Digital Commons Network^™

Bipartisn Bills From Caucus Collaboration: Solutions To Polarized Or Non-Polarized Issues?, Kaitlin Holden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper investigates whether caucus members pursue bipartisan collaboration on bills related to polarized or non-polarized policy issues. The aim is to determine whether caucuses may be used to pursue bipartisan solutions to major policy issues in an increasingly polarized political environment. I model the effect that the presence of a women’s caucus has on bipartisan collaboration in increasingly polarized legislatures, depending on whether a bill’s title contains words related to polarized issues and its overall sentiment. Findings indicate that bipartisan women may be more likely to collaborate on polarized bills then non-polarized bills in legislatures with a women’s caucus …

The Dove's Advantage: Impact Of Gender And Conflict On Executive Approval, Micala H. Gillespie

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Do citizens evaluate female vs. male leaders’ foreign policy decisions differently? The number of countries that have had female leaders continues to expand, but little is known about how domestic audiences reward or punish female (relative to male) leaders for foreign policy choices. This study examines how the gender of a national leader conditions the relationship between their hawkish/dovish ideology and public approval for rapprochement policies in militarized interstate conflicts. Results from time-series cross-sectional data using multiple regression models with fixed effects from 31 countries and 127 leaders show that public approval tends to be lower for women leaders and …

The Effectiveness Of Education Aid In Kenya: Using Women's Access To Education As An Indicator Of Welfare, Dawn Dimick

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Global Journal reported an estimated 10 million NGOs worldwide and in Kenya alone, the number rose to 11,262 by June 2019 (Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Board, 2019). Though committed to alleviating the same issues, the existence of so many organizations breeds vast differences in approaches. Are the issues simply too complex for a handful of organizations to fix or are the organizations themselves becoming an integral part of the problem? Most organizations fall short in evaluating their effectiveness, partly because there is no standard model by which to measure success. While it would be nearly impossible to design a perfect …

The Changing Face Of The Wildlife Profession: Tools For Creating Women Leaders, Wendy S. Anderson

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Women continue to be underrepresented in the natural resource sciences arena, including the field of wildlife biology. The gender gap widens further with advancement to higher level positions. This paper explores potential reasons behind the lack of women in leadership and the array of challenges that women may face in their career paths. A variety of tools are proposed to support and encourage career advancement for women. Studies show that organizations with higher numbers of women in leadership roles perform better and diverse teams are more dedicated and committed to the mission. Understanding gender issues and generating organizational change is …

Called To Serve: Understanding The Role Of The Woman’S Mission Decision Narrative In Latter-Day Saint Culture And Belief, Rachel Ross

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In my thesis I explore the role of mission decision narratives of women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before 2012, women could not serve missions until age 21. Once the minimum age was changed to 19 in October of 2012, many more women were able to serve on mission as the opportunity was less likely to disrupt their education or romantic relationships. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, missions are seen as a priesthood duty for men but a matter of choice for women. This ability to choose and the narrative that follows …

Motivations For Women’S Activism In Hydraulic Fracking, Taya Godfrey

Research on Capitol Hill

Research Question: What motivates females to become anti-fracking activists?

Hydraulic fracturing is a way of obtaining natural gas and oil from deep within the earth by injecting high powered water and chemicals into shale rock to fracture it, and therefore release natural resources (Manfreda, 2015).

We have seen much activism surrounding the issue of fracking because of the environmental and health controversies associated with it. We have also noted an increasing number of female activists and hope to determine the cause. By understanding what motivates women to become anti-fracking activist we can further encourage female activism in many other spheres. …

Feminism In Fracking: An Analyzation Of Women's Activism Regarding Hydraulic Fracturing, Taya Godfrey

Fall Student Research Symposium 2018

Purpose: To discover what motivates women to be involved in anti-fracking activism as to encourage further female activism.

Women, Representation, Revolution, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

As the midterm election rapidly approaches, one thing is obvious—the number of women running for office is truly historic. There are 256 women running for Congress, 234 for seats in the House and 22 for seats in the Senate. The majority of the women running are Democrats. There are 197 Democratic female candidates and 59 Republican female candidates. The previous record for Democratic female nominees to the House was established in 2016, when 120 women were nominated, a record that is shattered by this year’s numbers. Historically, women have never comprised more than one-fourth of the House or the Senate. …

The Case Of Mollie Tibbetts: Considering Public Response To Tragedy, Rachel Robinson-Greene

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Twenty-year-old Mollie Tibbets was attacked by a stranger while out for a run on the evening of July 18th, 2018. The community searched for Mollie for over a month before her body was found in a nearby cornfield. The tragedy sparked a number of national conversations.

Women's Leadership Aspirations, Lynne E. Devnew, Ann Berhout Austin, Marlene Janzen Le Ber, Mary Shapiro

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

Although it is quite easy to identify women leaders, men continue to occupy the vast majority of leadership roles in the world. It has been argued that one of the reasons for this differential is women's aspirations for leadership are less than men's. Women's leadership aspirations are defined in this chapter as girls' and women's longing for and intentional seeking after a future that catalyze their visions, goals, or calling for themselves into reality, whether or not they use the term leadership to describe their aspirations.

Women, Higher Education, And The Labor Market: A Cross-Cultural Understanding Of The Impact Of Religion, Allison Fife Hale

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

How do deeply-held cultural perspectives shape the desire and ability of women to pursue higher education and or careers? More specifically, how do predominant religious and cultural perspectives on the family, the role of women, and the role of education influence a woman's decision to obtain higher education and her perceived ability or desire to seek full-time employment upon graduation? To answer these questions, this research utilized a cross-cultural survey instrument to compare and contrast the perceptions of female, undergraduate students in one predominantly Muslim/Middle Eastern society -- Dubai, U.A.E -- and one predominantly Mormon/Western society -- Utah, U.S.A. We …

Women In Business Leadership: A Comparative Study Of Countries In The Gulf Arab States, Susan R. Madsen, Linzi Kemp, James Davis

Susan R. Madsen

The purpose of this study is to investigate the status of women in leadership positions (senior executive and management roles) in private companies within the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (i.e., Kingdom of Bahrain, State of Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar, and United Arab Emirates). Henceforth in this article we refer to the countries collectively as either the Gulf Arab states or the GCC countries, and the countries by their common or shortened names (e.g., Bahrain, UAE). The study explores where women are located within the organizations (e.g., as board members, chief officers, …

Advancing Research On Women And Leadership: Developing An Hrd Scholarly Agenda, Susan R. Madsen, Julia Storberg-Walker, Kristina Natt Och Dag

Susan R. Madsen

Clearly, the topic of developing leaders is of utmost importance in all contexts and it is particularly important for the HRD discipline: over 1,400 journal articles in AHRD journals have the word ‘leadership’ as one of their subject terms. Almost monthly the front cover of the Harvard Business Review has ‘leadership’ boldly displayed, either as the main article or as a supporting news brief. Scholarly research abounds, and there are many leadership frameworks, models, and theories contributing to the quantity of research articles. Unfortunately, however, the diversity of ideas and the explosion of interest has generally not focused on an …

Raising Daughters To Become Leaders, Susan R. Madsen

Susan R. Madsen

The purpose of this six-minute message is to share, in an engaging way, some key highlights from a variety of studies on how high profile women were raised to become leaders. It will focus on what influencers (e.g., parents, siblings, and relatives) did to rear their daughters, granddaughters, nieces, etc. to become the influential women they are today.

Understanding The Value Of Education: A Critical Component Of A Major Social Change Effort, Susan R. Madsen, Cheryl Hanewicz, Nicolle Johnson, Jessica Burnham

Susan R. Madsen

Receiving the benefits of postsecondary education is important to nations throughout the world. A more educated citizenry results in, among other things, less crime and poverty, increased physical and mental health of individuals, and greater economic growth (e.g., American Human Development Project, 2009; Pascarella, & Terenzini, 2005). These benefits are felt at all levels of society (i.e., individual, community, and national) and essentially define the social and economic structure of a nation. According to a Lumina Foundation (2009) report “college-attainment rates are rising in almost every industrialized or post-industrial country in the world, except the U.S.” (p.1). The graduation rate …

Keeping Them In Their Place: Migrant Women Workers In Spain’S Strawberry Industry, Susan E. Mannon, Peggy Petrzelka, Arash Garrossian, Claudia Radel

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The idea of guest-worker migration has resurfaced in recent decades as the global agri-food industry has confronted a shortage of workers willing to take low-wage and often seasonal jobs. To date, there have been very few cases studies of these twenty-first century guest-worker programs and their role in managing contemporary labor migration. This article examines guest-worker migration in the strawberry industry of southern Spain. In this case, guest-worker programs at- tempt to regulate and enforce the circular migration of foreign workers in Spain. By making future work contracts contingent on migrants’ return to their country of origin, by recruiting migrant …

Leading Large-Scale Social Change: Women And Higher Education In Utah, Susan R. Madsen, Cheryl Hanewicz, Doug Gardner

Susan R. Madsen

One of the most challenging types of leadership today involves influencing societies toward social change. The purpose of this session is to present the details of one complex, large-scale project created to lead efforts within Utah to understand and then motivate more young women to attend and graduate from college.

Empowering Women Across The Globe: Advocacy, Education, And Leadership Development, Susan R. Madsen

Susan R. Madsen

Empowering and developing women has become a popular topic of discussion in the literature and for all kinds of organizations (public, private, social sector) around the world. This includes dialogue concerning the inclusion of more women’s voices in local, regional, country, and worldwide roles and issues. Although progress has been made to have more women in leadership positions from the grassroots to CEO levels, the work has just begun. Developing more women of influence requires work in three areas: advocacy, education, and leadership development. The aim of this symposium is to share research findings and insights in these three areas …

Socioeconomic Status, Women, And Hiv: Do The Determinants Of Female Hiv Vary By Socioeconomic Status In Cameroon?, Joyce Ndueh Mumah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is currently one of the greatest health challenges being faced by many developing nations, especially countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is estimated that more than 25 million Sub-Saharan Africans are infected with the disease, with more than 2.8 million new infected cases in 2006. Mortality from the disease is high, with an estimated 2.1 million having already died from the disease. Women are more likely to be infected with the disease, and account for more than half of all global HIV/AIDS cases. Sub-Saharan African (SSA) women, specifically, constitute about 77 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in the …

Using Organization Development For A Major Social Change Effort With Women And Education In Utah, Susan R. Madsen, Cheryl Hanewicz, Susan Thackeray

Susan R. Madsen

A critical issue right now in the state of Utah relates to women and higher education. Many leaders and citizens within the state have expressed concern that Utah is below the national average when it comes to women enrolling and completing postsecondary degrees. Although many speculate regarding the causes and challenges at the heart of this broader phenomenon, Utah stakeholders are unclear when it comes to the deeper complexities of this issue in the lives of the young female citizens within the state. The purpose of this paper and conference presentation is two-fold: first, to outline a complex, dynamic case …

Agroforestry Practice Adoption Among Solomon Island Women On The Island Of Malaita, Etta K. Sechrest

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The goal of agricultural training is the adoption and diffusion of introduced agriculture techniques. New subsistence agricultural techniques have been introduced mainly to the male population in many developing countries, even though most subsistence farmers are women. Therefore, an understanding of how new subsistence agricultural techniques can be introduced and adopted by women would be important to achieve. This study focuses on women's adoption of agricultural techniques. It takes place on the island of Malaita, in the Solomon Islands. The study looks at the adoption of agroforestry and several other subsistence techniques that were introduced under a joint program by …

Madame Chair, Jean Miles Westwood

All USU Press Publications

The late Jean Westwood called herself an unintentional pioneer. She did not actively seek or expect to reach what was arguably the most powerful political position any American woman had ever held, chair of the Democratic National Committee. A Utah national committeewoman who time and again had demonstrated her ability to organize effectively and campaign hard, as well as her devotion to reform, Westwood answered George McGovern's call to lead his presidential campaign. In the dramatic year of 1972, she became the first woman to chair a national political party, McGovern lost in a landslide, Nixon was reelected, and a …

The Relative Effects Of Education And Cognitive Complexity Of Employment Experience On The Rate Of Cognitive Decline In Elderly Women, Janet M. Lundahl

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis examined the lifetime exposure of women's employment on cognitive functioning and cognitive decline in late life.

From the Cache County Study on Memory, Health, & Aging data, a sample of 2,588 women, aged 65 and older gave retrospective occupational history and were screened using the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam at study entry and approximately 3 years later. Non-demented women were used.

Ordinary least squares regression was used cross-sectionally and longitudinally to test the association between cognitive complexity level of the longest job and baseline cognitive status, and rate of cognitive decline over approximately 3 years.

Cross-sectional analysis revealed …

Women's Substance Abuse Treatment With Supplemental Couple's Therapy: Changes In Women's Levels Of Intimacy And Autonomy In Relation To Treatment Outcomes By Treatment Modality, Charles N. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current study is a secondary analysis of a National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) study in which 122 women received treatment for their substance abuse problems. Three models of substance abuse treatment were administered. One included standard substance abuse treatment alone and two models included supplemental couple's therapy in addition to standard treatment. The current study examined the significance of the relationship between changes in the women's levels of intimacy and autonomy, during and after treatment, and their treatment outcomes according to the treatment modality they received.

It was hypothesized that the relationship would be significant in that levels …

Women In International Development Theory, Policy And Progress, Melina Tew

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women (1995) states: "Equality between women and men is a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice and is also a necessary and fundamental prerequisite for equality, development and peace." As this statement suggests, women are indispensable to any program in the developing world desiring sustainable, effective development. Despite efforts to thwart gender inequality, more women than men still live below the poverty line, and there is a global gender gap in levels of education and access to resources. In response to these conditions, the UN Population …

Women's Marital Adjustment In Relation To The Number Of Children Ever Born, Junius K. Merrill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined how women's marital adjustment and marital arguments were affected by the number of children ever born over time. The effects of age, age at first marriage. education, number of years married, and race, were also analyzed as covariates. It was expected that marital adjustment and marital arguments would change over time and would be affected by the constancy or change in number of children ever born. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to test whether the constancy or change in number of children over time affected marital adjustment and arguments. The passage of time did seem to affect …

The Effect Of Parental Divorce On Young Adult Women's Marital Attitudes, Anne Catherine Schmidt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examines how the experience of a parent's divorce during adolescence affects young adult women's attitudes about relationships, marriage and divorce.
Research questions looked at how participants felt about marriage, their relationship with their parents following the divorce, and how the experience of parental remarriage shapes attitudes about marriage. Fifteen young adult women were interviewed.

The most significant findings were that experiencing a parental divorce leads to
fee lings of ambivalence about marriage. Religious beliefs and positive role models can alleviate some of the negative feelings about marriage that may be present following a parental divorce. Experiencing parental conflict …

Testing Models Of Depression And Paranoia In Men And Women: The Role Of Cognitive Style, Guilt, Shame, And Defense Mechanisms, Chad Sombke

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Gender differences in psychopathology have long been of interest in the fields of clinical, developmental, and personality psychology. Lewis proposed two models to explain the emergence of the development of gender differences in depression and paranoia. Lewis stated that gender differences in depression and paranoia can be traced to corresponding gender differences in cognitive style, guilt-proneness, shame-proneness, and the use of specific defense mechanisms. Although research evidence has validated certain components of these two models, neither model has ever been tested in its entirety. This research project intended to test Lewis's models in their entirety by utilizing structural equation modeling. …

Correlates Of Antidepressant Medication Compliance Use Among Depressed Women, Pamela Linton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Medication compliance/noncompliance was examined in context of: severity of symptoms; medical side effects; medication education; perceived stigma; and effects on family/social support system. A null hypothesis was formulated for each correlate, stating that those patients who reported a high level of an independent variable (IV) would not be any more likely to discontinue their medication than patients who reported a low level of an IV. To obtain data, a medical usage questionnaire and a depression, assessment (OQ™-45.2) were used. Statistical significance was not obtained for any of the hypothesized relationships but trends were consistent with the established literature. The implication …

The Roles Of Womenon Wisconsin Dairy Farms At The Turn Of The 21st Century, J. Vogt, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, M. Ostrom, S. Lezberg

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.