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Thinness in Asia : eating disorders in Singapore as seen through anthropological eyesIsono, Maho 07 February 2003 (has links)
There has been a growing interest in eating disorders among Singaporean medical
professionals since the 1990s, and the Singaporean public is also starting to become aware of the
risks of these conditions. This ethnographic research on eating disorders in Singapore, conducted
in 2001, however, found that the majority of the informants with these conditions have struggled
with a lack of understanding from others. This thesis aims to increase understanding by bringing
these under-represented sufferers' voices to the forefront.
This thesis focuses on the immense fear and guilt about gaining weight that are shared
by these individuals. Unlike medical science, which usually considers such fear and guilt to be
pathological, this thesis looks at these emotions as cultural by using the anthropological theory of
feelings as well as the theory of the body politic. By illustrating how thinness has become an
ideal image for Singaporean women in the past twenty years, cultural components of these
feelings become readable to those without eating disorders.
This thesis recommends two ways to increase understanding of the informants' inner
struggles. First, medical science should consider culture a possible cause of eating disorders,
since the exclusion of culture from the etiology legitimizes a lack of understanding on the part of
those without eating disorders. Secondly, instead of asserting that appearance is unimportant,
those without eating disorders should acknowledge that appearance plays an important role in
human lives across every culture. Furthermore, they need to understand that while society
superficially encourages people to accept themselves as they are, it stigmatizes fatness more
forcefully. Lastly, they need to consider that the dieting industry often exploits medical science
to justify its image of the ideal female body. / Graduation date: 2003
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The lived experience of women student mentorsRennick, Vikki 15 September 2005 (has links)
This is a phenomenological research study of the lived experience of
women student mentors at one community college located in an urban setting on
the West Coast. The study participants were women students who served as
mentors to other women at the community college who are participants in a
returning women's program. The researcher interacted with the study participants
over a nine-month time period. Interviews were held with the six mentor
participants prior to their mentoring experience, during the time of the mentoring
experience, and at the end of the mentoring experience. The data for this study
consist of interviews, observation, and field notes. The mentoring program
coordinator was also interviewed to provide for triangulation of data.
Six themes emerged from the interviews with the participants and
subsequent analysis of the data: Reflecting on past experience, wanting to help, setting and maintaining boundaries, experiencing strong emotions, relational support from other women, and mentoring as a reciprocal relationship.
The resulting implication for practice recommendations from this study for
community college administrators and student service professionals designing or
implementing mentoring programs are: provide training for mentors, provide ongoing support for mentors, offer an orientation for the mentees on responsibilities and
expectations, design the mentoring program to provide a full academic year for
the mentor-mentee pair to meet, provide benefit and rewards for serving as a mentor, and ensure adequate staffing of the program.
Recommendations for further research on student mentoring are provided.
They include additional research in the areas of women as student mentors, men as
student mentors, comparison of the experiences of male and female mentors,
retention studies on students who serve as mentors, college credit and training for
mentors, mentoring programs across individual college campuses, and a statewide
view of mentoring programs on college campuses. / Graduation date: 2006
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The body of a patient and rational treatment in the managed care eraSumii, Kensuke 09 December 1997 (has links)
This study aims to identify conceptions of the body, as well as "rational" treatment
among primary care practitioners (PCPs) and emergency medicine practitioners (EMPs)
dealing with managed care plans. I conducted ethnographic study throughout 1996, and
interviewed six PCPs and four EMPs. In the course of my interviews, I discovered that
EMPs' and PCPs' perceived meaning and power in regards to treatment of their patients
has been increasingly resituated by the power of scientific discourse as utilized by
technocrats (such as consumer, provider, and insurance organizations who formulate
managed care plans).
Technocrats have developed scientific measurements to monitor physicians'
performances, quantifiably or scientifically. Technocrats conceptualize ideal treatment as
a cost effective care. They guide PCPs to supervise ideal treatment of the managed care
delivery networks, providing care without referring patients to specialists and
administrating to hospitals. Consequently, PCPs' power to pursue the newly
conceptualized ideal treatment influences other arenas of specialty, such as EMPs. On the
other hand, EMPs develop preferred treatment which is formulated through their medical
school education and clinical experiences. The preferred treatment is associated with time
because EMPs have to treat acute conditions of their patients within a limited amount of
time. However, EMPs sometimes cannot complete their preferred treatment because they
have to send their patient back to the patients' contracted PCPs in order to save health
care expenditure.
Technocrats implemented the engineering concept of quality control, and the
concept is incorporated into the principle of managed care plans, and preventive medicine.
As a result, the managed care plan networks become like production lines of large
manufacturing factories, and PCPs work as laborers to maintain the bodies of enrollees in
healthy conditions. / Graduation date: 1998
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Just do it : an analysis of cultural factors behind the growth of Nike, Inc.Chen, Roger L. 06 June 1994 (has links)
The success of NIKE, Inc. is deemed miracle by professionals on both Wall
Street and Madison Avenue. Research done in the past tends to credit the growth
of NIKE, Inc. to its marketing strategies. By placing the achievement of the
company in the postmodern context, this study analyzes the cultural factors
which contribute to the company's achievement. A brief yet well-documented
history of NIKE, Inc. is provided. The nature and function of NIKE, Inc.'s athlete
endorsements and contemporary sport are analyzed in a cultural context. The
cultural significance of three representative NIKE advertisements, and the
globalization of NIKE, Inc. are also scrutinized.
A literature review provides theoretical guidelines to the understanding of
the relationship between the business achievement of NIKE, Inc. and the
postmodern reality we are living in today. Interviews with 38 key informants and
questionnaire surveys show that NIKE, Inc. is a dream factory which uses the
American Dream as a selling point to expand its market both within the United
States and overseas. Therefore, the success of NIKE, Inc. should be viewed more
as a cultural phenomenon than as a business achievement. / Graduation date: 1995 / Best scan available for figures. Original is a black and white photocopy.
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Social relationships in blog webringsQian, Hua, 1973- 11 October 2012 (has links)
A blog webring is a self-organized online network that bloggers can join based on its thematic description. Drawing upon the theory of homophily in interpersonal communication, this paper examines webring themes and explores how they may be related to the salient characteristics in human identity to which people pay more attention in online communication. Research results suggest that blogs in a webring with a mixed theme or a theme based on acquired status are associated with a higher level of conversationality, with more embedded webring-bounded hyperlinks and more member comments. Bloggers from webrings of these two types of themes reportedly have a closer social relationship with other members. They are also more positive about the likelihood of getting social support from within their webrings. In general, people are not constrained by the limited interactivity offered by blogs; many of them employ not only other online, but also offline means of communication for interactions. As webring members, people believe that much more social support is available than they originally anticipated, and the specific types of social support that are perceived to be available are not determined by how easily they may be delivered online. This study overall supports the view that meaningful social relationships are developed and maintained on the Internet, which is essentially an extension of people’s daily lives. It also underscores the necessity that contextual specificity be privileged in future research on people’s online communication. / text
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An evaluation on the Building Safety Loan Scheme in Hong Kong: a social equality perspective studyLaw, Hau-yee., 羅巧兒. January 2004 (has links)
published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management
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A study of fauna species endangered by traditional habits of Chinese communities in Hong KongTam, Yee-wa, Audrey., 譚綺華. January 2006 (has links)
published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management
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The securitisation of HIV/AIDS: China and IndiaLo, Yuk-ping, 盧鈺苹 January 2012 (has links)
Securitisation theory has made significant contributions to security studies. However, the theory is not without theoretical and empirical shortcomings. Notably, a lack of operationalisation and differentiation has led to a binary classification of results as either ‘securitised or not’. In addition, the presence of Euro-centric assumptions has weakened the theory’s applicability in non-Western contexts.
This thesis develops a new framework featuring a typology with eight branches of securitisation. The thesis then uses that framework to study HIV/AIDS securitisation in two Asian countries: China and India.
The process of HIV/AIDS securitisation in both countries is illustrated chronologically. Following the international HIV/AIDS securitisation obtained in 2000, the study shows that HIV/AIDS has been fully securitised by both national governments since 2004. However, the Chinese government addressed HIV/AIDS through a stand-alone programme, whereas India’s national HIV/AIDS programme was integrated into its primary health care system.
Six cities were included in the detailed empirical analysis: Beijing, Shanghai, and Kunming in China, and New Delhi, Mumbai, and Imphal in India. Semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst 62 individuals working in HIV/AIDS-related non-governmental organisations, and 10 officials working in government agencies. Chinese respondents were receptive to framing the threat and handling of HIV/AIDS, yet many grassroots organizations lacked opportunities to participate in the national HIV/AIDS programme. In contrast, such groups were strongly involved in national HIV/AIDS interventions; however, Indian government efforts in fully securitising HIV/AIDS were largely faded out.
The thesis therefore responds to the major theoretical and empirical shortcomings identified by security scholars. The thesis also advances the existing knowledge of security studies in general, and HIV/AIDS securitisation processes in the non-Western world in particular. / published_or_final_version / Humanities and Social Sciences / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy
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Individual mobility for socially sustainable transportLam, Wing-yee, Winnie., 林泳怡. January 2012 (has links)
A socially sustainable transport system has to make sure that opportunities are accessible to all. The social dimension is important as transport-related barriers can contribute to social injustice. A well-functioning transport system should promote greater equity by linking people and places together. The discussion in this thesis revolves around the main concept of individual mobility. It refers to the ease with which an individual can move from one place to another to access opportunities. The main research objective of the thesis is to investigate the factors affecting individual mobility of three selected transport-disadvantaged groups, namely children, working mothers and the elderly.
The thesis presents three in-depth case studies within a framework of time geography. Each study highlights the individual mobility problems confronted by the selected transport-disadvantaged group. The first case study is a detailed investigation of children’s mobility to access educational opportunities. The next chapter examines gendered mobility of working mothers and their counterparts. Finally, a walkability study is carried out to evaluate how the walking environment affects outdoor mobility of the aging population. This research employs a suite of methods in evaluating individual mobility. Children’s access to educational opportunities is examined through the computation of the size of potential path area and the number of weighted opportunities reachable within given space-time constraints. To move on, multilevel analysis is carried out to compare the daily activity spaces of married couples. Finally, a walkability assessment is conducted to evaluate factors affecting older people’s access to health-care facilities. These approaches build up to a comprehensive and holistic view to explore the issue of socially sustainable transport.
By providing a more focused picture on the transport problems faced by groups which run the risks of being excluded in the mainstream transport development, this study has the potential to provide a new and comprehensive outlook in the theme of social sustainability in transport research. This thesis brings the social, spatial and temporal dimensions together in planning for a socially sustainable transport system. The results of each case study provide advice and develop initiatives to work towards a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable society. The findings from the chapter on children show that place disadvantage is an important issue to be addressed. For working mothers, the household responsibility hypothesis is evident, despite the compact city environment. The final chapter shows that active transport can benefit elderly citizens in a multitude of ways. More walkability assessments surrounding health-care and other opportunities should be looked into and audited. From the findings, the research concludes that the needs of these groups are not thoroughly addressed in Hong Kong, and related geographical research is also limited in the field. The urge to address the preferences and needs of these groups are of strategic
importance. Recommendations for future research include an improved understanding of the needs among an expanded range of stakeholders and depending on the locations in where they live. / published_or_final_version / Geography / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy
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The neural basis of social decision making in patients with major depressive disorderZhang, Huijun, 張慧君 January 2014 (has links)
Social decision making is a complex process of selecting an optimal option with the most desirable outcome in the interpersonal context. Because of the involvement of human interactions, social decision making usually demands heavily on the affective neural system. Within the system mood plays a vital role in the social interaction. In this connection, given the fact that depression is characterized as a stable state of low mood, researches have begun focusing on exploring the relationship between depression and social decision making. As yet, research on how the depression influence social decision has been scarce. Moreover, the neural basis underpinning the relationships between depressed mood and altered social interactions is undertermined. This thesis contains two studies conducted to extend the understanding of the behavioural presentation and the neural underpinnings of people with depression when they were involved in a social decision making process.
Study one examined altered ability of decision making in the context of social interaction among patients with major depressive disorders (MDD). A modified trust game (social interactive context) was adopted to measure the behavioural differences between 50 female patients with MDD and 49 healthy matched controls. Relatively to the controls, the MDD patients made less frequently and smaller ratio of deceptive decisions when the repayment proportion was high and when the risk was low. They also made less frequently benevolent responses than healthy participants when the repayment proportion was low and medium. These findings indicate that the MDD patients tended to be risk avoidant and fail to adjust their responses even when the risk was low.
Study two examined the neural correlates associated with social decision making in people with MDD. They performed on a modified trust game while their brain activities during risky decision making (high vs. low) and choices of behavior (benevolence vs. deception) were monitored by a 3T MRI scanner. Fifteen MDD patients and 15 healthy controls participated in this study. The behavioural patterns of both groups were very comparable to that of study one. Findings revealed that, compared with low risk condition, MDD patients exhibited hyperresponsivity to high risk in the insula, a key brain in decision making. Attenuated differentiated activity in the caudate nucleus, and exaggerated differentiated activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex when displaying deception was observed in the clinical subjects. Healthy participants, on the other hand, exhibited increased activity in the interaction between risk and choice in the middle frontal lobe. These findings indicate that the impaired reward processing, as well as the inflexible adaptation of behaviors to external conditions, is affected by the depressed mood. These neural dysfunctions subserve the altered social decision making in MDD patients.
From the observations that MDD patient’s social decision making is altered both in the behavioural pattern and in neural activity, mood is demonstrated to affect social decision making processes and risk is associated with depression. Our findings provide neural evidence of social decision making in MDD patients, which will shed light on the interaction between mood and social cognition, and further extend our insight about possible mechanisms explaining the relationship of depressed moods and the presented social deficits in people with MDD. This knowledge will facilitate future development of cost-effective interventions for people with affective disorders. / published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy
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