Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Mary Alice Guttman. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-147).

Although research on mentoring dates back to the early 1980’s, there is little research available which examines the influence of past mentoring experiences on relationships in which female school executives, in turn, serve as the mentors. This interpretive qualitative case study, based on data collected from conversational interviews with three selected female school executives, was designed to explore and investigate the past and present mentoring relationships of these female school executives to understand more clearly the influence of their past mentoring experiences. Four distinct strands of mentoring interactions emerged from the key findings of this study. The four strands include: Strand I: Career Development and Psychosocial Functions, Strand II: Attributes of Successful Mentoring Relationships, Strand III: Values of Successful Mentoring Relationships, and Strand IV: Mutual Attraction, Reciprocity, and Interpersonal Comfort. After studying the various data that were collected, it became evident that the degree of influence of past mentoring experiences is interdependent and mutually connected to the mentoring interactions of Strand IV: Mutual Attraction, Reciprocity, and Interpersonal Comfort. In these specified relationships, there appeared to be a greater degree of emotional connectivity and intimacy which served as an avenue to support the influence of past mentoring experiences in relationships where these females, in turn, mentored others. Studies, such as this, add to the literature base regarding the importance of mentoring for females and thus affect mentoring practices, policies, and guidelines and serve to address the gap which sometimes exits between theory and practice. Since research has shown females remain historically underrepresented in educational leadership positions and mentoring is critical to the success of females who do occupy these positions, it is females who should gain the most benefit from studies of this nature.

The following work investigates the critical history, and offers a rereading, of the symbol of the rosebud in Guillaume de Lorris's and Jean de Meun's thirteenth-century The Romance of the Rose. An interpretation of the rosebud as the female beloved, while invoked on the basis of convention and context, is continually undermined by the literal details of the symbol itself. The phallic shape and male owner of the rosebud cast it as an indeterminately gendered symbol. In the absence of a secure female object-mirror in which to view himself as verifiably masculine, the subjectivity of the Narrator-Lover undergoes a radical fragmentation such that it comes to resemble the indeterminacy of the rosebud. The relation of sameness between the speaking voice and rosebud situates it as a subversive copy, rather than feminized reflection or Other, of the Narrator-Lover figure. In addition to its imagery, a dynamic of sameness underwrites the structure of the poem, which progresses through a sophisticated interplay of repetition such that the distortions that accrue as a result of allusions and reiterated events stand as sites of irony and implication. While an allegory, the poem is not necessarily interpretable as a conventional romance. Readings that posit it as such rely on a definition of allegory as a bilevel narrative in which a conventional, allegorical, message overrides the particularities of the literal text. Rather than beyond, however, the meaning of the poem's imagery inheres in the material construction of the figures themselves. As an allegory the Rose generates, not another level of meaning, but a complex set of interconnections that compels its readers to attend to and negotiate the text's surface dynamics. The subject matter of the Rose is not so much the politics of love as the politics of interpretation. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study was undertaken to make a comparative analysis of selected nonintellective characteristics of intellectually superior female students who persisted and those who did not persist in an Advanced Placement Program offering sequentially planned course offerings in mathematics and science. A second dimension of the study was an investigation of selected nonintellective traits to determine if the students' scores are elevated in the same direction as those of superior female adults who have been studied on essentially the same dimensions.

BACKGROUND There is an extraordinary common medical condition that affects millions of people, mostly women. It is associated with high levels of disability, discomfort and loss of productivity. People seldom talk about it and suffer in silence and have a fear of being ridiculed or embarrassed. It is not breast cancer, nor osteoporosis, nor heart disease nor is it depression. It is urinary incontinence – the loss of bladder control, which affects the lives of millions of people globally. General Practitioners (GP‟s) do not have a good knowledge about the topic and are therefore not managing Urinary Incontinence (UI) appropriately. AIM To assess the knowledge, attitudes and reported practices of general practitioners related to adult female patients with urinary incontinence in Greater Johannesburg. OBJECTIVES To determine the demographics of the respondents belonging to the various Independent Practitioner Associations (IPA's). Variables include age, sex, year qualified, postgraduate qualifications, and the number of years in clinical practice. To determine the demographics of the respondents practice. Variables include, age distribution, gender distribution, and the number of patients seen with urinary incontinence per month. To determine the knowledge of the respondents regarding urinary incontinence in adult females. Variables include prevalence, aetiology, types of urinary incontinence, associated risk factors and reversible factors. v To determine the attitudes of the respondents regarding urinary incontinence in adult females. Variables include feelings of empathy, frustration, etc. To determine the management of the respondents regarding urinary incontinence in adult females. Variables include access of referral facilities, screening, examination, investigation, and medication. METHODS The study was done amongst the Independent Practitioner Associations in the greater Johannesburg area. A questionnaire was administered to GP‟s attending IPA meetings, data was collected with regards to the demographics of the GPs and their practices as well as the knowledge, attitudes and reported practices of the GPs. RESULTS The response rate cannot be calculated as the number of GPs who attended the IPA meetings is not known. One hundred and thirteen respondents met the inclusion criteria for the study. The data was collected over a 10-month period during 2006. Males accounted for 76 (68.5%) and females for 35 (31.5%) of all respondents. Two (1.8%) respondents had three postgraduate qualifications, 11 (9.7%) respondents had two postgraduate qualifications and 38 (33.6%) respondents had one postgraduate qualification. The prevalence of patients with UI was higher amongst female respondents, 33 (97.1%) as compared to male respondents 67 (88.2%). Feelings of empathy was experienced by 94 (88.7%) respondents and 81 (81%) respondents would never avoided the discussion about UI with patients. Most respondents rated their knowledge on aetiology 82 (78.1%), diagnosis 79 (73.8%), investigation 58 (54.2%) and management 58 (54.7%) as good and very good.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) has a long history of identifying adolescents who are at risk of displaying delinquent behaviors. However, MMPI research regarding behaviors observed from adolescents while incarcerated is non-existent. This dissertation examines the usefulness of the adolescent version of the MMPI (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992) in predicting specific unit infractions for female juvenile delinquents incarcerated in a state facility in Texas. Unit infractions were placed into groups based on behavioral relatedness. MMPI-A scales were selected for analyses based on behavioral descriptors related to unit infractions. Logistic regression was performed to test whether elevated MMPI-A scales, dichotomized at 55T, 60T, 65T and 70T could predict behaviorally related groupings. Analyses suggest that the MMPI-A is not very useful in statistically predicting unit infractions.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is metabolized through a series of remethylation and transsulphuration processes that require the co-factors vitamins B6, folate (the nutrient derived from food, and folic acid is supplemental), and B12. Homocysteine metabolism results in the production of creatine (Cr). By way of negative feedback creatine supplements could potentially decrease Hcy production. Low dietary intake of vitamins and creatine, often a consequence of a vegetarian diet may also increase serum Hcy concentrations. It was therefore the purpose of this study to examine the effect of a five day creatine loading period (0.25 g Cr/kg lean body mass (LBM)/day) in female vegetarians (VG) (n=9, age 25 ± 3.6) and non-vegetarians (NV) (n=11, age 24 ± 5.9) on serum levels of Hcy, vitamins B6 and B12, whole blood folate, and on a number of fitness measures known to be positively affected by creatine supplementation: peak torque and average power during leg extensions; one repetition maximum (1RM) bench and leg press; peak power during repeated Wingate anaerobic tests. Aside from a difference in change scores for leg press, there were no differences between dietary groups for the fitness measures, and therefore the participants were pooled for comparisons between time points. Urinary creatine was significantly greater following the five day loading period (81 ± 113 vs. 647 ± 421 µmol). In contrast, urinary creatinine did not change. A significant increase in plasma vitamin B6 (pyridoxal 5-phosphate) was found (72 ± 24 vs. 94 ± 24 nmol/L) (p < 0.05), although there were no between group differences. Serum Hcy, vitamin B12, and whole blood folate levels did not change significantly over time in either group. Participants showed significant increases post-loading in bench press (45 ± 13 vs. 48 ± 12 kg.) and leg press (116 ± 35 vs. 125 ± 40 kg) (p < 0.05). Changes scores for leg press were greater for the vegetarian participants when compared with non-vegetarians (16 ± 16 vs. 3 ± 9 kg). Significant improvements post-loading were also noted for peak torque (85.0 ± 15.0 vs. 91.8 ± 12.9 Nm) and average power (99.5 ± 14.4 vs. 107.1 ± 14.8 W) (p < 0.05). Peak power during repeated Wingate anaerobic tests also significantly improved in response to the intervention (449.2 ± 92.6 vs. 472.4 ± 103.5 W) (p < 0.05). This response did not differ however between the two diet groups. These results suggest that a five day creatine loading protocol similarly affects fitness performance measures in both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. There was no significant effect of the supplementation protocol on serum Hcy concentration, suggesting that the supplemented creatine did not decrease the reformation of Hcy, as originally hypothesized.

Homocysteine (Hcy) is metabolized through a series of remethylation and transsulphuration processes that require the co-factors vitamins B6, folate (the nutrient derived from food, and folic acid is supplemental), and B12. Homocysteine metabolism results in the production of creatine (Cr). By way of negative feedback creatine supplements could potentially decrease Hcy production. Low dietary intake of vitamins and creatine, often a consequence of a vegetarian diet may also increase serum Hcy concentrations. It was therefore the purpose of this study to examine the effect of a five day creatine loading period (0.25 g Cr/kg lean body mass (LBM)/day) in female vegetarians (VG) (n=9, age 25 ± 3.6) and non-vegetarians (NV) (n=11, age 24 ± 5.9) on serum levels of Hcy, vitamins B6 and B12, whole blood folate, and on a number of fitness measures known to be positively affected by creatine supplementation: peak torque and average power during leg extensions; one repetition maximum (1RM) bench and leg press; peak power during repeated Wingate anaerobic tests. Aside from a difference in change scores for leg press, there were no differences between dietary groups for the fitness measures, and therefore the participants were pooled for comparisons between time points. Urinary creatine was significantly greater following the five day loading period (81 ± 113 vs. 647 ± 421 µmol). In contrast, urinary creatinine did not change. A significant increase in plasma vitamin B6 (pyridoxal 5-phosphate) was found (72 ± 24 vs. 94 ± 24 nmol/L) (p < 0.05), although there were no between group differences. Serum Hcy, vitamin B12, and whole blood folate levels did not change significantly over time in either group. Participants showed significant increases post-loading in bench press (45 ± 13 vs. 48 ± 12 kg.) and leg press (116 ± 35 vs. 125 ± 40 kg) (p < 0.05). Changes scores for leg press were greater for the vegetarian participants when compared with non-vegetarians (16 ± 16 vs. 3 ± 9 kg). Significant improvements post-loading were also noted for peak torque (85.0 ± 15.0 vs. 91.8 ± 12.9 Nm) and average power (99.5 ± 14.4 vs. 107.1 ± 14.8 W) (p < 0.05). Peak power during repeated Wingate anaerobic tests also significantly improved in response to the intervention (449.2 ± 92.6 vs. 472.4 ± 103.5 W) (p < 0.05). This response did not differ however between the two diet groups. These results suggest that a five day creatine loading protocol similarly affects fitness performance measures in both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. There was no significant effect of the supplementation protocol on serum Hcy concentration, suggesting that the supplemented creatine did not decrease the reformation of Hcy, as originally hypothesized.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) has a long history of identifying adolescents who are at risk of displaying delinquent behaviors. However, MMPI research regarding behaviors observed from adolescents while incarcerated is non-existent. This dissertation examines the usefulness of the adolescent version of the MMPI (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992) in predicting specific unit infractions for female juvenile delinquents incarcerated in a state facility in Texas. Unit infractions were placed into groups based on behavioral relatedness. MMPI-A scales were selected for analyses based on behavioral descriptors related to unit infractions. Logistic regression was performed to test whether elevated MMPI-A scales, dichotomized at 55T, 60T, 65T and 70T could predict behaviorally related groupings. Analyses suggest that the MMPI-A is not very useful in statistically predicting unit infractions.