The present study explores representations of the female reproductive body in medieval written sources, with an emphasis on the figurative language that was used to describe pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation, and lactation when these phenomena take place in the female body and, symbolically, in male bodies. This examination of what are herein labeled “maternal metaphors” in men, that is a comparison between a male subject and an attribute specific to women’s reproductive bodies, reveals how anatomical and physiological characteristics exclusive to the female reproductive body were used to convey descriptive meaning, and considers why and in what contexts such comparisons were made. This study looks at ancient and medieval medical writing, biblical and medieval Christian religious sources, and various other texts taken from medieval secular and popular literature, where maternal metaphors were used to describe other anatomical and physiological phenomena that were not specific to women, physical and behavioural characteristics of male subjects, and intangible qualities of divine persons. This thesis argues that the female body was the site of diverse conceptual associations in medieval medical and religious traditions, and that, as a result, it proved to be a significant source for figurative analogies that could convey similarly wide-ranging meanings. When pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation, and lactation were used metaphorically to describe male subjects, the variety of connotations that were transferred reflects the range of possible meanings; however, the complexity is not transmitted. Maternal metaphors in men convey meanings that are either good or bad, or occasionally neutral, depending on the context and subject.

The present study explores representations of the female reproductive body in medieval written sources, with an emphasis on the figurative language that was used to describe pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation, and lactation when these phenomena take place in the female body and, symbolically, in male bodies. This examination of what are herein labeled “maternal metaphors” in men, that is a comparison between a male subject and an attribute specific to women’s reproductive bodies, reveals how anatomical and physiological characteristics exclusive to the female reproductive body were used to convey descriptive meaning, and considers why and in what contexts such comparisons were made. This study looks at ancient and medieval medical writing, biblical and medieval Christian religious sources, and various other texts taken from medieval secular and popular literature, where maternal metaphors were used to describe other anatomical and physiological phenomena that were not specific to women, physical and behavioural characteristics of male subjects, and intangible qualities of divine persons. This thesis argues that the female body was the site of diverse conceptual associations in medieval medical and religious traditions, and that, as a result, it proved to be a significant source for figurative analogies that could convey similarly wide-ranging meanings. When pregnancy, childbirth, menstruation, and lactation were used metaphorically to describe male subjects, the variety of connotations that were transferred reflects the range of possible meanings; however, the complexity is not transmitted. Maternal metaphors in men convey meanings that are either good or bad, or occasionally neutral, depending on the context and subject.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 39-43).

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We used the results from two large scale cardiovascular investigations as a platform for examining ways in which psychological response style measures could improve the prediction of cardiovascular health outcomes. Of particular focus was the long-standing conceptual controversy over whether response styles are better treated as confounds to the self-report of stress-related personality characteristics or as separate personality traits. Study 1 consisted of a 3-year prospective study of ambulatory blood pressure levels in a healthy adult sample of males and females (N=T25). Study 2 comprised a pharmacological treatment study among ischemic heart disease patients (N=95). Questionnaire batteries completed in each study included self-report measures of depression, anger expression, daily stress, and hostility, along with self-deception and impression management response style scales. In each study, we investigated direct relationships between the response style measures and cardiovascular outcomes, moderator relationships between response style x psychological risk factor interactions and cardiovascular endpoints, and finally between the psychological risk factors and cardiovascular measures after statistically extracting response style variance from the p sychological risk factor scores. Results most strongly supported the main effects model. Higher self-deception scores predicted elevated 3-year diastolic and systolic blood pressure means in study 1, and poorer treatment outcomes in study 2. In both investigations these relationships proved stable after controlling for baseline cardiovascular standing. Importantly, efforts to statistically control for response style effects within the psychological risk factors did not improve predictive power with these measures. The above findings favor efforts to treat response styles as potentially independent psychological contributors to cardiovascular health outcomes, and support ongoing attempts to identify biobehavioral mechanisms through which personality dispositions may impact the appearance or progression of disease.

We used the results from two large scale cardiovascular investigations as a platform for examining ways in which psychological response style measures could improve the prediction of cardiovascular health outcomes. Of particular focus was the long-standing conceptual controversy over whether response styles are better treated as confounds to the self-report of stress-related personality characteristics or as separate personality traits. Study 1 consisted of a 3-year prospective study of ambulatory blood pressure levels in a healthy adult sample of males and females (N=T25). Study 2 comprised a pharmacological treatment study among ischemic heart disease patients (N=95). Questionnaire batteries completed in each study included self-report measures of depression, anger expression, daily stress, and hostility, along with self-deception and impression management response style scales. In each study, we investigated direct relationships between the response style measures and cardiovascular outcomes, moderator relationships between response style x psychological risk factor interactions and cardiovascular endpoints, and finally between the psychological risk factors and cardiovascular measures after statistically extracting response style variance from the p sychological risk factor scores. Results most strongly supported the main effects model. Higher self-deception scores predicted elevated 3-year diastolic and systolic blood pressure means in study 1, and poorer treatment outcomes in study 2. In both investigations these relationships proved stable after controlling for baseline cardiovascular standing. Importantly, efforts to statistically control for response style effects within the psychological risk factors did not improve predictive power with these measures. The above findings favor efforts to treat response styles as potentially independent psychological contributors to cardiovascular health outcomes, and support ongoing attempts to identify biobehavioral mechanisms through which personality dispositions may impact the appearance or progression of disease. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

On the first day of August in 1961, the Health Ministry of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) announced the closure of the German-German border permanently, accusing the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) of neglecting its citizens and failing to properly administer vaccinations against poliomyelitis.1 This accusation sparked the ire of the West German and United States media, and the Federal Republic denied that there were outbreaks. The episode raises questions about common perceptions of healthcare in East Germany. The thought that East Germany might have an epidemic disease under control, which still caused problems in West Germany, contradicts the perception that East Germany lagged behind its western neighbor in every realm. While recent histories of international relations and healthcare emphasize collaboration between the US and the USSR, and their Cold War allies in this period, this dissertation presents a less constructive relationship. Despite the shared goal of polio control and eradication, East and West Germany used epidemic control as evidence of the successes of one system of healthcare governance, or the faults of the opponent’s system. The Berlin Wall announcement was the culmination of almost 15 years of government competition, speckled with individual collaboration, in the field of healthcare. This dissertation contributes to literature on healthcare in divided Germany, narratives which present the history of polio as an “American story,” and scholarship on healthcare and international relations. It shows how two separate healthcare systems were 1 “East Germany Curbs Travel: Blames Polio,” Chicago Tribune, 1 August 1961, 11. v constructed by Soviet and American occupiers with German collaborators between 1945 and 1947. These separate systems, established before the official division of Germany, laid the foundation for two separate states. During the first postwar polio epidemic in 1947, the United States showed its affluence and experience with polio through a robust response centered on technological solutions. The USSR, conversely, could not match the United States’ response due to inexperience with polio and lack of economic resources, garnering criticism from German citizens and US occupiers. In 1955, the introduction of Jonas Salk’s injected polio vaccine gave doctors and civilians in the US hope that polio would soon be a memory, but European responses were much more ambiguous. Albert Sabin’s forthcoming oral polio vaccine appeared to be a much more promising option to many physicians due to its ease of administration and cost-effectiveness. When Sabin chose to field test his vaccine in the USSR, his decision to collaborate with the US’s Cold War opponent demonstrated significant potential for collaboration. Nonetheless, the Soviet connections of Sabin OPV led to a crisis in divided Berlin. The history of polio is not an American story and recognizing the ways in which the fight against this disease went beyond the national, complicated by political boundaries but involving recognizable collaboration across those boundaries, helps expand the historical narrative of poliomyelitis. While vaccine diplomacy was indeed a form of soft power used in the context of the Cold War, promises of vaccines were not always received without question, and incorporating a deeper examination of recipient countries’ discourses helps complicate our understandings of diplomacy and hesitancy. / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy / This thesis outlines the ways in which an infectious disease, poliomyelitis, was treated and prevented in divided Germany between 1945 and 1965, contextualizing medical history with the political context of the Cold War. The first two chapters examine the period from 1945 to 1953, when no vaccines against polio were available and Germany was occupied by the Allied powers. The German healthcare system was reconstructed differently in the Soviet and American zones. The political beliefs of each occupying power shaped the resulting systems: socialized and centralized medicine was a hallmark of the Soviet zone’s healthcare, while the American zone pursued a free market approach. Chapters three and four explain the introduction of two different vaccines, both developed in the United States: an injected vaccine created by Jonas Salk, and an oral vaccine developed by Albert Sabin. The United States championed the Salk vaccine, while the USSR was an early adopter of the Sabin vaccine. These chapters explain how a vaccine created in the US became known as a Soviet vaccine, and how this reputation affected western countries’ adoption of the medical innovation. The thesis concludes that doctors are not separate from the political contexts in which they live and shows how political ideology and cross-border rivalry affect healthcare provision.

Published Article / Studies were undertaken in the Limpopo and Free State Provinces of South Africa to understand the beliefs, perceptions and health implications associated with geophagia. Questionnaires administered to 225 geophagic females covered their demographic details, their reasons for ingesting geophagic clayey soils and their perceptions regarding associated health conditions and implications. Respondents ingested clayey soils for body cleansing, craving, nutrient supplementation and weight loss. Some respondents considered the soils harmful, and < 50% of respondents had some knowledge of the contents of soils they ingested. Medical reasons in support of geophagia included lack of knowledge on the health implications of the practice. Medical consequences associated with geophagia may have occurred as a result of a lack of knowledge of the health implications of the practice. A clear need for educating geophagic individuals regarding the health implications of geophagia is called for.

Folded almanacs are fascinating manuscripts that display astrological content relevant to the practice of medicine. However, due to the lack of primary evidence demonstrating the almanac in practice, it is difficult to ascertain their actual use. Medieval Scholars have therefore concentrated on the almanac's sources, materiality and contextual evidence of apparent medical purpose. My thesis examines the metaphysical principles within the folded almanac, which exemplify the micro/macrocosm inherent in medieval astro-medicine. I argue that the folded almanac, as a material object and compilation of medical knowledge, situates the physician, patient and constellations within metaphysical ideas of body, time and space. Using the yet unstudied folded almanac from the National Library of Scotland, Acc 12059.3 (the Borthwick almanac) as a primary model, I demonstrate how this physical object, in dealing with the corporeal body, exhibits the unity of body, time and space. This approach reveals that the folded almanac (1) is a performative object that establishes medical authority, (2) tracks the progress of health and illness using Aristotelian and Thomist concepts of time, (3) maps the intersection of celestial and human bodies onto practical textual spaces. The culmination of these findings illustrates that the folded almanac engaged with a very technical but abstract branch of medieval medicine which sought to explain how, why, when and where illness was manifested, and also operated as an interventional tool for aiding in the restoration of health.

This study evaluated the ability of subjects at 3 levels of expertise, expert physicians, residents and medical students, in the acquisition, representation, and utilization of patient information in the context of solving a complex medical problem. Each subject interviewed a volunteer medical outpatient and was subsequently requested to provide a differential diagnosis. The doctor-patient dialogue was analyzed using cognitive methods of discourse analysis. These methods were used to characterize differences in the content and nature of the history-taking process and in the development of problem representations. The study characterized differences at two levels of representation, observations and findings. Observations are the minimal semantic units of the doctor patient discourse. Findings are higher order units that derive meaning in specific medical contexts. / Differences were found between groups of subjects in the accuracy of diagnoses and in the qualitative nature of representations. These differences were manifested most clearly in terms of a series of efficiency measures designed to characterize the ability of subjects to generate findings. In general, the expert physicians were more selective in the elicitation and processing of critical and relevant findings. An attempt is made to characterize these differences in terms of the strategies used to acquire and represent patient information.