Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2007. / Title from file title page. Ian Fletcher, committee chair; Jared Poley, Hugh Hudson, committee members. Electronic text (110 [i.e. 105] p.) : digital, PDF file. Pages 18, 45, 76, 77 and 95 blank. Description based on contents viewed Jan. 16, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-110).

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Microplitis croceipes (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an endoparasitoid and potential biological control agent of the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), an agricultural pest. The first objective of the following research was to amend current larval life history descriptions of M. croceipes. Larval head capsule width measurements were used to distinguish instar, and exuvium in abdominal cavities of post-egression hosts were indicative of a molt during parasitoid egression. Data revealed the larvae of M. croceipes pass through five instars, rather than three, as is indicated in the literature. The second objective was to investigate the suitability of potential artificial diets to be used in in vitro rearing of M. croceipes larvae. Three concentrations each of glucose, trehalose, and protein, as well as a combination diet (derived from initial diet trials) were tested. Growth, molting, and death were noted for each diet, and data indicated that diet had a significant effect for each performance measure (p = 0.0000, p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, respectively). Data also indicated that trehalose and protein were more vital to larval parasitoid development (growth and molting) than was glucose, but no larvae were reared passed the second instar on an artificial diet. The final goals of the research were to evaluate the plausibility of rearing M. croceipes larvae to adulthood in vitro and to investigate post-egression host defensive behavior. Larvae were dissected from their hosts just prior to egression and placed in a cell culture plate in previously collected host hemolymph. Larvae were able to initiate pre-egression behavior in an in vitro environment, and a small percentage (6.67%) exhibited ecdysial splitting of the cuticle, however, no larvae were able to make the final molt in vitro. Post-egression hosts exhibited defensive behavior that may suggest they play a role in protecting pupating parasitoids. When the parasitoid exuvium was pulled from the egression wound in the host, hemolymph loss occurred and duration of the defensive behavior significantly decreased (p < 0.0001), indicating the exuvium acted to plug the egression wound, which prevented the host from bleeding to death and made it possible for the host to exhibit defensive behavior.

The typical intermediate morphology of hybrids may result in their failure to utilize the same niches as their parents. However, the fitness consequences of the potentially intermediate life-history traits of hybrids have been given less scientific attention. In this study I aimed to investigate how life-history divergence in parental species affects the relative fitness of nestling hybrids resulting from crosses between collared (Ficedula albicollis) and pied flycatchers (F. hypoleuca). Previous studies showed that collared flycatcher nestlings beg more intensively and grow faster under good conditions, but are less robust against the seasonal decline in food availability compared to pied flycatcher nestlings. This life-history divergence between the species allows regional coexistence. To investigate whether the life-history divergence in flycatchers influences the relative fitness of nestling hybrids, I cross-fostered hybrid nestlings in aviaries into the nests of conspecific pairs and compared their performance. I found that the hybrids displayed intermediate growth rates between collared and pied flycatchers across the season. There might therefore be environmental conditions when hybrids perform better than purebred offspring with respect to growth and survival.

This study analyzes and discusses the plumbing retailer from an individual point of view, just like a entrepreneur¡¦s point of view. The researcher focuses on the entrepreneur and adopts a life history point of view to interview the plumbing retailer. After that interview, the researcher can know the plumbing retailer¡¦s life history. Then the researcher analyzes his life history. Finally, the researcher discovers the important meaning to the plumbing retailer. The researcher has interviewed the plumbing retailer in depth for three times and has interviewed the others. Besides, the researcher has observed the business operation in the plumbing retailer¡¦s store for two weeks. According to the data, the researcher wrote the plumbing retailer¡¦s life story. Afterward the researcher has discussed the findings with my academic adviser for many times. The thesis statement has two parts as follows: The first part is the whole impression which is the pursuit of his economy. The second part has six major themes as follow: (1)undertaking the risk;(2)business vision;(3)keeping the work with great effort;(4)learning ability;(5)the role of the relations;(6)the position of the work and the family.

This study uses a modified life history approach to gain deeper insights into the lived experiences of three teachers who became mothers while serving in Jamaica. This study was conceptualized as a result of my experiences as a teacher who became a mother. I was desirous of investigating if other teachers who became mothers in Jamaica experienced similar personal and professional transformation as a result of motherhood. The use of a life history approach necessitates an exploration of the wider historical, familial, socio-political, cultural, and economic factors influencing the lived experiences of participants and the meanings they give to their experiences. Dominant themes highlighted in the data include: the ideology that the overarching goal of education in Jamaica is for social mobility and an escape mechanism from poverty. Becoming a mother has resulted in participants taking greater levels of interest in the holistic development of students, rather than only emphasizing their academic development as they did prior to becoming mothers. Participants also developed more empathy for parents and closer collegial relationships when they became mothers. Participants’ relationships with administration were two-fold; on one hand they lobbied for improvements to their working conditions which may have a positive impact on their family life; while on the other hand, they also cared more about self-preservation in order to adequately meet the needs of their families. Motherhood also provided opportunities for participants to become more involved in various social groups in their communities. Various socio-political and economic challenges in Jamaica resulted in participants migrating to a Prairie city with their families. However, living in a multi-cultural society where they are racial minorities has presented its own challenges. Participants are negotiating the notion of home and being outsiders.

It has been acknowledged for some time that personal experience, relationship and emotional factors are important aspects of difficulties in learning to read and write; however there is still little research carried out in this area. This thesis explores the way in which eight adults make sense of their difficulties with reading and writing and identification of dyslexia; and their process of developing more positive self-perceptions and coping strategies. The study is guided by standpoint theory, with priority given to participants’ perceptions about difficulties in reading and writing rather than to academic and/or practitioner perspectives. Analysis of interviews is carried out through a life history methodology that identifies discourses of dyslexia in order to situate the way difficulties are understood and addressed. The discourses include four identified by Pollak (2005) and identification of six additional discourses of dyslexia that were present in both the literature review and at least half of the participant interviews. In the analysis, use of these discourses is mapped alongside the life story of each participant using the Model of Vocational Success (MVS) (Gerber et al. 1992) as a framework for classifying the development of positive self-perceptions and coping mechanisms. The participants’ life histories reveal that, without identification of dyslexia, difficulties with reading and writing are most often attributed by others such as teachers, peers and/or parents to low intelligence and/or lack of effort. Some participants rejected this understanding and others internalised it. Experience of ‘niche’ where the participant found themselves to be successful in a specific context best supported the development of positive self-perceptions and coping strategies before identification of dyslexia. Identification of dyslexia provided a means of making sense of difficulties, bolstered self-belief in intelligence, and initiated changes in support and personal motivation which, for the majority of participants, were notably beneficial. This PhD makes a number of unique contributions to knowledge about dyslexia, particularly through its prioritization of the voice of dyslexic people over professional voices. The identification of six additional discourses of dyslexia contributes to knowledge about the way difficulties with reading and writing can be understood and talked about, and exploration of how these discourses link to the MVS contributes knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of these discourses to dyslexic people. The discourse ‘Hemispherist’ (Pollak 2005) was found to offer the most opportunity for dyslexic adults to develop positive self-perceptions and take constructive action to compensate for difficulties.

The purpose of the present article is to propose an alternative short form for the 199-item Arizona Life History Battery (ALHB), which we are calling the K-SF-42, as it contains 42 items as compared with the 20 items of the Mini-K, the short form that has been in greatest use for the past decade. These 42 items were selected from the ALHB, unlike those of the Mini-K, making direct comparisons of the relative psychometric performance of the two alternative short forms a valid and instructive exercise. A series of secondary data analyses were performed upon a recently completed five-nation cross-cultural survey, which was originally designed to assess the role of life history strategy in the etiology of interpersonal aggression. Only data from the ALHB that were collected in all five cross-cultural replications were used for the present analyses. The single immediate objective of this secondary data analysis was producing the K-SF-42 such that it would perform optimally across all five cultures sampled, and perhaps even generalize well to other modern industrial societies not currently sampled as a result of the geographic breadth of those included in the present study. A novel method, based on the use of the Cross-Sample Geometric Mean as a criterion for item selection, was used for generating such a cross-culturally valid short form.

This study explores women’s experiences of sex with men. It is based on qualitative data collected from eighteen life history interviews. Such an approach provides means for examining women’s sexual experiences over time. The study finds that women give meaning to their sexual experiences through two main discursive representations: the passive, “proper” and sexually obliging girlfriend or wife, and the active and “sexually equal” woman. However, these representations do not capture the entirety of women’s sexual experiences. The life history analysis demonstrates that women are not simply inscribed by discourse. Rather, they are embodied beings actively engaged in pursuing sexual identities. Central to the process is a relationship between the practice of sex and self-reflexivity over time. Finally, the study demonstrates how the process of gaining sexual subjectivity is shaped by the material conditions of women’s lives. For instance, the praxeological circumstances of women’s class or race are powerful in recasting discourses of feminine sexuality, the meanings women ascribe to them, their access to broader sexual experiences, and the kinds of relationships they have with their male partners.

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