Thesis advisor: Alicia Munnell / Thesis advisor: Tony Webb / Risk level of investments helps to determine investment return in the long run. Consequently, it is important to understand how investors determine their acceptable level of risk. Previous studies have suggested that women have a lower risk tolerance in investing than men. This is troubling because it means that women are likely to make lower returns on investments than men. This difference in acceptable risk could lead to income inequality between men and women during retirement as people rely on wealth generated from investments made during their lifetime to live during this stage of life. This study seeks to explain what motivates women to choose their acceptable level of investment risk by expanding on the models of previous studies, which are believed to be overly simplistic in their treatment of gender. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

As sequências dos genes dmrt1 e sox9 em pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), lambari (Astyanax altiparanae) e piapara (Leporinus elongatus) foram analisadas por técnicas de clonagem molecular. Fragmentos do gene dmrt1 foram clonados nas três espécies citadas, e do gene sox9 em lambari e piapara. A análise filogenética destes genes mostrou concordância com os dados morfológicos da filogenia destas espécies. Pelo acompanhamento do desenvolvimento gonadal de lambari por microscopia de luz, foi constatada a presença de células germinativas na região da futura gônada já no período de 5 dias após eclosão (dae), sendo também observado que a formação de ovário ocorre primeiro do que a formação de testículo. As expressões dos genes dmrt1 e sox9 por qRT-PCR em lambari mostraram maior especificidade para testículo do que para ovário, indicando que possivelmente estes genes ainda possuem função macho-específica nos adultos. Em lambari, os genes foram expressos em todos os períodos larvais, tendo uma diminuição no estágio de 12 dae, e aumentando sua expressão no estágio de 33 dae. / The sequences of dmrt1 and sox9 genes were analyzed in pirarucu (Arapaima gigas), lambari (Astyanax altiparanae) and piapara (Leporinus elongatus) using molecular cloning techniques. Fragments of dmrt1 gene were cloned in these three species, and sox9 gene fragments have been acquired only for lambari and piapara. Phylogenetic analysis of the genes was shown to be consistent with the morphological phylogeny of these species. The analysis of the gonadal development in lambari was followed by light microscopy, where it was found the presence of germ cells in the region of the future gonad in 5 days after hatching (dah), and that the formation of ovaries occurs first comparing to the formation of testis. The gene expression of dmrt1 and sox9 by qRT-PCR method show specificity for testis comparing to ovary, which indicates that these genes also have a male-specific role in the adult. In lambari, the genes were expressed in all larval periods, with a decrease of expression levels in 12 dah, and increasing its expression at stage of 33 dah.

Bakgrund: Smärta är en vanlig orsak till att människor söker sjukvård. Smärta är subjektiv känsla, dock kan föreställningar om vad som är manligt och kvinnligt göra att patienterna kan bedömas olika och få olika riktad omvårdnad – detta trots att vård ska ges personcentrerat och på lika villkor. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturöversikten var att beskriva vilka skillnader som kan finnas i omhändertagande mellan kvinnor och män med smärta och därmed belysa könets betydelse för omvårdnad. Metod: Denna studie är gjord som en litteraturöversikt för att sammanställa vad som finns inom detta område i litteraturen. 17 vetenskapliga artiklar från PubMed och Cinahl hittades och analyserades och sammanställdes under teman i resultat. Resultat: Denna litteraturöversikt lyfter fram skillnaderna i bemötande och smärtlindring mellan män och kvinnor med smärta samt att sjuksköterskans kön också kan påverka interaktionen. Många smärttillstånd som drabbar kvinnor undervärderas oftare inom olika områden inom vården. Fysiska symptom förklaras ofta hos kvinnor vara psykosomatiska. Även åldern var en faktor som påverkar könsskillnader i bemötande vid smärta. Slutsats: Det framkom i litteraturöversikten att det inom många områden finns skillnader i omhändertagande vid smärta mellan könen. Män får oftare bättre smärtlindring och kvinnor fick vänta längre tid på både smärtlindring och behandling. Sjuksköterskor bör använda personcentrerad omvårdnad för att öka jämlikheten mellan könen inom vården. Ökad jämlikhet kan främja en hållbar framtid. / Background: Pain is a common cause to seek healthcare. Pain is a subjective feeling; however, the interpretation of "male" and "female behavior" could interfere with the healthcare staff judgement and care – even though quality of care should be given person-centered and on equal terms. Aim: The aim of the study was to examine the differences in care, that may exist, between men and women with pain and highlight the gender´s meaning in quality of care. Method: This study was conducted as a literature review investigating the existing literature within this area. Seventeen scientific articles from the PubMed and Cinahl databases were analyzed and compiled into a result. Results: This review brings out the differences between the treatment and ease for men and women in pain with regards to their gender. Often women have a tendency to be undervalued when they are being cared for compared to men. Physical symptoms are often regarded as psychosomatic. Even the age of the patients was a contributing factor. Conclusion: This literature study reveals differences between genders pain care. Gender differences were identified in many sections of care. Men’s pain is treated better than women, and the women generally needs to wait longer in receiving treatment. Registered nurses should utilize person-centered treatment in order to decrease this gender gap. Increased equality in care can support a sustainable future.

Stressrelaterade besvär är ett stort samhällsproblem inte minst bland studenter. Tidigare forskning tyder på att stress är ett multifaktoriellt fenomen. Syftet med studien var att undersöka relationen mellan stress och kön, akademisk self-efficacy, copingstrategier samt fysisk aktivitet. Hundratjugosju högskolestudenter, varav 43 män besvarade en enkät innehållande frågor om kön, fysisk aktivitet, stress, copingstrategier och akademisk self-efficacy. De etablerade instrumenten var: Perceived Stress Scale, Brief Cope och College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale. Resultaten visade att kvinnor upplevde högre grad av stress än män. Resultatet visade positiv korrelation mellan stress och undvikande emotionella copingstrategier. En negativ korrelation visades mellan stress och akademisk self-efficacy, samt mellan stress och problemfokuserade copingstrategier. Vidare resultat visade att akademisk self-efficacy och copingstrategier (problemfokuserade, aktiva emotionella, undvikande emotionella) kunde förklara störst varians i högskolestudenternas upplevda stress. Framtida forskning bör var av kvalitativ karaktär och bedrivas med copingstrategier som utgångspunkt för att fånga individens subjektiva upplevelse av stresshantering.

This thesis systematically examined the link between developmental dyscalculia, a specific learning difficulty of mathematics, and mathematics anxiety, a negative emotional reaction to mathematics tasks. The link between these maths learning issues was examined by measuring their prevalence in large samples of English primary (N = 1004; N= 830) and secondary school (N = 927) students. Gender differences were also explored. Systematically varying diagnostic criteria for dyscalculia revealed that its prevalence ranged between 0.89-17.23 percent. When absolute performance thresholds were used, there was no gender difference in dyscalculia prevalence. The association of mathematics performance with other cognitive skills and mathematics anxiety was investigated longitudinally in subsamples of children with dyscalculia (n =10), typical mathematics performance (n=10) and high maths ability (n = 11). 80 percent of the children in the dyscalculia group still met the criteria for diagnosis at the final time point. Mathematics performance was positively associated with working memory performance and negatively associated with mathematics anxiety. Furthermore, children with dyscalculia had higher maths anxiety than the other two groups. The relationship between dyscalculia and high maths anxiety was estimated in a larger sample (N = 1757). Relatively few children with dyscalculia had high maths anxiety and the majority of students with high maths anxiety in fact had mathematics performance within or above the average range. Girls had higher maths anxiety than boys, and more girls had both dyscalculia and maths anxiety than boys. There was an expected negative correlation between maths anxiety and maths performance in the total sample, but this correlation was negligible in the children with dyscalculia. Collectively, these results suggest that cognitive and emotional mathematics problems are dissociable, and indicate that children with dyscalculia and maths anxiety likely require different types of intervention. Furthermore there appears to be no gender difference in maths performance or in the prevalence of dyscalculia. However, girls have higher maths anxiety than boys, and are more likely to be affected by maths anxiety alongside developmental dyscalculia. Maths anxiety may be a potential explanation for the underrepresentation of females in careers involving mathematics.

Pornografi har med internets framväxt blivit mer lättillgängligt och fått mer extrem karaktär. Forskning visar att pornografikonsumtion positivt korrelerar med riskbeteenden som sexuell aggression, men även genererar positiva självupplevda effekter hos individer genom exempelvis ökad sexuell självkänsla med bl.a. upplevd realism som bidragande faktor. Aktuell studie undersökte pornografikonsumtion relaterat till upplevd realism av pornografi, upplevda effekter av pornografikonsumtion samt sexuell självkänsla hos fem grupper, dels en sexnegativ grupp samt en grupp med anknytning till BDSM-kulturen. Antal deltagare var 423, varav 334 kvinnor. Resultat från internetbaserad enkätundersökning visade bl.a. högre positiva effekter hos män, högre negativa effekter hos kvinnor, samt positivt samband mellan mängd pornografikonsumtion och positiva effekter. Negativt samband uppmättes mellan sexuell självkänsla och upplevda negativa effekter av pornografikonsumtion. Resultaten överensstämmer mycket med tidigare forskning men kan även bidra till ökad kunskap om vad som kan påverka bl.a. sexuell självkänsla hos individer baserat dels på kön och inställning till pornografi.

Youth bullying is a common form of youth violence; and recently, this behavior has diverged into two forms: traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Bullying has typically occurred within the context of school; however, with the aid of electronic devices and the Internet, youth are now able to bully beyond the schoolyard. Cyberbullying is a transmutation of traditional bullying earmarked by anonymity, a lack of guardianship, and physical distance. Using data from the 2009-2010 Health Behaviors of School-aged Children survey, this study examines the relationship between traditional bullying perpetration and cyberbullying perpetration. Logistic regression analyses suggest a relationship exist between the two forms of bullying and the link appears to be verbal and relational aggression. Additionally, gender has been shown to play a role in bullying perpetration with males engaging in all types of bullying behavior at a higher frequency than females.

Group B Streptococcus, or GBS, is a gram positive bacteria commonly found in the gastrointestinal, genital and urinary tract of healthy adults. Between 10% and 30% of all pregnant women are colonized with GBS in the vagina or rectum. While GBS colonized mothers typically show no symptoms or adverse health effects, the bacteria can be passed to their child during labor and delivery. Although significant progress has been made in the identification and treatment of GBS, it remains the leading infectious cause of Page 14 2014 Appalachian Student Research Forum morbidity and mortality among newborns in the United States. The current guidelines recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and endorsed by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) is to test pregnant women for GBS colonization between 34-37 weeks of gestation. The current gold standard for identification of GBS colonization is the use of selective enrichment broth (SEB) followed by culture and biochemical testing. Identified concerns with the culture procedure are: 1) the length of time it takes to get the results, 2) the lower sensitivity if the SEB step is left out to improve turn-around-time (TAT) and 3) the limited number of qualified technicians available to perform the complex test. Recently, several semi-automated molecular assays have been developed for identification of GBS which are marketed as having equivalent sensitivity and specificity to SEB followed by culture. The goals of this study were to: 1) validate the sensitivity and specificity of an FDA approved GBS molecular assay (Illumigene, Meridian Bioscience) and 2) evaluate a new testing strategy utilizing SEB followed by the Illumigene GBS assay to see if it offers an improvement in TAT when compared to SEB culture in our in-house microbiology lab and to those sent out to a national reference lab for GBS DNA assay. During the validation process, 20 consecutive samples were submitted to SEB followed by simultaneous in-house culture and Illumigene assay for GBS. The method validation experiments were analyzed using the EP Evaluator version 11 statistical software (Data Innovations). Comparison of TAT was evaluated utilizing a blinded report generated from our Laboratory Information System (Harvest, Orchard Software) for a 2 month period for the GBS tests performed using the SEB followed by Illumigene molecular assay (n=73), in-house SEB followed by culture (n=50) and send-out reference lab GBS DNA assay (n=43) procedures. The TAT (hrs) for each method (Mean±SEM) were determined from the time of collection until result approval. The Illumigene assay had a high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) when compared to SEB followed by culture for identification of GBS. Utilization of the Illumigene assay following SEB significantly (p

A satisfying sexual relationship is an important aspect of general marital satisfaction. Considering that most people will marry, understanding the factors influencing marital sexual satisfaction becomes important in understanding what makes happy, satisfied relationships and individuals in our society. This study builds on previous research, which has indicated that there are a number of "risky factors" associated with having numerous premarital sexual partners, by demonstrating that there are risks associated with the future marital relationship. Using exchange theory concepts, this study empirically examines the relationship between premarital sexual promiscuity and marital sexual satisfaction. The sample included 313 married males and females between the ages of 18-40 using data from the NHSLS survey, a United States national random sample. The dichotomous dependent variable combined measures of emotional and physical sexual satisfaction. Premarital sexual promiscuity was measured continuously. Implications for clinicians are discussed. Of males, 87.7% reported being extremely satisfied with their marital sexual relationship and 12.3% reported being moderately satisfied. Of females, 84.6% of reported extreme satisfaction and 15.4% reported moderate satisfaction with their marital sexual relationship. The range of partners including the marital partner was 1-191 for men and 1-66 for women. The mean number of partners was 11.35 (SD 19.77) for men and 4.25 (SD 6.3) for women. Results indicate that for every additional premarital sexual partner an individual has, not including the marital sexual partner, the likelihood that they will say their current marital sexual relationship is extremely satisfying versus only being moderately satisfying goes down 3.9%. Additionally, when running models separately for males and females, the male model was more significant at 5.3%. The female model approached significance. Control variables for the models were not significant except that males who were not White, Black, or Hispanic, were 8.9% less likely than White males to report being extremely satisfied with their marital sexual relationship as compared to only being moderately satisfied. This model does not account for individuals who had sex with their spouse before marriage and the results should not be interpreted to include such.

The degree of academic achievement following early onset brain injury is poorly understood. Furthermore, it is unclear if academic success can be predicted by age of onset or other lesion variables (e.g., size, laterality). The purpose of the current study was to describe patterns of academic achievement in individuals with childhood-onset focal brain lesions and to determine the role of variables in the plasticity or vulnerability of the developing brain with regard to achievement. Academic achievement data were collected from 58 individuals with childhood-onset focal brain lesions. The participants' reading, spelling, and arithmetic scores, as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test, were analyzed in relation to several neuroanatomical variables, including lesion laterality, lesion site, and lesion size. The relationship between achievement and gender, age of onset, etiology, age at testing, and time since lesion onset was also identified. As a group, achievement scores did not differ from normative data, and the majority of the sample demonstrated adequate skills in each domain. However, the frequency of deficits was larger than expected when compared to base rates, suggesting vulnerability to early insult. Achievement scores were correlated with intelligence scores, but did not differ based on lesion laterality, lesion site, age of onset, or etiology. Size of lesion was significantly correlated with reading and spelling but not with arithmetic outcomes. Gender differences were identified, with males performing significantly better on the arithmetic measure than females. The age of onset, age at testing, and time since lesion onset were not correlated with achievement scores in any domain. No interactions were found between lesion laterality and gender or lesion site and lesion laterality. An interaction between gender and lesion site was found, but the significance of the finding is unclear. The current findings provide mixed evidence for the plasticity-vulnerability debate, as many individuals were able to achieve adequate academic skills whereas others demonstrated significant impairments. Further research is needed to elucidate factors that may predict achievement outcomes in individuals with childhood-onset focal brain injury.