Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-261).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 257-261).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1936. / Published also without thesis note. "Books used in this study": p. 199-207.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1936. / Published also without thesis note. "Books used in this study": p. 199-207.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1980.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1980.

As doenÃas sexualmente transmissÃveis (DST) sÃo importante causa de morbidade em todo o mundo, com considerÃveis repercussÃes mÃdicas, sociais e econÃmicas. Para traÃar o perfil epidemiolÃgico das DST em mulheres em idade fÃrtil de um pequeno municÃpio do interior do CearÃ, foi realizado um estudo de base populacional em Pacoti em janeiro e fevereiro de 2001. O estudo consistiu em questionÃrios estruturados, exame ginecolÃgico e diagnÃstico laboratorial para detecÃÃo de HPV, clamÃdia, tricomonas, gonorrÃia, sÃfilis e HIV. Participaram do estudo 734 mulheres entre 12 e 49 anos da zona urbana e rural do municÃpio (75% da populaÃÃo-alvo). Dentre essas, 592 haviam iniciado vida sexual e foram incluÃdas na anÃlise. As taxas de prevalÃncia foram: HPV 11,7% (IC 95%: 9,3-14,7), clamÃdia 4,5% (IC 95%: 3,0-6,6), tricomonas 4,1% (IC 95%: 2,7-6,1), gonorrÃia 1,2% (IC 95%: 0,5-2,6) e sÃfilis 0,2% (IC 95%: 0,0-1,1). Nenhum exame para HIV foi positivo. Apresentaram pelo menos uma DST 19,6% (IC 95%: 16,5-23,2) das mulheres. As DST foram mais prevalentes entre as adolescentes. A prevenÃÃo do cÃncer ginecolÃgico anterior mostrou forte efeito protetor contra ter DST (OR=0,4; IC 95%: 0,2-0,6). Foram identificados os seguintes fatores de risco: >2 parceiros na vida (OR=2,8; IC 95%: 1,8-4,4), idade da primeira gestaÃÃo <16 anos (OR=2,1; IC 95%: 1,1-4,1), nÃo saber se o parceiro tem outra parceira (OR=1,7; IC 95%: 1,0- 2,8), idade <20 anos (OR=1,9; IC 95%: 1,1-3,4), >1 parceiro nos Ãltimos 12 meses (OR=3,0, IC 95%: 1,4-6,7), inÃcio precoce da vida sexual (OR=2,0; IC 95%: 1,3-3,1) e nÃo habitar com o parceiro (OR=1,7; IC 95%: 1,1-2,7). Nenhum fator sÃcio-econÃmico mostrou associaÃÃo significativa a ter uma DST. O fator protetor e os primeiros trÃs fatores de risco acima mencionados foram independentemente associados a ter DST no modelo multivariado. As DST representam um importante problema na populaÃÃo estudada, e a identificaÃÃo dos fatores protetores e de risco pode orientar a implementaÃÃo de medidas de controle especÃficas que respeitem particularidades de gÃnero e faixa etÃria. O presente estudo permite inferir sobre a epidemiologia das DST em outros municÃpios de perfil semelhante. / Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are an important cause of morbidity throughout the world with considerable medical and socio-economic repercussions. To assess the epidemiological situation of STD among women of reproductive age in a small municipality in the hinterland of CearÃ, a population-based study was conducted in January and February 2001. The study consisted of application of structured questionnaires, gynecological examination and laboratory diagnosis to detect HPV, chlamydia, trichomonas, gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV. A total of 734 women aged 12 to 49 years participated in the study (75% of the target population). Among these, 592 had initiated sexual life and were included in the present analysis. The following prevalences were found: HPV 11,7% (IC 95%: 9,3-14,7), chlamydia 4,5% (IC 95%: 3,0-6,6), trichomonas 4,1% (IC 95%: 2,7-6,1), gonorrhea 1,2% (IC 95%: 0,5-2,6) and syphilis 0,2% (IC 95%: 0,0-1,1). There was no case of HIV infection. At least one STD was detected in 19,6% (IC 95%: 16,5-23,2). STD were more prevalent among adolescents. A previous pap smear collection showed an important protective effect against STD (OR=0,4; IC 95%: 0,2-0,6). The following risk factors were identified: >2 partners in life (OR=2,8; IC 95%: 1,8-4,4), first pregnancy <16 years of age (OR=2,1; IC 95%: 1,1-4,1), not knowing if the partner has another partner (OR=1,7; IC 95%: 1,0-2,8), being <20 years of age (OR=1,9; IC 95%: 1,1-3,4), >1 partner in the last 12 months (OR=3,0; IC 95%: 1,4-6,7), early sexual debut (OR=2,0; IC 95%: 1,3-3,1) and not living with a partner (OR=1,7; IC 95%: 1,1-2,7). There was no significant association between STD and socio-economic variables. The above mentioned protective factor and the first three risk factors were independently associated with STD in the multivariate analysis. STD represent an important problem in the population studied, and the identification of protective and risk factors can guide the implementation of gender and age specific control measures. The present study allows to conclude about the STD epidemiology in other municipalities with similar characteristics.

My dissertation, Understanding the Gray:Aging Women in Victorian Culture and Fiction, explores the cultural construction of aging for middle-class Victorian women and how aging was experienced and then depicted within novels. Chiefly, I work from midcentury to the end of the century in order to understand the experience of aging and ways women were ascribed age due to their position in society as spinsters, mothers, and progressive women. I explore how the age of fictional women reflects and contributes to critical debates concerning how Victorian women were expected to behave. Debates over separate spheres, how women were perceived in British society, and how women’s rights changed during the 19th century highlight how aging affected women and how they were treated throughout the century. Victorian fiction illustrates the ways women achieved different roles in society and how age and the perception of age affected their ability to do so. Understanding how aging was experienced, understood, and ascribed to Victorian women who fought in various ways for new terms of citizenship and mobility helps us begin to trace how we treat and respond to aging in women today. The first chapter outlines the social status of unmarried women and spinsters, considering how age affected women’s ability to lead professional lives in Charlotte Brontë’s Villette (1853). The second chapter, on George Eliot’s Felix Holt: The Radical, explores older motherhood through Mrs Transome and illustrates how the novel seeks to teach younger women of the pitfalls of unequal marriages. The third chapter builds a cultural understanding of how aging was linked to progressive, anti-domestic womanhood and racial impurity through the New Woman and in H.R. Haggard’s She.

This thesis provides the first study of the representation, performance, and reception of Shakespeare’s ageing women in early modern and present-day England. It contributes an exposition of the physiology and theory of early modern ageing, drawing on this original material to make an argument for the ageing woman as a source of anxiety within the plays as they were originally staged, and as they are performed and received today. It finds the old and ageing woman in Shakespeare’s drama to be represented as physically and verbally excessive; the thesis also identifies a corresponding urge in the plays and in their reception towards the ageing woman’s containment and control. This containment is exercised in the text, the rehearsal room, the theatre, and the public space of performance reviews. My introduction determines my methodology and establishes the terms of reference for the project. The first chapter defines early modern old age and delivers a study of the early modern literature and theory of the ageing body. Each of the four subsequent chapters explores an ageing female character or characters through the lens of a theme: magic, motherhood, sexuality, and memory. The characters studied are drawn from The Merry Wives of Windsor, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Coriolanus, King John, All’s Well That Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, and Richard III. Some brief concluding remarks complete the thesis. The larger project of the thesis is a cultural study. Throughout, I am keen to learn how characters are talked about as well as written and performed. My effort to understand the work which Shakespeare’s older women are asked to carry out in the present day defines my methodology: I draw on prompt books, production recordings, reviews, costume, photographs, programmes, and interviews with actors and directors to aid my investigation, juxtaposing these with close study of the written plays and the early modern culture and knowledge which underpins them. The word count, exclusive of bibliography but inclusive of all footnotes and an appendix, is approximately 92,000.

The purpose of this study was to understand the factors that encourage midlife women to make exercise and dietary changes, the prevalence of those changes, the process by which women make them, the factors that support or impede them, and how we can enhance women’s capacity to make health behaviour changes in midlife. Since the literature highlighted the importance of self-efficacy in changing health behaviour, and of health-related quality of life as a widely recognized measure of women’s mental and physical wellbeing, the study sought to understand the relationship between exercise and dietary self-efficacy, health behaviour change and health-related quality of life (SF-36), by testing a modified version of Bandura’s 1977 and 2002/2004b models of self-efficacy. The methodology involved postal surveys as well as semi-structured interviews with a subsample of the women who completed the survey. Surveys were sent to 866 women aged 51-66 years from rural and urban locations in Queensland, Australia. Five hundred and sixty-four (69%) were completed and returned. Survey data was analysed using descriptive and bivariate statistics and structural equation modeling. Thematic analysis was used to analyse interviews. The results confirmed that midlife is a significant time for women to make positive health behaviour changes. Almost 40% of women made a change to their exercise and around 60% made a dietary change since turning 40. The main exercise change was doing more walking and the most common dietary change was reducing fat intake. Self-efficacy was shown to be a key influence on whether women made positive changes to their health in midlife. In the relationship between health behaviour change and health-related quality of life, making a positive change to exercise was significantly related to physical but not mental health, and making a dietary change was not related to either physical or mental health. Body mass index was shown to be an important influence on both self-efficacy and health-related quality of life (particularly physical health). Interviews were conducted with 29 of the participants. Interview data reinforced that the main motivations to make a positive health behaviour change among midlife women were being overweight, having an injury or being diagnosed with an illness or health condition. Witnessing the hardship experienced by others with a degenerative disease could also prompt a positive behaviour change. Successful changes mainly involved modifying existing practices and repeating new behaviours until they became part of the daily routine. The main facilitators of health behaviour change were having positive role models, having more time due to retirement, and having support from significant others (such as husbands), health professionals and organizations such as Weight Watchers. The main obstacles to making changes were work, care giving, illness and injury. Bandura’s (1977, 2000/2004b) model was partially supported, but the cross-sectional nature of the study may have been a limitation in demonstrating all aspects of the self-efficacy process. In summary, women are willing to make positive health behaviour changes in midlife, but they need education and support to have those changes be effective. It is anticipated that this research will lead to a greater understanding of the significance of midlife as a time for making healthy lifestyle changes that have the potential to improve women’s health and quality of life in later years.