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The "Stylish Battle" World War II and clothing design restrictions in Los Angeles

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The "Stylish Battle" World War II and clothing design restrictions in Los Angeles Hannon, Laura Bellew This dissertation explores the wartime fashion culture of the city of Los Angeles during the Second World War in order to explore consumption-based tensions that emerged in response to federal restrictions for the purpose of conservation. The War Production Board's General Limitation Order L-85 took decisions over the measurements of clothing (i.e. hem width or sleeve length), the presence of embellishments (i.e. pockets or dolman sleeves), and the general silhouette of fashion (i.e. relative skirt fullness) out of the hands of fashion designers. Through L-85, the fashion industry, an industry once famous for the principle of planned obsolesce, was transformed for the duration of the war into an "effective mechanism" of war that could satisfy the dual needs of the military and civilians. Even more so, through their use of patriotic marketing strategies, L-85 potentially helped consumers first articulate, and later demonstrate, their acknowledgement of the war effort. By purchasing streamlined, simplified fashions, female consumers, in the words of fashion designer Gilbert Adrian, could "register taste without extravagance," and thus potentially participate in a communal performance of patriotism. Access restricted to the OSU Community

Cross-scale analysis of the Pribilof Archipelago, southeast Bering Sea, with a focus on age-0 walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma)

Tue, 01 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Cross-scale analysis of the Pribilof Archipelago, southeast Bering Sea, with a focus on age-0 walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) Ciannelli, Lorenzo Age-0 pollock are the most abundant small pelagic species around the Pribilof Archipelago, composing more than 90% of both the local numerical abundance and the fish biomass abundance. Due to a favorable combination of physical and biological conditions, it is likely that age-0 pollock experience enhanced feeding and growth around the Pribilofs. However, age-0 pollock are also subject to high predation risk owing to the high numbers of groundfish, seabirds and marine mammals that reside around these islands. The relative benefit that age-0 pollock might experience from enhanced feeding compared to the negative effects of predation is as yet unclear. This study seeks to understand the outcome of bottom up and top down forces on age-0 pollock ecology, by exploring environmental variability around the Pribilof Islands and associated traits of age-0 pollock population ecology. Ecological variables considered here are age-0 pollock distribution, their growth, energy content and mortality from predation. Results indicate that both predation (i.e. groundfish distribution) and energetics (i.e. habitat-dependent potential for growth) affect the meso-scale (1 to 10 km) variability of age-0 pollock distribution. Local hydrographic features, and particularly water temperature, can mediate the importance of either factor, by affecting groundfish distribution and age-0 pollock physiology. Additionally, the hydrographic features associated with the frontal structure around the islands significantly influence the energy content and the foraging impact of age-0 pollock on their prey. Foraging impact and consequent food limitation risk also varies according to age-0 pollock size, due to the pronounced changes in diet and metabolism that juvenile pollock typically undergo during early life. Results of a mass-balance ecosystem model applied to the community around the Pribilof Islands show that Chrysoara malanaster, a prevalent scyphomedusae, causes about 60% of the total age-0 pollock predation mortality, while groundfish cause about 30%. These findings prove useful in understanding the role of the Pribilof ecosystem both as a juvenile pollock nursery area and as an ecosystem nested within the larger Bering Sea. Different hypotheses are discussed and further considerations are made on the general role of oceanic archipelagos nested within larger ecosystems. Access restricted to the OSU Community

A quantitative study of African American young adults' knowledge and attitudes towards condom use and HIV/STDs in Mississippi

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

A quantitative study of African American young adults' knowledge and attitudes towards condom use and HIV/STDs in Mississippi Hamlin-Palmer, Shemeka In the United States, serious public health problems exist among young adults, problems that have been linked to risky sexual behaviors. Consequences of these behaviors include pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and most recently HIV/AIDS (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008). HIV/AIDS incidence cases, especially among African American young adults (AA-YAs), have reached epidemic proportions nationally and particularly in the state of Mississippi. Sexual behavior patterns among AA-YAs remain insufficiently investigated in Mississippi. However, investigators have been successful in identifying an increase in HIV/AIDS and STD incidence cases among this population. In 2008, Mississippi ranked number one nationally in the incidence rate per 100,000 populations for chlamydia and gonorrhea and number eight nationally for primary and secondary syphilis (Mississippi State Department of Health, 2007b). In 2008, 1,392 AA-YAs aged 13-24 were living with HIV disease in Mississippi. The statistics are consistent with safer sex practices are not being performed or are not performed correctly. Accordingly, engaging in unsafe sex practices is a likely cause of major public health problems in AA communities in Mississippi. To date, research efforts in Mississippi have focused on differences between AA and Caucasian sexual patterns and have not empirically identified general sexual behavioral patterns of AA-YAs. The expected outcome from this study is to more effectively identify factors that potentially contribute to the increase in HIV and STD transmission among AA-YAs in Mississippi. This was a quantitative, survey-based research study of 453 AA-YAs ages 18-24 in five locations; those enrolled at four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and clients receiving services at My Brother's Keeper (MBK) Wellness Center in Mississippi. There were a total of five specific hypothesis tested. For these, a basic research question to be answered is: Can a single behavioral/demographic factor explain the high rate of HIV/AIDS and STD infections among AA-YAs in Mississippi? For each hypothesis, statistical differences were determined based on specific demographic characteristics of the survey population. The demographic characteristics compared were: gender, institutional affiliation, educational level, and sexual relationship status. Hypothesis one predicted that there would be no differences among AA-YAs in their level of knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed to examine differences between the groups and revealed significant differences (p < .05). Hypothesis two predicted that there would be no differences among AA-YAs in their attitudes toward condom use. Analysis revealed no significant differences. Hypothesis three predicted that there would be no differences among AA-YAs in their use of condoms. Analysis revealed significant differences (p < .05). Hypothesis four predicted that there would be no differences among AA-YAs in their likelihood of use of condoms. Analysis revealed no significant differences. Hypothesis five predicted that there would be no differences among AA-YAs in their risk-taking/risk assessment regarding HIV/AIDS. Analysis revealed significant differences (p < .05). By better understanding the needs of AA-YAs, opportunities for preventive services can be established to anticipate changes and promote healthier sexual behavior changes in the future. This improved understanding of AA-YAs' sexual behavioral patterns should permit more culturally appropriate health interventions to be designed to promote safer sex practices in this demographic. Access restricted to the OSU Community

Demographic and evolutionary processes in baleen whales inferred from ancient and modern DNA

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Demographic and evolutionary processes in baleen whales inferred from ancient and modern DNA Alter, Susan Elizabeth Over the past two centuries, human activities including overharvesting, increased use of fossil fuels, and coastal development have changed the state of the oceans. For many exploited marine species, little is known about population ecology prior to exploitation and other large-scale impacts on ocean ecosystems, and this lack of knowledge may hamper efforts to aid stock recovery and reconstruct damaged ecosystems. In the case of baleen whales, overhunting in the 19th and 20th centuries decimated many populations, but our understanding of pre-whaling abundance, ecology, migration patterns, and habitat use is limited. However, recent advances in molecular biology and statistical inference have improved our ability to reconstruct demographic processes from genetic data. My dissertation research utilizes DNA data from modern and ancient sources in tandem with coalescent and statistical modeling to further our understanding of historical population ecology and molecular evolution in baleen whales. First, I surveyed and analyzed DNA variation across the genome of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), and used data from nine nuclear introns and two mitochondrial markers to show that populations were three to five times larger in the past than today. In addition, I explored the effects of migration from other populations and pre-whaling population bottlenecks, and documented some of the potential ecological impacts of the inferred decline. Next, I compared rates and patterns of molecular evolution in the control region and cytochrome-b in three baleen whale species (gray whales, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), and Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)). The mitochondrial control region has been frequently used in phylogeographic studies of whales despite uncertainty in mutation rate. I investigated the extent to which demography versus evolutionary processes may have caused significant variation in patterns between species, and present a new way of calibrating the molecular clock for the control region by constraining values using information from a linked gene. In order to determine current migration rates and population structure across different breeding grounds in gray whales, I collected microsatellite data from modern gray whales, and used demographic modeling to compare the results to the envelope of expectations under different rates and whaling histories. Slight departures from panmixia are apparent in the dataset, consistent with total disruption of migration patterns during whaling followed by reduced migration between breeding areas. Finally, I collected ancient genetic data from prehistoric whale specimens to better understand population dynamics and ecology prior to whaling. Coalescent analyses of ancient genetic data from gray whales show that data are consistent with a significant population bottleneck. Results suggest that a small part of this decline may have occurred in the last 600-700 years, but that the majority of the bottleneck occurred within the last 100-200 years, concurrent with industrial whaling. Ancient data show whaling may also have reduced regional genetic diversity and altered the geographic structuring of haplotypes in the case of North Pacific humpback whales: prehistoric samples show much higher genetic diversity and different spatial structuring of haplotypes compared to modern samples. In summary, this analysis illustrates the utility of genetic data in reconstructing population and evolutionary history in non-model organisms, provides insight into the impacts of whaling and climatic events on baleen whale populations, and demonstrates how multiple sources of data can be integrated to reconstruct the history of marine populations. Access restricted to the OSU Community