Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Body change'

Background: In the course of their lives, individuals evolve a body image, which can be challenged due to ageing. Individuals who have difficulties reconciling their body image with reality may resort to various strategies, such as exercise and dieting, in order to cope. These behaviours may in turn result in more severe psychological problems, e.g. eating disorders, which are under researched in older adults. Body image, body change, physical illness and ways of coping with ageing have been researched to various degrees in older adults, but these findings have not been integrated. To justify the further investigation of eating disorders in older adults, these previous findings should be integrated and confirmed in a representative sample of the general population. The aim of this study was to assess gender differences in body image and to explore the associations between physical & psychological health and body image in an older adult non-clinical sample. Methods: The study was between groups, cross-sectional in design comprising of a single administration of a combined self-report questionnaire as no intervention requiring a follow up was offered. The non-clinical sample was recruited through multiple channels i.e. community centres, church groups and the staff of a large teaching hospital. 103 women aged 50-96 and 57 men aged 50-84 returned a total of 160 completed questionnaires (80.0% of the questionnaires distributed). Results: Older women were found to have more body image concerns than older men. Older women's body image concern was found to be associated with BMI, whereas older men's body image concern was associated with BMI and physical health. Older women and men presented with similar negative attitudes towards ageing. Both older women and older men desired weight loss despite being of normal weight, although this was more common in older women. Physical illness was not associated with psychological symptoms, physical illness was directly associated with body image concerns in older men only, while body image concerns in older women were associated with age controlling behaviours. Summary: The current study demonstrates that the many of the associations relating to body image in younger populations are also present in older adults. These results, in combination with the literature on the aetiology of eating disorders, which emphasises the association with body image discontent, provides sufficient justification for epidemiological work to establish the prevalence of eating disorders in older adults. Ultimately, the current study serves as a staging point between the vast literature on body image in younger populations & the limited literature on body image in older adults and future research investigating gender differences in the components of body images.

This thesis examined body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors among adolescent girls and boys from a biopsychosocial framework. The contribution of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors were examined in relation to body dissatisfaction, weight loss, weight gain and increased muscle tone behaviors among early adolescent girls and boys. In particular, pubertal maturation, body mass index (BMI), perception of body shape and size and psychological factors, such as depression, anxiety, ineffectiveness, self-esteem and perfectionism, were examined as possible factors that may precipitate or maintain body dissatisfaction and engagement in body change strategies. The sociocultural factors evaluated were the quality of family and peer relationships, as well as the influence of family and peers in predicting the adoption of specific body change strategies. The specific mechanisms by which these influences were transmitted were also examined. These included perceived discussion, encouragement and modelling of various body change strategies, as well as perceived teasing about body shape and size. A number of separate cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were conducted to examine the above relationships and identify the factors that contribute to weight loss, weight gain and increased muscle tone behaviors in adolescents. Study 1 examined the psychometric properties and principal components structure of the Bulimia Test Revised (BULIT-R; Thelen, Farmer, Wonderlich, & Smith, 1991) to assess its applicability to adolescent samples. Study 2 investigated the nature of body dissatisfaction and weight loss behaviors among 603 adolescents (306 girls and 297 boys) using a standardised questionnaire. This preliminary study was conducted to ascertain whether variables previously found to be relevant to adolescent girls, could also be related to the development of body dissatisfaction and weight loss behaviors among adolescent boys. Studies 3 and 4 described the development and validation of a body modification scale that measured weight loss, weight gain and increased muscle tone behaviors. Studies 5 and 6 were designed to modify an Excessive Exercise Scale developed by Long, Smith, Midgley, and Cassidy (1993) into a shorter form, and validate this scale with an adolescent sample. Study 7 investigated the factors that contribute to weight loss, weight gain and increased muscle among adolescent girls and boys both cross-sectionally and longitudinally (over one year). Structural equation modelling was used to examine associations among self-reported body dissatisfaction, body change strategies and a range of biological, psychological and sociocultural variables both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Overall, the results suggested that both girls and boys experience body dissatisfaction and engage in a number of different body change strategies in order to achieve an ideal size. A number of gender similarities and differences were identified in the expression of body dissatisfaction and the adoption of body change strategies for both girls and boys. Girls were more likely than boys to report body dissatisfaction and engage in weight loss behaviors, while boys were more likely than girls to engage in weight gain and increased muscle tone behaviors. Generally, the same factors were found to contribute to weight loss, and more specifically, bulimic symptomatology, ad weight gain in both adolescent girls and boys. While a combination of biological, psychological and sociocultural factors contributed to bulimic symptomatology, only biological and psychological factors were found to contribute to weight gain in adolescents. The most notable gender differences were found in the model of increased muscle tone. Sociocultural and biological factors contributed to increased muscle tone behaviors in girls, while sociocultural and psychological factors were implicated in these behaviors in adolescent boys. With the exception of the model of increased muscle tone for boys, body dissatisfaction was a consistent factor in the adoption of body change behaviors. Consistent with previous investigations, the present thesis provides empirical support for the need to examine the etiology and maintenance of such concerns and behaviors from a multifaceted perspective.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2009.
Advisor: Jasminka Z. Ilich-Ernst, Florida State University, College of Human Sciences, Dept. of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed on Nov. 9, 2009). Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 76 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Cycling efficiency is a measure of the ability to convert stored energy into power, and is considered a key determinant of cycling performance. Cycling efficiency has recently been manipulated with various techniques, but most prominently with high intensity training in habitual cyclists and using calorie restriction in sedentary obese participants. It was therefore the primary aim of this thesis to explore the efficacy of utilising a short- and medium-term calorie restriction intervention, to manipulate efficiency with participants accustomed to cycling. A secondary aim was to investigate the validity of measuring efficiency in a field-based environment. Male club level cyclists were recruited for the investigations, which comprised of a moderate -500 kcal.day-1 deficit, utilising portion control and measuring efficiency at both absolute and relative steady-state intensities. Seventeen participants completed the short-term, two-week intervention which utilised a randomised cross-over design. Although a significant reduction in body mass was attained, RMR, gross and net efficiency across all intensities and TT power remained stable. Field and laboratory comparisons indicated that prior to statistical correction absolute efficiency was significantly lower in the field, but after accounting for differences in power, cadence and environmental conditions, no differences were present. Twenty-nine participants conducted the medium-term study and were assigned either to calorie restriction or to no dietary intervention. Following a reduction in mass in the calorie restriction group and an increase in the group given no dietary intervention, a significant interaction between mass and efficiency was found across gross and net efficiency workloads. A six week follow-up period indicated that the process of calorie restriction and not absolute body mass reduction was the main mechanism for altering efficiency. This thesis suggests that efficiency can be manipulated both positively and negatively with calorie manipulation, and that these changes are linked to both laboratory and field based performance.

The essay Let us be the second body is a written pensive and companion in the process of creating a performance with the same title performed in January 2021 at SKH in Stockholm. It describes the main task of the project which was about realizing interdependencies, in a search for political movement towards a non-violent way of relating with and within the world. In the essay, it is described how this can be imagined like crawling through a compost pile. What you find digesting in the pile are conversations and encounters with strangers on the street such as Blurry-Believes/ Pretend-Poems/ Slippery-Statements, and composed fragments of thoughts from thinkers like Maria Lugones, Judith Butler, Ta-Nehsi Coates, and Michael Ende. Composing those fragments within this essay is forming the sentence: “I cannot be out of violence until the system that I am living in is, even though I am not the target of that violence. The essay is longing to get into the muddy work of investigating the concepts of ‘transformation’ and ‘change’. A work that is meant to be, as the structure of the text, mirrored, messed up and ambiguous.  (And through being honest in that ambiguity the essay regains a response-ability.) Concretely, the essay reflects on how I use this ambiguity as a tool for creating the performance Let us be the second body, in which textile art, scenography, sound design and dancing linger in interdependence with the realm of transformation. I will and I will not change the world with this essay. So, I guess you will and you will not be changed by this essay.

This master work includes both a performing and a written part.

Heat acclimation increases the local heat loss responses of sweating and skin blood flow which is thought to persist for up to 3 weeks post-acclimation. However, the extent to which increases in local heat loss affect whole-body heat loss as a function of increasing levels of heat stress remains unresolved. Using direct calorimetry, we examined changes in whole-body evaporative heat loss (EHL) during progressive increases in metabolic heat production 1) prior to (Day 0), during (Day 7) and following a 14-day heat acclimation protocol (Day 14) – Induction phase, and; 2) at the end of a 1-week (Day 21) and 2-week decay period (Day 28) – Decay phase. Ten males performed intermittent exercise (3 x 30-min (min) bouts of cycling at 300 (Ex1), 350 (Ex2), and 400 watts•meters2 (W•m2) (Ex3) separated by 10 and 20 min rest periods, respectively). During the induction period, EHL at Day 7 was increased at each of the three exercise bouts (Ex1: + 6%; Ex2 +8%; Ex3: +13%, all p≤0.05) relative to Day 0 (EHL at Ex1: 529 W; Ex2: 625 W; Ex3: 666 W). At Day 14, EHL was increased for all three exercise bouts compared to Day 0 (Ex1: 9%; Ex2: 12%; Ex3: 18%, all p≤0.05). As a result, a lower cumulative change in body heat content (ΔHb) was measured at Day 7 (-30%, p≤0.001) and Day 14 (-47%, p≤0.001). During the decay phase, EHL at Day 21 and 28 was only reduced in Ex 3 (p≤0.05) compared to Day 14. In parallel, ΔHb increased by 39% (p=0.003) and 57% (p≤0.001) on Day 21 and Day 28 relative to Day 14, respectively. When Day 28 was compared to Day 0, EHL remained elevated in each of the exercise bouts (p≤0.05). As such, ΔHb remained significantly lower on Day 28 compared to Day 0 (-16%, p=0.042). We show that 14 days of heat acclimation increases whole-body EHL during exercise in the heat which is maintained 14 days post-acclimation.

Background: Dietary patterns that include recommended servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dietary fiber, and dairy, combined with regular physical activity and frequent breakfast consumption are optimal choices for weight loss or weight maintenance over time. College students are at an increased risk for weight gain due to environmental and behavioral changes that are associated with decreased dietary quality and physical inactivity. Preventing weight gain in college students may have a profound impact on prevalence of overweight or obesity later in life. Objective: To examine associations between weight change and dietary patterns in college students. Design: A longitudinal observational study. Dietary intake and physical activity were self-reported on seven-day food records and compared to dietary guidelines for compliance with recommendations. Subjects/Setting: Data from 80 students enrolled in a fall semester introductory nutrition course at a large state university were analyzed in the fall and spring semester . Main outcome measures: Daily servings of total fruit (fruit and juice), total vegetables (fried and non-fried), dairy (regular and low-fat), whole grains, and dietary fiber, breakfast consumption, body weight changes and physical activity. Statistical Analysis Performed: Associations between diet quality and weight change were analyzed using Chi-square analysis. Weight change was analyzed by diet quality and breakfast consumption using t-test and by metabolic equivalents (METHRS/day) using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) (p<0.05). Significant associations were analyzed by Pearsonâ s correlation (two-sided, p<0.05). Results: Weight and body mass index (BMI kg/m2) were significantly higher compared to baseline. The majority of students did not meet recommendations for daily servings of fruit, vegetable, dairy, whole grains, and dietary fiber. Higher diet quality was significantly associated with more frequent breakfast consumption and students who maintained or lost weight reported significantly higher intakes of total fruit, low-fat dairy and whole grains. Conclusion: Failure to meet dietary guidelines resulting in lower diet quality was distinctive of this population and was associated with significant changes in body weight over one academic year. Applications: Educational interventions aimed at improving diet quality may inhibit weight gain commonly seen in college students.
Master of Science

Appearance-related commentary can be positive or negative. Such commentary has been shown to negatively affect the mental health and well-being of women in a well-documented body of research. There is limited research on this topic pertaining to males. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of appearance-related commentary in men. Results indicate that men who receive more negative commentary are more likely to experience eating pathology, body dissatisfaction, distress from commentary, and participate in compulsive exercising and appearance-change behaviors. However, men that receive positive commentary are likely to experience more positive outcomes, reporting less dissatisfaction and pathology but more appearance-change behaviors. It appears that men are affected by negative, appearance-related commentary in the same ways that women are, but that they experience positive commentary in a more direct and appropriate manner. Additionally, self-objectification, a covariate found to interact in similar relations with women, was not found to account for any of the variance between appearance-related feedback and outcomes.
ID: 029051091; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (M.S.)--University of Central Florida, 2010.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-71).
M.S.
Masters
Department of Clinical Psychology
Sciences

This study examined the effects of viewing sexually explicit media on men's body image, body change behaviors, and esteem in a randomized experimental study. The purpose was to determine if a cause and effect relationship exists between viewing sexually explicit media and body image dissatisfaction in men. Participants were randomized to one of four conditions. They were asked to view a short media clip and then answer a series of questionnaires assessing their current body change strategies (e.g., pathogenic weight control practices), interest in risky body behaviors (e.g., cosmetic surgery), esteem (i.e., genital, sexual, and self-esteem), and overall body image satisfaction. It was hypothesized that men exposed to the sexually explicit media condition would evidence more dissatisfaction with their bodies, utilize more body change strategies, and have more interest in risky body change behaviors. It was also hypothesized that men exposed to the sexually explicit condition would evidence poorer self-esteem, sexual esteem, and genital esteem relative to participants in the other conditions. The hypotheses were not supported. There were no significant differences among any of the conditions, including a more specific analysis between the control and sexually explicit conditions. As this differs from findings of similar studies with female participants, it is important for future studies to further examine this topic and to identify protective factors that may exist for men who view sexually explicit materials.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Psychology
Sciences
Psychology; Clinical Psychology

Thesis advisor: Barbara E. Wolfe
Despite the chronicity and less than optimal outcomes of inpatient treatment (IPT) for anorexia nervosa (AN), treatment guidelines continue to reflect the common notion of one-size-fits-all and the process of weight restoration continues to be poorly understood. Weight restoration, a primary goal of IPT for AN, does not occur in isolation but rather reflects an adaptation process within internal and external environments. It is unknown whether or not there are unique patterns of change in body weight that are associated with factors identified in the existing literature as being predictors of weight gain. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which patterns of change in body weight existed among individuals during IPT for AN, and the relationship with factors identified in the existing literature as being predictors of weight gain (i.e., age at time of admission, admission caloric intake, percent of ideal body weight [IBW] at time of admission, body weight at time of discharge, body mass index [BMI] at time of discharge). Individuals who were diagnosed with AN and admitted to the inpatient unit of an eating disorder treatment facility in the Northeast between January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015 were included in this retrospective, exploratory study (N = 500). Group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was used to identify distinct trajectories of change in body weight, and to determine the risk of being in a particular trajectory. Four distinct trajectories were identified: weight gain (n = 197), weight loss (n = 177), weight plateau (n = 82), and weight fluctuate (n = 44) groups. Significant predictors of trajectories were age, history of prior IPT for AN, admission caloric intake, body weight at time of admission and discharge, and length of stay. Results from this study suggest that a further understanding of patterns of change in body weight among individuals with AN, will help guide assessment and treatment interventions and consequently influence outcomes. Additionally, there is an opportunity to update treatment guidelines and recommendations for AN
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016
Submitted to: Boston College. Connell School of Nursing
Discipline: Nursing

Commentary about solid or whole body part transplantation, transfusion and donation is well documented and has added to discourse about who gives and receives and how. Commentary about another body part – blood – is, it is argued here, less well developed (Sanner, 2001; Lock, 2004; Scheper-Hughes and Wacquant, 2006; Shaw, 2009). Blood and its modern-day sociology and anthropology is understood and limited by its links with both Titmuss’ altruism and gift exchange theories. This thesis, using a qualitative ethnographic approach, re-examines and introduces new discourse about blood, challenging the orthodoxy of altruism and seeking new understanding and justification for blood donation. It uses testimony from 80 blood donors to elicit real-time ideas about blood as a source of risk rather than a gift from strangers. It also argues that donors “give to get back” their donations rather than give as a form of altruistic behaviour, thus introducing the concept that blood donating is a form of covenant between society and the individual or a form of deposit. Issues of trust are examined via the lens of deferment as increasingly it is not good enough to just donate blood without stringent societal, as well as techno-medical, surveillance. Donating blood is shown to be a form of active citizenship, and to be deferred from doing so has a direct impact on individuals’ freedom to donate and thus community membership. The emotional labour of giving is revealed by the testimonies of “able” donors, which evidence that not only do donors perceive their blood to be special, but also the act of giving is a labour carried out by the few who can do it for the majority, in contrast to those donors who regard giving blood to be a mundane, functional practice. Lastly, an emerging hierarchy of self in relation to the body is uncovered here revealing hints at its’ inalienable status. The thesis charts the journey of blood from being a mystical part of the body, linked to goodness, to blood being the new “master tool” of modern society, imbued with risk and therefore entrusted to society via scrutinising blood management systems. The methodological framework is centred on an interpretative approach, using data gathered from interviews and questionnaires from active blood donors in sessions at the National Blood Service (NHSBT) as well as testimony gathered from individual one-to-one interviews. It refers to theories by Foucault, Mauss and Douglas to interpret the qualitative data revealing blood as a target of bio-power, risk management and social exchange and a shifting dislocated new body part, and it sets out to challenge the orthodoxy of altruism as the rationale and justification for blood donation in modern Britain.

Body size is one of the most fundamental quantifiable traits of living or fossil organisms, and understanding it in various temporal and spatial contexts can offer key insights into the process of evolution. This volume examines body size of eukaryotes and its correlates in various temporal and spatial contexts in three distinct studies. The first study investigates the relationship between parasitism and body size of modern bivalve hosts. Individuals of Protothaca staminea were extensively parasitized (86%) by two types of trace-producing parasites. The only significant relationship between parasitism and body size was that spionid mudblister infested clams from one environment were slightly, yet significantly, smaller than their non-infested counterparts. The most obvious pattern regarding body size was that clams from a lagoon were significantly larger than clams from a tidal creek. This size discrepancy could be related to environmental stress, durophagous predators, differing hydrodynamic conditions, or the comparison of differing cohorts. Even though there was no discernible impact of trematode parasitism on bivalve body size, their traces were abundant and easy to identify. Investigators of body size in the fossil record should be aware of these organisms and their possible ramifications for body size studies. The second study, using Quaternary terrestrial gastropods from the Canary Islands, tests the hypothesis of limiting similarity, the idea that two closely related species will alter their size/morphology in order to minimize competition. By integrating amino acid geochronology, stable isotope estimates, and morphometric techniques I was able to more adequately test whether limiting similarity is an evolutionary process or a transient ecological phenomenon. The first prediction of limiting similarity, character displacement, was confirmed. The second prediction of limiting similarity, character release, was not confirmed. It appears that changing climate at the end of the Pleistocene may be responsible for the body size trends, but intraspecific competition likely played a secondary role in the evolution of body size of Theba. The third study addressed the history of body size and morphological disparity of the first 1.3 billion years of acritarch history. The results reject the idea that acritarch body size increased monotonically through the Proterozoic; in fact they displayed non-directional fluctuation. Acritarch body size decreased significantly following the first appearance of Ediacara organisms and gradually rose during the Cambrian. Morphological disparity increased a half billion years before the first taxonomic radiation. Morphological disparity decreased significantly during the snowball earth events and upon the first appearance of Ediacaran organisms suggesting multiple events of selective extinction in the Proterozoic biosphere. Disparity then increased in step with the diversification of acritarch and metazoans through the Cambrian suggesting ecological links between the two groups. Ecological processes, whether extrinsic abiotic processes or biotic interactions, influence the body size and evolution of organisms at wide range of spatial and temporal scales.
Ph. D.

Overweight and obesity trends are on the rise, and young people are no exception. The popular phrase "Freshman 15" suggests that freshmen in college tend to gain weight faster than other populations. There is a growing body of literature that supports evidence of increased weight gain during the transition from high school to college. This study sought to examine not only weight changes among freshmen, but body composition, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference (WC) changes as well. Body composition was measured using air displacement plethysmography (Bod Pod®). This study examined changes in both males (n = 45) and females (n = 43), as well as a subsample of Division I collegiate athletes (n = 19). The present study evaluated changes that occurred among a final group of 107 participants. Measurements were taken at the beginning of the semester in September, again in December, and at the end of the school year in April. Self-report questionnaires based on nutritional and physical activity were also evaluated. Significant increases in weight (2.1 ± 2.6 kg), BMI (0.69 ± 0.87 kg/m2), and WC (1.7 ± 2.7 cm) did occur during the freshman year. However, the change in body composition was not significant (p > 0.05). There was no relationship between the nutrition responses and the body composition changes that occurred with the exception of a weak relationship between change in "total caloric consumption during your freshman year" and change in body mass (r = 0.25, p < 0.05), change in BMI (r = 0.24, p < 0.05), and change in %BF (r = 0.20, p < 0.05). Regarding exercise, "total time spent doing physical activity during your freshman year" was inversely correlated to change in %BF (r = 0.27, p < 0.01). Finally, differences between non-athletes and athletes were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). These findings indicate that there are significant physical changes that occur during the freshman year of college. These changes may be a result of changes in environment, caloric consumption, and decreased physical activity. However, results did not indicate that these changes include a significant increase in percent body fat.

Climate change-induced increases in air temperature pose a substantial risk to birds inhabiting arid environments. Terrestrial endotherms, such as birds, can respond to high temperatures by moving to cooler microsites, increasing heat dissipation behaviour and/or suppressing activity. Previous studies have suggested that larger bird species may have a greater suppression of activity (e.g. foraging) than smaller species at high air temperatures. However, this body mass effect may be confounded by drinking behaviour, since different species have diverse drinking ecologies. Using four species of lark that inhabit the Tankwa Karoo National Park, I investigated whether foraging activity and other heat-influenced behaviours were influenced by body mass or drinking behaviour when comparisons were constrained within a single family. These lark species were: Red-capped Lark (24 g), Spikedheeled Lark (25 g), Karoo Lark (29 g) and Large-billed Lark (45 g). There was a two-fold difference in body mass between the lightest (Red-capped Lark) and the heaviest (Large-billed Lark). Moreover, two of these lark species drink surface water (drinking larks; Red-capped and Large-billed Lark) and two do not (non-drinking larks; Spike-heeled and Karoo Lark). I also collected data on other passerines present in the Tankwa Karoo for comparison to the larks. Black bulb thermometers were used to measure the thermal landscape and a combination of instantaneous scan samples and focal observations to record bird behaviour. Black bulb temperatures were as much as 8.16 °C cooler in shaded than in sunny locations. Similarly, black bulb temperatures were as much as 8.02 °C cooler off the ground than on the ground. The results from scan sample data showed limited support that foraging was negatively correlated (although non-significant) with mass between lark species as temperatures increased; however, data from focal observations suggested larks that obtain all water from food had a greater reduction in foraging as temperatures increase than larks that drink free surface water. Within scan samples, heat dissipation and shade-seeking behaviour appeared to be more strongly influenced by whether the species drinks free surface water or not than by differences in body mass. Furthermore, drinking larks dissipate heat at lower temperatures and seek shade at higher temperatures than non-drinking larks. Foraging intensity was higher in the sunny microsites as compared to shaded microsites for all species, suggesting that drinking larks might gain an energetic benefit due to increased heat tolerance. Therefore, non-drinking species may be vulnerable to foraging-thermoregulation trade-offs under climate change. However, ongoing drying trends in the Tankwa Karoo and reduced availability of surface water may make drinking species more vulnerable to climate change in the future than non-drinking species.

Denna studie undersöker hur trans representeras i tv-serien Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, med syftet att undersöka vad för mening serien skapar om trans i stort. Detta undersöks genom att titta närmare på en karaktär i serien, transpersonen Theo Putnam, och hur han och andra förhåller sig till hans kropp och kön. Studiens metoder är en tematisk analys samt en transläsning och fyra teman av transrepresentation har identifierats i materialet: mobbning i relation till kropp och kön, kroppen som hinder, kroppen som accepterad samt sexualitet och kärlek i relation till trans. Dessa teman visar att trans i serien representeras som något som tidvis gör att en blir utsatt och mobbad, men som till största del inte är så problematiskt. Kroppen och könet är i serien frånkopplade, och serien visar att en inte måste korrigera sin kropp som transperson. Studien kommer fram till att trans i serien framställs som något bra, och att kön, kropp, relationer samt sexualitet ses som flytande och föränderliga.

Objective: To examine whether weight history and weight transitions over adult lifespan contribute to physical impairment among postmenopausal women. Design: BMI categories were calculated among postmenopausal women who reported their weight and height at age 18 years. Multiple-variable logistic regression was used to determine the association between BMI at age 18 years and BMI transitions over adulthood on severe physical impairment (SPI), defined as scoring <60 on the Physical Functioning subscale of the Rand thirty-six-item Short-Form Health Survey. Setting: Participants were part of the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI OS), where participants' health was followed over time via questionnaires and clinical assessments. Subjects: Postmenopausal women (n 76 016; mean age 635 (sd 73) years). Results: Women with overweight (BMI=250-299 kg/m(2)) or obesity (BMI = 300 kg/m(2)) at 18 years had greater odds (OR (95 % CI)) of SPI (151 (135, 169) and 214 (172, 265), respectively) than normal-weight (BMI=185-249 kg/m(2)) counterparts. Transitions from normal weight to overweight/obese or to underweight (BMI<185 kg/m(2)) were associated with greater odds of SPI (197 (184, 211) and 135 (106, 171), respectively) compared with weight stability. Shifting from underweight to overweight/obese also had increased odds of SPI (152 (111, 209)). Overweight/obese to normal BMI transitions resulted in a reduced SPI odds (052 (039, 071)). Conclusions: Higher weight history and transitions into higher weight classes were associated with higher likelihood of SPI, while transitioning into lower weight classes for those with overweight/obesity was protective among postmenopausal women.

The focus of this study is the exploration and interpretation of women's visual and textual experiences of menopause. It is a conversational mapping of embodied space and time as they re-imagine memories and actual experiences which have informed their changing sense of self during the transitional stages of menopause. The research examines the ways in which artwork, visual diaries, journals, creative writing and poetry make visible a fresh perception of their female sense of the lived body. The project examines the contemporary cultural meanings of femininity, sexuality and identity which have informed women's understanding of their bodies and gender during the transformative years of menopause, and it explores the ways in which these forms of knowledge have influenced their artistic modes of self-representation.In the first chapter I acquaint the reader with the context of the research, and outline my understandings of the human body and social theories. I direct the exploration of texts towards a range of feminist theoretical perspectives which suggest women's biological and reproductive bodies provide spaces for re-visioning personal and social change.The next two chapters explain how I develop theoretical and methodological arts-based approaches enabling an innovative and appropriate investigation of the phenomenon in question. I explain how I have blended various textual expressive genres with interpretive research methodologies and philosophical viewpoints. In these chapters I recount the imaginative strategies and techniques used to portray the ontological, phenomenological and epistemological perspectives of the lived experience of menopause.Following this, I present seven stories. Each story portrays how artistic genres grasp particular experiences and transform them into imaginative expressive inter-textual representations.
The stories also demonstrate how this type of research is done, and how the meaning-making processes of collaborative research draw out resonances towards real and imagined, and internal and external sites of personal and political significance.Accompanying the stories is a fourth chapter entitled Menopause Perspecta X 5. In writing this section, I adopt a different narrational approach and voice as I move from the realm of storyteller to that of art curator presenting a series of visual images and the poetic writings of five women. As well as portraying different voices speaking at different levels, each presentation continues the task of opening spaces for translation between word and image.The thesis concludes with a reflective overview of the menopausal body, image and text. In the coda, Notes Towards A Work In Progress, I express my thoughts on creating alternative spatial practices, and tell another story. Through its poetic and lyrical content, I attempt to offer possibilities for restoring a sense of menopausal self, love, hope, and a meaningful relationship with the world.

This thesis is an exploration of a particular cultural preference, "body modification" (i.e. the 'atypical' practices of tattoo, piercing, scarification, suspension and related practices), in the United Kingdom and United States. In the short span of about thirty years these practices have crept from the margins toward the mainstream and have lost a degree of their deviant status in the process. In spite of the geographic differences between body modifiers, meanings and motivations are remarkably similar across a number of themes. Yet the root of these similarities and growth in practice stems mainly from the actions of body modifiers themselves rather than swooping external, global market forces that would appropriate body modifiers' culture. Using Bourdieu's concept of the "field" as an orienting tool to explore culture, this thesis draws upon life history interviews with people who conduct body modifications, historical record, law and legal debates, questionnaire data, an abbreviated ethnography and letters between founding members of the field. It looks at how body modification emerges, grows, and maintains continuity of cultural content and changes through interactions between internal and external institutions, producers and consumers. The intertwined processes of legitimation, identification and professionalization play a crucial role in structurating the field to allow for growth and popularity. As a set of cultural practices that emerged from the margins of cultural preferences, the body modification field was shaped and continues to be shaped by the hostile environment from which it emerged, even though public reception to body modification is no longer quite as antagonistic as it once was. Emerging at a time when body modification was truly deviant from the norm, early body modifiers created strong frameworks of meaning and underlying values that were aimed at normalizing practices to a wider public, being inclusive to gain members and also embraced a wide variety of body modification practices. When the field began to grow and some body modifiers had formally organized, elite members forcefully attempted to draw practice away from the more 'extreme' end of body modification. This resulted in opposing efforts to reassert core field values, but as the numbers of both consumers and producers continued to grow the field was riddled with competition and boundary struggles. Gaining a modicum of legitimacy within the wider scope of cultural preferences and gaining new members caused tension over status hierarchies and the growth of more 'extreme' practices.

This study was conducted to determine the change in weight and body composition over a 6-week holiday period. Change in body composition was measured using air displacement plethysmography technology (Bod Pod®). Thirteen men and 21 women ranging in age from 23-61 years were participants for this study. Baseline testing occurred the week of Thanksgiving Day (November 24 or 25), and the post-holiday assessment was the week after Utah State University's holiday break (January 5 or 6). Results from a nutrition and exercise questionnaire revealed a significant difference between pre-holiday and post-holiday consumption of vegetables (8.6 ± 8.3 vs. 6.2 ± 4.0), special holiday foods (1.6 ± 1.9 vs. 2.5 ± 2.1), regular soda (1.5 ± 2.2 vs. 2.2 ± 2.6), and social gatherings attended (1.6 ± 1.5 vs. 2.2 ± 1.7). There was also a statistically significant decline in the number of days per week individuals exercised pre-holiday (3.7 ± 2.0 day/week) versus post-holiday (2.6 ± 2.3 day/week). Despite these differences, there was no statistically significant difference between pre-holiday weight (74.0 ± 17.8 kg) and post-holiday weight (73.9 ± 18.1 kg), nor between pre-holiday body fat percentage (25.4 ± 9.0%) and post-holiday body fat percentage (25.4 ± 8.9%).

The effect of the dietary macronutrient composition on weight loss has been a controversial issue for decades. During that time, a high-protein, high-fat, and low-carbohydrate diet has been one of the more popular weight loss diets with the public. We hypothesized that a computer simulation model using STELLA software could help to better understanding the effect of the dietary macronutrient composition on weight loss. We calculated daily total oxidation instead of total energy expenditure as others have done based on the facts that carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake influence carbohydrate, fat, and protein oxidation. In order to create a simple and accurate model comparing dietary macronutrient composition effects, we eliminated exercise as a factor and focused on a sedentary population. The model was validated by five sets of published human data. Following model validation, simulations were carried out to compare the traditional high-carbohydrate diet recommended by the American Dietetic Association and two well-known high-protein diets (Atkins and the Zone diet). The results of computer simulation suggested that the lean tissue retention effect of a high-protein diet, especially with a lower-fat diet, compared with a traditional high carbohydrate diet over 6 months.

This paper introduces the Bodymind model of Art Therapy and delineates the processes through which it has salutary effects on individuals coping with a variety of health related challenges. The goal of this model is to articulate how activation, reorganization, growth and reintegration of the self can emerge from bodymind processes activated by art therapy. It provides a framework for the conduct of research that will test the key theoretical mechanisms through which art therapy benefits clients. We expect this model to be a spring board for discussion, debate and development of the profession of art therapy. Furthermore, we hope readers can use this model to conduct sound mechanistic studies. This paper can inform social scientists and medical professionals on the manner in which art making can contribute to health.

xiii, 198 p. : ill. (some col.)
Whether or not a causal relationship exists between climate and mammal body size is one of the longest-standing and most intractable questions in ecology. The classic model of body size evolution (Bergmann's Rule) holds that body size is driven by temperature, but more recent hypotheses have suggested that other climatic variables or biotic interactions may play a more important role. The use of paleoecological data to address this question allows variables that are tightly correlated in modern ecosystems to be teased apart and allows body size patterns to be observed through time, adding an extra dimension to analyses. This dissertation details the findings of two paleoecological tests of Bergmann's Rule in the Oligo-Miocene (30-5 Ma), one tracking body size and climate through time in the northwestern United States and another tracking geographic body size trends through time along the west coast of North America. In both cases, body size was analyzed in three representative families of mammals: equids, canids, and sciurids. Such large-scale analyses are dependent on fossils that can be placed in a reliable taxonomic, geologic, and temporal context, and this dissertation also focuses on a reevaluation of the canid fauna of Oregon's Juntura Formation that places a critically important Late Miocene carnivore fauna in just such a context. Two genera of canids - Epicyon and Carpocyon - are described from the fauna for the first time, with important implications for regional biostratigraphy. The body size analyses show no consistent relationship between body size and any climatic variable. Further, body size patterns vary widely between taxa at several levels, suggesting that one universal driver of body size evolution does not exist. Not only is there no evidence for Bergmann's Rule in Oligo-Miocene mammals, but comparative analyses of geographic body size patterns in the modern genera Odocoileus, Canis, and Spermophilus fail to show the latitudinal gradients upon which Bergmann's Rule is predicated. The apparent existence of such trends in some taxa may be the result of anthropogenic extirpation at low latitudes, further underscoring the importance of including paleontological data when formulating models predicting the response of biotic variables to environmental change.
Committee in charge: Dr. Samantha Hopkins， Chair； Dr. Gregory Retallack， Member； Dr. Rebecca Dorsey， Member； Dr. Stephen Frost， Outside Member

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The challenge of conserving biodiversity is daunting. Despite some local conservation gains, most indicators of the condition of global biodiversity show declines since the 1970’s, while indicators of the threats to biodiversity all show increases. Humanity has in part responded to the global biodiversity extinction crisis by establishing protected areas (PA) and they are widely considered cornerstones of conservation. However, their efficacy in maintaining biodiversity is much debated. Previous studies have been unable to provide a general answer because of their typically restricted geographic and/or taxonomic focus, or qualitative approach. Using a global meta-analysis with 861 pairwise comparisons inside and outside PAs from 86 studies across five major taxon groups, I tested the hypothesis that PAs achieve significant conservation outcomes measured as higher biodiversity values compared with alternative land covers. I found that globally, PAs typically contain higher abundances of individual species, higher assemblage abundances and higher species richness. Variation in effect sizes among taxa nonetheless underscores that PA efficacy can be context specific. To examine factors driving the context specific nature of PA efficacy, an exact distance, timed point count methodology was used to assess PAs ecological effectiveness in terms of bird assemblages of the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa, in the Phalaborwa section. Bird assemblages inside the KNP were compared to matched sites in rural and urban land cover, as well as the connecting habitat matrix outside the KNP. Species richness and abundance were significantly lower inside the KNP compared to other land covers. However, the species assemblages are markedly different. The artificial addition of resources in an otherwise resources poor area, mainly in terms of gardening, provide suitable habitat for a range of species, consistent with the more individuals hypothesis. Large-bodied and ground nesting species are virtually absent outside the KNP. Thus species richness and abundance differences between land cover regions mask insidious changes in species traits. Nonetheless, not formally protected land can contribute positively to the regional biodiversity portfolio. Since an understanding of the mechanisms that structure species assemblages can aid in the consequences of anthropogenic drivers disentangling them, I describe and analyse the body size frequency distributions (BSFDs) of avian assemblages at several spatial scales in the Afrotropical biogeographic realm. I found that the African avifaunal continental BSFD is unimodal and right-skewed. African avifaunal BSFDs are quantitatively dissimilar to the African mammal BSFDs, which are bimodal at all spatial scales. Much of the change in median body size with spatial scale can be captured by a range-weighted null model, suggesting that differential turnover between smaller- and larger-bodied species might explain the shift in the central tendency of the BSFD. My results for the first time quantitatively demonstrate that PAs are a vital component of a global biodiversity conservation strategy. However, I also show that PA ecological effectiveness can be context specific, and understanding which species traits are at risk outside of PAs is critical to predicting their efficacy.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is ‘n uitnemende uitdaging om biodiversiteit te bewaar. Ten spyte van sommige sukses op ‘n lokale skaal, dui die meeste indikators aan dat die toestand van globale biodiveristeit afgeneem het vanaf die 1970’s, terwyl bedreigings daartoe toegeneem het. Die mensdom het gedeeltelik reageer op die biodiversiteits uitsterfings krisis deur die uiteensetting en instandhouding van bewaringsgebiede (BG). Hierdie metodiek word wêreldwyd geag as ‘n hoeksteen van bewaring. Die ekologiese doeltreffendheid van BG word egter baie debateer. Vorige studies was geografies beperk of het net op sekere takson groepe gefokus. Vorige studies is ook tipies statisties kwalitatief van aard. As gevolg daarvan het ek ‘n globale meta-analiese gebruik, wat bestaan het uit 861 gepaarde meetings vanaf 86 studies, oor vyf verskillende taksonomiese groepe. Ek het die hipotese getoets dat BG statisties beduidende bewaring laat gekiet in terme van hoër biodiveristeits waardes binnekant hul grense, in kontras met areas buite BG. Ek het gevind dat BG juis hoër waardes van hoër indivuduele spesies hoeveelhede, gemeenskaps hoeveelhede en spesiesrykheid bevat. Tog dui die variasie in effek grootte onder takson groepe aan dat BG effektiwiteit konteks spesifiek is. Aangesien BG effektiwiteit konteks spesifiek is, het ek verder ‘n tydstip, eksakte-afstand punttelling metodiek gevolg om die Kruger Nationale Park (KNP) in Suid Afrika, se ekologiese doeltreffendheid te bepaal. Ek het voëlgemeenskappe binne KNP vergelyk met voëlgemeenskappe buite KNP. Metings is buite die KNP gedoen in tuislande, die stadsgebied van Phalaborwa, asook in die habitat matriks wat die areas verbind. Beide spesiesrykheid en hoeveelheid is hoër buite KNP, maar die voëlgemeenskap struktuur tussen gebiede verskil noemenswaardig. Die uitbreiding van bronne ten opstigte van nesmaak en voeding (meestal deur tuinmaak), bied vir voëls goeie habitat in die stadsgebied, soos verwag kan word uit die meer individue hipotese. Hierdie veranderinge in spesiesrykheid tussen die verskillende areas versteek veranderinge in die spesies einskappe. Voëls met groot liggaamsmassa, veral die wat op die grond nes maak, kom in baie minder getalle voor buite KNP. Tog bied onbewaarde areas ‘n positiewe inpak tot die omgewing se biodiversiteit. ‘n Holistiese begrip van die meganismes wat spesies gemeenskappe struktureer kan help om die menslike invloed daarop uit te lig. Daarvolgens beskryf ek die liggaamsmassa frekwensie verspreiding (LMFV) oor verkillende skale in die Afrotropies biografiese streek. Ek het bevind dat Afrika se voëlgemeenskappe op die kontinentale skaal unimodaal en regs-geskewe is. Afrika se voël LMFV is beduidend verskillend van Afrika soogdier LMFV, wat bimodaal is op verskeie skale. Baie van die verandering in mediaan liggaams massa oor verskillende skale kan verduidelik word met ‘n verspreidings-aangepaste nul-model, wat voorstel dat die verskille in omset van voëls met of klein, of groot liggaamsmassa in die landskap die veranderings in LMFV verduidelik. My studie is die eerste van sy soort wat kwantitatief bepaal dat die gebruik van BG krities is tot ‘n globale bewaringsstrategie. Verder het ek bewys dat BG se ekologiese doeltreffendheid afhang van die kontkes op ‘n lokale skaal, en dat spesies eienskappe geïnkorporeer moet word om BG se doeltreffendheid te bepaal.

Thesis (PhD)-- Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Climate change and biological invasions are major threats to biodiversity. In particular, these threats are predicted to influence terrestrial systems in the sub-Antarctic, where significant ecosystem responses to both have already been seen. In this thesis, the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Island group is used as a model system in which to investigate key questions relating to climate change and invasive species impacts. The island group comprises two islands, Marion (MI) and Prince Edward (PEI), both of which are experiencing rapid warming, yet have different invasive assemblages and in consequence are experiencing different impacts. Variation in the patterns of invasive species richness and abundance and their underlying causes are matters of considerable ecological and conservation significance. While an increase in thermal energy availability typically results in an increase in species richness, the mechanisms underlying these patterns are poorly understood. In Chapter 2 of this thesis, these relationships are explored for springtails, an important component of the soil fauna on Marion Island. Energy explains a large amount of the spatial variation in indigenous and invasive springtail species richness. Disturbance thresholds and stressful temperatures are more important than increased population sizes in determining this variation in species richness. As both indigenous and invasive springtail species richness and abundance are strongly related to temperature, a warming climate could have far-reaching consequences for these organisms. In particular, invasive species are predicted to be at an advantage relative to indigenous species under warming conditions. One species where this seems especially likely, given its physiological responses to experimental warming and drying, is the large invasive tomocerid, Pogonognathellus flavescens. Determining whether this will be the case depends on understanding the factors underlying its range limits and abundance structure. Moreover, few studies have sought to distinguish the causal basis of abundance structure and range limits, particularly for invasive species. Thus, in Chapter 3, local microclimate variables and physiological tolerances of the invasive springtail, P. flavescens (a habitat generalist), are examined. The results suggest that the species should be widely distributed across a range of habitats on MI. However, the springtail is restricted to indigenous Poa cookii tussock grassland habitats in the southeast. The current range limits are set by dispersal limitation (i.e. contingent absences) whilst abundance structure is a function of variation in soil substrate quality. However, over time, the widening distribution of P. cookii, as a consequence of a major management intervention (the eradication of feral cats), may enable P. flavescens to colonise all suitable areas. In Chapter 4, the focus changes to what has been considered the third major response to climate change, along with range and phenological responses - changing animal body sizes. Body size is one of the most significant and obvious features of animals and is of considerable ecological and physiological importance. A prediction of the temperature-size rule (TSR) is that with warming, body size of the weevil species on both MI and PEI should decline. However, predation by mice of the weevils on MI should fundamentally affect the pattern of such change, causing it to differ from neighbouring PEI, indicating synergistic impacts between climate change and invasions. Analysis of a 24-year data set indicates a decline in the body size of all weevil species on PEI with increasing temperature. However, on MI, a negative relationship between mean annual temperature and body size is found only for Palirhoeus eatoni, a species not eaten by mice. A possible explanation for the positive relationships found for the other species could be due to higher metabolic demands imposed on mice in colder years than in warmer ones. Any increase in predation coupled with a preference for larger sizes, which the mice clearly show, would lead to a decline in the mean size of the weevil species. Due to the relationship between body size and metabolic rate and the importance of the weevils in the islands’ food webs, changes to the body size of these organisms could have significant consequences for the island ecosystems’ functioning. The thermal environment experienced by organisms also has a direct effect on survival, growth and reproduction. The physiological response of organisms to rapidly changing climates is therefore a primary concern. Organisms may respond to variable environmental conditions through phenotypic plasticity as well as behaviour. Chapter 5 of this thesis shows that of the weevil species and populations investigated on MI, most display phenotypic plasticity, the form of which is in keeping with the ‘Hotter is Better’ hypothesis. This could be due to rare extreme temperature events and the advantage for the performance curves to incorporate high temperatures experienced in the environment. Mismatches between thermal optima and preferred temperatures displayed by all species could mean that these weevils are well equipped to cope with warming conditions on MI unless the prediction of an increase of rare extreme events such as extreme temperatures is realised. Rapidly changing climates and an increase in the introduction of non-indigenous species are issues of major conservation concern. This has increased the significance of studies on the impacts of these threats. However, this thesis shows that to understand such processes, it is essential that an integration of disciplines be undertaken. This thesis thus adopts a multidisciplinary approach and highlights key issues associated with both climate change and biological invasions. The patterns and predictions of species and community responses to these environmental changes are complex. Moreover, predicting such responses is likely to be problematic, especially as multiple factors will change concurrently and how these factors might change is unclear. This highlights the importance of long-term records for understanding organism responses to such changes. Furthermore, impacts on indigenous species are likely to be exacerbated by the predicted increase in the rate of introductions with climate change. This makes the case for preventing the dispersal of invasive species to new areas all the more important.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Klimaatsverandering en indringer spesies is belangrike bedreigings vir biodiversiteit. In besonder word voorspel dat hierdie bedreigings terrestriële sisteme in die sub-Antarktiese sal beïnvloed, waar beduidende ekosisteem reaksie aan beide reeds gesien is. In hierdie tesis word die sub-Antarktiese Prince Edward eiland groep as a model sisteem gebruik om belangrike vrae met betrekking tot klimaatsverandering en die impak van indringer spesies te ondersoek. Die eiland groep bestaan uit twee eilande, Marion (ME) en Prince Edward (PEE), wat beide versnellende verwarming ervaar, maar tog verskillende indringer samestellings het en vervolgens verskillende impakte ervaar. Variasie in die patrone van indringerspesierykheid en vollopheid en hulle onderliggende oorsake is van aansienlike omgewings en bewarings betekenis. Terwyl 'n toename in die beskikbaarheid van energie tipies lei tot 'n toename in spesierykheid, word die onderliggend meganismes van hierdie patrone swak verstaan. In Hoofstuk 2 van hierdie tesis, word hierdie verhoudings vir springsterte ondersoek, 'n belangrike komponent van die grond fauna op ME. Energie verduidelik 'n groot hoeveelheid van die ruimtelike variasie in inheemse en indringende springstert spesierykheid. Versteuringsdrempels en stressvolle temperature is meer belangrik as die toename in bevolking groottes in die bepaling van hierdie variasie in spesierykheid. Aangesien beide inheemse en indringende springstert spesierykheid en vollopheid sterk verwant is aan temperatuur, kan 'n verwarmende klimaat verreikende gevolge vir hierdie organismes hê. In die besonder word voorspel dat indringerspesies bevoordeeld sal wees relatief tot inheemse spesies onder verwarmende toestande. Een spesie waar dit veral blyk om geneig te wees, gegewe sy fisiologiese reaksie tot eksperimentele verhitting en uitdroging, is die groot indringer tomocerid, Pogonognathellus flavescens. Om te bepaal of dit die geval sal wees, hang af van die begrip van die onderliggende faktore van sy voorkomsgrense en vollopheidstruktuur. Daarbenewens is daar min studies wat gepoog het om te onderskei tussen die veroorsakende basis van vollopheidstruktuur en voorkomsgrense, veral vir indringerspesies. Dus, in Hoofstuk 3, word plaaslike mikroklimaat veranderlikes en fisiologiese toleransies van die indringer springstert, P. flavescens ('n habitat generalis), ondersoek. Die resultate stel voor dat die spesie wyd verspreid moet wees oor 'n verskeidenheid van habitatte op ME. Maar, die springstert is beperk tot inheemse Poa cookii polle grasveldhabitatte in die suidooste. Die huidige voorkomsgrense word daar gestel deur verspreidingsbeperking (dws voorwaardelike afwesighede), terwyl vollopheidstruktuur 'n funksie is van die variasie in die grond substraat kwaliteit. Maar, die uitbreidende verspreiding van P. cookii as gevolg van 'n groot bestuursingryping (die uitwissing van wilde huiskatte), kan P. flavescens in staat stel om alle geskikte gebiede te koloniseer met verloop van tyd. In Hoofstuk 4 verander die fokus na wat as die derde groot reaksie op klimaatsverandering beskou word, saam met voorkoms en fenologiese reaksies - veranderende diere liggaamsgroottes. Liggaamsgrootte is een van die beduidendste en mees voor die hand liggende eienskappe van diere en is van aansienlike ekologiese en fisiologiese belang. 'n Voorspelling van die temperatuur-grootte-reël (TGR) is dat met verwarming, liggaamsgrootte van die snuitkewerspesies op beide ME en PEE sal afneem. Hoe ookal, predasie deur muise van die snuitkewers op ME moet fundamenteel die patroon van sodanige verandering op PEE beïnvloed, wat sinergistiese impakte tussen klimaatsverandering en indringings aandui. Die ontleding van 'n 24-jarige datastel dui aan op 'n afname in die liggaamsgrootte van alle snuitkewer spesies op PEI met ‘n toename in temperatuur. Maar, op ME is 'n negatiewe verhouding tussen die gemiddelde jaarlikse temperatuur en liggaamsgrootte net gevind vir Palirhoeus eatoni, 'n spesie wat nie deur die muise geëet word nie. 'n Moontlike verduideliking vir hierdie positiewe verhoudings wat gevind is vir die ander spesies kan wees as gevolg van hoër metaboliese eise op die muise in kouer jare as in warmer jare. Enige toename in predasie, tesame met 'n voorkeur vir groter mates, wat die muise duidelik wys, sou lei tot 'n afname in die gemiddelde grootte van die snuitkewer spesies. As gevolg van die verhouding tussen liggaamsgrootte en metaboliese tempo, sowel as die belangrikheid van die snuitkewers in die eilande se voedselwebbe, kan veranderinge in die liggaamsgrootte van hierdie organismes beduidende gevolge op die eiland ekosisteme se funksionering hê. Die termiese omgewing wat deur organismes ervaar word het ook 'n direkte invloed op oorlewing, groei en voortplanting. Die fisiologiese reaksie van organismes op vinnig veranderende klimate is dus 'n primêre bron van kommer. Organismes kan reageer op veranderlike omgewingstoestande deur fenotipiese plastisiteit sowel as gedrag. Hoofstuk 5 van hierdie tesis toon dat van die snuitkewerspesies en bevolkings wat ondersoek is op ME, die meeste fenotipiese plastisiteit vertoon, die vorm wat in ooreenstemming is met die ‘Warmer is Beter’ hipotese. Dit kan wees as gevolg van seldsame uiterste temperatuur gebeure en die voordeel vir die prestasie kurwes om hoë temperature wat ervaar word in die omgewing in te sluit. Mismatches tussen termiese optima en voorkeur temperature vertoon deur alle spesies kan beteken dat hierdie snuitkewers goed toegerus is om die verhitting op ME te hanteer, tensy die voorspelling van 'n toename van seldsame uiterste gebeure soos uiterste temperature gerealiseer word. Vinnig veranderende klimate en 'n toename in die bekendstelling van nie-inheemse spesies is kwessies van groot bewarings kommer. Dit het die betekenis van studies oor die impak van hierdie bedreigings verhoog. Hierdie tesis toon egter dat om sulke prosesse te verstaan, dit noodsaaklik is dat 'n integrasie van die dissiplines onderneem word. Hierdie tesis aanvaar dus 'n multi-dissiplinêre benadering en beklemtoon die belangrike kwessies wat verband hou met beide klimaatverandering en biologiese indringing. Die patrone en voorspellings van spesies en die gemeenskapsreaksies op hierdie omgewingsveranderinge is kompleks. Verder, die voorspelling van sodanige reaksies sal waarskynlik problematies wees, veral omdat verskeie faktore gelyktydig sal verander en hoe hierdie faktore kan verander is onduidelik. Dit beklemtoon die belangrikheid van lang termyn rekords vir die begrip van organisme reaksies op sulke veranderinge. Verder, die impak van inheemse spesies is geneig om te vererger deur die voorspelde toename in die tempo van bekendstellings met klimaatsverandering. Dit maak die taak vir die bestuur van die voorkoming dat indringerspesies nuwe gebiede bereik al hoe meer belangrik.

Longer-term immigrants residing in the United States exhibit physical health decline related to higher body mass index (BMI). Theories on immigrant acculturation have been used to examine health patterns by length of stay in the United States. The purpose of this cross-sectional study, guided by the Schwartz model of acculturation, was to examine the effect of acculturation and length of stay in the United States on BMI in a sample of Haitian immigrants living in the Northeast Metropolitan area. The research question was used to examine the effects of acculturation and length of stay on BMI in the convenience sample of 116 Haitian men and women, aged 18 years and older, who had relocated to the United States for 3 years or more. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and medical records from a participating health clinic and then analyzed by conducting a multiple linear regression. According to study results, acculturation, length of stay, age, gender, and physical activity were not significant predictors of BMI change. An ancillary analysis using the subscales of acculturation revealed similar results. This study may provide positive social change by enabling health providers to understand the beliefs, values, and practices of Haitian immigrant groups and the acculturation pattern of individuals when providing care for this population.

HNC incidence and mortality is greater in men and is associated with high risk behaviours and social deprivation. HNC is frequently diagnosed at advanced stages requiring multi-modality treatment which can have a significant impact on appearance and function. Gender can influence health behaviours yet research into male experiences of cancer has primarily focussed on prostate cancer and HNC is an area which is under investigated. The aim of this study was to explore how men with HNC experience appearance and functional change in the first 12 months following diagnosis. Grounded theory methodology (GT) was chosen as the overall purpose of GT is the generation of theory from the data which has explanatory power and advances the understanding of social and psychological phenomena. Retrospective semi-structured interviews were performed with 12 men who were 12 to 24 months post-diagnosis. Key components of GT practice used were simultaneous data collection and analysis, constructing analytic categories from the data, constant comparison, memo-writing and theoretical sampling. Three categories emerged from the data which were inter-related: normalising change; “under siege”: getting through treatment; and reclaiming self. The core category was reconciling change; a new normal which reflects the social and psychological processes involved in accommodating and assimilating change in appearance and function for men with HNC. The substantive theory provides insight into how men with HNC prioritise function and actively distance themselves from concerns regarding appearance. Furthermore, it identifies men who are at risk of social anxiety and isolation due to multiple changes or body incompetence. This study builds on theories of masculinity, body image and disfigurement. The substantive theory developed provides health and social care professionals with new knowledge to support clinical practice and improve care provision.