Skin care during the menopause period : noninvasive procedures of beauty studies

Ageing is a resultant of two processes, including genetically encoded changes in an organism and modifications caused by a negative external environment impact. In the histological aspect, the skin ageing, due to endogenous factors and hormonal changes shows: excessive dryness, Malpighian layer thinning, microcirculation disorders, collagenic or elastin fiber degradation and simultaneous glycation, decreased speed of sebum and perspirationsecretion. It is said that skin is a functional picture of the organism and endocrinological system. Any hormoneconcentration ups and downs may improve its appearance or significantly worsen its condition as well as it maylead to occurrence of dermatological changes. In adult women, the ageing process changes its significance step bystep. Despite the passage of time, women want to feel good inside their skins. The adult skin is more requiring andit needs special care, often using a cosmetic apparatus. For better effect and permanent revitalization of the ageingskin, it is recommended to apply properly selected home-use cosmetic preparations. A holistic approach makes itpossible to reach the skin density and thickness increase, wrinkles shallowing, humidity and resilience improvementand also recovery of the proper face oval. Key words: menopause, skin ageing, hormones, noninvasive cosmetic procedures, mature skin care at home

Supporting Focus and Context Awareness in 3D Modeling Using Multi-Layered Displays

Although advances in computer technology over the past few decades have made it possible to create and render highly realistic 3D models these days, the process of creating these models has remained largely unchanged over the years. Modern 3D modeling software provide a range of tools to assist users with creating 3D models, but the process of creating models in virtual 3D space is nevertheless still challenging and cumbersome. This thesis, therefore, aims to investigate whether it is possible to support modelers more effectively by providing them with alternative combinations of hardware and software tools to improve their 3D modeling tasks. The first step towards achieving this goal has been to better understand the type of problems modelers face in using conventional 3D modeling software. To achieve this, a pilot study of novice 3D modelers, and a more comprehensive study of professional modelers were conducted. These studies resulted in identifying a range of focus and context awareness problems that modelers face in creating complex 3D models using conventional modeling software. These problems can be divided into four categories: maintaining position awareness, identifying and selecting objects or components of interest, recognizing the distance between objects or components, and realizing the relative position of objects or components. Based on the above categorization, five focus and context awareness techniques were developed for a multi-layer computer display to enable modelers to better maintain their focus and context awareness while performing 3D modeling tasks. These techniques are: object isolation, component segregation, peeling focus, slicing, and peeling focus and context. A user study was then conducted to compare the effectiveness of these focus and context awareness techniques with other tools provided by conventional 3D modeling software. The results of this study were used to further improve, and evaluate through a second study, the five focus and context awareness techniques. The two studies have demonstrated that some of these techniques are more effective in supporting 3D modeling tasks than other existing software tools

The socio-economic variations in the provision, quality and perception of play areas in Glasgow

In order to examine the possible health implications of outdoor play areas, this PhD used a multi-methods approach to examine socio-economic variations in the provision, quality and perceptions of publicly available outdoor play areas in Glasgow, with the underpinning philosophy that play areas may be used as a locale for children to engage in physically active play. The locations of play areas were mapped using GIS software and spatial variations were examined by deprivation. A sample (n=100) of play areas in the highest, middle and lowest quintiles of deprivation were visited and an objective quality audit was undertaken assessing their safety and aesthetics. Pupils in P6 (mean age=9.9 years) were recruited from a school in a highly deprived area and a school in an area of low social deprivation. Sixty two “Draw-and-write” activities and four focus groups were conducted with children to investigate preferences for play and benefits and barriers for visiting play areas. Interviews were also conducted with seven play area maintenance men and two mothers to investigate their views on local play provision. Whilst there was greater provision of play areas in deprived areas of Glasgow, some aspects of their quality were poorer. Children and adults spoke about safety from injury and strangers, and a lack of suitable facilities as barriers to using play areas. Vandalism, misuse and youth disorder were also strong themes in all qualitative research. The barriers for play for children from a deprived area were of a more serious nature compared to children from a less deprived area and those aspects of safety and incivilities which were objectively measured as worse in deprived areas, were also ones that acted as barriers for parents and children. Thus, it is those children who may be in greatest need for free access to safe and healthy play spaces that face more (and often more serious) barriers to play. Although play areas might provide children with opportunity to be physically active, access to facilities alone may not always mean they are used. Further research evaluating refurbishments to play areas may help to determine whether improvements made to play areas would impact upon their use and physical activity levels of users

Rural Masculinities in American Scripted Television Series of the 2010s

The 2010s featured a significant increase in the representation of rural masculinity on television. Much of the increase can be attributed to unscripted programming. Reality series have received considerable attention from scholars, particularly in regard to their representation of stereotypes. This dissertation examines the representation of masculinities in three scripted television series that aired during the 2010s and are set in rural America. The series provide perspectives on rural masculinities that can be placed in conversation with discourses on reality series set in rural environments. Justified, Rectify, and Outsiders depict male characters that veer away from stereotypes and are difficult to pigeonhole. The male characters embody masculinities that both adhere to and reject traditional masculine identity. These include representations of men not frequently portrayed on twenty-first century television: a conservative lawman not afraid to embrace an increasingly diverse world; another lawman, terrified of violence and conflict; a reserved, meditative man trying to figure out who he is; and a man who initially embraces traditional masculinity and demonstrates an ability to change. These series also serve to condemn traditional masculinity and argue that male characters who adopt a more progressive viewpoint are better positioned to find stronger physical and mental health. The three texts aired during a time of consequential social and cultural shifts, allowing this dissertation to enhance existing scholarship of and the discourse surrounding masculinities and twenty-first century television

Z białej kuchni do czarnego salonu: zmiana relacji służba–pani domu w powieści Ellen Douglas Can’t Quit You, Baby

From colonial times, through the Jim Crow era, and up until the Civil Rights movement the domestic kitchen was a battleground in the American South. White women attempted to wield their power over first their black slaves and then domestic servants, while black women reciprocated with covert acts of resistance against white domination in the domestic spaces connected with food production and consumption. Ellen Douglas’s Can’t Quit You Baby (1989) offers an interesting perspective on the reconfiguration of the servant/ served paradigm. The recalibration of the said relationship takes on a spatial dimension in Douglas’s novel – it is visible in the meeting grounds of Cornelia O’Kelly and her black maid, Julia “Tweet” Carrier. The trajectory of Cornelia and Julia’s racial reconciliation spans the whole novel, beginning in a white woman’s kitchen and ending in a black woman’s living room.Od czasów kolonialnych aż po narodzimy ruchu praw obywatelskich w latach 1950–1960 przestrzeń kuchni w kulturze amerykańskiego Południu była miejscem konfliktu rasowego. Białe kobiety próbowały sprawować władzę najpierw nad czarnymi niewolnicami pracującymi w ich domach, a następnie nad domową czarnoskórą służbą. Czarne kobiety „odwdzięczały” się zawoalowanymi aktami oporu wobec białej dominacji w przestrzeni domowej związanej z przygotowaniem i spożywaniem jedzenia. Powieść Can’t Quit You Baby autorstwa Ellen Douglas proponuje interesujące spojrzenie na rekonfigurację relacji między panią domu a jej służbą. Autorka nadaje tej wymianie relacji wymiar przestrzenny – co jest widoczne dzięki prezentacji miejsc spotkań Cornelii O’Kelly z jej czarną służącą Julią „Tweet” Carrier. Obejmujący akcję całej powieści proces rasowego pojednania bohaterek zaczyna się w kuchni białej kobiety, a kończy się w pokoju dziennym czarnej służącej