M.A. (Sociology) / An increase in the number of people living alone has been observed in various modern industrialised societies, paricularly over the last four decades. Despite this, very little is known about living alone, since until now very little comprehensive research has been undertaken into the lifestyle of those living alone. There has rather been a tendency among social scientists particularly those working within the framework of social integration theory - to base their researches on the assumption that people living .alone necessarily expose themselves to social isolation, to their own detriment. Other researchers, however, stress the probability that those living alone compensate for their relative isolation by maintaining more contacts outside the household and are thus not necessarily exposed to social isolation. The aim of this study was to use qualitative research in an exploratory way to collect in-depth information on the nature of the social integration of women living alone and other related aspects of their lives. Although the findings are therefore limited by the type of research, a number of tendencies regarding the lifestyles and social integration of those living alone can be identified .. Probably one of the most significant conclusions is that, as far as their social integration is concerned, people living alone cannot be treated as a homogeneous category: when, for instance, the regularity and quality of respondents' contact with the central figures in their lives is examined, it appears that their integration into these centrality networks ranges from very high to very low...

In Vietnam,w omena ccountf or nearly5 2 percenot f thet otal populationo f approximately 68.1m illion. The statuso f womenh asg raduallye volvedf tom a subordinationp ositionb egun under the feudal Chinese Period and continued during the period of colonisation, to a more equitables tatusi n present-dayV ietnam. During the war of reunification,V ietnamesew omen werep ut in a dynamics ituationw heret heyh adt o operatea t parw ith men. Thew ar whichl asted well overa decadec, reateda no pportunityf or themt o participatein whatw asa traditionallym ale dominateds phereo f activity. Subsequentlyth, e societyr eciprocatedb y grantingw omenb asic rightst raditionallyr eservedfo r mena ndt he constitutiona ndl egislationo f then ew independent state was clear about supporting the rights of women. Although Vietnam does lag behind economicallyc omparedto mostd evelopingc ountriesa ndt he industrialw orld, in many domains includingm atemalm ortality,l ife expectancyn,u mbero f womenc omparedto men in the labour force,p arliamentarrye presentatioann dl iteracyr ates,t he gap is minimal, andi n somei nstances surpassese ven figures of women in the developedi ndustrial countries. Following the reunificationw ar (southa ndn orth Vietnam),T he SocialistR epublico f Vietnamh as beenr uled by theV ietnamesCe ommunisPt artyu ndera regimeo f neo-StalinisCt entraPl lanning. Sincet he 1980sV, ietnamh asb eeng raduallym ovingt o a markete conomy.I n 1987w ith the introduction of Doi Moi (economic recovery programme), the Government committed to transform the countryi nto a socialistm arkete conomy. However,w hile progresst owardsa markete conomy is gradually evolving, a disturbing trend is emerging: it appears that women are being marginaliseedc onomically.O f thew orkforcem ader edundanitn 1990,70p ercentw erew omen. Most enterprisesa,n d evena dministrativeo fficesn ow put womena t a disadvantageO. ftens uch discriminationsa re linked with maternityl eavea nd relatede ntitlementsa ccordedt o women employees. This thesiss etso ut to examinet he following hypothesesa: ) to ascertainw hethert he status of women in Vietnam as compared to that of other women regionally and globally is relativelyp ositive; b) to examinet hen atuTeo f the impacto f the emergingm arket economyo n their status;a nd c) to ascertainth e effectso f small and mediums calei ndustryo n that impact, either negative or positive. The research methodology employed to test the above hypotheses consists of a combinationo f methodsc omprisinga nalysiso f archival informationa ndm ultiple cases tudies with two questionnairecso mplementebdy exploratory,e xplanatorya ndd escriptives trategies. The empirical phase is based on two case studies of two small-medium sized industries in Vietnam.T hesep articularc ompaniews eres electedm ainlyb ecauseth eyc ontaineda high female representatiofnro m the textile industry ast hey traditionally employw omen. The resultso f the surveysc onductedf or CaseS tudyA and CaseS tudyB are analysedto identify the statusa nd aspirationos f womenw orking in a small-mediums izedi ndustry. Sociala nd cultural aspectso f these women are also explored. In conclusion, the thesis wraps up the findings of the surveys and draws summations from the literature reviewed. It also offers recommendations aimed at empowering women in overcoming economic difficulties in order to maintain their social equality.

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published_or_final_version / Literary and Cultural Studies / Master / Master of Arts

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

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Northern British Columbia (Canada), 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 325-340). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Yale University, 1985. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 343-381).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 325-340). Also available on the Internet.

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