Digital Commons Network^™

Disney Princess Films: Feminist Movements And The Changing Of Gender Roles, Mckinley M. Frees

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Youth Engagement And Gender Roles In The Groundnut Value Chain In Uganda Using The Photovoice Research Methodology, Annie Faye Carter

Masters Theses

In regions of East Africa, groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is cultivated as a common cash crop in areas of food insecurity and agricultural-dependent communities. Groundnut, also known as peanut, is a legume with a variety of important uses. This crop is especially popular with small-scale farmers and youth, who seek to harvest a crop which is affordable. As an expected 440 million young people enter the global labor market by 2030, those living in rural areas are at a disadvantage when searching for job opportunities. In Africa, this rural-urban divide has impacted the economic sector and the activities …

Film Women Violence, Madison R. Ross

Masters Theses

As a condensed version of social reality, film has become a more common object of modern sociological and criminological investigation. As such, we can explore film to understand taken-for-granted as well as innovative constructions of social phenomena. Among these are gendered violence. We can use film to dig deep into its logics, elaborated in visual and narrative representations. Prior literature has analyzed crime films and the behavioral constructions within them, outlining the representations of serial homicide, rape, mass shootings and revenge. However, few studies have outlined films that do meaningful, non-voyeuristic representational work on the issue of violence against …

Creaky Voice: Interactional Effects In Production And Perception, Victoria Anita Voorhees

Masters Theses

My thesis investigates creaky voice and how it functions interactionally within social situations, as well as how it is perceived by others. “Creaky voice” happens when a person speaks at their lowest range, also known as their “vocal fry.” This causes “a vocal effect produced by a very slow vibration of only one end of the vocal cords” (Crystal 1997, 98). I am interested in knowing which populations utilize creaky voice most. Additionally, I aim to explore how creaky voice is perceived by others. To conduct this investigation, I have conducted both a production and perception study. Within the production …

Gender Differences In Second Language Learning: Why They Exist And What We Can Do About It, Merideth Wightman

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Generalizing Across Gender During Early Word Learning: Evidence From A Statistical Learning Paradigm, Madison Newsom

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Gender, Lithics, And Perishable Technology: Searching For Evidence Of Split-Cane Technology In The Archaeological Record At The Mussel Beach Site (40mi70), Megan M. King

Doctoral Dissertations

Perishable artifacts made from plants and fibers were likely an integral part of daily life in the prehistoric Southeast. While these items rarely survive in the archaeological record, their manufacture may be identified through the examination of non-perishable tools, specifically lithic artifacts. Observations by ethnographers, travelers, and missionaries in the Southeast have cross-culturally identified women as the primary harvesters and collectors of plant materials for both subsistence and material culture production. While most accounts leave out specific details regarding the tools utilized in production of perishable objects, there is reason to suspect that lithic artifacts were used in various plant …

Experiences Of Female High School Head Coaches, Kathleen A. Mcinnis

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Examining Consensual Non-Monogamy Among Emerging Adult Samples: A Collection Of Studies, Kayla Marie Sizemore

Doctoral Dissertations

Using multiple methodologies, this collection of manuscripts examined various components of CNM during the period of emerging adulthood. Manuscript one presents a systematic review and critique of the methodology used in research on CNM attitudes and desire among emerging adults between 1974 and 2016. Several methodological characteristics were reviewed across 18 empirical articles, including sample characteristics, recruitment and sampling strategy, measurement, and overall methodology and focus. Despite general commentary among researchers in this field, this review concludes that CNM research has shown little improvement with regard to its methodological limitations since the 1970’s.

The second manuscript contributes to the extant …

“Will The Crested Cranes Be There In The Future?” An Exploration Of The Ugandan Senior Women’S National Football Team, Alicia Jane Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated that gender inequity exists in national level competitive sport in Uganda (Kateshumbwa, 2011). The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) established the women’s senior national football team, the Crested Cranes, in the early 1990s (FUFA, n.d.); however, only the men’s senior national football team, the Cranes, has been referenced in the literature (Chappell, 2008; Kasoma, 2013). The purpose of this study was to explore (a) how Ugandan women experience football (soccer) in terms of their social identities (e.g., gender, ethnicity, social class, nationality, geographic location); (b) how Ugandan women experience being a player on the senior …

Labor Unions And Economic Inequality In The Wealthy Democracies, Eric Graig Castater

Doctoral Dissertations

Previous research on the determinants of economic inequality in the wealthy democracies has found that differences in the size and constitution of labor unions accounts for much of the cross-national and over time variation in economic inequality. Despite numerous theoretical and empirical reasons to suppose the contrary, most of this research assumes that the union effect on economic inequality is independent of the particular socio-economic and political environment unions are situated within and the types of workers actually unionized. The broad purpose of this dissertation is to push back against these assumptions and examine whether the union effect on economic …

Predictors Of Youth Empathy: Early Adolescents’ Perceptions Of Maternal And Paternal Support, Emily Elizabeth Stone

Doctoral Dissertations

The world in which children develop is becoming increasingly complex and includes exposure to individuals with variations in background and identity. The development of a peaceful global community will demand empathy (compassionate perspective taking and empathic concern for the position of another person). Data examined in this study came from the Ogden Youth and Family Project. A random sample of fifth- and eighth-grade classrooms in the Ogden City School District in 1994 and 1996 provided the data examined on empathy and perceived parental support. The final sample for this study was comprised of 286 cases. Perceived Mother Support and Father …

Collegiate Novice Rowers’ Motivations: An Application Of Self-Determination Theory, Amy Nicole Kuuskoski

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons why novice rowers choose to join collegiate rowing teams. There is no existing research specifically analyzing this population, and the unique team structure in rowing makes previous sport participation research difficult to generalize to this population. The reasons for sport participation vary widely by age, gender, and level of competition.

This study integrates self-determination theory and organismic integration theory with scales to measure satisfaction and behavioral intentions, and data were collected through the use of a web-based survey. Schools competing in NCAA Division I and II rowing conferences were contacted …

Jesus In Man’S Image: Influence Of Gender Role Identity On Identification With Warmer Images Of Jesus, Melinda A. Reed

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

From Foraging To Food Production On The Southern Cumberland Plateau Of Alabama And Tennessee, U.S.A., Stephen Byrnes Carmody

Doctoral Dissertations

Research involving the origin of plant domestication remains as important today as ever. While early anthropologists viewed plant domestication as a necessary precondition for cultural development, more recent ethnographic studies have shown that agriculture was a much more labor intensive subsistence practice than hunting and gathering, leading many to question the reasons behind the prehistoric transition. Today, research and advances in technology have provided conclusive evidence to include the Eastern Woodlands of North America as one of the eight global centers of indigenous plant domestication. Although the timing of domestication and the plants involved in early horticultural systems are well …

Dissociation And Sexual Trauma: The Moderating Role Of Somatization, Amineh Abbas

Doctoral Dissertations

This study examined various types of trauma, with an emphasis on sexual trauma across the lifespan, in a clinical sample of male and female adult outpatients assessed for trauma, somatization, and dissociation. Two hundred forty-five adult outpatients at the University of Tennessee Psychological Clinic were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), as part of the routine intake procedure. Of those individuals, 200 patients completed the questionnaires correctly and were included in the final study sample. The experience of sexual trauma indeed accounted for additional variance in somatization scores over and above …

Gender Difference In Emotional Reactions To Media: Examining Self-Report During Bittersweet Video Clips, Catherine C. Brown

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

"Game Time Is My Time. I Get To Define That:" Gender, Identity, And The National Football League's Female Fans, Traci Yates

Doctoral Dissertations

Based on existing literature relatively little is known about the female football fan in America. Previous research has acknowledged that these women exist, often in startling proportions. It has also identified some of the reasons why they attend the game and some of the perceived benefits of their participation as fans (Clark, Apostolopoulou, & Gladden, 2009; Dietz-Uhler, Harrick, End, & Jacquemotte, 2000). Yet we do not know the value they place on their fan identities, nor how they manage to negotiate being both women and fans in a sport environment that both subtly and not-so-subtly continues to reinforce the model …

"It Starts With Having A Conversation": Lesbian Student-Athletes' Experience Of U.S. Ncaa Division I Sport, Jamie Fynes

Masters Theses

According to Griffin (1998), the U.S. NCAA Division I sport environment is not very welcoming for lesbian student-athletes because of existing negative myths and stereotypes. In addition, the experiences of both current and former lesbian collegiate athletes is an underrepresented research topic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of 10 former U.S. NCAA Division I lesbian student-athletes using a semi-structured personal identity interview guide (Fisher, 1997) and Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Five domains, 19 categories, and related core ideas were found in the transcribed interviews. In Domain I: Stereotypes and …

Adolescents’ Definitions Of Cheating In Romantic Relationships, Jerika C. Norona

Masters Theses

Cheating is a common occurrence in dating relationships. However, less is known about cheating in adolescence, a time when many individuals first experience romantic relationships. An important initial step for research is examining how adolescents define cheating in their romantic relationships. The present study used Thematic Analysis, a qualitative analytic method, to explore adolescents’ definitions of cheating and how these definitions might differ across age and gender. Furthermore, the present study examined patterns that emerged within definitions. Results indicate that definitions of cheating included a range of behaviors, such as engaging in physical activity, romantic/intimate involvement, spending time with, talking …

Gender And Party Stereotypes In The Evaluation Of U.S. Senate Candidates, Rebecca Madelyn Shafer

Doctoral Dissertations

In the United States, there has been a gradual increase of women elected to office, yet women are still drastically underrepresented at every level. One potential obstacle to the electoral success of women is the propensity of voters to stereotype candidates based on their gender. However, voters also stereotype political candidates based on their party affiliation. Therefore, it is important to understand how stereotypes regarding the Republican and Democratic Parties may interact with stereotypes concerning men and women.

While experimental research has been utilized extensively to test the effect of gender stereotypes on candidate evaluations; almost all of this research …

Masculine Gender Role Stress And Shame Proneness As Serial Mediators In The Relation Between Intimate Partner Aggression Victimization And Psychological Symptom Status In Men, Sarah Elizabeth Mauck

Masters Theses

The current study examined the indirect effect of male intimate partner aggression victimization on psychological symptom status through masculine gender role stress (MGRS) and shame proneness operating as serial mediators. Male college students (N = 74) completed self-report measures of intimate partner aggression, psychological symptoms, MGRS, and shame proneness. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of physical victimization on psychological symptom status through MGRS and shame proneness operating in sequence; results showed no significant indirect effect for psychological victimization. These results suggest that, perhaps, physical victimization creates increased MGRS, which, in turn, leads to greater shame proneness, which, likewise, …

The Association Of Gender, Rumination, And Depression On The Wais-Iv Working Memory Index, Audrey Ashton File

Masters Theses

Due to the prevalence of depression in college students and associated functional and cognitive impairment, a developing body of research is exploring factors that may negatively impact cognitive efficiency. Recent research has highlighted rumination as one variable that may reduce cognitive efficiency and exacerbate depression. This study examined the impact of rumination and gender on working memory in depressed (n = 29) and non-depressed undergraduates, (n =68) by examining performance on the Working Memory Index (WMI) of the WAIS-IV. Prior to WMI subtests, participants were randomly assigned to a rumination or distraction condition. After controlling for pre-experimental rumination, …

Gender, Social Ties, And Reentry Experiences, Jennifer Rhiannon Scroggins

Doctoral Dissertations

A great deal of research has been conducted on factors associated with successful prisoner reentry. However, except for a few studies on women's reentry, most studies have failed to examine the role of parolees' social ties in contributing to reentry outcomes. Additionally, most studies on prisoner reentry only focused on male parolees, and few addressed the influence of gender on reentry experiences. Thus, my goal in this dissertation is to understand the influence of gender on male and female parolees' social ties, and how the resources their ties provide shape their reentry experiences. My dissertation research examines men and women’s …

Content Analysis Of Social Tags On Intersectionality For Works On Asian Women: An Exploratory Study Of Librarything, Sheetija Kathuria

Masters Theses

This study explores how the social tags are employed by users of LibraryThing, a popular web 2.0 social networking site for cataloging books, to describe works on Asian women in representing themes within the context of intersectionality. Background literature in the domain of subject description of works has focused on race and gender representation within traditional controlled vocabularies such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH). This study explores themes related to intersectionality in order to analyze how users construct meaning in their social tags. The collection of works used to search for social tags came from the Association …

Gender And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screening In The Military: A Measurement Study, Mark Allan Oliver

Doctoral Dissertations

The Primary Care Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PC-PTSD) screen (Prins et al., 2003) is used by the Department of Defense to identify military members who are at increased risk of PTSD. This screen has been offered to all returning deployers since 2005. However, validation studies of PC-PTSD scores from military samples have seldom employed a significant number of female subjects and no published studies have examined it for gender bias. Ruling out bias is important because routine under-identification of PTSD risk in any group could result in hindered access to needed assessment and/or care. With the current proportion of military females …

The Effects Of Female Cabinet Ministers On Female-Friendly Social Policy, Amy Atchison

Doctoral Dissertations

A growing literature indicates that the representation of women in legislatures is positively associated with the passage of female-friendly social policy. However, there is little corresponding research concerning the effect of women in cabinet on female-friendly social policy. Yet, almost all advanced industrial democracies are parliamentary democracies, where policies typically originate within the cabinet and governments typically enjoy substantial control over the legislative process. Thus, to the extent that women promote female-friendly policy, women in cabinet positions should be ideally placed to do so, and indeed, possibly be more influential than women in legislatures. The purpose of this study is …