Christian theology often determines the roles of women and men based on a particular interpretation of the creation accounts in Genesis 1-3. The interest is to discover what roles God has assigned for men and women in the state before the fall, hence before the entrance of sin. This dissertation argues that Christian theology of roles of women and men should be founded on Christology that upholds Christ as a model and his teachings as a guide. The roles of women and men in the creation story cannot serve as an ideal for current relationships. This argument is based on two major themes: the knowledge of life before the fall, and the conceptual framework of the creation story. Positing that a problem is induced by a particular understanding of the creation story that was proposed primarily by St. Augustine, this dissertation is also a critique of his ideas of the state before the fall and sin. The knowledge of life addresses four issues. First, God-assigned purposes for men and women are sometimes thought knowable. However, nature as a God-assigned purpose and nature as a current structure and tendency are often confused. Second, although there are various views regarding the genre of the creation account and also about who Adam and Eve are, the consideration and evaluation of these proposed views are often neglected in current discussions of roles of women and men. Third, the creation story is God's revelation that humans understand through special revelation (scripture) and general revelation (nature, history, reason, and conscience). Nonetheless, the interpretation of the sinless, perfect state before the fall accompanies a methodological difficulty: the world after the fall cannot adequately provide materials necessary for the interpretation of the pre-fall state. Fourth, not only through special revelation of scripture, but also through general revelation, humans encounter a challenge in accessing the pre-fall state. To know the moral perfection of Adam and Eve through reason or conscience is as difficult as to know divine perfection through general revelation. As to the conceptual framework of the creation story, mainly two views have been proposed: the Augustinian and Irenaean. Unlike the former that depicts the human state before the fall as perfect, the Irenaean view delineates the state as good but not perfect. The examination of human callings in the creation account shows that the latter view is more appropriate than the former. The Irenaean idea of the imperfect state before the fall not only allows contemporary readers to both interpret the story and understand it noetically-so a pedagogical purpose of the creation story is achievedbut also reveals that whatever the pre-fall state ofhuman roles may have been, it was more a starting-point than an ideal for all time. Humans are not to look to the pre-fall state as the standard for the hierarchical or egalitarian role of women today. What God has revealed ofthe kingdom of God to come in the second Adam, the perfect bearer of God's image, Jesus Christ, is a clearer and more applicable standard. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Explanations for Latinas high fertility levels have been centered in terms of current or actual fertility, as measured by children ever born (CEB). However, studies of this nature have failed to utilize methods appropriate for evaluating a count variable, such as CEB. Even fewer analyses have incorporated "ideal" fertility as an explanatory factor of actual fertility, particularly in the case of Latinas. In this thesis, multiple Poisson and zero-inflated Poisson regression models are used to assess the impact of independent factors on ideal and actual fertility among Latinas, as compared to white women. In the comparative analyses of ideal and actual fertility (CEB), the independent variables in demographic composition (marital status), socialization factors (mother's CEB and church attendance), socioeconomic and employment status (education and employment) and fertility history and intentions (abortions) are found to be consistently, significantly related to both ideal and actual fertility. More importantly, women have higher intended than actual fertility. The fact that Mexican women have been able to realize their fertility intentions provides a better understanding of the fertility behavior of Latinas. This means that Latinas actually want the larger numbers of children that they are having.

Explanations for Latinas high fertility levels have been centered in terms of current or actual fertility, as measured by children ever born (CEB). However, studies of this nature have failed to utilize methods appropriate for evaluating a count variable, such as CEB. Even fewer analyses have incorporated "ideal" fertility as an explanatory factor of actual fertility, particularly in the case of Latinas. In this thesis, multiple Poisson and zero-inflated Poisson regression models are used to assess the impact of independent factors on ideal and actual fertility among Latinas, as compared to white women. In the comparative analyses of ideal and actual fertility (CEB), the independent variables in demographic composition (marital status), socialization factors (mother's CEB and church attendance), socioeconomic and employment status (education and employment) and fertility history and intentions (abortions) are found to be consistently, significantly related to both ideal and actual fertility. More importantly, women have higher intended than actual fertility. The fact that Mexican women have been able to realize their fertility intentions provides a better understanding of the fertility behavior of Latinas. This means that Latinas actually want the larger numbers of children that they are having.

Background: Uninformed generalizations about how many elderly people have ever lived, based on a poor understanding of demography, are found in a surprising number of important publications. Objective: We extend the methodology applied to the controversial question "how many people have ever been born?" initiated by Fucks, Winkler, and Keyfitz, to the proportion of people who have ever reached a certain age y and are alive today (denoted as TT(y, T ))). Methods: We first analyze the fraction TT(y, T )) by using demographic data based on UN estimates. Second, we show the main mathematical properties of TT(y, T )) by age and over time. Third, we complete our analysis by using alternative population models. Results: We estimate that the proportion who have ever been over 65 that are alive today (as of 2010) ranges between 5.5 and 9.5%. We extend the formal demographic literature by considering the fraction of interest in two frequently referred models: the stable and hyperbolic growth populations. Conclusions: We show that statements claiming half of all people who have ever reached the age of 65 are alive today ranges would never be attainable, neither theoretically nor empirically, according to existing data. Contribution: We have produced for the first time a harmonized reconstruction of the human population by age throughout history. For a given contemporaneous time T, we demonstrate analytically and numerically that TT(y, T )) is nonmonotonic in age y. For a given age y, we show tthat TT(y, T) may also be nonmonotonic with respect to T.

Background Cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction and stroke, are the main reason of death in Sweden and Western Europe. High iron stores are believed to produce oxygen radicals, which is the presumed putative mechanism behind lipid peroxidation, atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular disease. Iron levels are associated with the hemochromatosis associated HFE single nucleotide polymorphisms C282Y and H63D. Bilirubin is an antioxidant present in relatively high levels in the human body. Several previous studies have found an association between high bilirubin levels and a lower risk for cardiovascular disease. Bilirubin levels are highly influenced by the common promoter polymorphism TA-insertion UGT1A1*28, the main reason for benign hyperbilirubinemia in Caucasians. There is a lack of prospective studies on both the association of iron and bilirubin levels, and the risk for myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Material and methods Iron, transferrin iron saturation, TIBC, ferritin and bilirubin were analyzed and HFE C282Y, HFE H63D and UGT1A1*28 were determined in myocardial infarction and stroke cases, and their double matched referents within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study Cohort. Results There were no associations between iron levels in the upper normal range and risk for myocardial infarction or stroke. No associations were seen for HFE-genotypes, except for a near fivefold increase in risk for myocardial infarction in HFE H63D homozygous women. Plasma bilirubin was lower in cases vs. referents both in the myocardial infarction and the stroke cohort. Despite a strong gene-dosage effect on bilirubin levels in both cases and referents, the UGT1A1*28 polymorphism did not influence the risk for myocardial infarction or stroke. Conclusion High iron stores are not associated with increased risk for neither myocardial infarction, nor stroke. There was no association between UGT1A1*28 and the risk for myocardial infarction or stroke. Consequently data suggests that other factors, which also may lower bilirubin, are responsible for the elevated risk observed in conjunction with lower bilirubin levels.

Cette recherche propose de rendre compte de l'usage de la broderie en art contemporain dans les oeuvres deTracey Emin, première artiste à avoir exposé le récit des trente-deux premières années de sa vie dans une tentebrodée intitulée Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995. Une analyse de réception de type sémio-anthropologiquede cette oeuvre monumentale met en évidence, dřune part, que la broderie est une écriture contemporaine incluant un geste manuel, une loi textile et une jouissance filaire et, d'autre part, que son effet de présence et son pouvoir narratif en font un art de l'intime.En tant qu'écriture filaire, la broderie est singulière. Ecriture universelle, elle est première chez les peuples sans écriture, elle est sésame social en tant que sampler, elle est historiographique par son potentiel narratif, son statut d'objet de prestige ou de mémorandum. Elle est encore écriture monumentale dans la Tapisserie de Bayeux, autre broderie phénoménale, simultanément manuscrit, témoignage documentaire et oeuvre d'art plastique reconnue.La broderie se fait art de l'intime dans d'autres oeuvres de Tracey Emin, telles ses couvertures, dont la première, Hotel International, incarne le curriculum vitae de l'artiste. Mais l'intime peut s'envisager de plusieurs manières. Or, comme en Angleterre la broderie a été considérée comme un art national dès le VIIe siècle, elle se conçoit aussi comme art de l'intime dans le rapport que les oeuvres brodées d'Emin entretiennent avec celles du passé. Si l'intime est un lien puissant entre le public et l'artiste, en brodant sa vie et son intimité, Tracey Emin a transformé le « personnel est politique » des années 1970 en universel. / This research proposes to account for the use of contemporary art embroidery in the works of Tracey Emin, the first artist to have exhibited the story of the first thirty-two years of her life in an embroidered tent entitled Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995. A semio-anthropological reception analysis of this monumental work highlights, on the one hand, that embroidery is a contemporary writing that includes a manual gesture, a textile law and a thread jouissance and, on the other hand, that its effect of presence and its narrative power make it an art of intimacy.As thread writing, embroidery is a singular one. As universal writing, it is first among people without written language, it is a social open sesame as sampler, it is historiographical thanks to its narrative power, its status as an object of prestige or as a memorandum. It is also a monumental writing in the Bayeux Tapestry, another phenomenal embroidery, simultaneously manuscript, documentary testimony and recognized visual work of art. Embroidery is also an art of intimacy in other works of Tracey Emin, such as her blankets, whose first, Hotel International, embodies the curriculum vitae of the artist. However, intimacy can be considered in many ways.And, as in England embroidery was regarded as a national art from the seventh century onwards, it can thus be conceived as an art of intimacy in the relationship that the embroidered works of Emin maintain with those of the past. If intimacy is a powerful bond between the public and the artist, by embroidering her life and her intimacy, Tracey Emin has transformed the "personal is political" of the 1970s into a universal one

Abnormalities in homocysteine metabolism have been suggested as risk factors for stroke and myocardial infarction. In retrospective studies, elevated levels of total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) and/or methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C>T polymorphism have indicated an increase in risk. However, the fewer prospective studies have not been as conclusive. To further explore this, tHcy was studied in four prospective settings. The first was a prospective nested case-referent cohort within the Västerbotten Intervention Program (VIP) and WHO MONICA project on 312 ischemic and 60 haemorrhagic first-ever strokes. The aim was to study tHcy and its main genetic determinant MTHFR. Risk for haemorrhagic stroke increased exponentially through tHcy quartiles, independent of hypertension and BMI, and increased for MTHFR 677 CT and TT. MTHFR 1298A>C appeared to be protective. In multivariate models, after adjustment for tHcy, BMI and hypertension, both tHcy and MTHFR remained as independent predictors for hemorrhagic stroke. Neither tHcy, nor the two MTHFR polymorphisms were significant predictors for ischemic strokes. The second was a prospective long-term follow-up study within the VIP and MONICA cohorts to determine whether a first-ever myocardial infarction (AMI) causes increased levels of tHcy. Fifty cases developing AMI after the first screening participated in a second screening (mean follow-up 8.5 years) with 56 matched referents. Increase in tHcy did not differ between cases and referents. tHcy was related to AMI at follow-up, but not at baseline and no longer significant after adjusting for creatinine and albumin. The third was a method study to determine if cystatin C, creatinine, albumin and other lipoprotein risk markers of cardiovascular disease could be analysed in Stabilyte™ plasma stored at -80°C. It was found to be suitable for all analyses tested and using this tube would simplify sampling for epidemiological studies. The fourth study was a prospective longitudinal long-term study of 735 subjects (340 men and 395 women, age 25-64 at first screening), participating in two MONICA screenings nine years apart, who donated blood in Stabilyte™ tubes to study change over time in tHcy and its determinants. We confirmed the age dependency in a cross sectional setting. In contrast, if followed longitudinally over time, no change in tHcy or in the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia was found. Cystatin C and creatinine increased, and albumin decreased. In multivariate models baseline levels of albumin, creatinine, cystatin C, and to some extent hs-CRP, were predictors of tHcy at follow-up but gender differences were seen. Age was not a major determinant of change in tHcy over nine years. In conclusion, tHcy and MTHFR are risk factors for first-ever haemorrhagic, but not ischemic stroke in a prospective setting. A first myocardial infarction does not cause an increase in tHcy. No long-term changes were seen in tHcy over a nine-year period in neither men, nor in women.

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared hookah smoking to be a significant public health problem. According to Martinasek et al. the increase in the number of hookah smokers is due to lack of education and public awareness, there is a general impression that hookah is a safe alternative to cigarettes. (Martinasek et al., 2011). On the other hand, hookah is affordable and has appealing flavor. The US Food and Drug Administration does not regulate hookah and there is a lack of regulation in packet labeling (Martinasek et al., 2011). Hookah smoking and cigarette smoking produces the exact same toxic chemicals and carcinogens (Martinasek et al., 2011). The US Environmental Protection Agency claims that hookah smoking releases secondhand smoke which contains cancer causing agents (Martinasek et al., 2011). Overall, hookah smoking is increasing rapidly among youth due to social acceptance, low cost, appealing flavors, lack of regulatory policies and incorrect harm perception. Therefore, I propose a study that will aim to answer the following research questions: 1) What are the socio-demographic characteristics of middle school and high school students who have awareness of hookah? 2) What are the characteristics of middle school and high school students who report hookah is less harmful than cigarettes? 3) Does awareness of hookah, harm perception of hookah, ever user and current user of hookah differ by living with hookah users? 4) How does harm perception of hookah correlate with use of hookah among US youth? I hypothesize that American youth who perceive hookah as less harmful than cigarettes will more likely be users of hookah as compared to youth who perceive these products are more harmful. Methods: The secondary data analysis was conducted using the data from the 2013 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). The study population was middle and high school students. The independent variables of interest were students who were current users of hookah, had ever used hookah, as well as those aware of hookah smoking. The dependent variable was harm perception of hookah smoking. A weighting factor was adjusted in the survey to get a weighted proportion of students in each grade to match with the national population. The prevalence of current and ever users of hookah, as well as those aware of hookah among middle school and high school students, was examined. The frequency of high school and middle school students who are living with hookah users, and those who were not evaluated. The association of harm perception of hookah among current and ever users, as well as those aware of hookah smoking adjusted by those who are living with hookah users was assessed. Data was analyzed in SAS 9.3 to examine the association between the independent and dependent variables. Frequency, logistic regression and a chi-square tests were used to find the odds ratio and p-value between the dependent and independent variables. Results: Association of harm perception of hookah among current users of hookah, ever users, as well as those aware of hookah smoking, reported that 55.64% of current users of hookah (Adjusted OR = 4.99, CI: 3.78-6.59), 43.80% of ever users of hookah (Adjusted OR = 4.96, CI: 4.02-6.13) and 21.50% of those who were aware of hookah smoking (Adjusted OR = 3.20, CI: 2.82-3.91) believed that hookah smoking is less harmful than cigarette smoking in both middle and high school. Participants who were current users of cigar smoking i.e.26.57% (crude OR = 2.80 CI: 2.45-3.20), Adjusted OR = 1.18, CI: 0.96-1.45)) as well as ever users of cigar smoking i.e. 24.76% (crude OR= 3.18, CI: 2.78-3.65), adjusted OR = 2.24, CI: 1.85-2.71)) believe hookah smoking is less harmful than cigarette smoking compared to individuals who were not current as well as ever users of cigar smoking. There was no significant difference between odds of male and female in believing that hookah smoking is less harmful than cigarette smoking. Discussion: Overall these results suggest that students who were associated with hookah usage believe that hookah smoking is less harmful than cigarette smoking. Moreover, students who were ever users of cigar smoking had 2.24 odds of believing that hookah smoking is less harmful than cigarette smoking compared to individuals who were not ever users of cigar smoking. Conclusion: Therefore, American youth who perceive hookah as less harmful than cigarettes will more likely be users of hookah as compared to youth who perceive these products are more harmful

Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / Daniel Andresen / The aim of this project is to develop an Android application for managing and organizing daily activities. Mobile application development is a growing trend in computer industry. Lot of desktop applications is [i.e. are] now becoming available as mobile applications with increasing demand in market. Android is one of the most popular platforms in mobile technology and gives lot of space for creative development as it is open source. There are various discussion forums and official Android development support websites that encourages mobile and tablet application development. The Quick Organizer application provides three main features for managing and organizing everyday tasks. 1. Calendar with smooth navigation buttons and flexible layout to view all calendar events. This calendar synchronizes with Google calendar and calendar application in Android device and allows user to create events in all the user calendar accounts. 2. Notes management for creating new note, viewing all notes for current month and search notes for the user account that synchronizes with the Ever Notes application. 3. Tasks management to create daily to-do lists with deadline for every task. The user can see all the tasks created with clear demarcation between complete and incomplete tasks with help of strike-out tasks when completed.

Standardization, flexibility and transparency had been the eminent keywords of Modern Architecture that have also provided material for the re-interpretation and re-production of several discussions on concepts like &lsquo / form&rsquo / and &lsquo / function&rsquo / in architecture. This study is an inquiry into a number of different interpretations that scrutinize the intricate relationship between architectural form and function in the 20th century with respect to the concepts defined above. The conceptualization of this thesis will be based on the assumption that function is an inadequate and weak concept for the generation of architectural form. It is in this context that form is accepted as an architectural &ldquo / fragment&rdquo / that attains its autonomy not from the strictures imposed by other architectural fragment like &lsquo / function&rsquo / , &lsquo / structure&rsquo / , &lsquo / program&rsquo / and &lsquo / site / but from an infinite number of internal relationships or &lsquo / design tools&rsquo / as we call. The aim of this study is to propose a project for &ldquo / A Multi &ndash / Functional Hall at METU&rdquo / which has the capability of expanding its limits in future, both physically and conceptually / and investigate the &lsquo / design tools&rsquo / that will direct the steps of transformations in the process of architectural production. Within this framework, the investigation is concerned with the production of a flexible, unstable and indeterminant building, focused on the concepts of &lsquo / transformation of space&rsquo / and &lsquo / constant change&rsquo / , that could be re-designed and re-generated in respect to possible future transformations in the program. Thus, architectural production is defined merely as a &lsquo / step&rsquo / or a &lsquo / snap-shot&rsquo / , controlled by the design tools suggesting the solutions for an ever-lasting transformation as the conditions change.