and toddlers. Specifically, the current study tested both a threshold model and a linear model of cumulative risk. Study measures included a background questionnaire, a measure of parental depression, a measure of parenting stress, a measure of child exposure to violence, and a measure of traumatic life events in a child?s life. Further analyses examined ethnicity as a moderator of the relationship between cumulative risk and difficulties with social-emotional functioning. Results showed a significant linear relationship between cumulative risk and social-emotional functioning. However, ethnicity did not moderate this relationship. When individual risk factors were examined post hoc, parental depression, stressful parent-child interactions, having a child with special needs, and community violence were shown to significantly predict difficulties with social-emotional functioning among very young children. These data have important implications for prevention and intervention efforts.

The preponderance of evidence from large-scale studies shows a detrimental association between greater acculturation (to mainstream U.S. values and beliefs) and mental health. Prior research also suggests that greater acculturation may be associated with a breakdown of adaptive behaviors and values (e.g., religiosity/spirituality) thereby negatively impacting mental health. In addition, literature generally suggests that enculturation (retention of culture of origin customs and values) is associated with better mental health. However, few studies have examined potential mediators between acculturation/enculturation and mental health; and research on this topic with patients with schizophrenia is particularly scarce. Using a sample of 44 Hispanic and African-American patients with schizophrenia, this study evaluated whether higher acculturation and lower enculturation would be associated with more symptoms of schizophrenia. Religiosity/spirituality, family cohesion, and religious coping were evaluated as potential mediators of these relationships. As hypothesized, greater family cohesion (measured by the Family Environment Scale) was associated with fewer schizophrenia symptoms (measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale). However a meditational model was not supported. Contrary to hypotheses, when examining the total sample, neither acculturation nor enculturation (measured by the Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale) were associated with schizophrenia symptoms. Ethnic subgroup analyses were conducted and will be discussed along with study implications, limitations, and directions for future research.