Digital Commons Network^™

Decision-Making And Christianity: Black Queer Women's Mental Health, Deborah Coffy

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study investigated how Christianity affects Black queer women's decision-making regarding seeking mental health services. Those who felt they met the inclusion criteria completed a Basic Demographic Survey. After vetting these individuals, eleven female participants—who are both Black and queer—were asked to participate in an individual semi-structured qualitative interview. The interview focused on one's journey with mental health, societal and relationship influences, Black and LGBTQ+ identity, influences from conservative, traditional, or mainstream Christianity, and sense of self. Although Christianity may not have directly impacted most of the women in this study to seek mental health services, Christianity did have an …

Prevention Of Perineal Tearing During Childbirth: A Literature Review, Victoria Manzo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Perineal lacerations can be caused by a variety of risk factors such as a large fetal head circumference, birthing positions that place strain on the sacrum, and first-time births. Preventing perineal tears can be challenging for laboring women. Exploring the possible prevention methods to decrease the severity of perineal tearing or preventing it altogether can be beneficial for laboring women's physical and mental health. The primary purpose of this literature review was to examine which interventions are most likely to prevent perineal tearing during childbirth. The secondary purpose was to evaluate natural perineal tears in comparison to surgical incision, or …

Uterine Fibroid Prevalence And Health Care Disparities By County. Florida, 2010-2019, Saarah K. Sherifi

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Also known as uterine fibroids, leiomyomas occur in 70% of women. A uterine leiomyoma is a benign growth in the muscular wall of the uterus which, if left untreated, can grow, and affect surrounding organs, leading to complications, including hemorrhage and death. Symptomatic women often experience pain and debilitating menstrual cycles which, in turn, result in poor health, poor quality of life, and loss of income. Preventative and treatment services in Florida could benefit from the characteristics of women affected the most by this disease in the state. Thus, we describe the demographic characteristics and estimate the prevalence rate of …

Idyllic History: The Role And Agency Of Women And Religion In Contemporary Bollywood, Kushma Singh

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to explore the directorial choices made by Ashutosh Gowariker, in his film Jodhaa Akbar (2008), and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, in his films Bajirao Mastani (2015) and Padmaavat (2018), in order to evaluate the representation of women and the Muslim religion. Through use of mise en scene, I discuss lighting choices, visual display and use of color and how these elements create and support the stories Bhansali and Gowariker have chosen. I also rely on the recorded history of the time periods as well as the literature to contextualize the films.

Shift Or Stagnation:: Analyzing Changing Japanese Attitudes Towards Various Minorities, Aïcha M. Camara

Honors Undergraduate Theses

As nations economically prosper, do future generations undergo a steady shift in values? This thesis seeks to analyze the Post-World War II intergenerational shift in Japanese attitudes toward Japanese women and the LGBT, multiethnic, and indigenous communities. Centered around Ronald Inglehart's "Materialist" and "Post-Materialist" theories, this research seeks to contribute to current literature surrounding the development of contemporary Japanese values. Inglehart's "Materialist" theory consists of the idea that individuals pursued various goals in hierarchical order with their base necessities such as sustenance and safety gaining priority. After their base necessities are satisfied, Inglehart believed that people's values shifted, emphasizing belonging, …

Fake News And Women: Fake And Real Media's Impact On Sexism In Consumer Attitudes, Alexandra C. Oropallo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Gender-based discrimination is an issue that permeates many aspects of today's society and is influenced by numerous factors, including the presence of fake news, or emotionally driven, factually inaccurate, and misleading media. This study aimed to examine fake news' impact on consumer attitudes regarding women and to investigate how certain demographic factors relate to consumers' attitudes towards women. The current study had two main hypotheses: (1) participants exposed to fake news materials will report higher levels of both old-fashioned and modern sexism than those in other conditions and (2) participants with higher levels of sociodemographic factors such as right-wing authoritarianism …

Women As Nontraditional Terrorists, Giorgi Beruashvili

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Terrorist organizations have always been predominantly dominated by male members in numbers of participants, supporters, and leaders. Despite men having the majority of the roles, oftentimes the world witnesses attack executed by female terrorists which deal a substantial amount of damage to the infrastructure and the peaceful civilians surrounding them. Furthermore, the sense of unpredictability and unpreparedness from the counterterrorist forces and the general public adds up to the overall advantage women possess in the field of terrorism over men. Considering these observations, one can argue that women have grown to be far more dangerous and successful in the field …

Farm Women As Producers & Consumers In The 20th Century U.S. South, Joseph J. Kaminski

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The intent of this thesis is to examine white, rural women of the South who were directly affected by home demonstration between 1920 - 1950 and to discuss their roles as producers and consumers in the expanding market economy. Home demonstration, a three-tiered bureaucratic agency that provided domestic education and production techniques to Southern women, played a major role in guiding women toward the expanding market economy. Agents often had to temper their programs in order to compromise with the women they served to accommodate rural restrictions on capital, capability, and confidence. By integrating rural women into a more modernized, …

Online Support Group For Chinese Women With Ovarian Or Cervical Cancer, Yuan Xing

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Women with gynecological (GYN) cancer experience a wide spectrum of physical, emotional and social effects after diagnosis and treatment of their cancer. The insufficient availability of local support groups, limited transportation for the rural Chinese population and a shortage of oncologists make it difficult to have face-to-face support groups for Chinese GYN cancer patients. However, the wide access of Internet has provided an opportunity for people to have online support groups. The purpose of this study was to observe and describe the types of support given to and by Chinese GYN cancer survivors in a QQ chat group. This was …

Essential Components Of Participation For An Exercise Program For Underserved, Older, African-American Females, Marina Meinert

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Physical activity (PA) is beneficial to people of all ages and ethnicities. Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of multiple chronic diseases, improve mood and sleep and allows your body to function better overall (CDC, 2018). However, populations that are more vulnerable to adverse health risks may benefit more than others from regular physical activity. This study was designed to identify the motivating factors for physical activity in a sample of older, African-American women of lower socioeconomic status (SES). This particular subgroup was chosen because of their increased risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease due to unhealthy lifestyle factors, …

Why Do Women And Children Join Insurgencies? A Comparative Study Of The Pkk And The Farc, Stephanie Melendez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Why do women and children join insurgency groups? The subject has been a matter of extensive debate, with experts offering theories of motivation on well-known groups such as the National Liberation Front (FLN) or the Irish Republican Army (IRA). However, there has been a small amount of work comparing two insurgency groups and their participants to one another. This paper addresses the underlying reasons for why women and children join insurgencies, explicitly focusing on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey from their origins to the present. The paper uses interviews from …

American Viragos: Depicting Heroines In Public Art, Cara Henry

Honors Undergraduate Theses

To confront the inadequate representation of women as heroic figures in American public art, this project investigates the precedent of representing heroines in art. Through researching artwork featuring heroines, and heroic figures in general, this project aims to understand the historical context that new works featuring heroines will fit into. A template for constructing art featuring heroines was developed, showing what features or qualities are generally emphasized for the artwork to read as heroic. As art history has supplied principally man heroic figures, it was interesting trying to discern whether a template for art about heroines is different or essentially …

Women's Professional Sports: A Case Study On Practices That Could Increase Their Profitability, Danielle H. Mcardle

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Women’s professional sports leagues have often been considered a risky business endeavor. Critics cite low attendance, lack of sponsorships, lack of media rights deals, and numerous other reasons for why women’s professional sports leagues are not profitable. In analyzing the current landscape of women’s professional sport leagues, this paper uses a case study approach to develop a strategy that will highlight lessons learned from past women’s professional sports leagues, current professional sports leagues, sponsorship agreements, fans, social, digital, and mobile marketing strategies, and management practices to show how the business of women’s sports could be made into a more profitable …

Preventing Reincarceration Of Women With Mental Illness, Anne M. Dolmovich

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Since deinstitutionalization of state hospitals began almost 50 years ago, there has been an increase in the population with mental illness seen in the prison system. A combination of factors were looked at when studying causes behind incarceration, including active symptoms of mental illness, socioeconomic status, social support systems, history of trauma, history of drug abuse, police education on mental illness, and public perspective on mental illness. This study is a literature review focusing on people with mental illness in the prison system, with particular attention to women.

It is costly to house inmates for any extended period of time. …

Sexual Content In Music's Relationship With Consumers' Body Image, Sexualization And Objectification, Marika Gilbert

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The current study examined the relationship between sexual content in popular pop, rap, and R&B music videos and female consumers’ body image, self-objectification, the objectification of other women, and self-esteem. The current study had two main hypotheses: (1) exposure to sexual content in music videos would be negatively correlated with women’s body image, self-objectification, and the objectification of other women and (2) Women’s body image and self-objectification would mediate the relationship between exposure to sexual content in music videos and self-esteem. Participants included 308 female college students who answered questions related to the study aims online. Exposure to sexual content …