Movin’ On Up: The Lived Experience Of Women Of Color In Leadership And The Supports That Helped Them Make It To The Top, Rozina Kapadia

Dissertations

Purpose: The number of women of color in leadership continues to be significantly lower than the number of men. The lack of opportunity combined with the lack of support results in less women of color in leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of women of color in their roles as leaders in corporate environments with respect to the support (personal supports, organizational supports, cultural supports, and stereotypical supports) received. Specifically, the research examined the stories of female leaders of color to understand how their experiences have supported or hindered their growth in leadership. …

“A Real Man . . .”: Deconstructing Machismo Heteronormative Standards With K–12 Latino Male Educators Through Dialogic Spaces, Mario Echeverria

Dissertations

In a K–12 educational landscape where 75% of educators are white women, recruitment of Latino male educators is crucial for diversification, yet these educators represent just 2% of the teaching workforce in the United States (NCES, 2020). These educators grapple with a layered sense of identity as they navigate expectations of hegemonic masculinity and machismo norms that dictate their roles as disciplinarians and saviors, especially for young boys of color (Brockenbrough, 2018; Lara & Fránquiz, 2015; Martino & Kehler, 2006; Mills et al., 2004; Singh, 2021). Unfortunately, Latino male educators leave the profession at twice the rate of their Latina …

Social Spaces, Places, And Substance Use In Shaping Queer Identities, Alessandra Milagros Early

Dissertations

Research has suggested that queer people may be more likely than their cisgender heterosexual counterparts to use substances. Largely, these higher rates are commonly explained through frameworks of victimization or (ab)use that render substance use as a form of coping or inherently problematic. While some queer people do use substances to cope, the social spaces, places, and contexts in which use often occurs are often obscured or ignored. More recently, contemporary queer criminologists have explored queer substance use and have considered how it is intimately linked to social space, place, identity formation, and community building. This dissertation draws from queer …

The Relationship Between Background Music And Symptomatology In Adults Diagnosed With Adhd, Michelle L. Spiewak

Dissertations

Individuals who have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience symptoms that interfere with their daily functioning, concentration, and performance at school, at home, in the workplace, and in social settings. Previous research has been conducted into the effects of background music on various facets of learning, mostly with populations of children and individuals without ADHD. The focus in this clinical research project was to examine the relationship between background music and symptomatology in 18 adult students between the ages of 18 and 26 years who had been diagnosed with any type of ADHD. Results did not indicate significance …

Phenomenological Study: The Perceived Impact Of The Intersectional Barriers Created By Gender And Race On African American Females’ Advancement To A Senior Executive Service Within The Federal Government, Nicole Oliver

Dissertations

Purpose. This phenomenological study aimed to investigate the perceived impact of intersectional barriers created by gender and ethnicity on the advancement of African American females to the Senior Executive Service (SES) corps of the United States federal civil service. Additionally, the study sought to identify strategies used by African American females to overcome these barriers because of intersectionality and advance to the SES corps of the United States federal civil service.

Methodology. This qualitative phenomenological study used a convenience sampling method to select eight African American females who have advanced to an SES position in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. …

Religiosity, Family Sexual Communication & Gender As Predictors Of Attitudes Toward Oral Sex Among College/University Students In The United States, Antoinette Napier

Dissertations

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether religiosity, family sexual communication and gender were predictors of attitudes toward oral sex among college/university students in the United States.

Method

Participants completed several surveys, which measured participants' personal religiosity, family sexual communication, and attitudes toward oral sex. A path analysis model was used to analyze the relationship between the proposed variables.

Results

The path analysis hypothesized model resulted in a poor fit for the data. The model was respecified by removing three items which showed weak beta weights. The respecified model produced a good fit for the data. The …

An Interpretive Phenomenological Study Of Women’S Struggles, Hopes And Reasons For Participation In Professional Power-Based Community Organizing In Chicago, Mary Dungy-Akenji

Dissertations

Mary K. L. DungyLoyola University Chicago AN INTERPRETIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF WOMEN’S STRUGGLES, HOPES AND REASONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL POWER-BASED COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IN CHICAGO Professional power-based community organizing is a practice of grassroots change in which paid organizers guide community members as they band together to make demands on elite groups to redistribute resources (Bobo et. al, 2001; Sites et al., 2007). Conflict-based tactics may be utilized to demand structural improvements from key stakeholders, usually towards progressive political ends that build towards a more just society (Bobo et. al 2001; Wilkinson & D’Angelo, 2019). Community organizing has some roots …

Re-Framing Gender: An Analysis Of Journalism’S Social Media Characterization Of Female Presidential Candidates During The 2020 Presidential Election, Taylor Kiernan

Dissertations

The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without those who supported me both academically and personally throughout this process.

I would like to thank my dissertation chair and mentor, Dr. Christopher Campbell whose expertise and guidance made this research possible. I would also like to thank my dissertation committee members Dr. David Davies, Dr. Cheryl Jenkins, Dr. Laura Stengrim, and Dr. Fei Xue, for their guidance and advice during the research process, as well as their expertise in the classroom which molded my abilities as a researcher during my time at The University of Southern Mississippi.

I …

Heterosexual Parents Who Move Toward Acceptance Of Their Gay Sons, Brady Sullivan

Dissertations

Rejection of gay men by parents is a frequent occurrence. Rhoades et al. (2018) found 49% of a sample of 657 sexual minority children had experienced parental rejection due to their LGBTQ+ identity. However, the current body of literature does not discuss those heterosexual parents who initially reject their sexual minority children and then return to a place of acceptance. Within the framework of attachment theory, this dissertation used a basic qualitative approach, influenced by Grounded Theory methods, to investigate the experience of heterosexual parents who move toward acceptance of their gay son. Fifteen, white, heterosexual parents, ranging from ages …

Gender Differences In The Clinical Presentation Of Borderline Personality Disorder: A Review, Kimberly Glover

Dissertations

Borderline personality disorder is diagnosed in women three times more than men and represents a significant gender disparity amid considerable stigmatization compared to other psychological disorders. Empirical studies have investigated the gender prevalence for borderline personality disorder and further determined that findings may be due to differences in how borderline personality disorder clinically manifests in men and women. Common areas of investigation have included developmental features, diagnostic symptomology, psychiatric comorbidities, and the level of functional impairment for individuals with borderline personality disorder. An analysis of existing data was indicative of shortcomings in methods that include small samples of men, a …

Gender And The Authoritarian Dynamic: An Analysis Of Social Identity In The Partisanship Of White Americans, Bradley Dimariano

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the influence of authoritarianism and gender on the political behavior of white Americans. Authoritarianism and gender are two prominent variables in the formation of political preferences. Authoritarianism is regarded as a dynamic psychological disposition toward order and structure in social relations. Meanwhile, gender reflects external cultural markers attached to sex to indicate appropriate social behavior. Environmental factors like resource disparities and social conventions contribute to the production of gender. Both gender and authoritarianism have become increasingly contentious subjects in the context of contemporary partisanship. Scholars believe that each variable uniquely contributes to polarization, and have studied the …

Positive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia And Suicide: A Systematic Review Of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, And Premorbid Iq Variables, Susan Diann Paschall

Dissertations

Schizophrenia is an exceptionally debilitating mental disorder. Its effects permeate all facets of psychosocial functioning and it is associated with premature mortality. As such, suicide is of clinical concern. Positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions may influence the risk of suicide among individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, but additional research is necessary, as the limited literature on this topic is dated and includes heterogeneous results. Early recognition of and intervention for suicide risk factors, such as the presence of positive symptoms of psychosis, may reduce mortality rates for individuals with schizophrenia. The present literature review examined the role of gender, …

Recognition Of Gender Microaggressions In The Workplace: The Case Of Predisposition And Propensity To Recognize, Alicia Ako-Brew

Dissertations

This study examined the individual factors that affect the recognition of gender microaggressions in the workplace. A total of 220 subjects participated in this study. Specifically, this study revealed how social dominance orientation, ambivalent sexism and gender discrimination perceptions toward women affect a third-party observer’s recognition of gender microaggressions perpetrated against women. In addition, this study examined the effect of role congruence on the propensity to recognize gender microaggressions. Role congruence stems from role congruity theory which posits that a woman in a leadership or masculine role will receive positive or negative evaluations based on the degree to which she …

The Glass Ceiling: Exploring The Leadership Journey Of Men And Women In High-Tech, Shelia Faye Krueger

Dissertations

The literature is replete with evidence of the proliferation of women entering into the workplace, their remarkable progress in attaining higher education, their overrepresentation in professional and management roles, and their placement in CEO leadership positions in certain high-profile S&P 500 global companies. Yet women continue to be noticeably underrepresented in leadership roles, especially in high tech companies. Through the lenses of social constructivist and feminist theories of gender stereotypes, social/gender roles, and role congruity expectations, this instrumental case study was conducted to gain insight into the reasons women are underrepresented in leadership roles in high tech and the ways …

Community Violence, Protective Factors, And Resilience: Gender Differences In African American Youth, Kimberly Nelson-Arrington

Dissertations

African American youth are exposed to community violence in varying degrees. Over the last few decades, much research has focused on the negative implications of such exposure. While it is helpful to explore the detrimental effects of community violence on this population, the factors that promote resilience, leading to favorable outcomes, should be explored with just as much fervency. The present study sought to explore the protective factors that contribute to resilience in African American youth exposed to community violence. While resilience is a multidimensional construct, this study focused on the participants’ psychological outlook, namely their sense of hopefulness and …

Medical Cannabis And Recreational Marijuana: Patient Perceptions, Stigma, And Gender During A Time Of Emerging Legalization, Matt Reid

Dissertations

Marijuana’s status as an illegal drug has been redefined over the previous three decades. Despite Michigan and 32 other states having comprehensive medical cannabis programs, both academics and laypeople commonly present the medicalization of marijuana as an intermediary phase or proxy for fully legalized recreational use. While some evidence exists to support this position, this framework marginalizes the struggles and experiences of patients who have found relief through their therapeutic use of cannabis. As such, the goal of this study is to re-center the voices of cannabis patients in academic conversations of cannabis as medicine.

My study is unique in …

Against The Wind: A Study On Aviation As A Female Career Choice, Bonnie Gagliardo

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to identify and describe the educational and social experiences that sparked the interest of female pilots as young women to pursue a career in aviation.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study utilized semi- structured interviews to explore the lived experiences of female pilots, to understand if there were common social and educational factors which influenced them to become interested in aviation. Using convenience sampling, eleven pilots who hold a Federal Aviation Administration Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot’s License were selected to participate in this study.

Findings: The findings from this …

An Exploration Of Contextual Factors Of Weight-Based Discrimination Against Business Leaders, Ellen Hermann Lynch

Dissertations

Two-thirds of the adult population of the United States are considered overweight (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2013) and are susceptible to weight-based discrimination in the workplace (Rudolph, Wells, Weller, & Baltes, 2009). The weight-based discrimination experienced by business leaders is relatively unknown. The present research used Leader Categorization Theory (Lord & Maher, 1991) as a framework to examine the extent to which a business leader’s weight is associated with their perceived leadership qualities and effectiveness in two studies. The first study isolated the relationship between the base rate of weight in an organization and the assumed weight of the …

Examining The Gender- And Sexuality-Related Cognitive “Stuck Points” Of Men And Women With Experiences Of Adult Sexual Assault: Implications For Cognitive Processing Therapy, Marin Beagley

Dissertations

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is considered a gold-standard psychotherapy protocol for the treatment of posttraumatic stress symptoms secondary to a variety of traumatic events. Despite its demonstrated efficacy, there is research to suggest CPT may not be as effective in reducing PTSD symptoms for men with an adult sexual assault trauma as it is for their female counterparts. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether CPT treatment outcome discrepancies may be attributable to gender differences in posttraumatic cognitions, or “stuck points.” As the act of sexual victimization is incongruent with socially prescribed masculine gender norms, it was …

Beauty Is Beneficial: An Examination Of Candidate Facial Attractiveness, Gender, Qualification, And Customer Visibility On Online Recruitment Intentions, Breanna R. Wexler

Dissertations

The present study examined the effects of information included in candidates’ online networking profiles on recruiters’ perceptions and ratings of their likelihood of inviting the candidate for a job interview. Specifically, this study used a status generalization theory perspective to examine the weighting of information related to candidate physical attractiveness, gender, and qualification to predict perceived expectations for intellectual competence, likability, and social skills. These expectations then predicted whether the candidate should be recommended for a job interview. While participants relied almost exclusively on qualification information when making judgments of intellectual competence, candidates placed increased weight on attractiveness when rating …

The Public Consequences Of A Personal Choice: The Impact Of The Decision To Be Childfree In Family-Friendly America, Emily Ingalls

Dissertations

The topic of diversity and inclusion has garnered increased interest over the past decade, with 78% of executives listing the topics as critical initiatives (Forbes, 2011). One group that has received little attention but continues to be stigmatized is the childfree population, or those individuals who deliberately choose not to have children. Previous research has examined opinions of this group generally and in the workplace, specifically, but this research frequently considers childfree and childless people under the same umbrella. This study examined ratings of the childfree in the workplace compared to childless adults as well as to parents. The potential …

Expanding Coercive Mobility Theory: Women's Forms Of Capital And Neighborhood Social Control, Jaclyn Marie Cwick

Dissertations

This dissertation proposes a gendered theory of coercive mobility, synthesized from the collateral consequences of incarceration, along with coercive mobility theory and literature on forms of capital. Previous work has shown that the removal of residents due to mass incarceration contributes to disruptions in neighboring relationships and therefore, impedes the community’s ability to prevent crime, commonly referred to as informal social control. This involuntary mobility due to prison admissions and returns, known as coercive mobility, has focused almost entirely on the collateral consequences to the incarcerated, a predominantly male population. However, those who remain in the community, primarily women, also …

Changing Medical Education: Early Efforts To Integrate Women's Health Into Education And Training, Mary Katherine Rojek

Dissertations

This is an historical study about the development of women’s health curricula in medical education across the U.S. between 1983 and 2004, a period of a great deal of innovation. At that time, some physicians, medical educators, policy makers, and government officials became aware that most U.S. medical school curricula did not address women’s health in a comprehensive manner and did not attend to many problems that were the primary causes of mortality and morbidity in women. In addition, medical research and medical education were based on a normative male model. Studies of medical education indicate that medical schools are …

Loss, Hope, And Redemption: The Consequences Of Methamphetamine Use In A Sample Of Incarcerated Women, Mikhial Vincent Gunderman

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the consequences of methamphetamine use in a sample of 40 incarcerated women who were court-ordered to participate in a correctional drug and alcohol treatment program in Missouri. Using interview data from this sample, I examine their perceptions of the consequences of their methamphetamine use. The negative consequences I focus on include experiences of violence, damage to interpersonal relationships, and more personal consequences related to health, employment, housing, and the criminal justice system. In this pursuit, I explore the following research questions: 1) What is the relationship between the accumulation of negative consequences and continued and/or increased involvement …

Looking Back At The Media's Future: A Mixed Method Analysis Of Race And Gender Bias During The 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary Season, Tim Vance

Dissertations

Political knowledge has been defined as the individual’s ability to recall candidate names, personal characteristics, and qualifications. Furthermore, it is the ability to identify election issues, current campaign developments, and recognize connections between candidates and issue positions (C. Atkin & Heald, 1976). I posit that political knowledge has become much more…and much less.

I have introduced, in this paper, a number of sources for political learning: ads, newspapers, YouTube, and television news. All hold some interest for investigation as political knowledge sources, but methodology cannot be standardized across all sources. As such, the focus of the qualitative part of this …

Sexual Assault And Academic Achievement: Creating More Ideal College Campuses For Sexual Assault Survivors By Taking Into Account Intersectionality And Multiracial Feminism, Kelly Pinter

Dissertations

In this dissertation, the reader will learn about 28 sexual assault survivors' perceptions about educational and criminal justice responses to them after a sexual assault and how these sexual assault survivors perceived how race and ethnicity, income, and gender affect cases differently. Additionally, I explore sexual assault policies that survivors think are working, and those they feel need improvement. I also assess in depth recommendations concerning what education administrators, staff, and advocates can do to assist sexual assault survivors.

Backlash Against Working Mothers, Kala Jean Melchiori

Dissertations

Research by Rudman and colleagues (2012) has detailed how people who defy social stereotypes (called vanguards) experience discriminatory backlash for acting counter-stereotypically. In the present research, I took Rudman's Backlash and Stereotype Maintenance Model (BSMM) and applied it to working women and working mothers. Due to the different content of the stereotypes of working women versus working mothers, I predicted that the process through which perceivers engage in backlash against the two groups is different. I used the theory of Ambivalent Sexism to shape my predictions for how working mothers are vulnerable to different forms of backlash than working women …

Study Abroad As A Multifaceted Approach To Supporting College Sophomores: Creating Optimal Environments To Promote Intercultural Maturity, Jessica Luchesi Phd

Dissertations

Leaders in higher education bear the responsibility of creating educational environments and programming that promote student development and help prepare graduates to work, live, and lead in today's interconnected and global society. Such institutional programming, which fosters intercultural maturity, defined as the cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal developmental capacities that enable students to act in ways that are aware and appropriate, should be available to all students. Scholarly work, however, demonstrates that sophomore students receive the least amount of institutional attention and thus have fewer programs directed at fostering their development. As a result, sophomores can find themselves negotiating developmental challenges …

A Multi-Level Investigation Of Leadership Effectiveness And Systems Awareness In The Leadership Circle Profile, Crystal L. Dujowich Phd

Dissertations

Leadership is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, with scholarly literature that documents the progression from leaders focused on inspiring transformation in others, to leaders who can engage entire systems towards more globally conscious and ethically focused actions. Such leadership involves increasingly complex relationships, perspectives and context. Empirical contributions to the study of leadership, however, have remained focused on the individual and thus limited to a single level of analysis. As researchers acknowledge the dynamic process of leadership, it is paramount that studies identify and investigate the multiple layers of analysis present. This study sought to uncover patterns in leadership effectiveness …

When Subcultures Become Careers: Working In Indie Rock, Annmarie Schneider-Edman Van Altena

Dissertations

This dissertation examines the careers of workers within the Indie rock industry in Chicago. Little is known about how workers transition from subculture participants to industry workers. Expanding upon research on workers in culture industries, I conducted twenty-six qualitative interviews with workers in the industry, asking open-ended questions about their careers and experiences to understand how they establish and maintain careers in an industry that relies on a particular subculture whose ethos considers financial success as suspect, and a risk to integrity. I show how workers' early interest in music goes beyond typical teenage fascination and becomes the focus of …