This dissertation contributes to our understanding of the ‘class’ and gender dimensions of educational inequality. In doing this, it uses a “structure-disposition-practice” model that is rooted in Bourdieu’s theory of cultural and social reproduction but also draws from the theoretical formulations of subsequent sociologists to elaborate on the core concept, habitus, and make it more amenable to quantitative analyses. Habitus is a socialized set of dispositions that shapes how individuals orient to the social world, including their perception of their life chances and corresponding styles of thought and behaviour. The model posits that students’ habitus is a formative influence on how they react to their educational environments and affects their academic achievement. Furthermore, students’ habitus is affected by both their social ‘class’ and their gender, and these ‘class’ and gender differences help explain ‘class’ and gender disparities in educational achievement. Working with multilevel Canadian data from the linked PISA-YITS surveys, this study uses structural modeling to examine the relationships between family socioeconomic status, sex, habitus, academic practices, and academic achievement. As well, school contextual effects are included. A number of the findings were consistent with hypotheses. Most notably, the results provide some evidence that students’ family SES significantly affects their habitus and that their habitus significantly affects their academic achievement. For the most part gender differences in the model were modest, but a few differences were evident: the boys outscore the girls in math and science while the girls excel in reading, students’ SES has a relatively stronger effect on the girls’ academic achievement than on the boys’ achievement, while students’ habitus affects the boys’ academic achievement more strongly than the girls’ achievement. Finally, the average SES of the schools students attend affects both the boys’ and the girls’ academic achievement, but this effect is stronger for the boys, and the effect of the boys’ habitus on their academic achievement diminishes slightly as the average SES of the schools they attend increases; no such contextual interaction was evident for the girls. Overall, the results of this study give qualified support to Bourdieu’s framework and the potential of habitus and the “structure-disposition-practice” model to help us understand ‘class’ and gender differences in academic achievement.

This dissertation contributes to our understanding of the ‘class’ and gender dimensions of educational inequality. In doing this, it uses a “structure-disposition-practice” model that is rooted in Bourdieu’s theory of cultural and social reproduction but also draws from the theoretical formulations of subsequent sociologists to elaborate on the core concept, habitus, and make it more amenable to quantitative analyses. Habitus is a socialized set of dispositions that shapes how individuals orient to the social world, including their perception of their life chances and corresponding styles of thought and behaviour. The model posits that students’ habitus is a formative influence on how they react to their educational environments and affects their academic achievement. Furthermore, students’ habitus is affected by both their social ‘class’ and their gender, and these ‘class’ and gender differences help explain ‘class’ and gender disparities in educational achievement. Working with multilevel Canadian data from the linked PISA-YITS surveys, this study uses structural modeling to examine the relationships between family socioeconomic status, sex, habitus, academic practices, and academic achievement. As well, school contextual effects are included. A number of the findings were consistent with hypotheses. Most notably, the results provide some evidence that students’ family SES significantly affects their habitus and that their habitus significantly affects their academic achievement. For the most part gender differences in the model were modest, but a few differences were evident: the boys outscore the girls in math and science while the girls excel in reading, students’ SES has a relatively stronger effect on the girls’ academic achievement than on the boys’ achievement, while students’ habitus affects the boys’ academic achievement more strongly than the girls’ achievement. Finally, the average SES of the schools students attend affects both the boys’ and the girls’ academic achievement, but this effect is stronger for the boys, and the effect of the boys’ habitus on their academic achievement diminishes slightly as the average SES of the schools they attend increases; no such contextual interaction was evident for the girls. Overall, the results of this study give qualified support to Bourdieu’s framework and the potential of habitus and the “structure-disposition-practice” model to help us understand ‘class’ and gender differences in academic achievement.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1981. / "UMI Number: 9818031." Includes bibliographical references.

Melanoma is among the top ten most common cancers in the US. The health care delivery system patients participate in may affect access to, and utilization of, health care resources that may determine health outcomes. Much of the current literature has addressed lighter-skinned populations since these individuals are at greatest risk of developing melanoma. This Dissertation is focused on melanoma in nonwhite populations and the effect of health care delivery and access to care on outcome. Specifically, our aims were to review the literature in the area of melanoma among nonwhite populations and compare the incidence of melanoma among nonwhite populations in Florida to the US. Additionally, we sought to determine the stage of melanoma diagnosis for a 12 year period in fee-for-service (FFS) and health maintenance organizations (HMO), to determine if differences in mortality exist between these systems of health care delivery and if established involvement in a health care delivery system may, in part, be responsible for any differences seen in stage of diagnosis and survival. We found non-Hispanic black (NHB) females and Hispanic males in Florida had significantly higher incidence rates of invasive melanoma than their counterparts in the US, 60% and 20% respectively. We also found that Hispanic Medicare patients enrolled in HMO health care delivery systems were less likely to receive a diagnosis of regional versus earlier stages of melanoma compared to Hispanic patients enrolled in FFS systems. Additionally, non-Hispanic white (NHW) Medicare patients enrolled in HMO health care delivery systems were less likely to be diagnosed at a later stage of melanoma compared to NHW patients enrolled in FFS systems. Targeted educational interventions and earlier detection of melanoma are fundamental components of cancer prevention and control efforts aimed at decreasing mortality. More comprehensive medical training, expanded public education campaigns, and increased awareness among patients of all skin types to perform self-skin checks are highly recommended. Further studies elucidating the etiology and risk factors for melanoma among minority populations are needed. We recommend investigation of possible differences in the etiology of melanoma among darker-skinned individuals as well as differences between health care delivery systems.

Dental caries is a widespread global public health problem with significant health and financial implications. The purpose of this study was to determine dental caries prevalence, experience and severity, as well as to investigate disparities by geographic (urban/rural) location, dental health care utilization and oral hygiene practices in seven to eight year old Nova Scotia school children in 2006-2007. The study results demonstrated that over half (57.3%) of the seven to eight year old population was afflicted by dental caries in the overall dentition. Primary dentition caries prevalence was 55%, with a mean deft score of 2.58 ± 0.08 SE. Prevalence of permanent dentition caries was 14%, with a mean DMFT score of 0.26 ± 0.02 SE. The mean defs score was 6.86 ± 0.28 SE and the average DMFS score was 0.47 ± 0.04 SE. Geographic location was not found to have a major influence on dental caries prevalence, experience and severity in this population. However, a significant relationship was observed between dental caries and dental visit frequency, with higher overall caries prevalence and severity among those who visited the dentist less than once per year. Disparities in dental caries were also found by frequency of brushing, with significantly lower caries rates in those who brushed at least twice per day. Health promotion measures such as pit and fissure sealants and topical fluoride application in susceptible and high-risk children, and appropriate health education regarding recommended frequency of brushing twice per day using fluoridated toothpaste, as well as preventive and regular dental visits are merited to help promote children’s overall health and well-being.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. College of Social Science, 1987. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 295-322).

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Ljubisa Adamovich, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Program in International Affairs. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 13, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains v, 77 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: This study aims to unearth monological and monocultural discourses buried under the power of the dominant biomedical model governing the HIV/AIDS debate. The study responds to an apparent consensus, rooted in Western biomedicine and its "standardizations of knowledge," in the production of the current HIV/AIDS discourse, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, biomedicine has become the dominant actor (in) writing and rewriting discourse for the masses while marginalizing other forms of medical knowledge. Specifically, in its development, the Western biomedical model has arguably isolated the disease from its human host and the social experiences that facilitate the disease's transmission, placing it in the realm of laboratories and scientific experts and giving full ownership to Western medical discourse. Coupled with Western assumptions about African culture that reproduce a one-sided discourse informing the social construction of HIV/AIDS in Africa, this Western monopoly thus constrained the extent and efficacy of international prevention efforts. In this context, the goal for this study is not to demonize the West and biomedicine in general. Rather, this study seeks an alternative and less monolithic understanding currently absent in scientific discourses of HIV/AIDS that frequently elevates Western biomedicine over indigenous medicine; the Western expert over the local. The study takes into account the local voices of Sub-Saharan Africa and how the system has affected them, this study utilizes a Foucauldian approach to analyze discourse as a way to explore how certain ways of knowledge are formed in relation to power. This study also examines how certain knowlege is maintaned and reinforced within specific discourses. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Biology 2014

Class of 2012 Abstract / Specific Aims: To identify and assess cultural competency courses for healthcare professionals that are available to pharmacy students. Methods: A literature review was performed to identify research articles discussing pharmacy courses in health care disparities. Additionally, a systematic review of all curricula for ACPE accredited schools of pharmacy was conducted and these syllabi were subsequently evaluated. Main Results: The search identified XXX articles focusing on specific health disparities curricula in schools of pharmacy and XXX syllabi about specific courses. Out of those articles and syllabi XXX were included in the analysis. Results are pending. Conclusions: Anticipated results will be utilized to design effective health disparities curricula at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.

This study utilized a cross-sectional design to report quantitative results. Equal numbers of African American men, religious and non-religious, were sought out for comparison. Participants must have identified as African American, been 30 years of age or older, and lived within 10 miles of Carbondale, IL during the time of the study. African American men are at an increased risk of developing many diet-related disparities. This study aimed to see if religion influenced these factors.