Digital Commons Network^™

¡Mujeres Chéveres! – Cool Women!, Hernan A. Gonzales Mejia

LSU Master's Theses

¡MUJERES CHÉVERES! – Cool Women! is a body of work and writing that looks into the history of feminism and analyzes the activism of Colombian women, highlighting their resilience and spirit. Policarpa Salavarrieta, Maria Cano, Madre Laura Montoya, and Adriana Ocampo are a few examples of Colombian women’s contributions to social movements and gender equality. Movements like “Estamos Listas” in Medellín are discussed for their role in advocating for women’s rights and societal change.

As a self-identified feminist male, this body of work, draws from my upbringing among influential women to investigate the societal roles of Colombian women. This …

Effects Of Stereotypes On Black Women Audiences, Darian M. Shorts

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on the effects that televised racial stereotypes have on the self-perception of viewers who identify as Black women. This paper lists three commonly used stereotypes for Black women in television and provides detailed background and analysis of each. There were three goals that I wanted to achieve with this study. The first goal of this study was to measure the amount of stereotyped entertainment these specific viewers consume. The second goal of this study was to understand the positive and negative effects that racial stereotypes have on Black women. The last goal of this study was to …

The Road To The Presidency: A Case Study Of Hbcu Organizational Culture And Its Impact On The Career Progression Of Women Of Color, Akai Crystal Smith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The American workforce is currently experiencing an increased level of diversity in comparison to previous decades due to augmented representation of people of different races, socio-economic backgrounds and genders across sectors (Warner, 2014). However, there is one variable that has remained largely unchanged, the underrepresentation of African American women in executive positions in higher education institutions (Cook & Cordova (2007). Data suggests despite women’s advancement in areas of public life over the last thirty years, in higher education administration they still significantly lag behind their male counterparts. Researchers note that minority women face multiple barriers to their ability to obtain …

Concerto For Violin And Orchestra And "Nevertheless, She Composed: A Contemporary Survey Of Women Composers Of The Twenty-First Century", Elizabeth Anne Knox

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts: the first part includes an original composition titled, “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra.” This twenty-minute work is composed for traditional orchestral instrumentation and solo violin. Motivic variation is the primary focus of this piece with a goal to show evidence of a thorough understanding and use of this technique. In music composition, variation is a technique achieved by restating musical material in an altered form. Schoenberg describes a motive as, “a unit which contains one or more features of interval and rhythm [whose] presence is maintained in constant use throughout a piece.” Therefore, motivic …

Out Of The Shadows The Matriarch Rises: A Case Study Of Women Academic Deans At A Southern, Research One Institution, Jacob Lee Vaughn

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

This study examined the experiences of women in higher education as a career as well as the challenges women face in pursuing an appointment as Dean of a college. Selected participants were interviewed to gather data from their own narratives about the experiences and challenges as current women Deans in higher education. Each participant attributed their success to family support and proper mentoring, while highlighting institutional policies acting as a form of gendered oppression. Recommendations were suggested to higher educational representatives and legislators concerning the correction of the gendered environment favoring the advancement of men into a more equitable …

Partner Gender As A Predictor Of Relationship Satisfaction, Sexual Satisfaction, Relationship Commitment, And Attachment Identity Among Women, Amy Leigh Wright

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research examining overall relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, and sexual satisfaction among heterosexual women is well-documented. The theoretical foundation of attachment has also been well-established within relationship research among heterosexual women. However, little to no published reports examine such variables among women currently in same-sex relationships. Furthermore, virtually no reports assess for any differences in attachment identity based on the gender of women’s romantic partners. This study therefore sought to identify any interrelationships between relationship satisfaction, relationship commitment, sexual satisfaction, and attachment identity (measured using the dimensions of avoidance and anxiety) among two groups of women based on their partner’s …

Damon Hill, Elizabeth Welch

LSU Master's Theses

“Damon Hill” acts as a physical record of the family folklore of a group of people formed by landscape and kinship. As a member of this group, I have translated my family’s stories into a visual narrative as a way to process my own identity in relation to our shared identity. The focus of “Damon Hill” rests primarily on the lives of my female predecessors, as a way for me to contribute their unique voice to the overarching feminine narrative. I incorporate the visual representation of traditionally feminine handicrafts in order to relay their stories through the primary means of …

Essays On Corruption, Chandan Kumar Jha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Corruption is a global concern and requires attention because of its detrimental effects on economic growth and development. This dissertation includes three different essays that identify some of the instruments that can be used to fight corruption. The first essay investigates whether women's presence in economic and political arenas can have a significant impact on corruption. It finds evidence that while women's presence in parliament does reduce corruption other measures of female participation in economic activities are shown to have no effect. The second essay shows that internet and Facebook have an adverse effect on corruption. Finally, in a theoretical …

A Cleansing Breath: A Journey Of Creation On The Hard Road, Addie Leigh Barnhart

LSU Master's Theses

To adhere to the structure of Louisiana State University and Swine Palace’s Actor Training program, the M.F.A. candidates are required to develop new work. This project is in place to cultivate the individual actor’s sensitivities to his/her own process in theatre making, grow as an artist, and begin the long journey of devising and constructing work, in this case a solo play, that has the potential to continue to grow after graduation. My piece is derived from several of the classic Greek plays and myths but told with a twist on the traditional stories and entirely from different women’s perspectives. …

Construction De L'Identité Culturelle Afro-Antillaise : Regards Croisés Entre Maryse Condé, Gisèle Pineau Et Fabienne Kanor, Jeanne Jégousso

LSU Master's Theses

The theme of cultural identity is one of the main problematic of francophone literature. Through the years, women writers, especially in Guadeloupe and Martinique, used this theme as the main topic of many of their writings. Characters, especially women narrators, try to understand this notion of cultural identity and its construction in other to make this theme theirs, since cultural identity is at the crossroads of their own story, the history of the Caribbean, and the perception these young women have of themselves. A new generation of writers, born in France of Caribbean families, tries today to offer a new …

The Creation Of "Behind The Vote," A One-Person Play, Jennifer E. Ballard

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis discusses the inspiration, creation and performance of Jenny Ballard’s one-woman show, Behind the Vote, which was the other half of the thesis requirement in order to complete the Master of Fine Arts program in Theatre Performance. Behind the Vote examines the importance and meaning of voting, both during the women’s suffrage movement and in the present, as seen through the eyes of three contemporary women, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This thesis contains Ballard’s inspirations for the project; her research materials about Stanton and Anthony and her source materials for her contemporary characters, including Facebook messages …

African American Women Superintendents : Pathways To Success, Kimberly Gales Johnson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, women and minorities have been underrepresented in executive school leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of Five African American women who in spite of historical statistics became superintendents. The pathways taken by African American women superintendents have failed to manifest educational leadership literature. Researchers, who have chosen to study African American women in leadership, focus mostly on the barriers they face. Findings from this study may be used to inform minority women with superintendent aspirations of experiences that led others to the top. The findings may also be use to support efforts …

The Creation Of "Trash The Dress" : A Solo Play, Kristina Sutton

LSU Master's Theses

The thesis project called for the MFA candidate to create a one-person show of originality and entertainment between 25 minutes and 45 minutes in length. This thesis, submitted to the Graduate School of Louisiana State University as partial requirement for graduation with the Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre, follows the creation of a solo performance piece by Kristina Sutton, called “Trash the Dress.” The thesis includes inspiration for creating this solo performance piece, initial correspondence between the MFA candidate and consultants, research material and a copy of the script, personal reflection on writing and rehearsal challenges, photos from …

Burn, Boil & Eat : An Intersection Analysis Of Stereotypes In The Most Influential Films Of All Time, Roslyn M. Satchel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research builds upon the work of Entman & Rojecki (2001) in examining the ways the most influential movies use racial stereotypes in media frames. The results of this study contribute to the rather limited mass media research and body of knowledge regarding the media content that attracts the largest and most enduring audiences in the new media landscape. As ten of the films that have generated the most revenue, the movies in this sample constitute a genre of movies that are also a prime feature of on-going publishing, cable, internet, digital gaming, DVD, and movie sequel franchises. If, as …

Recreating The Image Of Women In Mexico: A Genealogy Of Resistance In Mexican Narrative Set During The Revolution, Julia Maria Schneider

LSU Master's Theses

Traditionally, women have been relegated to the margins of society, history, and culture in male-dominated environments. Patriarchal systems have long denied women to play an appropriate role in nation building and to enter the public sphere, as is the case in Mexico. The female participation during one of the country’s most critical periods, the Mexican Revolution, has largely been ignored. Through situating their narratives into the context of the Revolution and describing the obstacles and limiting conditions that women experience, Mexican writers such as Elena Poniatowska and Laura Esquivel criticize the status quo of social and gender politics in Mexico …

Eve's Prisoners, Tara Rene Ratliff

LSU Master's Theses

All women are the children of Eve and the children of the earth. With the work of Eve’s Prisoners, my aim was to create imagery about the transient stages of womankind and the timeless relationship the feminine ideal has with nature. We are born innocent and able to see the truth of things, but eventually we all imprison ourselves in our bodies, in language, and in our own nature. My pictures want to reconcile the innocence and the pain and to say that by accepting aging and death as part of life, we free ourselves from our own prisons.

Hope For Today And Tomorrow: Identity Construction Power, And Persistence Of Community College Women Who Are First In Their Families To Attend College, Crystal Deer Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation was a case study of four community college women who were first in their families to attend college. Through this study, the “first-generation” construct was analyzed in regard to its uses and limits. The researcher found the label as an identifier becomes problematic through social discourse. These results confirm London’s (1996) finding that students themselves do not necessarily find anything unique about their situations or anything in common with other students simply based on their being the first in their families to attend college. Therefore, the “first-generation” construct may be viewed primarily as a higher education versus an …

Stage(D) Mothers: Mother-Daughter Tropes In Twentieth-Century American Drama, Kristin Hanson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The relationship between mother and daughter is an important one for many women. In learning how to best become a successful member of society, daughters look to their mothers to demonstrate the behaviors and beliefs appropriate to a female. Such explicit and implicit instruction makes the mother-daughter relationship a central one in the socialization of women. Because it is such a powerful site, the mother-daughter relationship has received attention in the world of representation. Of particular import to this study is the representation of the mother-daughter relationship in Twentieth-Century American drama. Recent scholarship has shown that such representations can, however, …

Generation "X" Professional Women Leaving The Workforce To Become Full-Time, Stay-At-Home Mothers: A Qualitative Analysis Of Motivation, Meaning, And Mindful Parenting, Monisa Shackelford

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Using qualitative data gathering and analysis, the current trend of professional women leaving workforce to rear their children full-time is examined. Women in the second generation to enter the labor force in large numbers indicate that there are factors that push them out of the workforce, such as a non-family friendly workplace, and factors that pull them back home, such as a profound need to rear their own children. While the transition from professional to stay-at-home mother is a complex process, the women in this study deal with this identity shift, and its attendant resistance, by framing their change in …

Comorbid Childhood Sexual Abuse And Substance Abuse Among Women: Knowledge, Training, And Preparedness Of Graduate Counselor Education And Social Work Students, Laurie Elizabeth Pennington

LSU Master's Theses

This descriptive-correlational study examined the knowledge, training and perceived preparedness of graduate social work and counselor education students in the area of comorbid childhood sexual abuse and substance abuse among women. Participants were 71 graduate social work and approximately 12 counselor education students scheduled to graduate in the spring semester of 2005. The study was analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistics. No significant differences emerged between graduate counselor education and social work students using independent-samples t-tests and a Fisher’s exact test on the measure of knowledge and training. Using a Mann Whitney U test, significant differences emerged between counselor education …

Effects Of A Primary Care Weight Management Intervention On Physical Activity In Low-Income African American Women, Gareth R. Dutton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although physical inactivity is associated with numerous medical conditions, most individuals do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity. Certain subgroups of the population are particularly inactive, including women, African Americans, and individuals with lower income and less education. While research suggests that interventions targeting physical activity can produce significant improvements in activity and cardiorespiratory fitness, there is less research examining physical activity interventions for these at-risk groups. In particular, there is a lack of research examining primary care physical activity interventions among low-income, African American women. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of …

Changing Face: The Evolution Of Chinese Women's Dress And Appearance, Xiaolan Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Women’s dress and appearance can reflect a lot about a civilized society. It is influenced by many factors as well. The dress and appearance of contemporary Chinese women have not been studied much by mass communication researchers. This paper, however, explored the factors that influence the development and evolution of contemporary Chinese women’s dress and appearance. It traced back from Dynastic China to Republican China and then to Mao’s red China to examine the historical and political influences imposed on the dress and appearance of Chinese women. Then, it used in-depth interviews to find out factors that influence women’s dress …

Women's Uses Of The Internet, Rachelle Powell

LSU Master's Theses

In this study I will look at the main reasons women use the Internet. Studies about women and the Internet are divided; some indicate less use of the Internet than men, but other studies show strong evidence of a narrowing gap in use. Due to this lack of clarity, a study that looks exclusively at women’s Internet activities and usage is needed. Although qualitative research does not test or apply theory the same way quantitative research does, uses and gratifications theory informed this study. This is an exploratory study of women and the Internet.

Text, Context, And Identities In Pointe Coupee, Louisiana: Six Young Women Positioned As Writers, Patricia Meeks Smith

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Texts are contextualized¡Xtied to times, tied to places, and tied to the people who live in those times and places. This dissertation is based on a study of writing and identity set at Catholic High School in Pointe Coupee, Louisiana. For their senior English class, the six young women participating in the study produced a number of pieces of writing of various types, contrasting in genre, length, content, and register. These kinds of writing represent varying discourse practices, and it was within these practices that the young women positioned themselves or were positioned by influences in their social context. The …

The Gender Gap In Political Knowledge: A Comparison Of Political Knowledge Levels In The United States, Canada, And Great Britain, Emily Marie Guynan

LSU Master's Theses

Previous research indicates that there is a gender gap in political knowledge. I examine whether the gender gap exists in the United States and what the significant determining variables are aside from gender. I also examine whether the gender gap exists in other countries and whether the variables that are significant in the United States are significant in other countries. I examine political knowledge levels in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. By utilizing crosstabulations and multiple regression models, I find that a gender gap does exist in the United States as well as in Canada and Great Britain. …

Subversive Bodies: Embodiment As Discursive Strategy In Women's Popular Literature Of The Long Eighteenth Century, Phyllis Ann Thompson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

“Subversive Bodies: Embodiment as Discursive Strategy in Women’s Popular Literature of the Long Eighteenth Century” examines literary representations of the body as strategies of resistance. This study demonstrates that Manley's Secret Memoirs from the New Atalantis, Haywood's Female Spectator, and Burney's Journal and Letters, as well as unpublished receipt books for medicinal and cosmetic preparations, challenge the prevailing masculinist notion of a passive, distinct topography of womanhood and lay the groundwork for a feminist tradition of recognizing the body as an explicit part of experience. Tracing the origins of today's critical perspectives, my study draws on the insights of recent …

Six-Month Follow-Up Of A Primary Care Managed Weight Loss Program For Overweight And Obese African-American Women, Lee A. Marsh

LSU Master's Theses

Obesity is the number one public health concern in the United States, and is more prevalent in African-American women and those from lower socioeconomic groups. However, many primary care physicians do not feel confident in their ability to assist patients in weight management. Thus the challenge for physicians is to provide patients better assistance with weight management. The purpose of the study was to examine the efficacy of a primary care-managed weight loss program on weight reduction and cardiovascular fitness in overweight/obese women. Participants were randomized to intervention (n=54; Age: 44+12 yrs) or standard care (n=62; Age: 44=12yrs) and followed …

Insiders: Louisiana Journalists Sallie Rhett Roman, Helen Grey Gilkison, Iris Turner Kelso, Angie Pitts Juban

LSU Master's Theses

Sallie Rhett Roman, Helen Grey Gilkison and Iris Turner Kelso were three women journalists in Louisiana, active in consecutive time periods from 1891 to 1996. Their work brings up five particular questions. First, Why did these women start working and how did they negotiate public employment? Second, how did they balance the relationship between work and home since they did find employment outside of the home? Third, how did they fit into their contemporary image of women and journalists? Fourth, how did they use written language to portray a particular voice to the reader for a particular purpose? Fifth, did …

"You Go Girl!" Nationalism And Women's Empowerment In The Bollywood Film Kya Kehna, Hope Marie Childers

LSU Master's Theses

This essay puts forth an analysis of the recent portrayal of an unwed mother in the Bollywood film, Kya Kehna! (Kundan Shah, 2000, henceforth KK). The title, which is readily translated to the rhetorical, "What can you say?" has additional significance here as a laudatory exclamation directed at the film's young heroine. Targeting a younger audience, the film was hailed as a challenging exploration of female sexuality and women's empowerment. The film in fact reaffirms traditional stereotypes of women in which their behavior is carefully controlled within a patriarchal framework. In spite of the awkward fact that the main character's …

Pot-Au-Feu Japan: Foods And Weddings, Satomi Fukutomi

LSU Master's Theses

As Japan underwent rapid modernization and economic expansion after World War II, its cultural complex transformed into a postmodern mingling of Western and Eastern cultures, merging modern and antiquated tradition (Heine 1995:29). The Japanese have absorbed many Western traditions without immigrating, or living outside of their own (Eastern) society; Japanese marriage rituals exhibit such Eastern and Western cultural minglings. Wedding receptions, regarded as mini-drama, contain traditions of old—material taboos, inedible wedding cakes, beer ceremony, the importance of the color white, as well as blended traditional-modern acts such as toasting champagne while wearing a kimono, and gift-giving rituals incorporating famous American …