Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Human beings'

Background: Registering a true maximum bite force on the most commonly-used force transducers is problematic. It is often believed that this is related mainly to discomfort and the fear of breaking teeth. Objectives: The aim of the project was to compare the suitability of different bite force measuring transducers including ones which were designed to improve subject comfort. The transducers used were a traditional strain-gauge transducer with and without covering with ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) sheets, and a newly-developed pressure transducer. Methods: Five separate studies were performed in this project. The experiments were carried out on human volunteer subjects (aged 24 to 41 years). They were all dentate with no missing anterior teeth and with no crowns on these teeth. The following procedures were used in some or all of the studies: measurement of MVBF, electrical stimulation of the masseter muscle, and EMG recording from two pairs of jaw closing muscles. Results: The highest MVBF values were recorded on the pressure transducer, mean (± S.D.) 464 N ± 224 N; followed by the strain-gauge transducer with EVA sheets, 243 ± 80 N; and last of all the strain-gauge transducer with silicone indices, 165 ± 35 N; or acrylic indices, 163 ± 82 N. Significantly higher maximum potential bite forces were predicted by twitch interpolation for the pressure transducer (730 ± 199 N) than for the strain-gauge transducer with EVA sheets, 354 ± 67 N (Paired t test, P < 0.05). Significantly higher EMGs of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles were found to be associated with MVBFs on the pressure transducer than with MVBFs on the strain-gauge transducer with EVA sheets (Paired t test, P < 0.05). Conclusions: It is concluded that: a) the pressure transducer system and to a lesser extent the strain-gauge transducer covered with EVA sheets seemed to overcome the fear associated with biting on the hard surfaces of the strain-gauge transducer alone; b) the pressure transducer may have some multi-directional capabilities which allow for total bite forces, or at least larger parts of them, to be recorded than on a uni-directional strain-gauge transducer.

For humans, collaboration is a natural and beneficial medium with which to carry tasks, negotiate and achieve goals. In computer games, human players have worked together to achieve their objectives and many computer games today foster the need of being cooperative. Non-human entities in computer games are used predominantly as props, plot devices and adversaries. The motivation of this thesis however, is to explore and examine virtual beings engaging as equal partners with humans in collaborative computer games, resulting in richer, realistic emergent game play. To address this, the following research questions have been identified: 1. Can human and virtual beings, being heterogeneous agents, interact cooperatively in the context of computer games and what are the desirable attributes required for them to perform this collaboration as functionally equal partners? 2. What computer game framework would be required to facilitate collaboration amongst functionally equal partners? 3. How could such a collaborative computer game be designed and implemented in order to support human and virtual players engage collaboratively? To answer these questions, a number of concepts were developed to create a framework for collaborative human and virtual beings. This was then expanded upon by the design, development and implementation of a collaborative computer game called TeamMATE that supports human and virtual beings as functionally equal partners. By addressing these questions the thesis demonstrates that it is possible to design engaging computer games for entertainment, education and business where virtual beings are active participants resulting in richer computer game experiences. The TeamMATE computer game was implemented using the framework established by this work. Utilising these concepts and desirable attributes, four case studies were developed to determine whether human and virtual beings could indeed interact cooperatively in the context of computer games.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith School of Engineering
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
Full Text

In this dissertation, I urge that ethical discussions of abortion remain dissatisfying in large part because they conduct the debate in terms of the contested concept of the ‘person.’ Building on the reflections of MacIntyre, I will argue that the loss of ethical context to which he refers has also meant that we have come to view ‘persons’ and human beings as individual, independent units, abstracted from their relations with others. Philosophers have sought to analyse and elevate the concept of ‘person’; competing conceptions of personhood have pursued the specific individual qualities that grounds a being's claim to having a morally significant life. This predilection of the personhood literature has often severely limited the abortion dialogue and prevented richer and varied understandings of our layered nature from emerging. I contend that the deadlock, to which Ruth Macklin refers, within the personhood dialogue means that we need to broaden our moral vocabulary and give a much more central place to the notion of the socialised human being. Rather than place personhood at the heart of the debate, I would suggest we should emphasise our relationships and our membership in an already-existing moral context and community, and that we should reflect far more fully on these settings. Rather than considering what kinds of entities qualify as ‘persons,’ we should instead consider the notion of the human being existing in a moral community and thereby situated in a wide and complex web of relationships. I argue that an ethic of care, coupled with a phenomenological approach, will provide the most fruitful framework when responding to ethical issues generated by the abortion dialogue. Taking account of our nature as socialised beings, in relationship with other beings is, I shall try to show, key to understanding our moral existence in general and to grasping the intricacies of the moral debate over abortion in particular. Membership within a social network or moral community is fundamentally a moral issue where certain experiences and conditions can threaten what really matters. When providing us with accounts of the moral community, philosophers have often put forward very particular qualifications for membership. To underscore the need to explore further accounts of moral communities I consider the work of cultural and philosophical anthropology where we find that observations relating to the distinctly human life remain pertinent for our current ethical climate. Philosophical anthropology reveals just how complex the idea of moral community is and hints at the broader moral vocabulary I believe is required. I argue that it is crucial that we understand the ethical consequences of choosing to see someone as being either a member or not a member of the moral community and as Eva Feder Kittay argues, there are a range of morally repugnant current moral exclusions. I believe this discussion has considerable bearing on the abortion debate, and I provide two specific examples of the marginalisations that a moral community can create: recent empirical studies into abortion stigma and Judith Butler’s considerations on vulnerability and female sexuality. We need to address these exclusions and consider the ways we define the moral agent, and consider how we make assumptions about which human lives have value. With an ever-expanding and complex ‘moral community’ under review I would argue that recognizing ourselves as human beings, participants in a moral community, must be our starting point. It is from this platform that we can then refuse to enact exclusions and try to live out Butler’s call to make a concern for all human lives a real and valid ethical concern.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on November 9, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is concerned with the relationships that develop between humans, birds of prey, prey animals and their environments in the practice of falconry. Falconry is a hunting practice in which humans and birds of prey develop a hunting companionship through which they learn to hunt in cooperation. Described by falconers as a way of life, falconry practice and the relationship to their birds take on a crucial role in their everyday lives. The research is based on fieldwork carried out over a period of three years largely in the UK, with shorter fieldtrips to Germany and Italy. Falconry practice raises many interesting questions about human-animal sociality and identity formation. Through the practice falconers learn how to 'lure' a bird into a relationship, as birds of prey cannot be forced to hunt and cooperate. When hunting the abilities of birds of prey are seen to be superior to those of the human being who becomes – if skilful enough – an assisting hunting companion. The careful attention necessary to establish a bonded relationship between falconer and falconry bird demands practices particular to falconry and involves a highly complex set of knowledge practices and methods. The establishment of this relationship depends on a fine balance between independence and dependence as well as wildness and tameness of the falconry bird that cannot be understood through conceptualising notions of 'the wild' and 'the tame' (or 'the domesticated') as opposites. Rather, the becoming of falcons and falconers through the practice allows moments of transformation of beings that resist familiar categories. This study of falconry challenges an anthropocentric mode of anthropological inquiry as it demands to open up the traditional focus of anthropology to also include nonhuman animals and to consider meaning making, sociality and knowledge production as co-constituted through the activities of humans and nonhuman animals. I focus on the practices involved in taming, training and hunting with birds of prey as well as in domestic breeding, arguing that it is important to see both humans and birds as well as predator and prey as active participants in mutually constitutive learning relationships. Focussing on processes of emergence in both becoming falconers and becoming falconry birds I develop the notion of beings-in-the-making, in order to emphasise that humans and birds grow in relation to each other through the co-responsive engagement in which they are involved. I further show how humans and nonhuman animals relate to the environment within which they engage, in which movements and forces of the weather play a central role. I use the term weathering to refer to the ways the weather influences the movements of human and nonhuman animals as well as being a medium of perception in which they are immersed. The landscape and the sky above are here not to be understood as two separate spheres divided by an interface but rather as caught up in a continuous process of transformation in which the lay of the land and the currents of the air are co-constituted. Finally, I suggest the perspective of creaturely ways to describe a mode of sociality that is constituted beyond the purely human sphere of interaction and to show that the sense of identity and belonging of both falconers and birds is not delineated by a fixed species identity but rather emerges out of the experiences and relationships that each living being develops throughout its life. Creaturely ways thus involves a focus on questions of ontogeny rather than ontology, which is crucial for understanding the mutually constitutive processes of meaning making, becoming and knowing in which falconers and falconry birds are involved. Through exploring the complex relationships involved in falconry practice and the consideration of humans and birds as active participants within them, this thesis makes an original contribution to anthropological studies of human-animal relationships. It further contributes to the development of a notion of more-thanhuman sociality that reaches beyond the idea of the social as confined to members of the same species. Moreover, the study contributes to the anthropology of learning and enskilment through analysing processes of knowledge making in their constitutive influence on the development of human and nonhuman ways of becoming. It further contributes to studies on the perception of the environment through considering the practitioner's perception and experience of the weather and currents of the air as they interplay with the ground below. Finally, this study makes a contribution to the as yet little studied field of 'modern' hunting practices and suggests a more nuanced approach of understanding the relationships of predator and prey they involve.

This qualitative case study aims to provide an understanding of people-environment relationships in El Naranjal, an expanding informal settlement in Caracas, Venezuela, against a backdrop of an episode of exceptionally intense rainfall that affected the north of the country in 2010. It is argued that the vulnerability of informal settlements to environmental risks such as weather-related events is shaped not only by the socio-economic particularities of the context in which these emerge, but also by the ways in which the inhabitants of these settlements experience, conceive and relate to their local environment. People-environment relationships are understood as multiple, complex and contextual, where environment comprises the physical, interpersonal, social and cultural aspects of the context that people interact with. The study demonstrates that an in-depth understanding of these relationships can be gained through exploring residents' experiences of place and communities in El Naranjal. Over a fieldwork period of eight months, data were gathered using in-depth and walking interviews, participant observation and group activities. Environment and environmental risks such as the impacts of rainfall were understood, experienced and related to differently by individuals with diverse needs and agendas. Residents' diverse experiences and responses are shaped by pre-existing issues of rapid irregular land occupation, socio-spatial segregation, poor infrastructure, lack of participation and government support within the communities of El Naranjal. This underlines some of the gaps between national policy-making on environmental, land tenure, risk management and community participation matters and residents' understandings and experiences of issues of their places and communities. Thus, this study emphasises the need to approach environmental risks as adding to, and amplifying the complex issues that residents of informal settlements deal with locally on a day-to-day basis. In doing so, it challenges views of informal settlement communities as homogeneous, illegal and paralysed by poverty. Instead, it highlights their central role in the making of cities, as well as their heterogeneity and capacity to innovate in the face of mounting risks.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is an effective anti-mitotic drug. It stops cancer from spreading by interfering with the microtubule dynamics which in turn leads to cell cycle arrest and eventually cell death. Despite the clinical success in treating different types of cancers, resistance to PTX remains a major hurdle for successful treatment in relapse patients. Albendazole (ABZ) is a popular anthelmintic used world-wide for the treatment of various types of helmintic infections. In helminthes, ABZ binds to ??-tubulin and inhibits microtubule polymerisation. It was subsequently found that ABZ has anti-cancer activity. This study was carried out to study the effects of ABZ on PTX sensitive and PTX resistant human ovarian carcinoma cells. Cell growth assays revealed that the anti-proliferative activity of ABZ was not only effective on the PTX-sensitive human ovarian carcinoma cell line lA9, but also on its PTX-resistant sub-line, lA9PTX22. The ICso values of ABZ in lA9 and lA9PTX22 were 205 nM and 322 nM, respectively. Confocal images demonstrated that ABZ disrupted the microtubule network and caused formation of short microtubule bundles in both cell lines. Further analysis using tubulin polymerisation assay showed that the percentage of polymerised tubulin in lA9 and lA9PTX22 was increased by 58.9 % and 20.6 % respectively. Together, these results revealed for the first time that ABZ interacts with microtubules in human cancer cells and causes their polymerisation. It was also demonstrated that ABZ increased the release of cytochrome c, an important component of the intrinsic pathway in apoptosis. It was found that the expression of Bim, a BH-3 only pro-apoptotic protein was not elevated after ABZ treatment. The results presented in this study provide some information on the effect of ABZ on the microtubule network which could relate to its apoptotic effect in human ovarian carcinoma cells.

Conflicts between humans and baboons (Papio ursinus) have become a significant management challenge on Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s (NMMUs) George Campus, which is located in peri-urban George in the Garden Route, of the Western Cape of South Africa. Current management policy, although required to be ‘scientifically’ based, largely relies on studies done outside the Garden Route. This study addresses the question of how the management of human-baboon relations could be improved on the campus. A case study was undertaken which aimed at addressing the cohabitation of baboons and humans on the NMMU campus, specifically human-baboon resource selection and interaction. The research methodology and the related analytical tools were primarily quantitative but were supplemented by some qualitative data drawn from interviews. Data collected was used to determine landscape features acting as Keystone Resource Areas (KRAs) for both humans and baboons on the campus. Relationships between the frequency and location of negative interactions, and resident-baboon distribution on the campus were also determined. Two key findings emerged from the research. First, residences, non-residence buildings and waste disposal stations act as KRAs for both humans and baboons. Second, the frequency of negative interaction correlates with the time spent by residents and baboons at residences, where common negative interactions between baboons and humans are known to occur. It is postulated that cohabitation on the NMMU George Campus is causing the habituation of baboons, a loss of fear of humans and association of humans with high energy foods. As a result, present cohabitation contributes to negative human-baboon relations in the George area. To ensure sustainable co-existence between humans and baboons on the George Campus, management should implement zonation and wildlife monitoring to reverse the loss of baboon fear of humans and better limit the availability of human-derived foods. In addition, management should consider giving stakeholders co-management roles to foster and facilitate knowledge and responsibility partnerships, and subsequently correct any misunderstandings related to human-baboon relations on the campus. Recommendations for further research include sampling beyond campus boundaries to compensate for regional variations in baboon behaviour and the biophysical environment.

We are no longer only influenced by social exchange that occurs in close proximity. Our character can now be defined by everything that occurs around us. The television, Internet and cell phone are only a few mediums that give people the ability to communicate and exchange information at the press of a button. Even the typical family circle is no match for the powerful interdependencies that unite all people yet in some moments keeps them divided. Methods of social exchange have changed dramatically over the last century allowing people to interact at any proximity they choose making them part of a larger system that relies heavily on being connected to various communication technologies (CT). How we communicate, now more than ever, is an integral part of the way in which we shape our world. With so many mediums of communication and the exponential growth of social exchange it is difficult to understand the implications of our actions in regards to CT. One such scenario entails the person who going about his or her day is in constant connection through an electronic device which supplies him or her the freedom to be at any given place at one moment and another the next second. It must be noted that even though this person has that freedom, he or she can only connect to someone who possesses a similar medium. What about the individual who has no medium with which to communicate at a similar rate? As we continue to "efficiently" interact within a digital world we create strong social ties to people that fit within our own unique demographic. We attach ourselves to what we know creating weak social ties to people that fit within a different user group. Weak social ties (links) form a network of information carrying connections between different demographics. These connections are better able to carry novel technology information that we don't have access to within strong social networks that tend to move in the same circles. By increasing the potential for weak social connections to form one can begin to close the social gap which has left people divided in a digital world.

Sexual objectification is perpetrated whenever someone is reduced to a thing, thus seen and treated like a sexual object. The body or body parts are separated out from the identity and used for pleasure and consumption of others (Bartky, 1990; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). According to the literature, when people become objects or instruments for others’ appreciation they can be denied their humanity, inner mental life, and moral standing (e.g., Heflick, Goldenberg, Cooper, & Puvia, 2011; Loughnan, Haslam, Murnane, Vaes, Reynolds, & Suitner, 2010; Vaes, Paladino, & Puvia, 2011). Moreover, previous objectification research suggests that experiences of sexual objectification are translated into problems that undermine psychological well-being, such as increased body shame, appearance anxiety, depression, eating and sexual disorders (Moradi & Huang, 2008). From the perspective of objectification theory, the most insidious way in which objectifying gaze infuses Western culture is through visual media (e.g., magazines, advertisements, television, music video, movies). On a daily basis, we are constantly surrounded by sexually objectified images. Examples are advertising in which male and female bodies are denuded to attract and sell products (Zotos & Tsichla, 2014) and visual media delivering sexual harassment or rape news, in which victims are often portrayed in a sexualised manner (Zanardo, 2010). Given the scarcity of specific research and the serious repercussions of sexual objectification on people’s well-being, the present work sought to expand the objectification theoretical framework by empirically testing the causal role of sexual objectification in the under-investigated areas of sexual harassment and advertising. First, in Chapter 1 we provide a brief overview of previous research grounded in the objectification theoretical framework. In Chapter 2, we present our first set of studies with the general aim to merge sexual objectification and sexual harassment research areas. Our work starts by noticing that these two areas are developed mostly independently to each other. Indeed, although extensive research has investigated the negative consequences of sexual objectification, surprisingly far less research has examined the consequences of sexual objectification in the context of sexual harassment. Specifically, we aimed to examine the effects of victims’ sexualised appearance on bystanders’ reactions to an episode of workplace sexual harassment. Our findings generally support the idea that sexualisation lead to biased perception, providing evidence that sexualised victims (i.e., wearing sexy clothes) are perceived as more immoral and blameful for being sexually harassed than non sexualised victims (i.e., wearing jeans and sweater). More important, we provide novel evidence that these biased perceptions in turn reduce bystanders’ willingness to offer support and help to the sexualised victims of sexual harassment. In addition, we show that endorsement of traditional masculine norms (i.e., ambivalent sexism toward women and non-relational attitudes toward sexuality) further enhanced biased perception of the sexualised than non-sexualised victims. In Chapter 3, we present a set of six studies that have systematically examined how both men and women react to sexually objectifying advertising. The underlying premise governing the use of sexualized images in advertisement is that “sex sells”. Indeed, although it has been shown that advertising acts as catalyst for a multitude of problematic behaviours (e.g., Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002), sex in advertising has long been used to sell just about everything. Surprisingly, even though brand attitudes and purchasing intention are the two crucial antecedents to purchasing behaviour (Shimp & Gresham, 1983), very little research has empirically investigated these antecedents to test whether sex actually works. Therefore, we investigated both female and male participants’ product attractiveness and purchasing intentions after exposure to female or male sexually objectified (versus neutral) ads. Importantly, the overall pattern of results contradicts current sexualising marketing strategies: women negatively reacted to both female and male sexually objectifying ads showing higher negative emotions, that in turn disinclined them to purchase the sexualised product; surprisingly, men were indifferent and did not show any significant increment either on product attractiveness or purchasing intention after exposure to female sexually objectifying than neutral ads. More importantly, our findings suggest that advertising may create an environment that implicitly primes viewers to appraise negatively a sexualised target. For example, sexually objectified ads primed male beliefs that women enjoy being sexualised, and also led to higher benevolent sexism compared to men exposed to neutral ads. Other results showed the effects that exposure to specific female sexualised images may have on the dehumanisation of the whole women category. Importantly, we showed that exposure to female sexually objectified ads increases women body surveillance (i.e., self-objectification) and their internalisation of beauty standards. Thus our findings support the notion that exposure to female sexually objectifying ads not only has negative consequences on how people (specifically men) view women, but also on how women view themselves (i.e., thinking that their look matters). Lastly, both men and women who endorsed traditional beliefs on gender relationships (i.e., men are sex-driven and have trouble being faithful) and men higher in hostile sexism showed higher purchasing intention after viewing sexually objectified than neutral ads. Overall, our findings extend previous research by empirically demonstrating the vicious cycle of sexual objectification. Finally, in Chapter 4 we discuss the implications of the present findings within the objectification theoretical framework and suggest future directions. Our first set of findings suggest that the appraisal of sexual harassment incidents as the result of sexualised women’s appearance, which is also associated with traditional norms on gender roles, may have serious consequences. First of all, this perception may be dangerous for the victims because it decreases significantly the actual probability of receiving support. Furthermore, the present findings are worrisome at the societal level considering the widespread manifestation of both sexualisation and sexual harassment on a daily basis, especially in the workplace (e.g., Page & Pina, 2015). Furthermore, in the second set of studies, our findings show the paradox of sexual objectification in advertising: not only it has negative outcomes for women, but it is also questionable regarding the main purpose of advertising, that is selling products. These findings should be a stimulus to reflect on alternative marketing strategies, possibly more effective and less harmful than using sexually objectifying images.
L’oggetivazione sessuale si presenta tutte le volte in cui una persona è pensata e trattata come un oggetto, strumento, merce che serve scopi specifici dell’osservatore. Le parti del corpo o le sue funzioni sessuali sono separate dal resto della persona, ridotte allo status di mero strumento utile per l’uso e il piacere sessuale altrui (Bartky, 1990; Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). In accordo con la letteratura, quando le persone diventano oggetti o strumenti per il raggiungimento di fini altrui, vengono percepite come meno umane, meno competenti e meno morali (e.g., Heflick, Goldenberg, Cooper, & Puvia, 2011; Loughnan, Haslam, Murnane, Vaes, Reynolds, & Suitner, 2010; Vaes, Paladino, & Puvia, 2011). Inoltre, secondo il modello teorico dell’oggettivazione, le esperienze di oggettivazione sessuale si traducono in problemi che minano il benessere psicologico (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). In accordo, precedenti studi dimostrano come esperienze sessualmente oggettivanti siano collegate a maggiore vergogna per il proprio corpo, all’ansia legata all’apparenza e all’insorgenza di depressione, disordini alimentari e sessuali (Moradi & Huang, 2008). Dal punto di vista della teoria dell'oggettivazione, il modo più insidioso in cui lo sguardo oggettivante infonde la cultura occidentale è attraverso i mass media (e.g., riviste, pubblicità, televisione, video musicali, film). Di fatto, ogni giorno, siamo costantemente circondati da immagini sessualmente oggettivate, per esempio, nella pubblicità in cui corpi maschili e femminili sono denudati per attirare e vendere prodotti (Zotos & Tsichla, 2014) oppure nei media che riportano notizie di molestie sessuali o stupri, in cui le vittime sono spesso ritratte in modo sessualizzato (Zanardo, 2010). Pertanto, il presente lavoro si propone di ampliare il quadro teorico dell’oggettivazione, analizzando empiricamente il ruolo causale dell'oggettivazione sessuale sia nel contesto della pubblicità sia in quello delle molestie sessuali. In primo luogo, nel primo capitolo è fornita una breve rassegna delle ricerche precedenti che hanno indagato il processo di oggettivazione sessuale. Nel secondo capitolo, sono presentati due studi che avevano come obiettivo generale quello di unire empiricamente l’area di ricerca dell'oggettivazione sessuale e quella delle molestie sessuali. Il nostro lavoro è iniziato notando che le due aree si sono sviluppate per lo più in modo indipendente l’una dall’altra. Infatti, sebbene in letteratura siano presenti numerose ricerche che hanno indagato le conseguenze negative dell'oggettivazione sessuale, molto meno numerose sono le ricerche che ne hanno indagato le conseguenze nel contesto della molestia sessuale. In particolare, abbiamo esaminato come l’aspetto sessualizzato della vittima possa influenzare le reazioni di potenziali testimoni a episodi di molestie sessuali in ambito lavorativo. I due studi hanno fornito forti evidenze a sostegno dell'idea che la sessualizzazione causa percezioni distorte, mostrando che la vittima sessualizzata (i.e., fotografata con abiti succinti) è percepita come più immorale e colpevole per essere stata sessualmente molestata rispetto alla vittima non sessualizzata (i.e., fotografata con jeans e maglione). Inoltre, i risultati hanno dimostrato, per la prima volta, che queste percezioni distorte riducono a loro volta la disponibilità dei testimoni a offrire il proprio aiuto e sostegno alla vittima sessualizzata (rispetto alla vittima non-sessualizzata). Successivamente, abbiamo dimostrato che l'approvazione di norme tradizionali maschili (i.e., sessismo ambivalente nei confronti delle donne e atteggiamenti non relazionali verso la sessualità) ha ulteriormente rafforzato la percezione distorta della vittima sessualizzata rispetto a quella non sessualizzata. Nel terzo capitolo, è presentata una serie di sei studi che hanno sistematicamente esaminato come uomini e donne reagiscono alla pubblicità sessualmente oggettivata. La premessa sottostante all'uso di immagini sessualizzate in pubblicità è che "il sesso vende". Infatti, benché sia stato dimostrato che la pubblicità sessualizzata agisce come catalizzatore di una moltitudine di comportamenti problematici (e.g., Groesz, Levine, & Murnen, 2002), il sesso è da tempo utilizzato nella pubblicità per vendere qualsiasi tipo di prodotto. Nonostante sia stato dimostrato che gli atteggiamenti verso il prodotto e l'intenzione di acquisto siano i due antecedenti cruciali del comportamento d’acquisto (Shimp & Gresham, 1983), un numero sorprendentemente esiguo di ricerche li ha analizzati empiricamente per testare se il sesso effettivamente vende. Pertanto, nei nostri studi, abbiamo esaminato sia l'attrattiva del prodotto sia l'intenzione di acquisto manifestate dai partecipanti (uomini e donne) dopo l'esposizione a pubblicità sessualmente oggettivate (sia maschili sia femminili) oppure neutre. Nel complesso, è interessante notare che i risultati ottenuti contraddicono le attuali strategie di marketing focalizzate sulla sessualizzazione. Infatti, le donne hanno reagito negativamente alle pubblicità sessualmente oggettivanti (indipendentemente dal genere del target), mostrando maggiori emozioni negative che, a loro volta, hanno diminuito le loro intenzioni di acquisto rispetto alle pubblicità neutre. Inaspettatamente, gli uomini si sono mostrati indifferenti, vale a dire che dopo l'esposizione a pubblicità femminili sessualmente oggettivate (anziché neutre) non hanno manifestato alcun incremento significativo né sull'attrazione verso il prodotto né sull'intenzione di acquisto. Ancora più importante, abbiamo mostrato risultati che suggeriscono che la pubblicità può creare un ambiente che induce implicitamente alla categorizzazione negativa di un target sessualizzato. I risultati dimostrano che l’esposizione a pubblicità femminili sessualmente oggettivate (anziché neutre) ha innescato negli uomini la credenza che alle donne piaccia essere sessualizzate. Inoltre, gli uomini esposti a pubblicità femminili sessualmente oggettivanti hanno mostrato livelli più alti di sessismo benevolo rispetto agli uomini esposti a pubblicità neutre. Altri dati hanno mostrato gli effetti che l’esposizione a specifiche immagini femminili sessualizzate può avere sulla deumanizzazione dell’intera categoria delle donne. Inoltre, mostriamo evidenze a sostegno dell’idea che l'esposizione a pubblicità femminili sessualmente oggettivanti non solo ha conseguenze negative su come le persone (in particolare gli uomini) percepiscono le donne, ma anche su come le donne percepiscono se stesse (i.e., pensando che l’aspetto fisico le rappresenti come persone). I risultati mostrano come l'esposizione a pubblicità femminili sessualmente oggettivate (anziché neutre) abbia portato le donne a monitorare maggiormente il proprio corpo (i.e., auto-oggettivazione) e ad interiorizzare maggiormente i canoni di bellezza socio-culturali. Infine, gli uomini con livelli più alti di sessismo ostile e gli uomini e le donne che hanno maggiormente interiorizzato credenze tradizionali sulle relazioni di genere (i.e., gli uomini sono guidati dal sesso e hanno difficoltà a essere fedeli) hanno mostrato maggiore intenzione d'acquisto nella condizione di oggettivazione sessuale rispetto alla neutra. Più in generale, i nostri risultati estendono i risultati delle ricerche precedenti dimostrando empiricamente il circolo vizioso dell’oggettivazione sessuale. Infine, nel quarto capitolo, discuteremo le implicazioni dei risultati ottenuti e le direzioni di ricerca future all'interno del quadro teorico dell'oggettivazione. I risultati dei nostri primi studi suggeriscono che la valutazione di episodi di molestia sessuale sulla base dell’aspetto sessualizzato delle vittime può avere gravi conseguenze. Conseguenze che sono state corroborate dal risultato sull’ulteriore aumento dell’interiorizzazione di norme tradizionali sui ruoli di genere. In primo luogo, le percezioni distorte causate dalla sessualizzazione possono essere pericolose per le vittime, diminuendo significativamente la probabilità reale di ricevere sostegno. In secondo luogo, i risultati sono preoccupanti a livello sociale, considerando la diffusa e quotidiana manifestazione sia della sessualizzazione che delle molestie sessuali, soprattutto in ambito lavorativo (e.g., Page & Pina, 2015). Inoltre, nella seconda serie di studi, i risultati mostrano il paradosso dell’oggettivazione sessuale in pubblicità: non solo ha conseguenze negative sulle donne, ma anche su quello che dovrebbe essere il suo fine ultimo, vale a dire vendere prodotti. I nostri risultati dovrebbero essere uno stimolo per riflettere su strategie di marketing alternative, forse più efficaci sul piano economico e sicuramente meno nocive sulle donne, rispetto all'utilizzo di immagini sessualizzate.

Mapping studies of the centromeric region of the human Y chromosome Construction of a map of a human centromeric region is very important in order to understand the organisation of this essential part of the chromosome. A YAC contig map has been assembled of the pericentric 10 Mb of the human Y chromosome, giving coverage of Yp from the large X-Y homologous region through to the alphoid satellite of the centromere, and from the alphoid DNA to the proximal unique sequences on Yq. The Yp map has one remaining gap between TSPY1 and the AMELY region, while two gaps separate the satellite region on Yq from the other two contigs. After constructing the map, the known genes were localised to the region. One Yq gene, DFFRY, was discounted as a potential anti-Turner syndrome gene by analysis of rearranged Y chromosomes. Detection of a block of duplicated sequence on Yp led to the confirmation of the existence of an inversion polymorphism, which was then found to be correlated with a major subclass of sex-reversed individuals, who have X-Y chromosomal breakpoints within the inverted region. These results not only give a far more extensive and detailed map of this region than before, but also show that understanding the organisation of the region has important consequences for a number of genetic disorders.

The Social Construction of Human Beings and Other Animals investigates dominant socially-sedimented attitudes toward human-nonhuman relations. It seeks to examine routine practices that flow from such social constructions. Human attitudes toward other animals are socially constructed, institutionalised, widely internalised, and culturally transmitted across generations. Essentially, the thesis explores many elements of the social transmission of 'speciesism'. It is about how and why modem human societies exploit and harm other animals. Annually, billions of nonhuman animals are deliberately bred and eaten by human beings; experimented upon in biomedical and commercial laboratories; used as items of clothing; hunted; and utilised in various forms of human entertainment, such as circuses and rodeos. The moral and ethical attitudes that justify such treatment are predicated on centuries of philosophical, theological and social thought and practice. The thesis investigates how social attitudes constrain and shape thinking about other animals. Their status as 'sentient property', codified into law in 'developed' nations, is reflected and articulated within the powerful institution of animal welfarism. It further investigates the 'reception' and impact of a recently emergent 'second wave' animal advocacy that challenges orthodox views about humans and other animals. Morally, nonhumans are regarded as a great deal less important and valuable than all human beings, regardless of their respective capacities and interests of individuals concerned. This 'lesser-than' status has a devastating consequence that may serve to seriously harm the interests of human beings as well as (more obviously) nonhuman ones. This thesis seeks to demonstrate how 'dehumanisation processes' rely on a low moral regard for nonhuman life, expressed in acts of war, genocide, relations of gender and 'race', the commercial production of pornography, and other situations of human and nonhuman harm. Within an examination of the construction of the 'species barrier' and protective 'rights', the project also sets out to critically question whether the basic rights of many nonhuman animals can continue to be denied with any moral justification. It suggests that sociological analysis brings to issues vital understandings of the socially constructed nature of much of what is regarded as the 'just is' of human-nonhuman relations; and points to its continuing usefulness in examining how societies may react to new moral ideas, often within complex systems of knowledge denial and evasion.

The impact of computer use is evident in every day life (Harrington, Carter, Birrell and Gompertz, 2000:264). Lind (2002:18) explains that global trends continue to show that the most severe work-related health problems that exist amongst computer users are musculoskeletal disorders. As technology has lead to increases in automation, so it has lead to increases in work-related illnesses. Although studies have explored the effects of ergonomics (Thibodeau, 1995:322) in static working positions there has been little evidence supporting a solution in overcoming poor occupational postures. Many health practitioners argue that occupationally caused, or aggravated, musculoskeletal disorders are steadily increasing. Thus, even though computers have improved productivity and made work easier for the population in general, they have adverse effects as well. Designing the proper tools or a setup of the work place is of prime importance for the elimination of chronic diseases attributed to sedentary lifestyles. Regular physical activity had long been regarded as an important component of a healthy lifestyle. This notion has recently been reinforced by scientific evidence linking regular physical activity with a wide array of physical and mental health benefits, synonymous with an improvement in wellness (Pratt, Macera, and Wang, 2000:63). According to Pratt et al. (2000:63) higher direct medical costs associates with physical inactivity. Further cross-sectional epidemiologic studies and controlled experimental investigations conducted by Okura, Nakata and Tanaka (2003:1131) had demonstrated that physically active adults, in contrast to their sedentary counterparts, tend to develop and maintain higher levels of physical fitness. These studies had not only demonstrated the positive results of physical activity, such as an improvement in blood lipid profile, body composition, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, but had also shown that participation in such activity decreased the risk of developing several chronic hypokinetic diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, non-insulin dependant diabetes mellitus (type II), osteoporosis, colon cancer, anxiety and depression. In addition, low levels of habitual physical activity and the subsequent low levels of physical fitness were associated with a marked increase in all-cause mortality rates. Okura et al. (2003:1131) confirm that effects of exercise intensity on physical fitness and risk factors for coronary Herat disease.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 28, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.