There are conflicting data in the literature regarding the effects of mirror exposure on subjective body-image evaluation. Much of the objective self-awareness research by Duval and Wicklund concluded that the presence of a mirror leads people to evaluate themselves negatively, while other studies have reported contrary findings. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effects of mirror confrontation on individuals' body image ratings. Subjects were 88 childless, female university students. Using the Eating Disorders Inventory-Body Dissatisfaction subscale (BDS) as a screener, subjects were assigned to either a High Satisfaction group or a Low Satisfaction group. The subjects then completed the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) in either a Mirror or No Mirror condition. Results suggest that the presence of the mirror had no measurable effect on the subjects' ratings of themselves on the MBSRQ. There was a main effect for satisfaction level, and no interaction was found between the satisfaction level and the mirror condition. Possible explanations for these findings are offered.

There are numerous approaches to quantitatively measure well-being. Most well-beingresearch are based on income or health situation from economics perspective. The needfor research on women’s relationship between education and well-being is an area thathas not been fully investigated. It is also important to know how the situation ofwomen’s well-being compare with men’s. The purpose of this research is to estimatewomen’s well-being and understand how well-being women is compared with men inChina. Different characteristics of men and women is considered and estimate thespecific relationship between education and well-being. Two measure of well-being areused: self-assessed unidimensional subjective well-being and parametrically estimatedmultidimensional well-being. Two measurement will help to understand the differencebetween subjectivity and objectivity of well-being. To achieve this goal, this researchcomputes and compares the well-being of 34,054 women and men by using ChineseGeneral Social Survey in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Well-being is measured by computingmultidimensionally by principal component analysis which depend on differentdomains of identity, capability, material well-being. All the domains contribute toindividual’s well-being. The findings suggest that, multidimensional well-being indexdiffer from the subjective well-being in ranking individual grouped by importantcommon characterizes. The difference is attributed to multidimensionality of the well-being index. Under this circumstance, education still does influence well-beingpositively conditional on controlling for identity, capability and material well-being.

Little is known about the early literacy development of girls later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism traits. In this study, parents of 21 girls later diagnosed with ASD or as having significant ASD traits were each interviewed about their daughter's early literacy development. In general, findings indicated that parents reported their daughters' early success with word level reading. Initially, parents conflated that one area of reading success to also indicate an overall accomplishment in broad reading skills. Findings also indicated that parents simultaneously acknowledged successful word level reading, yet over time noted specific challenges in early literacy domains such as speaking, listening, writing, and reading comprehension. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

It is becoming more apparent in recent years that many females with autism spectrum disorder (autism) have not been identified, sometimes until adulthood. Most of what is known about early signs of autism is based on predominantly male symptomatic presentations or data gathered from females with autism who are severely affected by autism and co-morbid conditions such as intellectual developmental disorder. One of the issues contributing to the under diagnosis of females is that the presentation of symptoms or traits and developmental histories of females with autism may not be the same as those of males. There is a gap in the research literature regarding the early presentations of autism in females, particularly for females with age-appropriate language and cognitive abilities. We interviewed parents of adolescent and adult females with significant autism symptoms or traits (but without intellectual developmental disorder). Interviews asked about developmental histories and parent recollections of differences they may have noticed in their daughters' early years. We also interviewed a group of parents whose daughters were not showing significant signs of autism but had similar social isolation and anxiety. Interpretative phenomenological analysis methods were used to analyze conversations with parents as a way to determine what seemed most salient to them about their daughters' early years without being influenced by symptom checklists. We found communication differences, restricted or repetitive interest and social communication differences to be recurring themes in the reports from parents interviewed. Learning about what early development in females with autism might look like can help us to reformulate our identification and assessment procedures for young children, particularly females who show developmental differences that have not previously been associated with autism.

It has been postulated that the differences in longevity observed between organisms of different sexes within a species can be attributed to differences in oxidative stress. It is generally accepted that differences are due to the higher female estrogen levels. However, in some species males live the same or longer despite their lower estrogen values. Therefore, in the present study, we analyze key parameters of mitochondrial bioenergetics, oxidative stress and apoptosis in the B6 (C57Bl/6J) mouse strain. There are no differences in longevity between males and females in this mouse strain, although estrogen levels are higher in females. We did not find any differences in heart, skeletal muscle and liver mitochondrial oxygen consumption (State 3 and State 4) and ATP content between male and female mice. Moreover, mitochondrial H2O2 generation and oxidative stress levels determined by cytosolic protein carbonyls and concentration of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine in mitochondrial DNA were similar in both sexes. In addition, markers of apoptosis (caspase-3, caspase-9 and mono- and oligonucleosomes: the apoptosis index) were not different between male and female mice. These data show that there are no differences in mitochondrial bioenergetics, oxidative stress and apoptosis due to gender in this mouse strain according with the lack of differences in longevity. These results support the Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging, and indicate that oxidative stress generation independent of estrogen levels determines aging rate.

Although there is an increase of career opportunities in science and technology fields, various research continues to reflect the under-representation of women in these areas. Panelists will report on their experiences in hosting summer math, science and/or technology camps being used to try and reverse this trend. They will discuss how data collected from camp sessions indicates that efforts to reverse this trend must be initiated at ages earlier than previously noted. The panelists will share successful and unsuccessful ideas and camp age appropriate activities, as well as advertising and implementation details.

Energy densities (ED, mJ/mm3) quantify mechanical work imposed on articular cartilages during function. This cross-sectional study examined differences in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ED during asymmetric versus symmetric jaw closing in healthy females versus males. ED component variables were tested for differences between and within sexes for two types of jaw closing. Seventeen female and 17 male subjects gave informed consent to participate. Diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders and images (magnetic resonance (MR), computed tomography) were used to confirm healthy TMJ status. Numerical modelling predicted TMJ loads (Fnormal) consequent to unilateral canine biting. Dynamic stereometry combined MR imaging and jaw-tracking data to measure ED component variables during 10 trials of each type of jaw closing in each subject's TMJs. These data were then used to calculate TMJ ED during jaw closing asymmetrically and symmetrically. Paired and Student's t tests assessed ED between jaw closing movements and sexes, respectively. Multivariate data analyses assessed ED component variable differences between jaw closing movements and sexes (α = 0.05). Contralateral TMJ ED were 3.6-fold and significantly larger (P <.0001) during asymmetric versus symmetric jaw closing, due to significantly larger (P ≤.001) distances of TMJ stress-field translation in asymmetric versus symmetric movement. During asymmetric jaw closing, contralateral TMJ ED were twofold and significantly larger (P =.036) in females versus males, due to 1.5-fold and significantly smaller (P ≤.010) TMJ disc cartilage volumes under stress fields in females versus males. These results suggest that in healthy individuals, asymmetric compared to symmetric jaw closure in females compared to males has higher TMJ mechanical fatigue liabilities.

This study examined some of the procedures used in eating disorder research. Body size estimation procedures, in light of their similarity to procedures in social psychology, were used to create self-focus and selfconsciousness conditions. If the procedures in the present study create self-consciousness effects, it is possible that the results of those studies have been affected by a heightened state of self-awareness. The present research also explored the relationships between self-consciousness, self-esteem, body esteem, body perception, and eating disorder proneness. The research was conducted with a nonclinical sample from a university population, controlling for age and body development factors. Baseline and experimental measures of objective self-awareness and body size perception were taken. The experimental conditions consisted of the presence of a) a VCR and mirror and b) an observer who was rating the subject. The third condition was a control setting that replicated the baseline setting. The sample was also tested at the posttest for self-esteem, body esteem, and eating disorder proneness. The results indicate that the subjects reported no significant changes in self-consciousness or body size estimates, suggesting that something besides the presence of equipment influences whether or not one feels selfconscious. This idea has been borne out in other research that implicates self-esteem as a major consideration in whether or not an individual feels self-conscious in certain situations (that is, that low self-esteem appears to increase one's amenability to induce self-consciousness). Another primary factor is that self-consciousness cannot be induced when the individual is interested in the task. Subjects in the present study indicated that they found the tasks inherently interesting and forgot about the presence of equipment and observers once they began thinking about the questions posed to them. In the present research, selfesteem and body esteem were both found to be negatively related to self-consciousness, while eating disorder proneness was found to be positively related to selfconsciousness. The results are discussed in light of these connections, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Despite advancements in the search of equity, females still struggle to find acceptance in the field of information and communication technology. Research indicates that differences in perception of ability of ICT use begin to manifest in the middle school level. This mixed methods study explored the experiences and perceptions of 46 middle school females and males to expose possible influential factors about the use of ICT by females. The dissertation study occurred in two phases. The first phase involved a survey that was given to the entire middle school. Data from the survey provided participants for the second phase, which involved a focus group discussion with six female students in grades 7 and 8 to examine influential factors in the use of ICT. Findings indicated statistically significant differences between males and females exist at the study site. Females were more likely to (a) access ICT at the after school program and at a relative’s house; (b) identify a relative as an important influence in ICT; (c) share created media; (d) declare higher experience with Photoshop; (e) seek medicine as potential career and less likely to (f) report building a robot or invention using technology; (d) use ICT to play multi-user online games; (f) express interest in action, competition, and graphics in games (h) know terms such as firewall and torrent; (i) pursue careers as computer programmers, engineers, or computer game designers than their male counterparts. The findings support the need for school leadership establishing or enhancing a technology integration program to consider the difference between males and females as foundational cornerstone in the technology integration program.

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