Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1973. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed September 21, 2006). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 382-389).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2005. / "May 2005." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-130). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (PhD) -- AUT University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (xiii, 297 leaves ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 305.488954093 NAY)

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Florida, 2005. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 235 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, August 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-111).

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes survey document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 84-89).

Thesis (MHSc--Health Science) -- Auckland University of Technology, 2005. / Also held in print (xvi, 195 leaves, col. ill., 30 cm.) in Akoranga Theses Collection. (T 305.9069120993 NAY)

The principle aim of this inquiry is to understand how elderly Hindu Punjabi women utilize and shape Ayurvedic knowledge in the broader context of their lives. Do these precepts constitute a way of knowing in the world as women, as seniors, as immigrants? Ayurveda furnishes a wealth of indigenous categories of understanding, which can function as epistemological tools, providing one means by which these elderly women are able to build more cohesive constructions of their selves and their current realities. While my interest lies in discerning health-related behaviours and beliefs, my research agenda reflects the scope and priorities of the women themselves who include in this domain a broad array of topics, most notably, family relations, food, and religion. So as to examine the continuity of constructions among the elderly subsequent to migration, the sample includes both elderly Punjabi Hindus who have migrated to Greater Vancouver, Canada (n = 10), as well as a comparable sample still residing in northwest India (n = 10). The methodology employed was a reflexive process which entailed a period of initial sensitization to relevant concepts (Hindi language training, participant observation), followed by a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews. While capable of eliciting more specific information on health and healing, this method simultaneously encouraged ‘life story’ constructions. The ‘critical-interpretivist’ stance (Scheper-Hughes and Lock) adopted for this study considers not only how people construct their worlds but the relations of power which constrain their choices. This paradigmatic position is articulated within a ‘three bodies’ framework which delineates the individual body, the social body, and the body politic. Other important theoretical influences include social science perspectives on emotion, selfhood and food. Profiles of two each of the women now living in India and Canada are presented so as to preserve the integrity of the women's stories which are otherwise fragmented by the subsequent analysis wherein all interviews are considered collectively according to common themes. The most predominant themes were (1) the socially-embedded nature of health and well-being which references especially, but not exclusively, relationships within the extended family; (2) the relationships drawn between particular foods, beverages, herbs and spices and one's mental, spiritual and physical health, (3) the all-pervasive idiom of balance; and (4) the complex interrelationships between that which is sacred, detached, and not confined to this life and more temporal concerns such as attachment, pride and so forth which ground people in this world. Evidence of a higher order category which unites all four themes—a recognition of the strong interrelationships between mind, body, and spirit—is apparent in every interview. So, too, however, is the competing ideology of the egocentric self coupled with an allopathic (dualistic) medical paradigm which seeks to separate spirit from mind, mind from body. A fifth theme is thus the accommodation of these two competing ideologies in the women's life-worlds. In sum, Ayurveda provides a rich metaphorical language according to which broadly conceived health concerns which are deemed to originate in familial concerns and other stressors such as loneliness can be readily discussed in terms of food. The ability to utilize this wealth of metaphor is most typically forsaken when religion is no longer integral to their lives in some form or another. The compartmentalization of religion, appears to reflect a more dualist (allopathically influenced) world-view in which holistic conceptions of self and health are marginalized. / Graduate

Using a grounded theory methodology, this research sought to describe the occupational change process Indian women experience as they settle in a new environment, with a focus on how they sustain their sense of self and well-being. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight women of Indian origin who had immigrated to New Zealand within the past five years in an attempt to generate theory about the processes that these immigrants' experience. A constant comparative analysis revealed a central change process, Two Becoming One, which encompassed three interconnecting occupational processes. The first process women experience is Oh God, Where Did I Come?. In this process, where the environment is new and unfamiliar, the women feel compelled to do familiar activities that they know they can accomplish, thus increasing confidence and supporting well-being. The second process, Being In The Change, sees the women learning more about their new environment and engaging in new occupations, while continuing to hold on to doing familiar activities. A New Zealander with an Indian Soul finds the women doing more as they embrace a strengthening sense of self and well-being and strive to build their future in a new land. Central to these three processes is the core category Two Becoming One. This process is a commentary on the women's journeys of integrating the demands of two cultures, each with its own unique environment and ways of doing things, while supporting a healthy sense of self and well-being throughout the experience. The study findings demonstrate the dynamic interplay that occurs within a person-environment-occupation interface. Situating the findings within current literature reveals the limitation of previous understandings of the person-environment-occupation dynamic, in relation to people performing in an unfamiliar environment. With an increasing trend of immigration worldwide, this study brings to light the importance of understanding the bearing that environmental context has on occupation and the resulting impact for persons' sense of self and well-being. Further research in this area is required to gain deeper awareness of the ways in which people interact with their environment over time, and the resultant effect on occupation.