Objective: To examine the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and associations with early alcohol use initiation and alcohol use patterns among high-risk urban youth in Kampala, Uganda. Methodology: Data from the Kampala Youth Survey (N=457) conducted in May through June 2011 in Kampala, Uganda was used for analysis. Indicators of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) included: hunger, having parents, talking to parents, ever having lived on the street, parents hitting each other, parents hitting children and parental use of alcohol. These were dichotomized as either possessing the characteristic or not. Alcohol outcomes assessed were; age at alcohol initiation (age 13 was the cutoff point), frequent drinking and heavy drinking. Bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analyses were computed to determine statistical association between ACEs and alcohol use. Results: Findings in this study showed that parents hitting the youth, parental alcohol use, hunger, having ever lived on the street, and having been raped were significantly associated with the youth’s age of alcohol initiation by age 13, frequent drinking and heavy drinking in bivariate analyses. Results also showed gender differences for: parental alcohol use, parents hitting each other, being hungry, ever having lived on the street and having been raped. Girls reported higher values for most measures. Parental use of alcohol, having ever lived on the street and having been raped were particularly significant included in a multivariate model. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that adverse childhood experiences are strongly associated with early alcohol use initiation as well as frequent and heavy drinking.

Premenstruellt syndrom, även kallat PMS, är något som 20-30% av alla menstruerande kvinnor uppskattas lida av. De premenstruella symtomen uppkommer i den senare delen av menstruationscykeln och återkommer vanligtvis varje månad. Symtomen kan yttra sig såväl fysiskt, psykiskt som emotionellt. Syftet med studien var att beskriva kvinnors premenstruella erfarenheter. Studien är genomförd som en litteraturstudie och baseras på 10 vetenskapliga artiklar. Ur artiklarnas resultat kunde tre huvudteman urskiljas. Resultatet av litteraturstudien visar att många kvinnor har erfarenheter av att mötas med misstro då de beskriver sin PMS. Denna misstro beskrivs i möte med såväl närstående, arbetskollegor som med hälso- sjukvårdspersonal. I studien framkommer att okunskapen kring PMS är stor, samtidigt som fenomenet ofta framställs negativt och förlöjligas. Många kvinnor beskriver värdet i att få samtala om sina premenstruella erfarenheter utan att bli dömda och misstrodda. För att utveckla en bättre omvårdnad av kvinnor som lider av PMS är det av stor vikt att genom utbildning öka kunskaperna hos hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal om detta fenomen. För att fler kvinnor skall få hjälp att lindra det lidande de premenstruella symtomen kan orsaka är det av vikt att vidare forskning bedrivs. / Premenstrual syndrome, also known as PMS, is a phenomenon that is estimated to effect 20-30% of all menstruating women. The premenstrual symptoms appear in the lutheal phase of the menstrual cycle and usually recurs monthly. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of women with premenstrual syndrome. This study is conducted as a literature study, based on ten scinentific articles. Three major themes were identified from the results of the articles. The results of the literature study illustrates that women often experience disbelief when they try to describe their premenstrual experiences. The disbelief often occurs in relation to describing PMS to partners, co-workers and health care professionals. The study also shows that there is a great ignorance about PMS and the phenomenon is often portrayed negatively and ridiculed. Many women described the value of getting to talk about their premenstrual experiences without being judged and met with disbelief. It is of great importance that through education develops the nursing care and increase awareness among health care professionals about female phenomena such as PMS. To help women relieve the suffering the premenstrual symptoms can cause, it is important that further research is conducted.

Lung cancer is a disease which patients experience stigma in society and in care. This is because lung cancer is often seen as a self-inflicted disease. The stigma surrounding lung cancer is due to the strong relationship with smoking and have been shown to have a negative impact on the perceived health. The purpose of this study was to illuminate experiences of stigma for patients with lung cancer. The literature review was based on 11 scientific articles. The analysis resulted in three themes: experiences of being excluded out of context, experienced feelings surrounding stigma and the meeting within healthcare. Ignorance from healthcare and the community lead to patients with lung cancer feeling excluded, therefore it is important that nurses carry with them an awareness and good knowledge of stigma. The experience of stigma in patients with lung cancer was found to be reduced by good treatment and care from medical staff. Further qualitative research should be conducted that focuses on patients' experiences of stigma surrounding lung cancer both in the community and in healthcare. / Lungcancer är en sjukdom där patienter upplever sig stigmatiserade både i samhället och i vården eftersom lungcancer ofta ses som en självförvållad sjukdom. Stigmatiseringen kring lungcancer beror på det starka sambandet till rökning och har visat sig ha en negativ inverkan på den upplevda hälsan. Syftet med denna studie var att belysa upplevelser av stigmatisering av patienter med lungcancer. Litteraturstudien baserades på 11 vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultatet utmynnade i tre teman: upplevelser av att bli utesluten ur sammanhang, upplevda känslor kring stigmatisering och mötet i vården. Okunskap från vården samt från samhället leder till att patienter med lungcancer upplever ett utanförskap, det är därför av stor betydelse att sjuksköterskor bär med sig en medvetenhet och god kunskap kring stigmatisering. Upplevelsen av stigmatisering hos patienter med lungcancer visade sig kunna minska genom ett gott bemötande från vårdpersonalen. Mer kvalitativ forskning bör bedrivas som fokuserar på patienters upplevelser kring stigmatisering vid lungcancer såväl i samhället som i vården.

There is a paucity of research examining the neurobiological functioning of new mothers who have experienced parental loss during development. The current study investigated the relationship between inconsistent (IC) versus consistent (CC) care and brain activity in regions that comprise a putative neurobiological model of mothering. Mothers were shown positive and negative pictures of their own and an unfamiliar infant. Through repeated measures ANOVAs, it was found that BOLD activity was greater for own infant in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and amygdala (AMY) and that positive pictures elicited greater BOLD response in the NAC, AMY and anterior cingulate cortex. Interestingly, IC mothers show an even greater response own infant in the NAC and left hypothalamus (HYPO). In the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, IC mothers showed greater BOLD response to other infant. Thus, functioning of the maternal circuit, which includes areas strongly implicated in reward, may be altered by early experiences.

There is a paucity of research examining the neurobiological functioning of new mothers who have experienced parental loss during development. The current study investigated the relationship between inconsistent (IC) versus consistent (CC) care and brain activity in regions that comprise a putative neurobiological model of mothering. Mothers were shown positive and negative pictures of their own and an unfamiliar infant. Through repeated measures ANOVAs, it was found that BOLD activity was greater for own infant in the nucleus accumbens (NAC) and amygdala (AMY) and that positive pictures elicited greater BOLD response in the NAC, AMY and anterior cingulate cortex. Interestingly, IC mothers show an even greater response own infant in the NAC and left hypothalamus (HYPO). In the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, IC mothers showed greater BOLD response to other infant. Thus, functioning of the maternal circuit, which includes areas strongly implicated in reward, may be altered by early experiences.

The synergy of smartphone, mobile applications (apps) and Augmented Reality (AR) technology has the potential to mediate tourism experiences to great extents. The advent of AR apps on smartphones provides a dynamic solution for tourists by helping convey destinations’ meanings and creates positive experiences via interactive tourist information and services almost anywhere, anytime. As a result, tourists are increasingly using AR travel apps at destinations to create more memorable travel experiences. Despite vast literature on tourists’ experiences, there is limited research focusing on understanding the use of smartphones and AR apps for tourism. A critical review of the literature indicates that there is a need to develop a richer theoretical framework that describes the use of smartphones and AR apps for travel. In addition, there is a need to understand tourists’ experiences with smartphone-mediated technology. In particular, literature on understanding of the use of smartphones and apps for travel is largely established from a quantitative perspective, and it is argued that this perspective cannot provide an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms that affect the use of smartphones and travel apps, which in turn shapes the travel experience. The present qualitative study was designed to understand the current use and possible benefits of smartphone-mediated tourism experiences with AR apps. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of AR apps on tourists’ experiences. The study sought to understand how tourists used AR apps, which specific interactions with the mobile devices were afforded, what emotions were evoked through interaction with the AR technology, and how the technology mediated tourist’s experiences. Based on this notion, the study attempted to generate an inductive middle-range theory on smartphone-mediated tourism experiences using grounded theory method. An iPhone AR app was developed for the Texas A&M University campus to better understand how tourists used the AR app and how this use influenced their travel experiences. Forty-four participants inclusive of students, prospective students and visitors of Texas A&M University were recruited for the study. To aid theory building and enhance the solidity of the smartphone-mediated travel experience theory, the study included a control group, which involve individual, group and guided tours that only use a brochure/campus booklet or listen to a human tour guide. The AR app was tested on 10 individuals and 10 groups. For the control group, 6 individuals and 6 groups used brochure/campus booklet while touring the sites and 6 individuals and 6 groups listen to the tour-guide. This comparison provided detailed understanding of what happens in the absence of technology in travel experience, and a focus on apprehending what AR technology adds. Data were collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews with the participants and then transcribed and imported into ATLAS.TI 7.0 software for analysis. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data. The interview data were coded and presented in five major sections representing the research questions. The results of the study provided theoretical contributions in understanding the smartphone-mediated tourism experiences and offered practical implications for app design and interpretative services for tourist sites.

The goal of this research was to explore how young women make meaning of early experiences of sexual desire, and how these experiences contribute to the development of their sexual selves. The development of the sexual self is one of the fundamental building blocks to adulthood for adolescents, but there are many strong and some diametrically opposing viewpoints on how the discussion around sexuality should be framed. Much of the literature has focused on the health risks and social consequences of sexual activity, such as unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (Brook, Brook, Rubenstone, Zhang & Rivera, 2010) with less examination of the positive aspects of this phenomenon (e.g. pleasure, respect, emotional connection). In 1988, Michelle Fine opened a dialogue with adolescent women about their experience of and opinions about sexual desire, attempting to shed light on the consequences of suppressing this discourse, including disconnection from their physical selves, possible victimization, and a denial of pleasure. In the last two decades, there has been interest in the concept of sexual desire and its role in the development of sexual subjectivity. Sexual subjectivity is particularly important in the lives of young women, who live, work and learn in a patriarchal society which objectifies their bodies and sexual identities (Levy, 2005; Tolman, 2002a). I interviewed 5 women (19-25 years old) about how they make meaning of their early experiences of sexual desire and how this contributes to the development of their sense of sexual selfhood. I recruited participants using posters placed across a university campus to facilitate interest. I used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) as developed by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2012) to understand how participants perceive their experiences to have influenced their feelings and ideas about their sexual desires. My study design also addressed how they retrospectively view early experiences and understandings of sexual desire to have contributed to the development of their sexual identities. In my interviews I also employed the listening guide developed by Gilligan (1982) and Brown and Gilligan (1991). Analysis revealed an overarching theme of unlocking desire with trust and connection, as well as superordinate themes of exploring desire through fantasy and imagination, the power of desire, the spectrum of desire and reflections on lived experiences of female desire. The current research study will be discussed in relation to previous literature (e.g. commonalities, distinctions, its strengths and weaknesses). Finally, future directions for the research, as well as implications for counselling practice, will be elucidated.

Research focused exclusively on the participation trends of male high school students in physical education is limited (Allison et al., 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical education experiences of Grade 10 high school males to explore their decisions to either enroll or not enroll in elective physical education in Grade 11. Semistructured focus group discussions elicited information on the experiences of Grade 10 male high school physical education students. Eight major themes emerged from the findings: value of physical activity, engagement in physical activity, disengagement from physical activity, Physical Education 10 status, teacher as leader, program knowledge, program status, and disenchantment with Physical Education 10 experience. The thesis discusses these themes and comments on the educational significance of the findings as possible impetus for future investigations into the programming needs of male high school students and their lifelong pursuit of physical activity.

This dissertation examines the discursive terms upon which people come to understand their experiences with a yeast-related disorder known speculatively within biomedical practice as Candida. Following the critical interrogations posed by feminist and poststructural theorizings, I aim not to prove or disprove Candidas etiological case. My aim, rather, is to question what can be learned about the social workings of undefined illness through attending to how people talk about their experiences with Candida. I am concerned both with peoples experiences of Candida, and in how these illness experiences come to be structured in and through the wider discursive framings of biomedicine, gender and dietary discipline. As Candida continues to emerge as unintelligibleand thus disorientingform of illness, the urgency lies, I argue, not only in representing these often nebulous illness experiences, but also in questioning how these illness experiences come to be shaped.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。