The purpose of the present study was to explore the endorsement of racial colorblind attitudes among partners in heterosexual interracial romantic relationships, as well as identify the potential effects of a colorblind ideology upon mental health and wellbeing. For interracial partners, race is simultaneously a fundamental part of their relationship with far-reaching implications, and also, simply put, one of many parts. Research attests that while some interracial partners proactively acknowledge race and initiate racial dialogue, others avoid or choose not to “see” race with their significant others (Killian, 2012; Steinbugler, 2012). From a counseling psychology framework, racial colorblindness, or the denial of the importance of race, minimizes the centrality of race and racism – when in fact race continues to hold the power to define social reality (Neville, Awad, Brooks, Flores, & Blumel, 2013). This study investigated the degree to which different interracial partners in heterosexual relationships report racial colorblindness or strategic colorblindness, and if such views impacted self-esteem and relationship satisfaction. Significant differences between partners of color and White partners in strategic colorblindness were indicated from independent-samples t-tests, and a series of one-way between-group analyses of variance found significant differences specifically between Asian and White partners. Multiple regression analyses found no significant associations between any type of colorblindness and relationship satisfaction and no significant associations between self-esteem or relationship esteem and strategic colorblindness. Additional post-hoc analyses that examined demographic characteristics of the sample found specific intersections of gender and race to be associated with strategic colorblindness. History of being in an interracial relationship and relationship length of time were also significantly associated with relationship satisfaction and colorblind racial attitudes, respectively. Limitations of the present study and directions for future research are discussed. Results from this study can be used to identify multiculturally considerate strategies for clinicians working with interracial partners, and bridge growing interracial scholarship with emerging research on racial colorblindness.

The purpose of the present study was to determine how college participants view the success of different conflict management strategies: chance, manipulation, compliance, and confrontation. The success of the conflict management strategies was evaluated by how participants rated female satisfaction, male satisfaction, likelihood of marriage and success of marriage. A MANOVA, and a Roy Bargman step-down procedure were conducted on all dependent variables. A Tukey HSD post hoc test was ran to reveal which conflict management strategies differed from one another. Results indicated that participants thought women were less satisfied than men. For male satisfaction and likelihood of marriage, post hoc testing on the conflict management strategies revealed using compliance was the most satisfying. On the success of marriage variable, participants rated men higher than women on the manipulation and confrontation strategies. The results of the study may be useful in understanding conflict management in dating couples.

Preterm delivery (PTD) is a leading cause of infant death, and surviving infants are at risk for poor health. Data from the Iowa Health in Pregnancy Study, a case-control study of maternal stress on risk of PTD and small for gestational age (SGA) deliveries were used to address three aims: 1) develop a method to correct for error in ultrasound measurement among suspected SGA infants, 2) estimate the association of occupational stress on risk of PTD, and 3) examine injury-related risk factors for PTD. Estimates of gestational age using ultrasound can be biased if the fetus is growth-restricted, yielding underestimates due to the small stature of the fetus. Multivariate linear regression modeling was used to estimate and correct for this bias among subjects with a suspected SGA infant who 1) began prenatal care in the first trimester, 2) reported a last menstrual period and 3) had an ultrasound examination between 7-21 weeks. To correct for this bias, an average of 1.5 weeks was added to the ultrasound gestational age. Following the correction, the proportion of PTD cases decreased from 29.1% to 26.5% while SGA cases increased from 23.7% to 31.3%. Using this PTD classification, occupational physical and psychosocial stressors were studied. Continuous employment over the first 20 weeks of pregnancy was associated with a 30% increased risk of PTD versus not working. Working women reporting highly repetitive tasks (aOR=1.47(1.10-1.98)) or inadequate breaks (aOR=1.67(1.03-2.73)) were at increased risk of PTD. Working women who reported high lifting in the home had double the risk of PTD. Over 5% of control subjects reported an injury during pregnancy, and injured women tended to be younger, unmarried, less educated, and have lower incomes. Women with injuries involving >1 body part (aOR=2.50(1.14-5.49)), or injuries to the abdomen and other regions of the body (OR=1.75(0.59-5.23)) were at increased risk of PTD. Our findings provide a statistical approach to assess and correct for underestimates of ultrasound gestational age in case-control studies of PTD and SGA. The analyses of occupational exposures and injury during pregnancy indicate the need for studies that incorporate specific and standardized assessments of these exposures.

This study analyzed the perception of battered women on being able to trust another partner again and date after domestic violence. This study sample consisted of eight battered women over the age of eighteen. In analyzing the responses eight core themes emerged: trust, dating, beliefs, healthy coping, going back, overcoming, relationship, and feelings. The codes were grouped into categories that ranged from healthy traits to dating to negative traits to dating. Moreover, a theoretical statement was developed by the use of selective coding. Participants identified how past experiences with domestic violence affected them in a positive and negative way. It was found it is easier for women to trust another partner if they experienced domestic violence for less than ten years. Moreover, it was found it is hard for women to trust another partner if the experienced domestic violence for more than ten years.

No description available.

Hydrated amorphous silicon dioxide (Si02.nH-,O), or opal-A, is deposited naturally from seepage and runoff water as white or brown rock surface coatings, called 'skins', that often partly obscure rock paintings and engravings, but occasionally, a thin translucent silica skin can form a protective film over rock art. White lustrous silica skins, less than 1 mm thick, occur where seepage water regularly flows from bedding and joint planes, whereas much thinner brown skins form on the sides of boulders and cliffs where runoff water periodically flows. To find the degree of silica skin variability and to determine how climate and rock type affect the properties of silica skins I collected samples at seven Australian and two Canadian rock painting sites that were located in temperate, tropical and sub-arctic regions. The skins had developed on sandstone, quartzite, schist, gneiss and migmatite. I studied the effects of the skins on rock art stability, documented their compositions, textures and structures to establish their common properties, and searched for a way to date the silica which would provide an indication of the minimum age of the underlying art. 1 also made replication experiments to determine factors that influence the properties of artificial silica skins and the rates of their precipitation so that I could propose a mechanism for natural silica skin formation, and ascertain whether an artificial silica skin could act as a protective rock art conservation measure. I was able to subdivide the analysed samples into silica skin Types I, II and III on the basis of their colour (translucent, white or brown), composition (SiO2, Al2O3 and absorbed water contents) and texture (smooth vitreous or vermiform). I propose that silica skins initially begin to form on stable rock surfaces by a process involving a combination of evaporation- and ionic-induced polymerisation of silicic acid in seepage and runoff water. Condensation reactions, random clustering of small silica spheres and deposition of the resulting aggregates eventually produce a thin surficial silica film. Deposition of silica often traps micro-organisms that live in the damp seepage and runoff water zones, and these fossils in finely laminated skins enable the radiocarbon dating of silica deposition, and therefore the dating of rock paintings enclosed by silica. Micro-excavation of silica layers associated with rock art combined with accelerator mass spectrometry gave preliminary radiocarbon determinations that were either consistent with, or contradicted, prevailing opinions about the antiquity of the rock art at selected sites. Experiments using a laser technique for combusting fossilised microorganisms in finely laminated skins were unable to generate sufficient carbon for dating. Catalysis of a mixture of equal proportions of methyl-trimethoxy silane and water produces a translucent stable film that may be suitable as a consolidant, whereas other artificial silica skins made from silica glass and tetra-ethoxy silane develop microfractures on drying, and these are unsuitable as rock art consolidants.

This thesis is comprised of two separate studies, the first of which set out to examine the Intimate Partner Abuse behaviour and attitudes of young Australian students. Intimate Partner Abuse (IPA) may be defined as a pattern of deliberate physical, sexual, or psychological abuse within a married, de-facto, dating, or courting relationship (Miller & Bukva, 2001: Victoria Health Promotion Foundation, 2004). Specifically, Study One aimed to explore the IPA attitudes of Australian students and examine the relationships between these attitudes with a view to provide theoretical guidance for understanding how negative IPA attitudes may be maintained. A total of 400 students (male = 99, female = 301) with ages ranging from 15 to 25 years (M = 19.38, SD = 2.04) participated in Study One. Participants completed the Conflict Tactics Scale - Revised (CTS2; Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Surgarman, 1996), which measures the number of times respondents have experienced physic al and psychological abuse over the previous 12-month period. Attitudinal questionnaires were also completed by participants, including a measure of IPA victim blame and endorsement of IPA myths. Overall, rates of IPA among the present sample were consistent with those reported in overseas samples, with over 85% of women reporting being the victim of psychological abuse in the previous 12-months, and over 30% having been the victim of physical abuse. Lower scores on measures of victim blaming attitudes were associated with more positive attitudes towards women and less endorsement of IPA myths. These findings implicate the importance of addressing attitudes towards women and commonly held IPA myths within IPA prevention programs for young people. Study Two evaluated a brief educational program for Australian Technical And Further Education (TAFE) and high school students, which was selected and modified on the basis of a literature review of published program evaluations and the findings of Study One of this thesis. The program, titled Through New Eyes: Exploring the Hidden Dynamics of Domestic Violence (Hunter Women's Centre, 2003), aimed to inform the IPA attitudes of students and comprised of videos and discussion questions. A quasi-experimental pre-post design was used with a non-randomised experimental and control group. The program was evaluated using a questionnaire measure of participants' attitudes as well as their experience of the program. There were 98 students who consented to participate in Study Two, 48 (male = 26, female = 22) of whom fulfilled all the requirements of participation and were included in the results of the study. Participants' ages ranged from 14 to 25 years (M = 16.91, SD = 2.12). Several statistically significant desi rable changes were observed among participants of the program, however there were similar changes observed among control group participants. Study Two provides some support for the effectiveness of the Through New Eyes program in informing the attitudes of young Australians. However, it is recommended that future research evaluate this program in combination with skill building programs in order to assist students to translate attitudinal changes into behavioural ones.

Freshness is a holistic attribute of a food product, with a meaning that most often includes how recently produced or harvested a food currently is and to what extent it has been preserved. Without knowledge of production date, consumers will judge perceived freshness by the sensory properties of foods. However, these properties are not easily identified and described, as they vary considerably between different product types. The objective of this thesis, was to determine the sensory properties that consumers most associate with baked product freshness, and to determine the volatile composition responsible for "fresh-baked" flavour. In addition, relationships were determined and modelled between volatile composition, sensory properties and perceived freshness, in order to predict perceived freshness without the need for further consumer testing. Two consumer studies were carried, where perceived freshness of 10 breads, 5 cakes and 5 biscuits was measured based on appearance, flavour and texture, and by product odour only. Individual differences in perceived freshness were represented on two-dimensional Freshness Maps generated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Consumers used similar terms to describe product freshness, but different terms were associated with specific product types. An understanding of the sensory characteristics associated with perceived freshness was determined by examining relationships between perceived freshness and descriptive analysis (DA). Sensory characteristics perceived to convey freshness in one product type did not necessarily convey freshness in another. Further relationships between perceived freshness and sensory characteristics were determined for 20 bread types. Descriptive analysis was carried out with all breads, whereas perceived freshness was measured for 10 of these. Three consumer clusters were identified that were homogenous in their freshness perceptions, indicating that perceived bread freshness varied among consumers. Perceived freshness of breads not evaluated by consumers, but assessed by descriptive sensory analysis, were predicted for each consumer cluster using Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR). Most fresh breads were described as having "porous" appearance, "floury", "toasted" and "malty" odour, "sweet", "buttery", and "oily" flavour, and "sweet" aftertaste. Least fresh breads were described as "musty" odour, "sour" flavour and "sour" aftertaste. In addition, Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) measured the volatile composition of all 20 bread types. Thirty-three mass ions significantly discriminated between bread types. Relationships were determined between odour and flavour sensory attributes, and mass spectral data using 15 of the 20 breads. PLSR models predicted the sensory properties and perceived freshness of all breads including five types not included in the construction of models. Bread perceived to be most fresh shared a similar combination of positively correlated mass ions, m/z 87, 97 and 117, also represented by "dairy" odour and "buttery" flavour, whilst the masses m/z 63, 69 and 91 were negatively associated with bread freshness, represented by the sensory attributes "grain", and "musty" odour, and "sour" flavour. The influence of sweetener, fat type and time from baking on perceived freshness was determined for cakes. Four sweeteners (sucrose, glucose, xylitol, isomaltose), three fat types (butter, margarine, shortening) and two times from baking (days zero and 15) were investigated. Descriptive analysis was carried out using a trained panel, and volatile composition of measured using PTR-MS. Twelve cake samples with the largest sensory variation were further selected for consumer testing for perceived freshness. Results demonstrated that sweetener type, fat type, time from baking and their interaction significantly influenced the sensory properties, volatile composition, and perceived freshness of cakes. There was no evidence of perceived freshness segmentation among consumers. Perceived freshness of the twelve cakes not evaluated by consumers was predicted using sensory properties, volatile composition, and their combination. The freshest cakes were evaluated on the day of baking, and contained a combination of margarine and sucrose, and butter and sucrose. The least fresh cakes were evaluated after 15 days of storage and contained a combination of shortening and isomaltose, and butter and isomaltose. The most fresh samples were positively correlated with mass ions m/z 124, 74, 97 and 93, and sensory characteristics of "buttery" odour, and "buttery", "eggy" flavour. The least fresh samples were negatively correlated with mass ions m/z 110 and 95, and sensory characteristics of "rancid", "dusty" and "fatty" odour. Best predictions were obtained for cakes evaluated on day zero that contained a combination of shortening and sucrose. This research established an objective knowledge of consumers' perceived freshness of baked product types in terms of sensory properties and volatile composition. This approach enabled the understanding of ingredients and time from baking influences, as well their interaction on baked product freshness. The predictive models developed that examined relationships between PTR-MS spectra, sensory characteristics and consumer perceived freshness can be applied to predict freshness of baked products not assessed by consumers.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 178 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Typescript (Photocopy) Includes copies of 5 published papers co-authored by the author in back Bibliography: leaves 214-230