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Participatory Action Research On Food Security With Urban Women In Cap HaïTien, Haiti: A Feminist Political Ecology Approach, Susan Jennifer Vansteenkiste

Digitized Theses

In Cap Haitien, Haiti, thirty poor urban women volunteered to become participants in a Participatory Action Research project to investigate their own food insecurity. Drawing upon feminist political ecology literature, and combined with recent field work, this research maps the affect of Haiti’s changing food economy on the reproduction of local socio-economic patterns for the procurement of food. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were employed to elucidate the voices of urban female participants to explain how the global food economy and social norms shape the four arenas in which women bargain for food: the household, community, market and …

Religion, Spirituality, And Suicide Ideation Among Older Adults, Saman Simon M. Tavasoli

Digitized Theses

Abstract and Keywords

Suicide is a significant public health concern among older adults. Few researchers have previously investigated associations among religion, spirituality, and suicide ideation among older adults. Although previous studies have often demonstrated negative associations among these variables, findings are inconsistent. In the present study, we explored associations among religion, spirituality, and suicide ideation in 173 community-residing adults 65 years of age and older (M =73.8, SD = 6,10) recruited from malls, libraries, and local community events. Findings indicate significant associations among measures of religion and spirituality. Religious service attendance differentiated religion from spirituality. Spiritual transcendence was significantly negatively …

Song Complexity And Stereotypy In The Song Sparrow {Melospiza Melodia) As Indicators Of Constitutive Immune Function, Shawn Phillip Kubli

Digitized Theses

Indicator models of sexual selection predict that ornaments may reliably advertise male quality and in particular, viability. Songbird song is a well-studied ornament used by females to evaluate potential mates. In this thesis I examine the reliability of two different aspects of song, thought to develop over different timescales, in indicating immune function of breeding male song sparrows [Melospiza melodia). Immunity was assessed through multiple measures of constitutive innate immune function. Overall, I observed a pattern of constitutive immunity that suggests within- system trade-offs. Moreover, this pattern was associated with measures of song complexity. Male song sparrows with more complex …

Determinants Of Diet Quality In Pregnancy: Does Geography Play A Role?, Danielle Marie Nash

Digitized Theses

The objective of this study was to identify the individual- and community-level determinants of diet quality during pregnancy. Subjects included 2282 pregnant women in London, Ontario who participated in the Prenatal Health Project (PHP). Dietary intake was measured using a validated food frequency questionnaire and diet quality was assessed using the Diet Quality Index for Pregnancy. Participants of the PHP were linked to a geographic dataset by home address to determine the community-level variables using a geographic information system. Insignificant variability at the community-level resulted in an individual-level multivariable regression analysis instead of a multi-level. Our findings indicated that pregnant …