Digital Commons Network^™

Body Image Disturbance And Social Networking Site Behaviours, Alicia Marie Berze-Butts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are becoming increasingly popular in modern society, with emerging research indicating that appearance focused SNS use in particular is associated with body image concerns. The present study investigated body image disturbance and appearance related SNS behaviours, including engaging in appearance comparisons and self-photo (“selfie”) activities. A sample of 358 Canadian university students (259 females and 93 males) aged 17 to 57 years (M = 21.93 years, SD = 5.30 years) completed an online questionnaire consisting of self-report measures assessing body image disturbance, appearance comparison, selfie taking, selfie sharing, selfie investment, and selfie editing. Results indicated that …

“It Could Have Happened To Any Of You”: Post-Wounded Women In Three Contemporary Feminist Dystopian Novels, Abby N. Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My goal for this thesis is to investigate the concept of (mis)labeling female protagonists in contemporary British fiction as mentally ill—historically labeled as madness—when subjected to traumatic events. The female protagonists in two novels by Sophie Mackintosh, The Water Cure (2018) and Blue Ticket (2020), and Jenni Fagan’s 2012 novel The Panopticon, are raised in environments steeped in trauma and strict, hegemonic structures that actively work to control and mold their identities. In The Panopticon, this system is called “the experiment”; in The Water Cure, it is personified by the character King and those who follow him; …

Removing Hidden Barriers: Using Chat To Examine How Women Shape Their Military Experience, Kyle Bellue

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using Critical Military Studies (Basham & Bulmer, 2017; Duncanson & Woodward, 2016), this exploratory case study analysis describes how women officers made sense of their gendered experience within the military, and uses agency, as defined by Post-structural feminism (Davies and Gannon, 2005), to highlight how women are shaped by their environment. The purpose was to both observe how women officers perceived military gender beliefs and practices and analyze how those perceptions shaped how they learn to participate in the military, as well as to analyze how those experiences helped them reshape gender beliefs and practices within the military. I also …

The Meat Of The Gothic: Animality And Social Justice In United States Fiction And Film Of The Twenty-First Century, Amber Hodge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Meat of the Gothic: Animality and Social Justice in United States Fiction and Film of the Twenty-First Century— situates twenty-first century US gothic narratives in relation to animal studies, even as it illuminates how these narratives interrogate the effects of historic and ongoing global systems of human oppression: slavery, imperialism, and capitalism. Instead of reacting to bias by asserting a claim to a humanity perpetually imbricated in divisions of class, race, and gender, present-day authors and filmmakers create characters who form communities that include nonhuman actors as a means of generating empowerment and critique. My approach to these narratives …

The Ghost Town: An Autoethnographic Study On The Effects Of Loss And Trauma On A Saudi Arabian International Student’S Well-Being, Salman J. Alzowibi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We all have fought on grief’s battleground; some of us started at early ages, while others during their developmental age, teen’s years, or later in their adulthood. All of them are valuable resources and sites of knowledge that need to be explored. Yet, recent studies reduced grief into clinical psychological well-being. However, as I lived these experiences, trauma, loss, and grief impact all well-being dimensions. Grief intersects with large structures (e.g., social, economic, cultural, locations, etc.); all these components impact our way of grief how socially displayed (mourning). This dissertation encapsulates my personal experience elevating it to an academic work …

When Men Are The Victims: Factors Affecting Rape Victim Blame & Bystander Aid, Shilpa Boppana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rape is a widespread problem, particularly on college campuses. While most research has focused on female victims, male victimization is more common than previously thought. Studies reveal that gender may play an important role in rape myth acceptance, as male victims of rape committed by female perpetrators are often perceived as more responsible for being raped and less traumatized than in cases with male perpetrators. Rape myth acceptance is associated with victim blame, as individuals who accept rape myths are more likely to attribute responsibility to rape victims for the assault. Rape myth acceptance and victim blame both influence bystander …

Can Nostalgia Defend Against Stereotype Threat?, Justin Leroy Thibault-Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stereotype threat causes individuals to perform worse on tasks when they are made aware of a task-relevant negative stereotype for a group to which they belong. Prior research has demonstrated that this effect has been alleviated by using a number of methods including changing test context or bolstering the stereotyped group. One method of bolstering the threatened group is through a self-affirmation of preferred character traits. Nostalgia is a sentimental longing for the past, which has been shown to provide many benefits to an individual, both personally and socially. Research has shown that when told to recall a nostalgic memory, …

Mapping A Course To Success: The Relationship Of A College To Career Navigation Exploratory Course To Academic Success, Patrick D U Davis Sr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative, comparative study was to determine the relationship between retention and academic success of students who participated in a College to Career Navigation exploration course and students who did not participate in the course at a rural, community college serving a 14-county area in the Southeast U. S.

Archival data were collected from the participating community college’s student information system. Other data examined for this study included the student’s gender, at-risk status, and age. Retention data of the first-year, full-time students were collected and measured in accordance with the enrollment requirements of the community college’s governing …

The Resilience Of Female Survivors Of Intimate Partner Violence In Southwest Nigeria: An Interdisciplinary Analysis, Tobi F. Oloyede

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nigeria endure harsh and traumatic experiences that affect their rights as women and their well-being. As the phenomenon of IPV persists in Nigeria, it is not only a family problem but a critical social and psychological problem. This study examined Nigerian female survivors’ hidden strength, agency, and resilience, rather than their powerlessness and vulnerability. Analysis of survey questionnaires, interviews, and secondary scholarship reveals that some Nigerian female survivors of IPV are able to cope whilst navigating stressful and traumatic experiences. The results also show that survivors’ ability to thrive and cope under …

What Do You See When You Look At Me? Social Media, Socialized Gender Variables, And Disordered Eating Among Adolescent Girls, Annamaria Mcandrew

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined sociocultural factors associated with disordered eating among adolescent girls. The objective of Part 1 of the study was to explore the associations between social media use, socialized gender variables, and eating pathology. Participants were 238 adolescent girls between 14 and 17 years of age. Participants completed online measures assessing eating pathology, objectified body consciousness, social media use, and self-esteem. Results of Part 1 indicated that girls used photo-based social media applications – in particular, Instagram and Snapchat – for between one and four hours per day. Time spent using and frequency of checking social media were …

If You Want The Milk, Buy The Cow: A Study Of Young Black Women's Experiences In Situationships, Tierica Jemise Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on casual dating relationships remain centered on white individuals, particularly white women. Social dating research has largely ignored the lived experiences of women of color, particularly black women, and continues its commitment to studying participation and experiences in casual dating relationships through a white lens. Situationships can be described as noncommittal dating relationships which teeter between committed relationships and casual dating. Semi- structures interviews were conducted to collect data on black women’s experiences in situationships in order to provide greater understanding of how both race and gender shape black women’s dating experiences. This study found that situationships operate within …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of African American Male Veterans’ Experience Of Social Connection, Brian Coleman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project examines the experience of African American male veterans’ social connections with other veterans. Social connection has been found to be a key factor in promoting positive health outcomes and overall well-being. In addition, social connection involves not only a sense of being connected to others but can also include feelings of exclusion. Given the increasing health disparities of between African American and White men, and of our nation’s veteran population, greater attention to factors that promote well-being are essential. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of social connection of African American …

Gender, Race, And Childhood Abuse As Predictors Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Olivia Moses

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a debilitating personality disorder that impacts anywhere between 1% to 5% of Americans. Studies claim that women are significantly more at risk than men to suffer from this disorder and may experience stronger symptoms. Previous research has found that victims of childhood abuse such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect are more at risk for developing Borderline Personality Disorder as adults, particularly when abuse is paired with genetic susceptibility. Some researchers claim that there are no detectable racial differences in Borderline Personality Disorder, but previous studies often have very small sample sizes taken from …

Rethinking Meredith Monk., Tracy Monaghan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Meredith Monk’s decades of work embody an interdisciplinary art that exists at the intersection of sonic, visual, and kinesthetic artistic media. To date, scholars and critics of music and dance have only studied aspects of her work in isolation and have tended to omit the other critical aspects of Monk’s compositional language. For example, music scholars omit analysis of movement in their analyses, while dance scholars omit musical analyses. This has led to inappropriate categorization of her work, particularly into the vein of minimalism. My project represents the most in-depth study of all aspects of Monk’s music to date by …

Motherhood And Academia: Exploring The Experiences Of Graduate Student And Faculty Mothers Within The Southwestern Ontario Context, Kimberly Hillier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative narrative approach was utilized to explore the experiences of 11 women who balanced or were currently balancing motherhood and academia. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the experiences of graduate student mothers who were currently enrolled in a graduate program, mothers who recently completed a graduate program within a five-year time frame, and faculty members who were mothers at the time of their graduate student careers. More specifically, this study explored the experiences five graduate student mothers; two recent graduates of a graduate program; and four faculty or adjunct employees, from a local university …

Who Deserves To Be In Stem? How Threat And Confirmation Of The Gender Hierarchy Impact Helping Behavior Towards Prospective Stem Majors, Samantha A. Gnall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Current events that either threaten or confirm the current gender hierarchy may impact people differently. This can depend upon one’s group membership and their attitudes towards a fair and just society. When people are asked to help others while facing uncertainty of the hierarchy, they may choose to help or lash out in an effort to re-establish the hierarchy or dismantle the hierarchy. STEM faculty were presented with information that either did not threaten the gender hierarchy (i.e., maintaining gender inequality) or that threatened the current gender hierarchy (i.e., reaching gender equality). Participants were then given an opportunity to offer …

How Social Norms Moderate The Association Between Gender Role Conflict And Grief Cognitions, Whitney Shuman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

College students experience a myriad of both death-related and non-death losses throughout their academic careers, which may impact their academic and psychological well-being. Male gender role conflict (GRC) related to restrictive emotionality and restrictive affectionate behavior between men is associated with multiple negative psychological outcomes and may be associated with difficulties related to the grieving process, as grief is typically closely linked with affective experiences related to the loss. The current study specifically examined maladaptive grief cognitions, which are beliefs about ones grief experiences that lead to increased psychological distress and decreased adjustment to the loss. Additionally, descriptive and injunctive …

Attitude Formation And Malleability In Response To Visual Cues And Counterattitudinal Information, Tyler W. Mueller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this research is to investigate how individuals form attitudes based on the appearance of another person and how malleable those attitudes are when the individual is presented with new information about the other person. The predicted effect from this study was that participants would form attitudes about another person's agreeableness based on visual information and that when presented counterattitudinal information would be more likely to change attitudes than information that matches their initial attitude. It was also expected that negative first impressions would be harder to change. METHOD: Participants (N = 109) were presented one …

The Rose Who Grew From Concrete: A Black Female Administrator's Perspective Of The Public School Experience For Black Girls Who Attend A Predominantly White Middle School In Southeast Georgia, Latashia S. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the educational experiences of Black girls who attended a predominantly White school in Southeast Georgia from the perspective of a Black female administrator. Using Critical Race Theory (e.g. Bell, 1987, 1992, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001) and Black Feminist Thought (e.g. Hill Collins, 2000; hooks, 1984/2000) as theoretical frameworks and memoir (Angelou, 1969/2009; Hurston, 1996) and fiction (Bell, 1992; Morrison, 1970/1993) as methodology, I explore ways in which Black girls are oppressed when they attend majority White public schools.

Six meanings emerged from this inquiry: (1) Writing my memoir has allowed me to …

Images Of Ancient Egypt And The Gender Politics Of The Faerie Queene, Genavieve Alt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis argues that Edmund Spenser uses radically different representations of Ancient Egypt to explore complex ideas about gender roles in the Faerie Queene. Book III emphasizes the negative view of Egypt perpetuated through the Book of Exodus and Greek understanding of the mythological king Busiris. Book V emphasizes the positive view of Egypt through the many benevolent myths surrounding the goddess Isis. Spenser uses images of good and evil Egypt to discuss the abolition of normative gender roles.

The introductory section will introduce the mythology surrounding Isis followed by a discussion of the literature referenced throughout. The first …

Females In Stem: Self-Efficacy Within Women Who Pursue Stem Majors, Lori Grata

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While many efforts have been made within the United States, women are still underrepresented within STEM. Research within this document shows that women and men score similarly on STEM-related standardized tests. The question remains, why are there still large quantities of men outnumbering women in college majors and career fields of STEM? Looking at female STEM self-efficacy and gender role in culture could provide insight to the problem at hand. A survey was given to investigate self-efficacy and students’ STEM backgrounds of undergraduate female students who are currently in a 4-year STEM-related major within one university.

Evaluating Perceptions Of Student Voice And School Membership Of 9th Grade Students And Teachers, Dan Beck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adolescence marks a developmental period of rapid cognitive, emotional, and physical growth where teenagers are tasked with establishing an identity and strong sense of self. Students and parents often report that transition to ninth grade is a formidable social challenge amidst increased academic demands and stress, and some research suggests that females have a more difficult time in the transition to high school than males. Student voice is a range of student opportunities to interact, collaborate, and partner with adults in an exploration of ideas and perspectives. However, student voice opportunities are often only available to a select group of …

Involuntary Memories After Stressor Exposure: Contribution Of Hormonal Status And Rumination In Women., Samantha C. Patton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women experience fewer traumatic stressors over their lifespan than men, but demonstrate a higher prevalence of major depression and stressor-related disorders as a result of trauma exposure (Breslau & Anthony, 2007; Kessler et al., 2005). Differences in prevalence of stressor-related disorders may partially be due to sex-linked vulnerabilities related to emotional memory. Emotion assists in modulation of memory through neurological processes. This modulation enhances memory for emotional stimuli and can lead to a greater frequency of involuntary recall after stressor exposure. This involuntary memory is also a hallmark symptom of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Sex-linked vulnerabilities, specifically hormonal status and …

Social Information Processing Deficits, Intimate Partner Violence, And Coercive Control In Dating Couples, Jillian Glasgow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigated how social information processing (SIP) deficits are related to intimate partner violence (IPV) and coercive control among heterosexual dating couples. I assessed four steps of Crick and Dodge’s (1994) six-step SIP model, namely: attitudes and attributions, goal setting, coping response generation, and coping response selection. I used Dutton and Goodman’s (2006) theorized model of coercive control, which included assessing demands, surveillance, threats, and victims’ responses to demands. I hypothesized that (a) SIP deficits would be interrelated; (b) participants responding in timed conditions would show more SIP deficits, given theory and research (e.g., Eckhardt et al., 2012) …

Unruly Matter: Masculine Consumption In English Restoration Literature, Shawn Watkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unruly Matter: Masculine Consumption in English Restoration Literature

Over the past several decades, material culture scholars working within the “Long 18^th Century” have identified how the figure of the woman consumer became an ideological nodal point that registered new enthusiasm for emerging economic dynamics (mercantilism, nascent capitalism, etc.) while also expressing masculine anxieties about consumerism and the role of consumable goods in English society. Although many scholars have noted that men functioned symbolically and ideologically as English society’s primary consumers of material goods in the later 17^th century, there is no scholarly work that aims to describe the …

Gender And The Body: Exploring The Relationship Between Eating Disorders And Sexual Activity, Emma Foong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drawing from the insights provided by feminist theory, this study explored the relationship between eating disorders, body image, and sexual activity. The desire behind most individuals with eating disorders is to achieve a “perfect body” (Barth & Starkman, 2016). Key to this inquiry was to find out whether or not a positive body image led to an increase of sexual activity, and if a negative body image led to a decrease of sexual activity. Using a qualitative methodology, this study employed semi-structured interviews, participants expressed that on days they feel confident about their bodies, they were more likely to engage …

Unpresentable Members: The Theology And Radical Phenomenology Of The Sexual Flesh, Justin Pearl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unpresentable Members begins with a wager: that a proper account of the flesh and its sexual character may not only prove philosophically fertile within its own limited domain, but may also provide insight into the theological question of the proper role and place of gender and sexual difference within communities, particularly Christian religious communities. In this regard, this dissertation has two distinct goals: one phenomenological and one theological. Phenomenologically, it offers an account of the manifestation of concrete sexual determinations not only as they objectively appear across the “body-object” (Körper, le corps) but with equal importance as …

Gender Stereotyping Of The Managerial Roles Of Ncaa Athletic Directors, Richard A. Fabri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study draws upon content analysis to investigate the construction of intercollegiate athletic director (AD) vacancy advertisements to better understand how such language may play a role in women’s perceived access to these positions. As a mixed method study, this content analysis was initially employed to analyze the terminology used to construct AD job vacancy advertisements. Subsequently, survey data were analyzed to explore any possible relationships among the participants’ gender, managerial sub-roles, the associated gender of the managerial sub-roles, and the perceived barriers the managerial sub-roles present. The women respondents in this study perceived three of the nine managerial roles …

(Un)Bound : Disrupting Notions., Reid Broadstreet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

(un) bound: disrupting notions is a selection of art work that explores gender identity through the act of interpellation and the semiotics of clothing. The project aims to clearly define how concepts of “gender” and “sex” function in our language and, in turn, how the binary terms of these concepts (man/woman; male/female) enforce our genders rather than express them. Clothing is a particularly productive form for this investigation because clothing is often the way we express our gender, and yet it is also often produced for us along strict, socially-prescribed gender lines. Typically, conversations around gender are very black …

Marriage Among U.S. International Students : Meanings And Aspirations., Assel Kuzembayeva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although there exists a breadth of literature on Americans’ marital aspirations and experiences, there is a significant lack of research available on U.S. international students’ marital aspirations, specifically. In this study, transnational and gender theories are employed to analyze in-depth semi-structured interviews with 21 international students studying at a university located in a mid-size, midwestern city in the United States. The study reveals that the majority of international students maintain that marriage is important to them while they are living and studying in the United States. However, the study also finds that the cultural pressures of their home countries, including …