Juan Francisco Acosta (1890-1968) was a prolific composer, band conductor, and educator from Puerto Rico who created 1,256 original compositions. Even though his activities and influence were integral to the musical life of Puerto Rico in the twentieth century, many details of his life and works remain unknown. This project centers on Acosta’s contribution to the Puerto Rican tradition of the danza—a dance-based genre originating in the nineteenth century—through the study and arrangement of five of Acosta's danzas. Although Acosta composed most danzas for piano, he adapted them for performances by the municipal bands that he led in various towns. This practice of modifying his works for different instruments, as well as the importance of the guitar in Latin America, underpins the author’s choice to arrange his piano music for varied types of guitar combinations, including solo, duo, trio, and quartet. The five works are Bajo la sombra de un pino, Mercedes, Eres una santa, Dulce María, and In memoriam. The guitar arrangements of these five danzas are preceded by important information on the composer within the Puerto Rican music world, with emphasis on the intersections of the band and danza traditions. To enhance the study of these works, this document discusses basic stylistic features, including a comparison of forms, rhythms, and dance characters, and relates Acosta's treatment of the danza puertorriqueña to approaches of his Puerto Rican contemporaries. This document also includes performance guidelines to introduce Acosta's danza style to student and professional players. Based on primary biographical and musical sources, this study presents a foundation for a clearer understanding of the life and works of Acosta upon which further research, analysis, and criticism can be conducted. The arrangements offer a fresh look at new guitar repertoire using the peculiarities of rhythms and traditions of Puerto Rican and Carribean heritage. The arrangements also serve a pedagogical purpose by adding to the existing repertoire of ensemble music for the classical guitar.

Puerto Rico has been a United States territory since 1898. Since then, our identity and culture has been threatened by the impositions of the colonizer. The so-called “identity crisis” caused by the relationship with the U.S. government, is felt not only at a personal level, but also in our economy, politics and sociability. With the theme Decolonizing Architecture I explore our condition of colony, the struggles of the Puerto Rican people in favor of our emancipation and the role of architecture and memory to transcend our insular circumstance. My thesis focuses on the island of Vieques, a Puerto Rican Municipality that was invaded in 1941 by the U.S. Navy. The navy expropriated 2/3 of the island. The East was used as a weapons training facility and the West for ammunition storage. The Viequense community, of approximately 10,000 inhabitants, was left in the middle of training zones for war. In 2003, after more than five decades of relentless bombings and the many protests and civil disobedience acts against it from the local community, Puerto Ricans from the main island and in the diaspora, the navy withdrew from Vieques. Currently the previous Live Impact Area on the East side of Vieques is inaccessible due to cleanup from contamination but the land can be used to provide a renewable source of energy that would benefit the municipality. The intervention in the West is located on the former Naval Ammunition Storage Detachment where hundreds of abandoned bunkers are located. These bunkers will be rehabilitated to promote eco-tourism, to provide a space in memory of those who have died at the hands of the navy, and to commemorate Vieques’ triumph. The design proposal is my approach on how to return the land to the community. With this thesis I intend to recognize the collective memory of a people who are still struggling to control their destiny. We should never forget how the Viequenses got together and fought to defend their land and their dignity against the most powerful military in the world; in hopes that the rest of Puerto Ricans can someday understand Vieques as the beggining of the end of colonization.

Puerto Rico has been a United States territory since 1898. Since then, our identity and culture has been threatened by the impositions of the colonizer. The so-called “identity crisis” caused by the relationship with the U.S. government, is felt not only at a personal level, but also in our economy, politics and sociability. With the theme Decolonizing Architecture I explore our condition of colony, the struggles of the Puerto Rican people in favor of our emancipation and the role of architecture and memory to transcend our insular circumstance. My thesis focuses on the island of Vieques, a Puerto Rican Municipality that was invaded in 1941 by the U.S. Navy. The navy expropriated 2/3 of the island. The East was used as a weapons training facility and the West for ammunition storage. The Viequense community, of approximately 10,000 inhabitants, was left in the middle of training zones for war. In 2003, after more than five decades of relentless bombings and the many protests and civil disobedience acts against it from the local community, Puerto Ricans from the main island and in the diaspora, the navy withdrew from Vieques. Currently the previous Live Impact Area on the East side of Vieques is inaccessible due to cleanup from contamination but the land can be used to provide a renewable source of energy that would benefit the municipality. The intervention in the West is located on the former Naval Ammunition Storage Detachment where hundreds of abandoned bunkers are located. These bunkers will be rehabilitated to promote eco-tourism, to provide a space in memory of those who have died at the hands of the navy, and to commemorate Vieques’ triumph. The design proposal is my approach on how to return the land to the community. With this thesis I intend to recognize the collective memory of a people who are still struggling to control their destiny. We should never forget how the Viequenses got together and fought to defend their land and their dignity against the most powerful military in the world; in hopes that the rest of Puerto Ricans can someday understand Vieques as the beggining of the end of colonization.

Cette thèse se propose de définir les temps caractéristiques des processus d’altération à l'échelle de profil d'altération (bassin versant de Rio Icacos à Porto Rico) et de transfert sédimentaire subséquent dans les plaines alluviales (bassins du Gange et du Brahmapoutre). Cette problématique est abordée par l’analyse des nucléides des séries de désintégration radioactives de l’uranium-238. L’étude du système d’altération sphéroïdale développée sur le site de Porto Rico a permis de développer une méthode numérique de type quasi-Newton afin de résoudre le système d'équations qui rend compte du comportement des nucléides et du taux de formation de la saprolite et des couronnes d’altération.Pour les bassins du Gange et du Brahmapoutre, les sédiments ont été collectés sur différents affluents et à son exutoire. La variation des déséquilibres 238U-234U-230Th dans les sédiments, différente pour les sédiments en suspension et les sédiments à grains grossiers d’amont en aval, semble être une caractéristique générale des rivières himalayennes coulant dans la plaine Indo-gangétique. Par ce travail de thèse, nous avons montré l’utilité d’inclure l’analyse du 226Ra à l’analyse des autres nucléides de la chaîne de décroissance radioactive de l’238U (l’238U -234U-230Th 230Th) pour déterminer un taux d’altération dans un système bien défini. Néanmoins, l’étude du système du Brahmapoutre montre que la méthode proposée demande à être affinée car le transfert sédimentaire est un processus plus complexe dû à la variabilité minéralogique, granulométrique et à la dynamique sédimentaire (locale) des échantillons récoltés. / This thesis proposes to define the time-scales of weathering processes on a spheroidal weathering profile, (Rio Icacos watershed, Puerto Rico ) and the transfer time of sediments within alluvial plains (Ganges and Brahmaputra basins). This issue is addressed through the analysis of the nuclides of the 238U decay chain. The study of a spheroidal weathering system developed on the site of Puerto Rico permit to develop a limited memory quasi-Newton algorithm in order to solve the system of equations that reflects the behavior of nuclides and the rate of formation of the saprolite and the rindlet zone. For the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins, sediments were collected from different tributaries and their outlets. The variation of 238U - 234U - 230Th disequilibria in the sediments, with different variation trends for suspended and coarse-grained sediments, is probably a general feature of all Himalayan rivers flowing across the Indo-Gangetic plain. For this work, we have shown the usefulness of including the analysis of 226Ra analysis of other nuclides in the chain of radioactive decay of 238U (238U - 234U - 230Th) to determine the weathering rate in a well-defined system. Nevertheless, the study of the Brahmaputra system shows that proposed method needs to be refined as the sediment transfer is a complex process due to the mineralogical variability, size and (local) dynamics of sediments samples collected.

After sixty-two years of U.S. military testing, the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques and its residents continue to fight against ongoing environmental and social effects of U.S. hegemony. Starting with the arrival of the Spanish, then with U.S. occupation and use of Vieques as a military stopover, Viequense residents are used to U.S. governmental presence on their land. Despite the military’s removal from Vieques in 2003, many local residents have a fundamental lack of trust for the U.S. government. Because of this lack of trust and transparency with U.S. governmental actions in the post- World War II period, residents of Vieques do not see any difference between the USFWS, the EPA, CH2M Hill, and the U.S. Navy. However, many acknowledge that the U.S. government’s involvement may be good for the island, so there is some ambivalence about the U.S. government’s continued presence on the island, its role in developing Vieques, and bettering its current economic situation. While the majority of local activists claim that naval activities negatively affected island life through contamination of land and surrounding waters, also resulting in a range of human health problems, others argue that the U.S. Navy should not be demonized, and the island’s role in conservation should be paramount. These differing views reflect two opposing frameworks: one fighting against a colonizer and U.S. hegemony, and the other promoting a primarily conservation-based framework meant to protect non-human residents.

Habitat use of mesophotic coral reefs by sharks is largely unknown. However, it is well established that mesophotic reefs are the site of spawning aggregations for many species of teleost fish. These aggregations represent seasonal concentrations of potential prey biomass that may influence the habitat use of predatory species such as large sharks. I employed acoustic monitoring to examine the movements of three shark species lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris), tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), and Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi)] to determine 1) the comparative spatiotemporal patterns of mesophotic reef habitat use by the three shark species and 2) the spatiotemporal relationship between these sharks and grouper spawning aggregations at a fish spawning aggregation (FSA) site (Hind Bank and Grammanik Bank) along the southern reef shelf edge off St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands (USVI). Tiger and lemon sharks were detected across nearly the entire acoustic array, which spanned ~ 1060 km2. When present, Caribbean reef sharks used a much smaller activity space, composed exclusively of mesophotic reef habitat located within FSA sites. Individuals from all three species were typically detected for stretches of several consecutive days, while periods without detections usually lasted less than one week. Lemon sharks were present at the FSA site more often during the grouper spawning season (Dec-May) than the non-spawning season (Jun-Nov), but showed no preference toward specific areas within the FSA site, which varied by location and grouper species composition. In contrast, there was no relationship between the presence of tiger and Caribbean reef sharks at the FSA site and the grouper spawning season. My results suggest that despite different habitat use patterns and varying degrees of fidelity, this mesophotic reef serves as an important habitat to all three shark species.

On the night of April 20, 2010, a group of students from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Río Piedras campus, met to organize an indefinite strike that quickly broadened into a defense of accessible public higher education of excellence as a fundamental right and not a privilege. Although the history of student activism in the UPR can be traced back to the early 1900s, the 2010-2011 strike will be remembered for the student activists’ use of new media technologies as resources that rapidly prompted and aided the numerous protests. This activist research entailed a critical ethnography and a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of traditional and alternative media coverage and treatment during the 2010 -2011 UPR student strike. I examined the use of the 2010-2011 UPR student activists’ resistance performances in constructing local, corporeal, and virtual spaces of resistance and contention during their movement. In particular, I analyzed the different tactics and strategies of resistance or repertoire of collective actions that student activists used (e.g. new media technologies) to frame their collective identities via alternative news media’s (re)presentation of the strike, while juxtaposing the university administration’s counter-resistance performances in counter-framing the student activists’ collective identity via traditional news media representations of the strike. I illustrated how both traditional and alternative media (re)presentations of student activism developed, maintained, and/or modified students activists’ collective identities. As such, the UPR student activism’s success should not be measured by the sum of demands granted, but by the sense of community achieved and the establishment of networks that continue to create resistance and change. These networks add to the debate surrounding Internet activism and its impact on student activism. Ultimately, the results of this study highlight the important role student movements have had in challenging different types of government policies and raising awareness of the importance of an accessible public higher education of excellence.

[ES] El propósito de esta tesis es documentar el cambio de la máscara de vejigante, de objeto folklórico a icono contemporáneo. La investigación se centra en un mayor entendimiento de la máscara, magnificada a través de las tradiciones y el patrimonio, en la misma también se utilizó la investigación etnográfica. La investigación postula la teoría que presenta el efecto de culturas en conflicto, analizando el impacto que los Estados Unidos de América han tenido en Puerto Rico a través de la asimilación cultural. Junto con la investigación, completé una experimentación con mi obra personal en la cual se emplearon medios no convencionales y combinaciones de técnicas clásicas y contemporáneas. Esto ha proporcionado una plataforma en la que se abarca la apreciación y las secuelas del encuentro del vejigante en contextos contemporáneos. La documentación escrita sobre el tema es limitada. Se realizaron entrevistas para añadir información a la investigación donde escaseaba la literatura. Se entrevistó a historiadores del arte, artesanos y artistas, quienes presentaron una perspectiva local y una respuesta a los innegables cambios que se han producido en el Carnaval. Esto proporcionó otra forma de investigación derivada de la historia oral que ha sido necesaria para obtener una perspectiva mas amplia del vejigante. Es importante incluir estas historias transmitidas de generación en generación, ya que permiten que una historia cultural prospere aun cuando la información escrita disponible es limitada. Los resultados muestran que la máscara de vejigante experimentó un cambio en su representación física y cultural debido a la influencia y presencia de los Estados Unidos de América en la isla. Con la introducción de la cultura Americana, el concepto de vejigante ha logrado transformarse y evolucionar de las tradiciones carnavalescas a contextos contemporáneos. / [CA] El propòsit d'aquesta tesi es documentar el canvi de la màscara de vejigante, d'objecte folklòric a icona contemporània. La investigació se centra en un major enteniment de la màscara, magnificada a través de les tradicions i el patrimoni, en la mateixa també es va utilitzar la investigació etnogràfica. La investigació postula la teoria que presenta l'efecte de cultures en conflicte, analitzant l'impacte que els Estats Units d'Amèrica han tingut en Puerto Rico a través de l'assimilació cultural. Junt amb la investigació, hem completat la experimentació amb la meua obra personal en la qual es van emprar mitjans no convencionals i combinacions de tècniques clàssiques i contemporànies. Açò ha proporcionat una plataforma en la que es comprèn l'apreciació i les seqüeles de la trobada del vejigante en contextos contemporanis. La documentació escrita sobre el tema és limitada. Es van realitzar entrevistes per afegir informació a la investigació on escassejava la literatura. Es van entrevistar historiadors de l'art, artesans i artistes, que van presentar una perspectiva local i una resposta als innegables canvis que s'han produït en els Carnestoltes. Açò va proporcionar una altra forma d'investigació derivada de la història oral que ha sigut necessària per a obtindre una perspectiva mes àmplia del vejigante. És important incloure estes històries transmeses de generació en generació, ja que permeten que una història cultural prospere encara que la informació escrita disponible és limitada. Els resultats mostren que la màscara de vejigante va experimentar un canvi en la seua representació física i cultural a causa de la influència i presència dels Estats Units d'Amèrica en l'illa. Tot i la introducció de la cultura Americana, el concepte de vejigante ha aconseguit transformar-se i evolucionar de les tradicions carnavalesques a contextos contemporanis. / [EN] The purpose of this thesis is to document the change of the vejigante mask, from a folkloric object to a contemporary icon. The research focuses on a further understanding of the mask, magnified through traditions and heritage, executed with an advanced examination of ethnographic research. The investigation theorizes the impact of clashing cultures by analyzing the impact the United States of America has had on Puerto Rico through the use of cultural assimilation. In conjunction with the research, an experimentation with my personal artwork was completed by using unconventional mediums and combinations of classical and contemporary techniques. This provided the platform to encompass the appreciation and the aftereffects of the vejigante's encounter in contemporary contexts. Documentation on the subject is insufficient. Interviews were conducted to contribute evidence to the investigation where the literature lacked. Art historians, artisans, and artists were interviewed, and presented a local perspective and response to the undeniable changes that have taken place in the Carnival. This provided another form of research known as word-of-mouth, which is necessary in the contribution to the history of the vejigante. It is important to include the oral history that derives from word-of-mouth, stories passed down generation to generation, allowing a cultural history to thrive with limited information on the subject. The results display the vejigante mask experienced a shift in cultural depiction and representation due to the United States of America. Although, with the introduction to American culture, the concept of the vejigante was enabled to transform from Carnival traditions to contemporary contexts. / Glidden, CM. (2021). Vejigantes: from Traditional to Contemporary [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/167074 / TESIS

[ES] La pintura abstracta de tipo matérico se manifestó en Puerto Rico para la década de 1950 siguiendo en sus inicios los signos del arte estadounidense y europeos. Esta incorpora cantidades significativas de materiales pictóricos y/o extrapictóricos sobre el soporte. El estilo abstracto en Puerto Rico fue politizado por un grupo de artistas que entendieron que era un arte integrista de la cultura estadounidense y primaron la figuración como el estilo idóneo para afirmar la identidad cultural puertorriqueña. Este conflicto surgió en el contexto de la aprobación de la constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico en 1952 como fórmula de gobierno bajo los poderes plenos del Congreso de los Estados Unidos. El arte abstracto proliferó al margen del gobierno que auspiciaba a través del arte y la cultura el desarrollo de proyectos que sirvieron para forjar la idiosincrasia cultural puertorriqueña. Por una parte, analizamos la construcción de varios símbolos identitarios bajo el concepto de imágenes ardientes de Didi-Huberman para intentar explicar cómo la imagen figurativa se podría fijar en la memoria colectiva. Por otra parte, proponemos un análisis del fenómeno opuesto a la imagen, la abstracción matérica tomando en consideración la Teoría de la proyección sentimental de Theodoro Lipps esbozada por Wilheim Worringer. Esta argumenta que una de las posibles razones para que surja el "afán por la abstracción" proviene de una "intensa inquietud" provocada por las condiciones de vida adversas. Según Worringer, lo abstrayente evade representar la realidad por medio de las imágenes. Tomando en cuenta que la abstracción de tipo matérico se fundamenta en la incorporación de cargas de material pictórico o extra-pictóricos sobre el soporte o fuera del mismo, a modo de "derrame" de instalación-ambiente, proponemos que esta no necesariamente elude la realidad, sino que, forma parte de ella por el tipo de relieve que le identifica más con la tridimensionalidad. Consideramos el concepto de la transmodernidad esbozado por el filósofo Enrique Dussel como un acercamiento de análisis descolonizador que fija la atención en el reconocimiento de la producción local frente a las influencias extranjeras y más allá de ellas. En ese contexto que toma en cuenta las influencias euro-estadounidense pero que busca identificar razones locales que expliquen la manifestación de la pintura abstracta, identificamos las obras de tipo matérico más significativas en las colecciones públicas del país a lo largo de las décadas de 1950 al 2020. Finalmente, investigamos dos casos de estudio: los artistas Ivelisse Jiménez y Ángel Otero por ser estos representantes actuales de este tipo de arte con trayectorias consistentes. El análisis de sus obras nos permitió descubrir cuáles son sus influencias, a qué aluden sus abstracciones, qué tipo de evasión y regreso a la realidad, según Worringer y otras escuelas, plantean sus producciones artísticas y cuál es la aportación de la pintura abstracta de tipo matérico al conocimiento del arte en Puerto Rico. / [CA] La pintura abstracta de tipus matèric es va manifestar a Puerto Rico en la dècada del 1950, tot seguint inicialment els signes de l'art estatunidenc i europeu. Aquest tipus de pintura incorpora damunt del suport quantitats significatives de materials pictòrics i/o extrapictòrics. L'estil abstracte el va polititzar a Puerto Rico un grup d'artistes que el considerava com una part integral de la cultura estatunidenca, i per tant primà la figuració, que veia com l'estil idoni per a afirmar la identitat cultural porto-riquenya. Aquest conflicte va sorgir en el context de l'aprovació de la constitució de l'Estat Lliure Associat de Puerto Rico l'any 1952, com a fórmula de govern sota els poders plens del Congrés dels Estats Units. L'art abstracte va proliferar al marge del govern, que afavoria a través de l'art i la cultura el desenvolupament de projectes que serviren per a forjar la idiosincràsia cultural porto-riquenya. D'una banda, analitzem la construcció de diversos símbols identitaris sota el concepte d'imatges ardents de Didi-Huberman, tot mirant d'explicar com la imatge figurativa es podria fixar en la memòria col·lectiva. D'altra banda, proposem una anàlisi del fenomen oposat a aquesta imatge: l'abstracció matèrica. I ho fem tot prenent en consideració la teoria de la projecció sentimental de Theodoro Lipps, esbossada per Wilheim Worringer, teoria que argumenta que una de les possibles raons perquè sorgisca l'"afany per l'abstracció" prové d'una "intensa inquietud" provocada per les condicions de vida adverses. Segons Worringer, l'abstraent evadeix representar la realitat per mitjà de les imatges. Tenint en compte que l'abstracció de tipus matèric es fonamenta en la incorporació de càrregues de material pictòric o extrapictòric damunt del suport -o bé fora del suport, a manera de vessament d'instal·lació ambient- proposem que aquesta abstracció no necessàriament eludeix la realitat, sinó que en forma part pel tipus de relleu, que la identifica més amb la tridimensionalitat. Considerem el concepte de la transmodernitat, esbossat pel filòsof Enrique Dussel com una aproximació d'anàlisi descolonitzadora que fixa l'atenció en el reconeixement de la producció local, enfront i més enllà de les influències estrangeres. En aquest context, que té en compte les influències europees i estatunidenques, però que cerca identificar raons locals que expliquen la manifestació de la pintura abstracta, identifiquem les obres de tipus matèric més significatives de les col·leccions públiques del país al llarg de les dècades que van del 1950 al 2020. Finalment, investiguem dos casos d'estudi: els artistes Ivelisse Jiménez i Ángel Otero, que són representants actuals d'aquest tipus d'art amb trajectòries consistents. L'anàlisi de les seues obres ens ha permès descobrir quines són les seues influències, a què al·ludeixen les seues abstraccions, quin tipus d'evasió i retorn a la realitat, segons Worringer i altres escoles, plantegen les seues produccions artístiques, i quina és l'aportació de la pintura abstracta de tipus matèric al coneixement de l'art a Puerto Rico. / [EN] Abstract matter painting surge in the 1950s, following in its beginnings the signs of American and European art. It incorporates significant amounts of pictorial and/or all kind of materials on the support. The abstract style in Puerto Rico was politicized by a group of artists who understood it to be representative of the American culture and realistic art prevailed as the ideal style to affirm the Puerto Rican cultural identity. This conflict arose in the context of the approval of the constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952 as a form of government under the full powers of the United States Congress. Abstract art proliferated outside the government that sponsored through art and culture the development of projects that served to forge the Puerto Rican cultural idiosyncrasy. On the one hand, we analyze the construction of various identity symbols under Didi-Huberman's concept of burning images; to try to explain how the figurative image could be fixed in the collective memory. On the other hand, we propose an analysis of the phenomenon opposed to the image, the material abstraction, taking into consideration Theodore Lipps' Theory of Sentimental Projection outlined by Wilheim Worringer. This argues that one of the possible reasons for the surge of the "desire for abstraction" comes from an "intense concern" caused by adverse living conditions. According to Worringer, the abstractions evades representing reality through images. Considering that abstract matter painting is based on the incorporation of loads of material on the support, or outside of it, as an installation-environment "spill", we propose that it does not necessarily elude reality, but is part of it due to the type of relief that identify more with tridimensionality. We consider the concept of transmodernity outlined by the philosopher Enrique Dussel as an approach to decolonizing analysis that focuses on the recognition of local production in the face of foreign influences and beyond. In this context that considers Euro-American influences but seeks to identify local reasons that explain the manifestation of abstract painting, we identify the most significant materic abstract paintings in the country's public collections throughout the 1950s to 2020. Finally, we investigate two case studies: the artists Ivelisse Jiménez and Ángel Otero for being these current representatives of this type of art with consistent trajectories. The analysis of his works allowed us to discover which are their influences, what they allude, what kind of evation and return to reality according to Worringer and other schools their work propose and what is the contribution of abstract matter painting to the knowledge of art in Puerto Rico. / Cruz Corchado, R. (2022). La pintura abstracta matérica en Puerto Rico 1950-2020 [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181338 / TESIS

The incidence and prevalence of body piercing health complications among students is a public health matter that has not been researched in Puerto Rico. College students are the most consistent participants in body piercing activities and have reported health complications resulting in visits to medical offices and emergency rooms. Based on the health belief model, which is used to explain and predict health attitudes, the purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to analyze the health risks and possible complications occurring after body piercing and to investigate the association between sex and age and medical complications. Data were collected from 64 nursing students from Puerto Rico who completed the Body Piercing Experience survey. Results of descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses indicated no significant associations between sex and age and medical complications. Most participants reported they would repeat a body piercing after having knowledge of the health risks and complications of this activity. Results may be used in various ways: to change attitudes of health professionals and the general population regarding health implications related to body piercing; to develop educational programs for children, because results of this study revealed that piercing began in many participants at age 11; and to develop education through promotion and prevention programs with college students and others who engage in body piercing.