Search

Unrestricted, One of the main goals of my doctoral training has been to gain experience working with a variety of types of epidemiologic data. The three projects that compose this dissertation have provided me with the opportunity to work with several different data structures: (1) published summary data, (2) population-based family data, (3) prospective cohort data, and (4) population-based case-control data.; For my dissertation, I have employed each of these data structures to investigate the role of steroid hormones in the etiology of several urologic diseases. In the last several decades of epidemiologic research, it has become clear that steroid hormones are involved in many disease processes. For my research, I have studied the relationships between steroid hormone exposure and molecules of steroid hormone response and female bladder cancer, as well as two male urologic diseases: infertility and testicular germ cell tumors.; In my first paper, I investigated the association between male infertility and a polymorphic CAG repeat tract in the androgen receptor gene (AR) through the meta-analysis of a large body of existing literature on the topic. I quantitatively summarized 33 studies, and found that infertile male cases had statistically significantly longer mean CAG repeat length than controls (SMD: 0.19, 95% CI: 0.09-0.29). Meta-analysis of a select subset of 13 studies that used more stringent case and control selection criteria revealed a larger difference between cases and controls (SMD: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.14-0.47). This meta-analysis provides support for an association between increased androgen receptor CAG length and idiopathic male infertility, and brings together for the first time results from many published reports on this topic.; In my second paper, I expanded upon the results of the meta-analysis to conduct an original data analysis studying the association between androgen receptor CAG repeat length and risk of testicular germ cell tumors. Increasing rates of te

Unrestricted, This paper is for the purpose of designing a public relations campaign for the iconic liquor brands of one of China's largest liquor companies, Luzhou Laojiao .; As liquor markets expand in China, Luzhou Laojiao decides to capture this growth and increase its iconic brand's sales revenue. The public relations campaign will support this goal focusing on increasing the brand's nationwide recognition.; The paper initially covers the internal and external environment to determine the company's overall situation. Then it summarizes desk research results to decipher the communication experiences in the iconic liquor field. It also conducts media coverage analysis and focus group study to collect necessary information for campaign design.; Based on the research results, the paper identifies three communication goals that will effectively help the company to support the company's business goals: increase the nationwide brand awareness, highlight the brand's unique features, and enhance the corporate image. Finally, the paper outlines a series of strategies and tactics to achieve those communication goals.

Unrestricted, This dissertation consists of three independent papers, investigating how migration of working age adults from rural to urban areas in China influences intergenerational transfers, living arrangements, and the psychological well-being of elders who were raised and are embedded in the patrilineal family system.; Analyses were performed using data from a three-wave longitudinal survey, the Longitudinal Study of Older People in Anhui Province, China. Random effects regression analysis from the first study (4,101 parent-child dyads from 1,147 parents) showed that for the same amount of child care and financial help that elders provided, they reaped higher financial return from their adult migrant children than from their adult non-migrant children. In Chinese families, non-migrant children did not need to reciprocate for parents' help in the short run. However, because parents had higher bargaining power when they provided child care to migrant children and because parents' financial help to migrant children was a strategic investment, migrant children were obliged to pay back parents' help. In the second study, random effects logistic regression (803 to 1154 parent-child dyads corresponding to 513 to 735 parents) showed that whether an elder coresided with a child depended on elders' previous exchange with that child and elders' exchanges with the other siblings of that child. In the third study, analyses based on cross-lagged effects model (1281 parents) indicated that depressive symptoms were usually reduced by assistance from daughters-in-law, and increased sometimes when such support was from sons. These relationships held most strongly when mothers coresided with their daughters-in-law. This research suggested that the benefits of intergenerational support were conditional on culturally prescribed expectations.; Taken together, this dissertation demonstrated that the migration of adult children had substantial influence on the intergenerational transfer behaviors

Unrestricted, This dissertation consists of two independent studies and one conceptual paper, addressing one overarching question: how changes in socioeconomic status (SES) based social stratification and changes in social environment affect the health status of older adults in China across time and space. In the two empirical studies, analyses were performed using the four waves of data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), a longitudinal survey of nine provinces in China. Latent growth curve analyses from the first study (2,345 individuals aged 55 and above) show that the health of older Chinese adults continued to be shaped by individual education, occupational class, and income. Cumulative advantage hypotheses are supported by the findings that higher education predicts both better self-rated health and cognitive function at baseline and slower declines over time. Higher income is associated with better functional health at baseline as well as a more gradual decline over time. In addition, this study reveals that the relationship between occupational class and cognitive function as well as between income and self-rated health do not support the cumulative advantage hypothesis.; In the second study, multi-level growth curve analyses (2,345 individuals age 55 and above from 191 communities) show that social environment exerted independent effects on health outcomes over and beyond the effects of individual-level factors. Social environment, particularly household median income, communication development, and time needed for accessing healthcare affected initial health status but not the rate of change in health status. The effects of social environment on health differ by individual education and income. This study suggests that continuing improvement on economic and social environment could potentially improve the health status of older adults in China.; Following the two empirical papers is one conceptual paper, addressing the conceptual and methodological challe

Unrestricted, The goal of the current investigation was to address whether neuropsychological functions such as affective decision-making would serve as prospective neuropsychological markers to predict substance use behaviors among adolescents.; We conducted a longitudinal study of 223 Chinese adolescents in Chengdu City, China. When these adolescents were in the 10th grade in May 2006 (Time 1), we tested these adolescents' affective decision-making ability using the Iowa Gambling Test (IGT) and working memory capacity using the Self-ordered Pointing Test (SOPT). Paper and pencil questionnaires were used to assess school academic performance, impulsivity, parental decision-making styles and substance use behaviors. Students were again tested in May of 2007 (Time 2).; Several findings were revealed in this study. First, at baseline (Time 1), poor affective decision-making associated with heavy substance use behaviors such as past 7-day smoking (more than experimental) and binge-drinking. At Time 2, a large proportion of adolescents who performed better on the IGT at Time 1 still did not drink or reduced their drinking level one year later at Time 2. In comparison, a large proportion of those who performed poorly on the IGT at Time 1 stayed at the same level or progressed to a higher level of drinking by Time 2. Second, drinking problems and past 7-day smoking at Time 1 marginally significantly negatively predicted the development of working memory but not affective decision-making one year later. Third, affective decision-making but not working memory significantly improved one year later. Fourth,adolescents with high urgency performed poorly on the A-IGT compared to those with low urgency. Finally, compared to adolescents with only their parents making decisions, the adolescents with other parental decision-making styles were much less likely to engage substance use behaviors at Time 2 and marginally improved the development of affective decision-making from Time 1 to Time 2.; T