Living as subject : the stories of five women with disabilities

The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of the processes by which a select group of women with disabilities have reached a position of subjectivity. Subjectivity is defined as a process of becoming—a process in which women placed on the margin of society define themselves and use power and agency to effect personal change as well as change in others. Women with disabilities are oppressed, perceived and portrayed as roleless, and considered objects of pity and sympathy. The five women participating in this study have developed critical consciousness about their status in our society, and in so doing have been able to move beyond internalization of society\u27s beliefs and perceptions about them. In order to contradict these perceptions as well as prevalent research methodology, considered alienated research by many women with disabilities, this study was constructed with the researcher as coparticipant. The use of first-person narrative provides a position from which I can hear their voices and enter their struggles rather than take the position of the Other. Three theories inform this study: the sociopolitical—or minority group model—of disability, critical theory, and feminist theory. A fourth theory, chaos theory, helped me understand the contradictions in the participants\u27 lives. These theories have roots in critical theory and have caused me to examine the social, economic, and political barriers that force people with disabilities into marginal roles. The five women with disabilities participating in this study were purposefully selected on the basis of existing mutuality and a perception of subjectivity. Mutuality was developed over years of personal and professional experiences. Qualitative research methods, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of artifacts, were used to increase my understanding of the processes by which these women have reached a position of subjectivity. For the purposes of this study, I spent an additional three years with them in their homes and in other activities in order to develop a deeper understanding of how living on the margin is a source of strength as well as a place of resistance. Each woman experienced shame and stigma in her youth because of perceived differences and developed strategies for coping, surviving, and negotiating boundaries. She also had an experience, described as a catalyst, that caused her to become more aware of the power she has on the margin to resist. In the process of becoming subject, each has experienced communitas, or being part of a nonjudgmental sharing community. Each woman has also learned to use anger and power in new ways as she names the sources of her oppression and rejects words and actions that do not affirm her identity and pride. This study provides new insight into notions of subjectivity, particularly for women with disabilities. It demonstrates that living with a disability from a position of subjectivity is not about overcoming. Nor is it about using anger destructively, to exert power over others, or to live independently. Rather, it is learning about the power of interdependence, of living with an obligation to others, of learning to trust others and become vulnerable to their influence, and of learning how to be constantly and forever adaptive. These women have learned skills for living that can be used by all of us as we learn to live in a world of increasing diversity and decreasing resources

The effect of alkalisation on the mechanical properties of natural fibres

A study on the effect of alkalisaton using 3% NaOH solution was carried out on Flax, Kenaf, Abaca and Sisal to observe the impact that the common pre-treatment process has on fibre mechanical properties. The result of the investigation indicated that over-treatment of natural fibres using NaOH could have a negative effect on the base fibre properties. It is concluded that a treatment time of less than 10 minutes is sufficient to remove hemicelluloses and to give the optimum effect

Vacuum infusion of natural fibre composites for structural applications

Numerous methods of manufacturing natural fibre composites have been reported in the literature, including compression moudling, often in conjunction with a hot press. Other forms of composite manufacture include 'Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding' (VATRM) and the 'Seemann Composite Resin Infusion Moulding Process' (SCRIMP). These methods have been reported to produce natural fibre composies with reasonable mechanical properties [1-2]. In this paper, a vacuum infusion rig is described that has been developed to produce consistent quality composite plates for studies into optimising natural fibre composites. The process aims to harness the benefits of vacuum infusion and compression moulding, where vacuum infusion encourages the removal of trapped air in the system and hence avoid reduction, and additional compression moulding can help to achieve high volume fractions that are otherwise difficult in other processes

Mechanical testing of natural fibre reinforced polyester resin composites and Mode 1 fracture toughness testing of resin blocks

Recent European Parliament directive requires companies to achieve materials recycling greater than 80% in particular in the automotive sector [1]. The research on natural fibre based composite materials fits well into this ecological image. The advantages of natural fibres over synthetic materials include, low density, relative cheapness, availability and biodegradability. In this paper we explore the fabrication and mechanical testing of natural fibre composites and this is part of an on going study at Strathclyde University and describes the fabrication of composites using natural fibre and styrene polyester resin. The properties of the synthetic resin can be varied by changing the catalysts concentration and flexural (three point bending) and single-edged notched bending (SENB) properties are reported at different concentrations of the catalyst

Evidence for a functional role of the pineal in bovines

Dat die epifise moontlik n regulerende invloed op die gonadotrofiese funksie van die adenohipofise ultoefen, is m.b.v. in vitro tegnieke ondersoek. Bykomstig, is n aaneenlopende stelsel ontwerp om die meganisme van die werking van die antionadotrofiese beginsel van die epifise te bestudeer, aangesien daar n direkte negatiewe terugvoer van hiposifiele LH op die hipothalamus voorgekom het toe adenohipofisiale en hipothalamiese weefsel gesamentlik gekweek is. Resultate het aangetoon dat die hormone van die epifise die vrystelling van die tersake hipothalamiese vrystellingsfaktore inhibeer, waardeur die afskeiding van LH deur die adenohipofise verminder word. Laastens toon die resultate aan dat die epifise die produksie van LH-inhiberende faktore geproduseer deur die hipothalamus, stimuleer. SUMMARY:The possibility that the pineal exerts a regulatory influence on the gonadotrophic function of the adenohypophysis was investigated using in vitro techniques. Additionally, since a direct negative feedback of pituitary LH onto the hypothalamus occured when adenohypophysical and hypothalamic tiisisues were incubated together, a continuous-flow system was devised to study the mechanisms of action of the pineal anti-gonadotrophic principles. Results demonstrated that the bovine pineal has marked anti-gonadotrophic properties in vitro. Data showed that the pineal hormones inhibited the release of the relevant hypothalamic release factor, thereby reducing secretion of LH from the adenohypophysis. Finally, results indicated that the pineal also stimulated the production by the hypothalamus of an LH-inhibitory factor

Sex ratio and maternal rank in wild spider monkeys: when daughters disperse

Data from a long-term field study of the spider monkey, Ateles paniscus , in Peru indicate that a strongly female-biased sex ratio exists from birth in this population. Of 46 infants born between July 1981 and June 1986, 12 were male, 32 were female and 2 were of undetermined sex. This effect is consistent between years as well, with more females than males born in each year of the study (Table 1). This bias is driven by the fact that low-ranking females produce daughters almost exclusively, while high-ranking females bias their investment somewhat less strongly towards sons (Table 2). The unusual pattern of female-biased maternal investment observed in this population of Ateles probably occurs for a combination of the following reasons: (1) maternal investment in individual male offspring is somewhat greater than in individual female offspring; (2) males remain with their natal groups, and the sons of high-ranking females are likely to be competitively superior to the sons of low-ranking females; (3) males compete for mates, and only the one or two most dominant males within a community are likely to achieve significant reproductive success. Two possible mechanisms of sex-ratio adjustment and the evidence for each are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46880/1/265_2004_Article_BF00302985.pd

A simply connected surface of general type with p_g=0 and K^2=2

In this paper we construct a simply connected, minimal, complex surface of general type with p_g=0 and K^2=2 using a rational blow-down surgery and Q-Gorenstein smoothing theory.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures. To appear in Inventiones Mathematica

A psychoanalytic concept illustrated: Will, must, may, can — revisiting the survival function of primitive omnipotence

The author explores the linear thread connecting the theory of Freud and Klein, in terms of the central significance of the duality of the life and death instinct and the capacity of the ego to tolerate contact with internal and external reality. Theoretical questions raised by later authors, informed by clinical work with children who have suffered deprivation and trauma in infancy, are then considered. Theoretical ideas are illustrated with reference to observational material of a little boy who suffered deprivation and trauma in infancy. He was first observed in the middle of his first year of life while he was living in foster care, and then later at the age of two years and three months, when he had been living with his adoptive parents for more than a year

Using chlorhexidine varnish to prevent early childhood caries in American Indian children

Objectives: To test the efficacy of 10% chlorhexidine (CHX) dental varnish applied to the mothers' dentition in preventing caries in American Indian children. Methods: This was a placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, randomized clinical trial. Mother–child pairs were enrolled when the child was 4.5‐6.0 months. Mothers received 4 weekly applications of the study treatment (CHX or placebo) followed by single applications when her child was age 12 and 18 months. Children received caries examinations at enrollment, 12, 18 and 24 months. Analyses were limited to the intent‐to‐treat (ITT) group: children whose mothers received the first study treatment and who received at least one post‐baseline exam. The outcome variable was the number of new carious surfaces (NNCS) at the child's last visit. Wilcoxon nonparametric and Fisher's exact tests were used to test differences between the active and placebo groups. Results: We randomized 414 mother–child pairs, with 367 (88.6%) included in the ITT group (active = 188, placebo = 179). The proportion of children caries‐free at their final exam was 51.1% and 50.8% for the active and placebo groups ( P  > 0.99). The mean NNCS for the active and placebo groups was 3.82 (standard deviation [SD] = 8.18) and 3.80 (SD = 6.08), respectively ( P  = 0.54). The proportion with NNCS > 6 was 18.1% for active children versus 27.9% for placebo (relative risk [RR] = 0.65, P  = 0.03). The number needed to treat to shift one child from NNCS > 6 to a lower severity was 10.2. Conclusions: In this population CHX varnish did not reduce the mean NNCS or proportion of children with caries, but did reduce the proportion with severe caries.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/96744/1/jphd348.pd