Images of embodied old age in contemporary Japan

Since the late 1980s, representations of Japanese national identity and Japanese old age have been deconstructed. Images of the resilience of traditional cultural and social institutions are shown to have over-emphasized social and cultural homogeneity, elided social differentiation and inequality and minimized the significance of historical transformation. Key institutions of the postwar modernization project, including the patriarchal seniority system and household structure, are being transformed through globalization and feminization. This thesis focuses on the problem of representing individual and collective ageing in Japan in the context of modernization. Research is focussed on the contradictions, within essentialist representations of Japanese collective and individual identity, between socially constructed policy forms of old age and collective identities. Contemporary trends towards individualization and diversification of identities, and discourses on the ageing/information society, indicate cultural distance between an instrumentally rational administration and the life world of old people. Research explores the concept of embodiment through its significance in debates on postmodernization of the lifecourse in accordance with the structural shifts towards a postindustrial structure. This study examines representations of old age in broader social and cultural processes. Images of the social and cultural trajectory of the lifecourse draw attention to the embodiment of individual identities and ultimately generational cultures in contemporary social and cultural spaces. This research is the result of analyses of old age, which have been informed by postmodern theory. It in turn informs sociological theorizations of cultural representations of old age in contemporary societies.

How deinstitutionalisation and the current public mental health system affects individuals with schizophrenia : four case reports

The professional component of this thesis focuses on how deinstitutionalisation and the current public mental health system have affected individuals with schizophrenia. Chapter one discusses the process of deinstitutionalisation and the research that has examined the impact of this initiative. Chapter two concentrates on schizophrenia, specifically the symptoms, course, etiological theories and treatments of this illness. Four case studies are then provided in order to explore how deinstitutionalisation and the current mental health system have affected individuals with schizophrenia. The names and identifying characteristics of these clients and their families have been modified to ensure anonymity. Chapter three describes a 47 year old woman, AA, who was referred for a neuro-psychological assessment. Chapter four outlines the second case study, a 23 year old male, BB, who was referred for a psychological assessment regarding diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Chapter five describes the third case study, a 54 year old woman, CC, who was referred for therapy and consultation regarding future treatment recommendations. Chapter six discusses the fourth case study, a 21 year old male, DD, who was seen for crisis intervention and treated in the community. Each of these case studies outlines the background history, formulation and treatment approaches. These case reports are used to illustrate how deinstitutionalisation and the present public mental health system affect individuals with schizophrenia. Chapter seven provides an overall discussion and conclusion to these case studies.

Alternative naming strategies : family versus individual brand names

Increased competition in the consumer goods marketplace has resulted in too many brands chasing too few consumers. In an attempt to ease pressure on margins, and both brand and product range profitability, marketers would be well advised to reinspect their policies towards brand naming and the attendant costs associated with those policies. Is it really necessary for each new product to be individually named? If it is, then what are the strategic and financial implications of this decision? Why is it that the practice in some companies is to resort to a string of unrelated brand names whereas the practice elsewhere is to use an umbrella family name, with or without, a brand name as a suffix? The answers to such questions are by no means obvious and closer inspection of the issues relating to naming policy fails to yield any consensus let alone a definitive approach. This article seeks to depict the alternative naming strategies engaged by marketers and to focus on those considerations that would favour a family name in preference to an individualised brand name. The article concludes with recommendations that are drawn from current literature and the experience of marketers with a view to determining those circumstances that may influence the formulation of a more appropriate naming policy.

The allocation of development aid assistance : do new donors have old motives?

The aid allocation literature explores the motives behind development aid  assistance. This literature is enormous, yet surprisingly, the extant empirical  studies have in the main only focused on the motives of established donors. Consequently, relatively little is known of the motives of new donors. This paper explores the aid allocation motives of three relatively new DAC donors: Greece, Luxembourg, and Portugal. Both OLS and Tobit two-way effects estimators are used to model their aid allocation process. The results indicate that humanitarian concerns are not an important factor for these three donors. Greece contributes aid predominately to its neighbors and to transitional East European nations. Portugal is motivated by commercial interests and former colony status. The bandwagon effect exists in reverse for Portugal. Commercial interests operate also for Luxembourg. Additionally, Luxembourg appears to donate to smaller more developed countries and is less inclined to donate to East European nations.

New worlds for old: visions of utopia

Provides an introduction to and explanation of the art works/photographs of Lisa Scharoun and Frances Tatarovic in their Visions of utopia series. 

Consistency of sensory testing with 4- and 5-year-old children

Rank-order and paired comparison tests are widely used methods to assess previous termsensorynext term perception of young children. Small age differences could, however, influence the ability of children to carry out such tasks. This study compared rank-order and paired comparison tests for previous termconsistencynext term in previous term4next term- and 5-year-old children. During previous termfournext term sessions, 22 young adults, 21 previous term4next term-year-old and 47 5-year-old children carried out rank-order and paired comparison tests to measure discriminatory ability (0.22 M, 0.25 M, 0.29 M, 0.34 M, 0.39 M sucrose in orangeade) and preference (0.14 M, 0.20 M, 0.29 M, 0.42 M, 0.61 M sucrose in orangeade). Young adults and 5-year-old children were able to discriminate between all solutions and showed a high previous termconsistencynext term between the rank-order and pair-wise tests for discriminatory ability (>76% previous termconsistency)next term and preference (>71% previous termconsistency)next term. In contrast, previous term4next term-year-olds detected differences in sweetness during the preference tests, but failed to distinguish sweetness intensities during the discriminatory ability tests. It is concluded that the dissimilarity between previous term4next term-and 5-year-olds in performing previous termsensorynext term tests was due to a difference in their cognitive skills rather than their previous termsensorynext term perceptual differences.

Sweet preferences and sugar consumption of 4- and 5-year-old children : role of parents

We investigated the relationships in children between rules that restrict consumption of mono- and disaccharides (MDS), consumption of MDS and preferences for sucrose-containing orangeade. The background ideas of restriction rules we also investigated. To this end, 44 children (5.1 ^ 0.5 years) performed a rank-order and paired-comparison test of preference for five orangeades, which differed in sucrose concentration (0.14, 0.20, 0.29, 0.42, 0.61 M sucrose). Parents filled out a questionnaire concerning restriction rules and their children’s consumption of MDS-containing foods. Stronger restriction rules were related to a lower consumption of beverages that contained MDS and to a lower consumption of MDS-containing foods during breakfast and lunch. The most freedom to choose foods that contain MDS was given during the afternoon. Fifty-five percent of the children who were highly restricted showed a preference for the highest concentration of sucrose in orangeade. None of these children preferred the orangeade with the lowest concentration of sucrose. While 19% of the children who were little restricted preferred the beverage with the lowest concentration of sucrose, 33% preferred the beverage with the highest concentration. These parents generally believed that sugar has a bad effect on health and had similar background ideas concerning restriction
rules.

Microbial-based therapy of cancer: a new twist to age old practice

The use of bacteria in the regression of tumors has long been known. Various approaches for using bacteria in cancer therapy include the use of bacteria as sensitizing agents for chemotherapy, as delivery agents for cancer drugs and as agents for gene therapy. The tumor regression stimulated by infecting microorganisms has been attributed to activation of the immune system of the host. However, recent studies indicate that when tumor-harboring mice with defective immune systems are infected with certain microorganisms, the regression of the tumor is still observed, suggesting that there are other host factors contributing to the microbial associated regression of tumors. Since the use of live or attenuated bacteria for tumor regression has associated toxic effects, studies are in progress to identify a pure microbial metabolite or any component of the microbial cell that might have anti-cancer activity. It has now been demonstrated that a redox protein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a cupredoxin, can enter into human cancer cells and trigger the apoptotic cell death. In vivo, this cupredoxin can lead to the regression of tumor growth in immunodeficient mice harboring xenografted melanomas and breast cancer tumors without inducing significant toxic effects, suggesting that it has potential anti-cancer activity. This bacterial protein interacts with p53 and modulates mammalian cellular activity. Hence, it could potentially be used as an anti-cancer agent for solid tumors and has translational value in tumor-targeted or in combinational-biochemotherapy strategies for cancer treatments. Here, we focus on diverse approaches to cancer biotherapy, including bacteriolytic and bacterially-derived anti-cancer agents with an emphasis on their mechanism of action and therapeutic potential.

"Old Man" : Australian battalion commanders in the Second World War

Examining the background, training and conduct of Australian Second World War battalion commanders, this thesis rejects the notion of a single Australian command style. Rather, it shows command practice was a product of the interaction between terrain, tactics, technology and training, and that increasing professionalisation was central to battlefield success.

Old age in a new world

Five hundred early settlers of Victoria's Western District were studied in their old age. Findings about the place of the elderly in community formation, and about the many elderly who belonged to three generations of families all present early in white settlement, have added to existing knowledge of colonial society.

Effects of parental perception of neighbourhood deprivation and family environment characteristics on pro-social behaviours among 4-12 year old children

Objective : To assess the effect family environment stressors (e.g. poor family functioning and parental psychological distress) and neighbourhood environment on child prosocial behaviour (CPB) and child difficulty behaviour (CDB) among 4-to-12 year old children.

Methods : Analysis of the 2006 Victorian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey (VCHWS) dataset derived from a statewide cross-sectional telephone survey, with a final total sample of 3,370 children.

Results : Only family functioning, parental psychological distress, child gender, and age were associated with CPB, explaining a total of 8% of the variance. Children from healthily functioning families and of parents without any psychological distress exhibited greater prosocial behaviours than those from poorly functioning families and of parents with mental health problems. Neighbourhood environment was not found to contribute to CPB. A total of eight variables were found to predict CDB, explaining a total of 16% of the variance. Poor family and parental psychological functioning as well as poor access to public facilities in the neighbourhood were associated with conduct problems in children.

Conclusion : Our results point to the importance of the family environment in providing a context that fosters the development of empathic, caring and responsible children; and in buffering children in exhibiting behaviour difficulties during the formative years of life. Programs aimed at promoting prosocial behaviours in children need to target stressors on the family environment.