Interrogation of Gender Identity: Aesthetic Consumption of Korean Television Dramas by Young Women in China

Given the popularity of Korean television dramas among various age groups in other countries, one would expect to see a similar pattern of consumption across different ages in China. Instead, we see high levels of consumption of Korean dramas by a very specific demographic. Why do young Chinese females consume Korean dramas at such high levels? I argue that young Chinese women’s heavy consumption of Korean dramas that portray a particular aesthetic of self and familial resolution may be explained by a need to redress contemporary psychological issues related to gendered self-identity. I posit that the identity formation processes of this particular demographic has been shaped by changes in family dynamics that stem from social and political restructuring in the 1980s, particularly the one-child policy. Thus, this thesis explores how the consumption of Korean dramas by young females in China may be understood as an implicit interrogation of gendered identity.

Birth-to-pregnancy intervals and adverse perinatal outcomes among African-born black women in Washington State.

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Preformations of the Amazonian: Strong Women in German Literature of the Early Enlightenment

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Vitamin A deficiency in poor, urban, lactating women in Bangladesh: factors influencing vitamin A status

Aims: To investigate the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among lactating women in a poor urban population of Bangladesh, and to examine the relationship between various factors and vitamin A status. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Maternal and child health clinic in Dhaka City, Bangladesh. Subjects and methods: A total of 120 lactating women aged 17-37 years were randomly selected from women who attended a local maternal and child health clinic in Dhaka City for immunisation of their children. Various socio-economic, personal characteristics, dietary intakes of vitamin A and anthropometric data were collected. Serum retinol (vitamin A) concentration was determined as a measure of vitamin A status. Results: Of the subjects, 37% had low serum vitamin A levels (<30 μg dl(-1)), with 13.3% having sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency (<20 mug dl(-1)). Eighty-seven per cent had vitamin A intakes below the recommended dietary allowance. The lactating women who were either illiterate or received only informal education had significantly (P=0.002) lower serum vitamin A levels compared with those who received formal education. The women whose husbands received formal education had significantly (P=0.05) higher serum vitamin A levels than those whose husbands were either illiterate or received only informal education. The serum vitamin A levels of women in households with poor sanitation/latrine practice were significantly (P=0.03) lower than those of women in households with good sanitation/latrine practice. The women with one child had significantly (P=0.015) lower serum vitamin A levels than those with two or more children. Women with a lactation period of 6 months or more had significantly (P=0.034) lower serum vitamin A levels than women with a lactation period of less than 6 months. The women who consumed less than the median vitamin A intake (274.8 mug day(-1)) had significantly (P=0.01) lower serum vitamin A levels than those who consumed more than the median vitamin A intake. By multiple regression analysis, education level of the women, number of living children, duration of lactation and dietary intake of vitamin A were found to have significant independent relationships with serum vitamin A. The overall F-ratio (6.8) was highly significant (P=0.000), the adjusted R-2 was 0.16 (multiple R=0.44). Conclusion: A significant proportion of poor, urban, lactating women in Bangladesh have vitamin A deficiency. Among the various factors, education level of the women, number of living children, duration of lactation and dietary intake of vitamin A appear to be important in influencing the vitamin A status of these women.

Technological and financial approaches to risk management in agriculture: an integrated approach

In the present paper, risk-management problems where farmers manage risk both through production decisions and through the use of market-based and informal risk-management mechanisms are considered. It is shown that many of these problems share a common structure, and that a unified and informative treatment of a broad spectrum of risk-management tools is possible within a cost-minimisation framework, under minimal conditions on their objective functions. Fundamental results are derived that apply regardless of the producer's preference towards risks, using only the no-arbitrage condition that agricultural producers never forego any opportunity to lower costs without lowering returns.