A comparison of the socio-cultural influences on body size perceptions and values among European Australian and Indigenous Fijian adolescent girls

Western women are experiencing increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity despite valuing slimness as ideal and equating thinness with attractiveness and beauty. Pacific populations are also experiencing high prevalence rates of overweight and obesity. A lage body size, however, has many positive connotations among pacific populations that stem from rich cultural practices such as feasts and deliberate fattening of women. There appears to be many sociocultural factors however, such as images of the slim ideal portrayed in Western media, influencing body image concerns that are shared between the two groups. A qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews was conducted to examine and compare the sociocultural influences on body size perceptionsand values. Participants include 16 European Australian and 16 Indigenous Fijian adolescent girls aged between 15 and 17 years. Inductive thematic analysis and analytical induction were qualitativemethods employed to facilitate interpretation of the findings. Preliminary findings suggest that Fijian adolescent girls experience greater conflict than European Australian girls about the desired body size endorsed in their community. Results also suggest that Indigenous Fijian girls place less importance than Australian girls on manipulating their body to achieve a specific ideal. Specific results of this study are reviewed and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Beyond the road : Beat writing and its socio-cultural contexts

This study looks at the contribution of Beat Generation writers to the post-World-War II reinvigoration of the American literary tradition. It challenges the reductive judgements of many critics and demonstrates that the Beat phenomenon was as much an expression of its historical moment as a rebellion against it.

Socio-cultural messages, body image, and body change strategies in men

The thesis found that men received information about the ideal male body from perceived media messages and peers through encouragement, teasing, or modelled behaviours. Body mass index (BMI) also influenced participant's perceptions of their body-image and the strategies they used to change their shape. Sexual partners generally held positive views of men's body shape and weight. The portfolio examines the barriers experienced by individuals with co-occuring disorders within the current treatment system, by analysing four case studies.

Applying socio-cultural lenses to childhood obesity prevention among African migrants to high-income western countries : the role of acculturation, parenting and family functioning

Migration from third-world and low-income countries to high-income Western countries presents significant challenges for individuals and families, and for health service providers in the receiving societies. Cultural conflicts related to preferred body size/shape and parenting practices, together with differential inter generational rates and styles of acculturation, can affect nutritional and lifestyle choices and be associated with high rates of childhood obesity. Using African cultures as an example, this paper examines these issues. It concludes that, in designing and implementating obesity prevention programmes, health service providers need to understand these factors and how they play out.

Socio-cultural influences on eating practices among female adolescents in Fiji

This thesis examined the sociocultural influences on food and eating practices for both Indigenous-Fijian and Indo-Fijian female adolescents. Findings confirmed the prevalence of traditional customs related to feasting and fasting practices. Weight-change behaviours related to food practices were predicted largely by family and religious influences.

Demographic and socio-cultural correlates of medical mistrust in two Australian states:Victoria and South Australia

Studies on medical mistrust have mainly focused on depicting the association between medical mistrust and access/utilization of healthcare services. The effect of broader socio-demographic and psycho-social factors on medical mistrust remains poorly documented. The study examined the effect of broader socio-demographic factors, acculturation, and discrimination on medical mistrust among 425 African migrants living in Victoria and South Australia, Australia. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, low medical mistrust scores (i.e., more trusting of the system) were associated with refugee (β=−4.27, p<0.01) and family reunion (β=−4.01, p<0.01) migration statuses, being Christian (β=−2.21, p<0.001), and living in rural or village areas prior to migration (β=−2.09, p<0.05). Medical mistrust did not vary by the type of acculturation, but was positively related to perceived personal (β=0.43, p<0.001) and societal (β=0.38, p<0.001) discrimination. In order to reduce inequalities in healthcare access and utilisation and health outcomes, programs to enhance trust in the medical system among African migrants and to address discrimination within the community are needed.

Beyond deficit models of learning mathematics : Socio-cultural directions for change and research

Major paradigmatic changes in mathematics education research are drawing attention to new perspectives on learning. Whereas deficit models were previously in the foreground of research designs, these have been replaced by a wide variety of theoretical directions for studying diverse approaches to learning mathematics. There is now an acceptance of the need for richness and variety in research practices so that approaches can be studied, compared and mutually applied and improved. Psychological and quantitative approaches and methods are now increasingly complemented, or even replaced, by new directions that rely on social and anthropological theories and methods. Rather than reviving ideas about deficit research in mathematics education, the aim of this chapter is to present some socio-cultural perspectives of mathematics learning, and to show how these perspectives go beyond the deficit model of learning. Framing the main traditional markers of discrimination in school mathematics—gender, social class and ethnicity—in a perspective of social justice, the chapter concludes with a reflection on equality in terms of the democratic principle of meritocracy in mathematics education.