The Indian population is at high risk for obesity and its related diseases. Paradoxically, there is also a high prevalence of low birth weight in this population. Throughout life, factors associated with these abnormalities reflect genetic, environmental and lifestyle patterns.World-wide, the Indian population is largely non-meat-eating which could compromise the quantity and quality of the diet in macronutrients (proteins) and micronutrients (vitamin B12). Vitamin B12 has been suggested to increase the risk for the metabolic syndrome (dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, hypertension and central adiposity). Factors measured in this pilot study designed to examine the differences between meat-eating and non-meat-eating Indian preadolescent girls were body composition, dietary food and nutrient analysis, physical activity patterns and biomarkers of diet and metabolic syndrome.Six non-meat-eating (9.8±0.9 y) and six meat-eating (10.0±0.6 y) Indian preadolescent girls participated in the two weeks study. Mothers and their daughters in each group had followed the same dietary pattern from birth. Anthropometry, hand-to-foot bioelectrical impedance and resting energy expenditure were measured. Biomarkers associated with one carbon metabolism; serum B12, methylmalonic acid (MMA) and folate were measured. Inflammatory markers; high sensitivity C-reactive protein and ferritin were measured. Serum lipids, fasting glucose and haematological parameters were measured. Time spent in sedentary activities and dietary information was extracted from seven day physical activity and food diaries respectively.There was an overall trend towards higher values for the non-meat-eaters as compared to the meat-eaters in body fat percent (29.7±6.6 vs. 29.0±6.2%, p = 0.85), and waist to hip ratio (0.89±0.12 vs. 0.84±0.07, p = 0.37) but the meat-eaters weighed more (31.2±5.5 vs. 33.3±9.6kg, p = 0.65). Compared to British reference ranges, girls in both groups had a higher BF% of 29±6% which was 34 percentile points above the British median (McCarthy et al., 2006) adjusted for age.Both groups spent 21 hours each day in non-moving/sedentary activities. Dietary consumption of vitamin B12 was higher in meat-eaters compared to non-meat-eaters (2.5±0.8 vs 1.8±0.6μg.day-1, p = 0.11). Serum vitamin B12 was substantially higher in the meat-eaters (543±212 vs. 232±95 pmol/L, p = 0.01) with lower serum concentrations of MMA (0.2 ± 0.1 vs 0.3 ± 0.2 μmol/L, p=0.3). Serum folate was adequate in all girls ranging from 16.5-45.0 pmol/L, which was within the normal reference values. Two non-meat-eating girls were vitamin B12 deficient (<170pmol/L). These differences were associated with high fibre and less protein intake in the nonmeat-eaters (30±8 vs. 20±7 g day-1; 64±12 vs. 66±11 g.day-1).The initial findings in this pilot study provide early evidence that risk factors for metabolic disease associated with body composition, diet and activity are accumulating in preadolescent Indian girls. Imbalance in one carbon metabolism is clearly a factor to be considered. In those with a low consumption of meat and/or animal products, B12 monitoring, dietary recommendations and if necessary supplementation should be considered and where possible intervention before pregnancy (as for folate) be a priority. New Zealand Indian people would be a priority group.It is time for serious action in this area of health so that the risk accumulated through an imbalance in nutrition and physical activity is reduced and the health of those as yet unborn is improved.

This thesis argues that although the anorexic patient is subjugated in the medical encounter, subjects find ways to resist and disrupt this subversion. The analysis is largely based on life history interviews with teenage girls with a medical diagnosis of anorexia. Other data sources include interview field-notes, my research journal and selected popular magazines. The data was analysed using a discourse analytic methodology to explore how girls constituted hospitalisation, anorexia, doctors and patients, among other issues. The analysis draws on insights from poststructuralist theory. In the earlier chapters, an analysis of the complex medical, psychological and feminist theories of anorexia nervosa; and a description of the hospitals where girls are treated is developed to situate the study in its socio-historical context. The analysis consists of three main arguments. The first is that clinical notions of food, eating and embodiment are in direct contrast to social discourses on these topics. Girls draw on this discrepancy in their resistance to hospital practices. The second argument is that girls are aware they are positioned as irrational because of their malnourished state and are also aware that if they blatantly resist treatment they will be subjected to further surveillance. Girls take up medical discourses in different ways and to different effects in constituting themselves as agenetic subjects. The third argument focuses on the shifting construction of the anorexia subject in the clinic. Although discourses of anorexia and psychiatry have a powerful impact on the girls; girls resist these positionings, finding other ways to constitute themselves. The contention of this thesis is that clinical constructions of anorexia work to form the subject and provide the possibilities for the creation of other subjectivities. On the basis of this research, some suggestions for how inpatient treatment regimes may work differently are provided. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This study examines values in the curriculum of one specific Catholic girls' high school. It reports on a school-based curriculum evaluation which took place at the school and explores how the methodology used imposed limitations on the explication of values. The implications of these limitations on the development of an appropriate curriculum for such a specific schoolbody are examined in the light of the writings of Paulo Freire and the outlines of an alternative method for curriculum evaluation is developed and applied. Major elements of this alternative model include an historical analysis of the school community, the critical appraisal of its place in society, and the development of a praxis. This three-step approach is repeated three times; firstly in relation to the Catholic identity of the school, secondly in consideration of gender issues for a school for girls, and thirdly in respect to the school itself, operating in Canberra in the 1980s.

This study investigated the effects of a cross-age tutoring programme on the tutors' self-esteem. The study also examined the effects of the programme on the tutors' attitudes to computers. A case study approach was used to answer the following questions: 1. Does the self-esteem of tutors increase when they tutor in a nonacademic subject area e.g. teaching others to use computer games? 2. Do the changes in self-esteem generalise to other areas or are the changes specific to the subject area of the tutoring? 3. Do the tutors' attitudes to computers change when they teach younger children how to use computer games? Twelve tutors, from three A.C.T. primary schools, were trained as tutors. Girls from Years 5 and 6, with low self-esteem (measured using the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory), were selected to teach girls from Years 1 and 2 how to use computer programmes. Self-esteem was assessed pre- and post- tutoring using the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory, concept maps and teacher's ratings. Computer attitudes were assessed pre- and post- tutoring using the Bath County Computer Attitudes Survey and concept maps. A post-tutoring questionnaire provided information, from the tutors, about the tutoring programme. The case study approach allowed analysis of each student's experience in the programme. The criteria used to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme were the differences in the pre- and post- tutoring measures of self-esteem and computer attitudes and the tutors' responses in interviews. Self-esteem increased for eleven of the tutors. Making a contribution, feelings of increased competence, a sense of belonging and positive feedback were the factors that appeared to enhance the tutors' self-esteem. All tutors were more confident with the computer at the end of the programme, and in six cases there were increases in the computer attitude survey scores.

<p>Djur har historiskt haft en central roll i människans utveckling och behandling av ohälsa, och djurs hälso- och terapifrämjande egenskaper har de senaste decennierna börjat uppmärksammas. Med syfte att utröna hur hästar kan användas i terapeutiskt arbete intervjuades sex yrkesverksamma kvinnor på två behandlingshem med hästassisterad terapi (HAT) för tonårsflickor med psykosocial problematik. Därtill enkätintervjuades fyra kvinnor som genomgått HAT. Det framkom att hästar kan utgöra terapeutiska och kommunikativa verktyg som kringgår klientens försvarsmekanismer, reducerar det hotfulla i samtals-situationer samt underlättar koncentration och anknytning. Klienten upplever ett ömsesidigt förhållande med hästen, och meningsfullhet och kärlek. Det dis-kuteras att HAT effektivt kan komplettera redan etablerade behandlingsformer, samt att bredare acceptans av djurassisterade behandlingsmetoder tycks närmas genom ökad öppenhet och kunskap.</p>

No description available.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore how love relationship affects the identity and attitude towards school of study motivated girls in 17-18 years of age with the subsidiary purpose to get anidea of how the gender order is maintained in the relationship.</p><p>The study is based on theories of gender theory and identity theory, which concerns gender as aresult of actions and how the gender order is maintained. The identity theory is based as a choice toconvey different roles.</p><p>The study is founded on qualitative research interviews with six different girls, where the focus wasto learn about their own experiences of how the love relationship affects them.</p><p>The results were interpreted through a hermeneutic analysis.The results show that the love relationship affect informants' identity on self-perception, what roles they convey and the attitude towards school. It turned out that the informants' attitude towards school was dependent on their boyfriend´s attitude towards school.</p><p>The results also show that girls are highly involved in the process of maintaining the gender order in which they choose to manage their time according to their boyfriend's time, and has the role of the engaging and emotional in the relationship.</p>

The purpose of this study was to determine if team cohesion could be enhanced for 9th grade female basketball teams with the implementation of a 14-week intervention program. The intervention program was designed from cohesion building strategies proposed in the literature with the help of three coaches and a leading sport psychologist in the field of cohesion. 41 ninth grade female basketball players belonging to four teams participated in the study. The Group Environment Questionnaire was used to measure cohesion. It was administered on the third week of the season and again at the end. The data were analyzed using both the individual and the team as the unit of analysis. The findings varied according to which unit of analysis was used. When the team was used, no posttest differences were found, however, the effect sizes suggested that the intervention was effective for the task subscales of the GEQ. A lack of statistical power for the team analysis greatly reduced the probability of finding that the meaningful differences were statistically significant. When the individual was used, the intervention was found to be statistically detrimental for the task subscales. The effect sizes supported this finding. The qualitative data that was collected suggested that the coaches believed the intervention had practical utility, and was effective. While this study did not empirically show that the intervention was effective, it did demonstrate that the intervention is practical enough to implement. Furthermore, the qualitative data and the effect sizes for the team analysis provide some evidence that the intervention may have been effective for the task dimension of team cohesion. Therefore this study produced an intervention that can be used as a starting point for future cohesion building investigations. / Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Education, Jun. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 226-238). Also available on the Internet.

<p>The topic of this thesis is “Gender Differences in Computer games/ Video games Industry”. Due to rapid development in technology and popularization of computers all around the world, computer games have already become a kind of common entertainment. Because computer games were designed especially for boys at the very beginning, there are still some remaining barriers when training female game designers and expanding game markets among female players.This thesis is mainly based on two studies which have enormous contributions to gender issue in computer games area. A simple model is established by summarizing factors mentioned and discussed in those two books. The main purpose consists of two comparisons under Gender Differences: one comparison is between the current data with the previous one, in order to check whether there are any changes during the past 10 years. The other one compares the young people in two regions, Sweden and China, in computer games perspective.Model designing, test, questionnaire and interview methods are used in this paper aiming to collect and categorize the data, which facilitates to analyze the results of the comparisons. The results reflect that although computer becomes a familiar “friend” in modern daily life, there are not obvious changes of girls‟ perspectives in computer game industry. Certainly, there are some differences between the young people coming from two regions which will be expounded in the thesis.</p>