This thesis describes and demonstrates the use of discourse analysis as a means of facilitating critical awareness and stimulating research practice within a consumer research context. In a generic sense, discourse analysis applies to a range of semiotic methods for studying text (including talk, writing and visual images), where the objective is to gain insight into both the meanings of a text and what it signifies. Emphasis is placed on the constructive use of language, where texts of various kinds are said to construct our social world. Two approaches to discourse analysis are detailed. Firstly, Foucauldian discourse analysis is shown to operate more generally and globally as a social and cultural resource that underpins many human endeavours and activities. Under this approach, discourses are seen as resources that interact with one another. Foucauldian discourse analysis is therefore quite a different enterprise from the finer-grained investigation of talk and texts that is undertaken in discourse analysis and discursive psychology. Instead, discourses are treated as being dynamic in nature, having the ability to mutate over time, and gain dominance in certain settings and cultural locations. Discourse analysis under this approach facilitates critical awareness because it seeks to uncover the ways in which such discourses produce, maintain and constrain people within particular positions and relationships. Secondly, a discursive psychological approach to discourse analysis focuses on the strategic use of discourse within a particular piece of text, where interaction and the acknowledgement of such interaction by the researcher underscores the importance of language and the ways that people purposefully and strategically use language to achieve particular outcomes or goals. A discursive psychological approach focuses upon discursive practices and constructions, rather than cognitive-perceptual processes. A discourse analytic approach is therefore able to potentially redefine and stimulate current research practice. Psychological phenomena that might have traditionally been framed and studied as 'cognitive' and 'internal' processes can be recast as particular situated discursive accomplishments that people are able to draw upon. Because analysis is not subject to what may be termed 'cognitive reductionism' (where attempts to explain social events and processes are made entirely by reference to events and structures in the mental processes of individuals), a discursive analytic approach suggests new insights into current research practice. The specific context for analysis within this thesis is provided by an advertising campaign for Xenical, a pharmaceutical product promoted as a treatment for obesity. Xenical was one of the first prescription medications to be marketed directly to consumers in New Zealand via the use of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), a relatively recent form of marketing communication. The Xenical advertising campaign created both controversy and high awareness for the product. Contributing to this controversy was the overt use of DTCA itself, which critics suggest influences patient demand, encourages the use of expensive and sometimes unnecessary medications and in effect, 'creates' disease. As argued here, positioning obesity as a disease in effect justifies (warrants) the pharmaceutical industry�s efforts to offer medical solutions. In addition to the use of DTCA, the nature of the Xenical advertisements was also controversial. Critics suggested that the Xenical advertisements were based upon negative emotions, associating the state of being overweight with feelings of sadness, shame and embarrassment. These 'emotions' become a key subject in the current study. But in this thesis, rather than viewing such emotions as internal and mental phenomena, the use of discourse analysis focuses on the socio-cultural nature of emotions. Discourse analysis is concerned with uncovering the ways in which bodily sensations are rendered into language and what the subsequent implications for the speaker might be as a result. Using the advertising campaign for Xenical as context then, discourse analysis is used as a research approach to examine the television advertisements from multiple perspectives. Analysis includes the study of the casting tapes that were used by the advertising agency as source material to inform the creative strategy for the advertisements. In addition, one of the Xenical advertisements is deconstructed in greater detail, outlining the effects of visual and aural discourses that weave together to convey meaning within the advertisement. Analysis is informed by interviews conducted with the creative director of the advertisements as well as the marketing manger for Xenical. Discourse analysis allows us to examine the ways in which the producers of an advertisement purposefully (although perhaps unknowingly) create particular effects for strategic reasons, and how advertisements may be subsequently read as a consequence. The final analysis is based on a reader-response to the advertising campaign. Analysis focuses on the �emotional� talk contained within a particular interview, and how talk functions as performance. Rather than treating emotional talk as a description or reflection of inner psychological worlds, discourse analysis examines participant talk in terms of its content and meanings and how participants use such talk to construct their worlds. Although often overlooked within traditional forms of consumer research, the importance of representing social interaction through detailed interview transcripts is demonstrated, underscoring the analysis provided. Results suggest that the language of description and the methods of data capture that are typically utilised within consumer research are not able to provide an accurate account of the external world. This is because the only way we can know our world is always going to be mediated by and through language, and as a consequence, the meanings and interpretations available to us are never going to be transparent or neutral representations. The findings suggested in this thesis are intended as a starting point for subsequent research into the study of language in use and human meaning making within advertising and consumer research environments. Because consumer research has borrowed heavily from the social sciences and particularly from psychology, then it is important that researchers within the discipline re-examine many of the psychological topics that we commonly take for granted by considering the way such talk and text is used in action. Discourse analysis provides a research approach that enables such a re-examination.

This thesis describes and demonstrates the use of discourse analysis as a means of facilitating critical awareness and stimulating research practice within a consumer research context. In a generic sense, discourse analysis applies to a range of semiotic methods for studying text (including talk, writing and visual images), where the objective is to gain insight into both the meanings of a text and what it signifies. Emphasis is placed on the constructive use of language, where texts of various kinds are said to construct our social world. Two approaches to discourse analysis are detailed. Firstly, Foucauldian discourse analysis is shown to operate more generally and globally as a social and cultural resource that underpins many human endeavours and activities. Under this approach, discourses are seen as resources that interact with one another. Foucauldian discourse analysis is therefore quite a different enterprise from the finer-grained investigation of talk and texts that is undertaken in discourse analysis and discursive psychology. Instead, discourses are treated as being dynamic in nature, having the ability to mutate over time, and gain dominance in certain settings and cultural locations. Discourse analysis under this approach facilitates critical awareness because it seeks to uncover the ways in which such discourses produce, maintain and constrain people within particular positions and relationships. Secondly, a discursive psychological approach to discourse analysis focuses on the strategic use of discourse within a particular piece of text, where interaction and the acknowledgement of such interaction by the researcher underscores the importance of language and the ways that people purposefully and strategically use language to achieve particular outcomes or goals. A discursive psychological approach focuses upon discursive practices and constructions, rather than cognitive-perceptual processes. A discourse analytic approach is therefore able to potentially redefine and stimulate current research practice. Psychological phenomena that might have traditionally been framed and studied as 'cognitive' and 'internal' processes can be recast as particular situated discursive accomplishments that people are able to draw upon. Because analysis is not subject to what may be termed 'cognitive reductionism' (where attempts to explain social events and processes are made entirely by reference to events and structures in the mental processes of individuals), a discursive analytic approach suggests new insights into current research practice. The specific context for analysis within this thesis is provided by an advertising campaign for Xenical, a pharmaceutical product promoted as a treatment for obesity. Xenical was one of the first prescription medications to be marketed directly to consumers in New Zealand via the use of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), a relatively recent form of marketing communication. The Xenical advertising campaign created both controversy and high awareness for the product. Contributing to this controversy was the overt use of DTCA itself, which critics suggest influences patient demand, encourages the use of expensive and sometimes unnecessary medications and in effect, 'creates' disease. As argued here, positioning obesity as a disease in effect justifies (warrants) the pharmaceutical industry�s efforts to offer medical solutions. In addition to the use of DTCA, the nature of the Xenical advertisements was also controversial. Critics suggested that the Xenical advertisements were based upon negative emotions, associating the state of being overweight with feelings of sadness, shame and embarrassment. These 'emotions' become a key subject in the current study. But in this thesis, rather than viewing such emotions as internal and mental phenomena, the use of discourse analysis focuses on the socio-cultural nature of emotions. Discourse analysis is concerned with uncovering the ways in which bodily sensations are rendered into language and what the subsequent implications for the speaker might be as a result. Using the advertising campaign for Xenical as context then, discourse analysis is used as a research approach to examine the television advertisements from multiple perspectives. Analysis includes the study of the casting tapes that were used by the advertising agency as source material to inform the creative strategy for the advertisements. In addition, one of the Xenical advertisements is deconstructed in greater detail, outlining the effects of visual and aural discourses that weave together to convey meaning within the advertisement. Analysis is informed by interviews conducted with the creative director of the advertisements as well as the marketing manger for Xenical. Discourse analysis allows us to examine the ways in which the producers of an advertisement purposefully (although perhaps unknowingly) create particular effects for strategic reasons, and how advertisements may be subsequently read as a consequence. The final analysis is based on a reader-response to the advertising campaign. Analysis focuses on the �emotional� talk contained within a particular interview, and how talk functions as performance. Rather than treating emotional talk as a description or reflection of inner psychological worlds, discourse analysis examines participant talk in terms of its content and meanings and how participants use such talk to construct their worlds. Although often overlooked within traditional forms of consumer research, the importance of representing social interaction through detailed interview transcripts is demonstrated, underscoring the analysis provided. Results suggest that the language of description and the methods of data capture that are typically utilised within consumer research are not able to provide an accurate account of the external world. This is because the only way we can know our world is always going to be mediated by and through language, and as a consequence, the meanings and interpretations available to us are never going to be transparent or neutral representations. The findings suggested in this thesis are intended as a starting point for subsequent research into the study of language in use and human meaning making within advertising and consumer research environments. Because consumer research has borrowed heavily from the social sciences and particularly from psychology, then it is important that researchers within the discipline re-examine many of the psychological topics that we commonly take for granted by considering the way such talk and text is used in action. Discourse analysis provides a research approach that enables such a re-examination.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 2005. / Supervisor: I. L. Bourgeault. Includes bibliographical references.

Two possible motivators for physical activity are health and appearance. The public sector focuses on health as the primary motivator when creating physical activity promotion campaigns, while the fitness industry uses appearance as its main motivator. Despite the call by some theorists that social marketers should include both health and appearance as motivators in physical activity campaigns, whether these factors can be successful independently, and how they may interact, remains to be determined. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine whether televised health promotion exercise advertising had different effects on viewers than appearance-based exercise advertising. Four separate experiments examined this question. Experiment one used undergraduate participants (N = 103) to examine whether the two types of exercise advertising would have different effects on three dependent variables: exercise attitudes, social physique anxiety and self-presentation in an exercise setting. Experiment two examined the same questions in a group of participants aged 44 to 67 years (N = 29). Experiment three used an undergraduate sample (N = 89) to test the effects of exercise advertising on the three dependent variables, but also included sociocultural attitudes towards appearance as an independent variable. Experiment four used an undergraduate sample (N = 97) to test whether the two forms of exercise advertising had different effects on stages of behaviour change, self-efficacy for exercise, and decisional balance (from the transtheoretical model). All four experiments used a pre-test/post-test experimental design. Participants filled out pre-test questionnaires one week prior to viewing a twenty-minute video on Japanese culture that made no reference to exercise or sport. Embedded into the video were advertising breaks that contained six neutral advertisements and three target advertisements. The target advertisements in one video were promoting physical activity for health. The second video contained exercise for appearance advertisements, and the third was a control video with three more neutral advertisements. After viewing a video, participants completed the post-test questionnaires. The main findings across the series of experiments were that health-based exercise advertising positively influenced exercisers and older participants; that appearance-based exercise advertising had negative effects on men only; and that there is a distinction between self-presentational concerns in a non-competitive exercise environment compared to a competitive exercise environment. / Graduate

Oxidative stress is characterized by the cellular accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increased production of ROS, such as the superoxide anion (O2.-), or a deficiency in their clearance by antioxidant defenses, mediates the cellular pathology. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a broad spectrum liver disorder commonly manifesting in milieu of the metabolic syndrome. Oxidative stress is an important pathogenic mediator in NAFLD, and in its associated morbidities like atherosclerosis. The objective of my research was to investigate the regulation of oxidative stress and the antioxidant actions of natural health products (NHPs) in the context of NAFLD and its associated disorders. The O2.- generating NADPH oxidase contributes to atherogenesis by facilitating macrophage induced vascular injury. In manuscript I, the plant alkaloid berberine effectively abolished NADPH oxidase mediated O2.- production in lipopolysaccharide stimulated macrophages. Real-time PCR analysis and siRNA transfection studies revealed that berberine mediated its effects through down-regulation of the oxidase’s catalytic subunit gp91phox. Berberine also restored the activity of the O2.- clearing enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). High fat diet (HFD) fed rodents are a popular model for investigating NAFLD pathogenesis. In manuscript II, folic acid supplementation significantly reduced HFD-induced hepatic oxidative stress and liver injury in mice. Folic acid decreased NF-kB/DNA binding, down-regulated NADPH oxidase gene expression, and inhibited the oxidase. The antioxidant activities of SOD and catalase were restored and the reduced to oxidized glutathione ratio (GSH:GSSG) was re-established with folic acid supplementation. Folic acid’s hepatoprotective antioxidant effects were associated with a marked improvement in liver histology. Homocysteine (Hcy) levels are perturbed in NAFLD, but the etiology is unclear. In manuscript III, HFD fed mice exhibited decreased Hcy levels. Real-time PCR and Western Immunoblotting analysis revealed that Hcy catabolising enzymes cystathionine-b-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine-g-lyase (CSE) were increased in the liver of these animals. The transsulfuration activities of these enzymes were elevated and coincided with enhanced hepatic hydrogen sulfide biosynthesis. Glutathione was maintained despite increased hepatic oxidative stress. Taken together, NHPs such as berberine and folate, and Hcy catabolising enzymes CBS and CSE, might have therapeutic potential for managing oxidative stress in NAFLD and its associated co-morbidities. / October 2015

O desenvolvimento de produtos para a saúde suplementar para consumidores da terceira idade tem sido um dos principais desafios das operadoras de planos de saúde no Brasil. Esta preocupação torna-se relevante a partir da análise da pirâmide populacional que projeta um significativo aumento do número de idosos no país, saindo de 21 milhões em 2012 para 64 milhões em 2050. A partir deste entendimento, a intenção do estudo foi a de desenvolver uma pesquisa qualitativa de caráter exploratório que tem como questão central que tipos de produtos deverão ser desenvolvidos pelo setor de saúde privada para atender às necessidades de consumidores idosos, considerando os indicadores sociais que projetam, para a próxima década, um significativo envelhecimento da população. Esse fenômeno social surge como uma oportunidade para os setores de marketing dessas operadoras, que deverão aproveitar um mercado esquecido. É a partir desse cenário que este estudo pretende percorrer o tema proposto, observando os atuais modelos e propondo novas alternativas. O estudo também poderá contribuir para o desenvolvimento de modelos de Atenção Integral à Saúde do Idoso, podendo gerar para as operadoras uma oportunidade de redução de custos a partir do redesenho de programas assistenciais. A estratégia de marketing analisada neste trabalho teve como principais objetivos: identificar os aspectos que influenciam a saúde, a qualidade de vida, os fatores emocionais e o comportamento de consumo dos idosos no Brasil, na aquisição de um plano de saúde; analisar as questões regulatórias junto à Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar (ANS) para o desenvolvimento de novos produtos de saúde, além de identificar e analisar as características necessárias para um novo produto para atender este perfil de consumidor No estudo, foram realizadas entrevistas com consumidores com e sem cobertura de plano de saúde, além de profissionais com atividade multidisciplinar que trabalham com a terceira idade. A partir da análise das entrevistas, foi possível perceber os aspectos influenciadores que afetam a escolha do idoso por um plano de saúde. Os resultados indicam a possibilidade real no desenvolvimento de produtos de saúde para idosos observando características exclusivas e diferenciadas com destaque para a forma de relacionamento assistencial com este perfil de consumidor. O conjunto de evidências a partir das entrevistas realizadas em profundidade é muito consistente. O estudo se justifica pelo interesse social e mercadológico e pela possibilidade de verificar, na prática, a viabilidade no desenvolvimento de produtos de saúde com características específicas para a terceira idade. / The development of products for the supplementary health to the costumers of third age has been one of the main challenges of the health insurance plan providers in Brazil. This concern became relevant since the analysis of the population pyramid which projects a significant increase of the number of elderly people in the country, coming from 21 million in 2012 to 64 million in 2050. From this understanding, the study intention was to develop an exploratory and qualitative research which has as central question what might be the types of products developed by the private healthcare sector to attend the needs [GLdS1] of the elderly costumers, considering the social indicators which project, to the next decade, a significant population ageing. This social phenomenon appears as an opportunity to the marketing sector of these providers, which shall seize a forgotten market. It is from this scenario that the study pretends to explore the proposed theme, observing the current models and proposing new alternatives. The study also could contribute to the development of models of full healthcare of elderly people. It can generate for the providers an opportunity of reducing costs from the redesign of the assistance programs. The marketing strategy analyzed in this work has as main goals: identifying the aspects that influence the health, quality of life, emotional factors and the costumer behavior of elderly in Brazil in the acquisition of a healthcare plan, analyzing the regulatory questions at The National Regulatory Agency for Private Health Insurance and Plans (ANS) to the development of new health products in addition to identify and to analyze the necessary characteristics to a new product to attend this profile of costumer In the study, it were conducted interviews with costumers with and without healthcare plan coverage and with professionals with multidisciplinary activity whom work with elderly people. From the analysis of the interviews, it was possible to realize the influencing aspects that affect the choice of the elderly people for one healthcare plan. The results indicate the real possibility in the development of health products for the elderly observing exclusive and differentiated characteristics with emphasis to the form of assistance relationship with this profile of costumer. The set of evidences from the interviews performed in depth is very consistent. The study is justify by the social an market interest and by the possibility to verify in practice the possibility in the development of health products with specific characteristics to the elderly.

Η μελέτη ασχολείται με την δυνατότητα δημιουργίας πολυκαταστήματος προιόντων υγείας μέσω της διερεύνησης των αγοραστικών συμπεριφορών των καταναλωτών και των προτιμήσεών τους για διάφορα καταστήματα πώλησης τέτοιων προιόντων.Η έρευνα έγινε με διανομή ερωτηματολογίων την περίοδο Δεκέμβριος 2004-Ιανουάριος 2005.Από τη συλλογή και επεξεργασία των δεδομένων με το λογισμικό SPSS 13.0, φαίνεται πως οι καταναλωτές επιθυμούν τη δημιουργία πολυκαταστήματος, και σε αυτήν μεσολαβούν διάφορα χαρακτηριστικά τους όπως τα καταναλωτικά τους πρότυπα και δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά. / Τhis study concerns the possibility of the construction of a drugstore and it investigates the buying behaviour and the consumers preferences of existing stores that sell health products. The survey was conducted with the dispence of questionaires during the period between December 2004-January 2005.From the statistical analysis of the collected data, which was made with SPSS 13.0, it is suggested that consumers wish the constructin of a drugstore.Their wish is mediated by certain consumers characteristics, such as their buying decision-making process and demographic factors.

O desenvolvimento de produtos para a saúde suplementar para consumidores da terceira idade tem sido um dos principais desafios das operadoras de planos de saúde no Brasil. Esta preocupação torna-se relevante a partir da análise da pirâmide populacional que projeta um significativo aumento do número de idosos no país, saindo de 21 milhões em 2012 para 64 milhões em 2050. A partir deste entendimento, a intenção do estudo foi a de desenvolver uma pesquisa qualitativa de caráter exploratório que tem como questão central que tipos de produtos deverão ser desenvolvidos pelo setor de saúde privada para atender às necessidades de consumidores idosos, considerando os indicadores sociais que projetam, para a próxima década, um significativo envelhecimento da população. Esse fenômeno social surge como uma oportunidade para os setores de marketing dessas operadoras, que deverão aproveitar um mercado esquecido. É a partir desse cenário que este estudo pretende percorrer o tema proposto, observando os atuais modelos e propondo novas alternativas. O estudo também poderá contribuir para o desenvolvimento de modelos de Atenção Integral à Saúde do Idoso, podendo gerar para as operadoras uma oportunidade de redução de custos a partir do redesenho de programas assistenciais. A estratégia de marketing analisada neste trabalho teve como principais objetivos: identificar os aspectos que influenciam a saúde, a qualidade de vida, os fatores emocionais e o comportamento de consumo dos idosos no Brasil, na aquisição de um plano de saúde; analisar as questões regulatórias junto à Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar (ANS) para o desenvolvimento de novos produtos de saúde, além de identificar e analisar as características necessárias para um novo produto para atender este perfil de consumidor No estudo, foram realizadas entrevistas com consumidores com e sem cobertura de plano de saúde, além de profissionais com atividade multidisciplinar que trabalham com a terceira idade. A partir da análise das entrevistas, foi possível perceber os aspectos influenciadores que afetam a escolha do idoso por um plano de saúde. Os resultados indicam a possibilidade real no desenvolvimento de produtos de saúde para idosos observando características exclusivas e diferenciadas com destaque para a forma de relacionamento assistencial com este perfil de consumidor. O conjunto de evidências a partir das entrevistas realizadas em profundidade é muito consistente. O estudo se justifica pelo interesse social e mercadológico e pela possibilidade de verificar, na prática, a viabilidade no desenvolvimento de produtos de saúde com características específicas para a terceira idade. / The development of products for the supplementary health to the costumers of third age has been one of the main challenges of the health insurance plan providers in Brazil. This concern became relevant since the analysis of the population pyramid which projects a significant increase of the number of elderly people in the country, coming from 21 million in 2012 to 64 million in 2050. From this understanding, the study intention was to develop an exploratory and qualitative research which has as central question what might be the types of products developed by the private healthcare sector to attend the needs [GLdS1] of the elderly costumers, considering the social indicators which project, to the next decade, a significant population ageing. This social phenomenon appears as an opportunity to the marketing sector of these providers, which shall seize a forgotten market. It is from this scenario that the study pretends to explore the proposed theme, observing the current models and proposing new alternatives. The study also could contribute to the development of models of full healthcare of elderly people. It can generate for the providers an opportunity of reducing costs from the redesign of the assistance programs. The marketing strategy analyzed in this work has as main goals: identifying the aspects that influence the health, quality of life, emotional factors and the costumer behavior of elderly in Brazil in the acquisition of a healthcare plan, analyzing the regulatory questions at The National Regulatory Agency for Private Health Insurance and Plans (ANS) to the development of new health products in addition to identify and to analyze the necessary characteristics to a new product to attend this profile of costumer In the study, it were conducted interviews with costumers with and without healthcare plan coverage and with professionals with multidisciplinary activity whom work with elderly people. From the analysis of the interviews, it was possible to realize the influencing aspects that affect the choice of the elderly people for one healthcare plan. The results indicate the real possibility in the development of health products for the elderly observing exclusive and differentiated characteristics with emphasis to the form of assistance relationship with this profile of costumer. The set of evidences from the interviews performed in depth is very consistent. The study is justify by the social an market interest and by the possibility to verify in practice the possibility in the development of health products with specific characteristics to the elderly.

O desenvolvimento de produtos para a saúde suplementar para consumidores da terceira idade tem sido um dos principais desafios das operadoras de planos de saúde no Brasil. Esta preocupação torna-se relevante a partir da análise da pirâmide populacional que projeta um significativo aumento do número de idosos no país, saindo de 21 milhões em 2012 para 64 milhões em 2050. A partir deste entendimento, a intenção do estudo foi a de desenvolver uma pesquisa qualitativa de caráter exploratório que tem como questão central que tipos de produtos deverão ser desenvolvidos pelo setor de saúde privada para atender às necessidades de consumidores idosos, considerando os indicadores sociais que projetam, para a próxima década, um significativo envelhecimento da população. Esse fenômeno social surge como uma oportunidade para os setores de marketing dessas operadoras, que deverão aproveitar um mercado esquecido. É a partir desse cenário que este estudo pretende percorrer o tema proposto, observando os atuais modelos e propondo novas alternativas. O estudo também poderá contribuir para o desenvolvimento de modelos de Atenção Integral à Saúde do Idoso, podendo gerar para as operadoras uma oportunidade de redução de custos a partir do redesenho de programas assistenciais. A estratégia de marketing analisada neste trabalho teve como principais objetivos: identificar os aspectos que influenciam a saúde, a qualidade de vida, os fatores emocionais e o comportamento de consumo dos idosos no Brasil, na aquisição de um plano de saúde; analisar as questões regulatórias junto à Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar (ANS) para o desenvolvimento de novos produtos de saúde, além de identificar e analisar as características necessárias para um novo produto para atender este perfil de consumidor No estudo, foram realizadas entrevistas com consumidores com e sem cobertura de plano de saúde, além de profissionais com atividade multidisciplinar que trabalham com a terceira idade. A partir da análise das entrevistas, foi possível perceber os aspectos influenciadores que afetam a escolha do idoso por um plano de saúde. Os resultados indicam a possibilidade real no desenvolvimento de produtos de saúde para idosos observando características exclusivas e diferenciadas com destaque para a forma de relacionamento assistencial com este perfil de consumidor. O conjunto de evidências a partir das entrevistas realizadas em profundidade é muito consistente. O estudo se justifica pelo interesse social e mercadológico e pela possibilidade de verificar, na prática, a viabilidade no desenvolvimento de produtos de saúde com características específicas para a terceira idade. / The development of products for the supplementary health to the costumers of third age has been one of the main challenges of the health insurance plan providers in Brazil. This concern became relevant since the analysis of the population pyramid which projects a significant increase of the number of elderly people in the country, coming from 21 million in 2012 to 64 million in 2050. From this understanding, the study intention was to develop an exploratory and qualitative research which has as central question what might be the types of products developed by the private healthcare sector to attend the needs [GLdS1] of the elderly costumers, considering the social indicators which project, to the next decade, a significant population ageing. This social phenomenon appears as an opportunity to the marketing sector of these providers, which shall seize a forgotten market. It is from this scenario that the study pretends to explore the proposed theme, observing the current models and proposing new alternatives. The study also could contribute to the development of models of full healthcare of elderly people. It can generate for the providers an opportunity of reducing costs from the redesign of the assistance programs. The marketing strategy analyzed in this work has as main goals: identifying the aspects that influence the health, quality of life, emotional factors and the costumer behavior of elderly in Brazil in the acquisition of a healthcare plan, analyzing the regulatory questions at The National Regulatory Agency for Private Health Insurance and Plans (ANS) to the development of new health products in addition to identify and to analyze the necessary characteristics to a new product to attend this profile of costumer In the study, it were conducted interviews with costumers with and without healthcare plan coverage and with professionals with multidisciplinary activity whom work with elderly people. From the analysis of the interviews, it was possible to realize the influencing aspects that affect the choice of the elderly people for one healthcare plan. The results indicate the real possibility in the development of health products for the elderly observing exclusive and differentiated characteristics with emphasis to the form of assistance relationship with this profile of costumer. The set of evidences from the interviews performed in depth is very consistent. The study is justify by the social an market interest and by the possibility to verify in practice the possibility in the development of health products with specific characteristics to the elderly.

Common observations of reduced gonad size and spawning inhibition in wild and laboratory raised fish exposed to pulp mill effluents indicate that reproductive neuroendocrine signalling pathways may be upset. This thesis supported the neuroendocrine disruption of reproduction hypothesis by identifying potential disruptors and targets where these impacts may occur. A mechanistic study of the in vivo fathead minnow (FHM) spawning assay used by industry to assess effluent quality showed that ovulation, but not milt production, was impaired. This finding supported the hypothesis that the neuroendocrine cascade that triggers ovulation may be disrupted. I hypothesized that neuroactive constituents previously described in effluents were originating in wood feedstocks and neuroactive extracts of hardwood and conifer feedstocks were identified. Phytochemicals associated with effluents were neuroactive. Structurally similar phenolic phytochemicals showed monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibition, and resin acid diterpenes displayed glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) inhibition. Inhibitors of these enzymes may have impacts on the control of reproduction since MAO metabolizes dopamine, an inhibitor of the neuroendocrine reproductive axis, while GAD synthesizes -aminobutyric acid (GABA), a stimulator of this axis. Bioassay-guided fractionations of effluents and wood feedstocks identified that medium polar extracts of primary- and secondary-treated effluents and balsam fir feedstock contained high GAD inhibitory activity. This activity was associated with chemically complex fractions rather than single active principles. Advanced metabolomic comparison of medium polar extracts of feedstock and treated effluent identified 15 common plant metabolites, demonstrating that phytochemicals entering the mill in wood are surviving pulp production and effluent treatment processes and may be responsible for observed GAD inhibition. Discriminant metabolomics analysis identified 4-acetylpyridine, a novel compound to be described in effluents, as well as two other tentatively identified compounds, as chemical markers of GAD inhibitory effluent fractions. Five tentatively identified chemical markers and (+)-lariciresinol were found in inhibitory balsam fir feedstock fractions. Neuroendocrine pathways that control reproduction in fish, such as dopamine and GABA pathways, are also important drug targets for the treatment of neurological disorders in mammals; therefore these results also have implications for the development of natural health products from phytochemicals and tree extracts common to Canadian forests. By using an interdisciplinary approach (phytochemistry, neuroendocrinology, ecotoxicology), I was able to explore the various implications of my research on the fields of natural health products chemistry and aquatic toxicology.