Education Commons^™

Women As Leaders In The Bourbon Industry, Candice Cress

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored the experiences of women leaders who have made a significant impact in the bourbon industry. Specifically, exploration of the skills and attributes that make them leaders in the bourbon industry are analyzed. Three themes emerged from this study: (a) the influence of mentors on leadership development, (b) navigating a predominantly male dominated field, and (c) experiences of the women that lead to their current roles and achievements in bourbon. The results of this study can support women as they strengthen their leadership skills in preparation for professions that are more difficult for women to make an impact. …

Girls In Stem! Elementary Afterschool Six-Week Curriculum, Jess Li, Samavi Rafique

Honors Expanded Learning Clubs

No abstract provided.

The Muted Woman: A Lovey-Dovey Themed Recital, From A Man's Point Of View, Raven Williams

Honors Theses

This senior thesis consists of a vocal recital, accompanying program notes, and research regarding the struggles of women composers as music evolved through its Ancient, Baroque, Classic, Romantic and Contemporary periods. The recital includes a compilation of love songs by French, Italian, English, and German composers, in particular Gabriel Fauré, the often-forgotten Stefano Donaudy, Samuel Barber, Roger Quilter, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Joseph Haydn. This paper incorporates biographical information, analysis, performance history and cultural insights into the overshadowed women composers that prospered around the same time period as the men of the former. Specifically, Nadia Boulanger, Nannerl Mozart, Alice Mary …

Giving A Lot Of Ourselves: How Mother Leaders In Higher Education Experienced Parenting And Leading During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Laura E Boche

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis explored the lived experience of mother executive administrators in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing the philosophical underpinnings of the Heideggerian phenomenological approach, the following research question guided this study: What are the lived experiences of mother executive administrators in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic? Participants included nine self-identified mother executive administrators from one Midwest state at a variety of institution types and locations within the state. Data collection involved two focus groups and individual interviews with all nine participants. After data analysis, three recurrent themes emerged from the data: (1) Burnout and …

Leadership Journeys: Reflections On Experiences And Challenges From Women In Academic Leadership, Sarah L. Smiley, Andrea G. Zakrajsek, Kathryn L. Fletcher

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

Although the number of women holding administrative positions in higher education has risen over the past two decades, the gender gap in academic leadership in higher education institutions persists. Barriers exist to prevent women from entering these positions, including those related to workplace culture and personal considerations. This qualitative exploratory study interviewed 38 women leaders in positions ranging from Assistant Dean to President at universities in a mid-west athletic conference. It asked the following research questions: How did they enter academic leadership? What were their experiences in leadership positions? What advice would they offer to other women considering leadership positions …

From Negotiator To Note-Taker: The Role Of Women Leaders And Academic Technology Cultures, Leslie Zenk, Susan Harden

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

For years, there has been a perceived inaccessibility of the field of Information Technology, centering on an organizational culture of “men and their machines” (Clark, 2012). This paper examines the role of women who lead technology initiatives in higher education and presents the experiences of these women leaders and their collision of organizational cultures as part of a comparative case study of two public institutions. Findings suggest elements of culture within the IT field that contribute to the experiences of women leaders in IT, and illuminate that leading a technology project may add a layer of gender expectations and gender …

Career Progression And The Imposter Phenomenon: Experiences Of Female Student Affairs Leaders, Molly Belieu

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored the experiences of women leaders who graduated from a student affairs master’s degree program, and advanced to positions of vertical movement to roles of increasing responsibility, wider influence, and greater accountability. Specifically, exploration of this progression, and the influences on their experience of lateral movement, including the impostor’s syndrome. Three themes emerged from this study: (a) the influence of relationships on career progression, (b) navigating the structures of higher education, and (c) experiences of the Imposter Phenomenon. The results of this study can support student affairs preparation programs as they determine the competencies necessary to prepare professionals …

A Changing Narrative For Englishwomen's Authorship During The Early Modern Period, Erin Kruger

Honors Theses

This thesis is a look into women’s authorship in the English Early Modern period, specifically looking at the time period from 1543 until 1621. The main writers of focus are Catherine Parr, Mary Sidney, Lady Mary Wroth, and Aemilia Lanyer, with supplemental texts from the period used to frame the thesis argument. Modern research on this era is also used to supplement the work. Over the course of the period, the innovation of women’s authorship led to two primary changes in the nature of women’s authorship: more inclusive women’s authorship and the expansion of topics that women wrote on. These …

Selfies As Postfeminist Pedagogy: The Production Of Traditional Femininity In The Us South, Mardi Schmeichel, Stacey Kerr, Chris Linder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This article describes a study of selfies posted on Instagram by a group of predominantly white, college women at a large public university in the US South. Selfies are used as data to explore how performances of traditional femininity are legitimated, authorized, and reinscribed through photo-posting practices. The authors argue that these performances circulate a public pedagogy of femininity and contribute to notions of traditional gender roles and physical attractiveness that reinforce classed and raced norms of beauty. The selfies, which idealize the southern lady [McPherson, Tara. 2003. Reconstructing Dixie: Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the Imagined South. Durham: …

Experiences Of Women Department Chairs In Engineering: A Narrative Study, Kayla Person

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Within higher education, STEM based disciplines need strong and balanced leadership. Leadership which demonstrates equity and diversity because all perspectives are needed to solve complex issues that face our world today. In 2016, women earned 23.2% of engineering Ph.D.’s awarded, which contributes to the low number of women faculty in engineering (Yoder, 2016). Those women who enter the professoriate increasingly need to navigate the labyrinth within their faculty positions and leadership roles within higher education. A key leadership role, department chair, has numerous responsibilities as both a faculty member and an administrator. Little research has been conducted to showcase the …

Buying Behaviors Of Generation X Women On Fast Fashion Products: A Mixed Methods Study, Yiyue Fan

Department of Textiles, Merchandising, and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Fast fashion has changed the world’s fashion industry and consumer behavior extensively. Not only has the fast fashion provided “hot” products that capture the latest fashion trends from the catwalk, but has also allowed consumers purchase products with affordable prices (Su et al., 2016). Generation X is an important age group to study since it “bridged pre-digital and digital cultures, liberal and neo-conservative political swings, material abundance and economic hardship, social engagement” and has an important role in bridging baby boomers and the Millennials (Katz, 2017). A lot of literature is available about Millennials consumer buying behavior, but very little …

Women's Gender Identities And Ncaa Policy, Lauren E. Kelba

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Since the implementation of Title IX in 1972 and resulting inclusion of women within NCAA intercollegiate athletic programs, participation numbers have increased dramatically at the post-secondary level (Miller, Heinrich, & Baker, 2000). With participation numbers increasing, the NCAA has developed a number of policies and regulations, including published policies and recommendations for practice in regards to gender equity and inclusion. These publications include Equity and Title IX in Intercollegiate Athletics, Gender Equity Planning Best Practices, and the NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes. With these policies, the NCAA has made efforts to improve the experiences of those who have marginalized gender …

A Review Of Women’S Leadership Conferences: Ways Public Research Institutions Support Female Students Opting-In, Tania Reis, Marilyn L. Grady

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of women’s leadership conferences at public research universities. A search of the 2015 Carnegie Classification of Institutes of Higher Education revealed a list of 157 research universities. Of these institutions, 40 held a women’s leadership conference. Implications are discussed in how a women’s leadership conference supports female students opting-in.

What Have We Learned From The Departures Of Female Superintendents?, Kerry Kathleen Robinson

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

The purpose of this qualitative study of 20 female former superintendents in Virginia was to answer (1) What factors cause women superintendents to move and/or leave the superintendency? and (2) How do the women construct the story of their moving or leaving? Thematic analysis of the interview narratives discerned four major themes in the stories of these women: (1) Expectations of job duties; (2) Exhaustion as Superwoman; (3) Conflict with stakeholders; and (4) Departure on their own terms and timelines. This study contributes to the research on women in the superintendency and suggests implications for research, policy, and practice.

Paths To Leadership Of Native Hawaiian Women Administrators In Hawaii's Higher Education System: A Qualitative Study, Farrah-Marie Gomes

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to obtain a deeper understanding of the pathways to leadership for Native Hawaiian women administrators at the University of Hawaii by exploring and describing the experiences along their education and employment journeys. Eight Native Hawaiian women administrators shared the supports and challenges they encountered along their education and employment journeys, provided advice for Native Hawaiian women aspiring to be leaders, and suggested ways that the University can facilitate the development of more Native Hawaiian women leaders.

Using methods consistent with qualitative research, this narrative study utilized semi-structured interviews, field notes from the interviews and …

We Matter, We’Re Relevant And We Are Black Women In Sororities: An Exploration Of The Experiences Of Black Sorority Members At A Predominately White Institution, Delores J. Allison

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative research study explored the experiences of NPHC Black sorority women at a predominately White institution and the benefits that their individual sororities provided. The theory that guided this study is Black feminist thought, which reveals the complexity of Black women’s experiences. The case study approach was used to collect their stories because it focuses on them individually. Three Black graduate sorority women were interviewed in depth. Throughout these women’s college careers they have been faced with racism and sexism. Through their individual sororities they were able to find solace and embrace their Black womanhood on campus.

Advisor: Stephanie …

Combined Iron Deficiency And Low Aerobic Fitness Doubly Burden Academic Performance Among Women Attending University, Samuel P. Scott, Mary Jane Desouza, Karsten Koehler, Laura E. Murray-Kolb

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Background: Academic success is a key determinant of future prospects for students. Cognitive functioning has been related to nutritional and physical factors. Here, we focus on iron status and aerobic fitness in young-adult female students given the high rate of iron deficiency and declines in fitness reported in this population. Objectives: We sought to explore the combined effects of iron status and fitness on academic success and to determine whether these associations are mediated by cognitive performance.

Methods: Women (n = 105) aged 18–35 y were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Data were obtained for iron biomarkers, peak oxygen …

Skirting Around Critical Feminist Rationales For Teaching Women In Social Studies, Mardi Schmeichel

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Feminist practices can provide firm theoretical grounding for the kind of social studies that scholars promote, especially in relation to efforts to include women in the curriculum. However, in P–12 social studies education, neither women nor feminism receive much attention. The study described in this article was a discourse analysis of 16 recently published lesson plans that did include women. Through this examination of the rationales and language used to promote teaching about women, the author sheds light on some discursive obstacles inhibiting attention to gender issues in critical feminist ways and argues that by shifting norms in the field, …

“Women Made It A Home”: Representations Of Women In Social Studies, Mardi Schmeichel

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This article explores recently published P–12 social studies lesson plans that include women to examine how attending to women is “getting done” in the field and how the lessons represent women and women’s experiences. Using discourse analysis methodologies, the author demonstrates that women have been included as topics in ways that do not work toward disrupting problematic discourses about gender norms. Through their avoidance of issues of power and patriarchy, most of the lessons fall short of addressing gender inequity—in the past or the present—in a significant way. More critical attention to women and gender in lessons, as well as …

Women In Nontraditional Occupations: A Case Study Of Worker Motivation, Katherine Wesley

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupation Act (WANTO Act) of 1992 highlighted an urgent matter facing the American workforce that persists today. The urgent matter in 2012 involves the precarious effect of demographics on the American labor market, placing women at the crux of engaging opportunity or maintaining status quo.

Women must be empowered and encouraged to seek employment opportunities they have never considered, e.g. male-dominated, nontraditional occupations, for the U.S. to keep pace with labor market needs. The need amplifies the myriad of issues for women in male-dominated, nontraditional occupations.

Among the barriers confronting women is the persistence …

Color Them Pink: An Exploratory Study Of Women And Other Underrepresented Minorities In Master's Stem Programs, Maggie J. Jobes

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This quantitative, exploratory study was designed to examine and compare socialization and mentoring in two groups of students, and the influence these factors had on their ranking of academic and overall experience in Master’s degree level science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) programs at a large, Midwestern university. The subjects were University of Nebraska-Lincoln Master’s degree recipients who had completed the Master’s Degree Graduate Studies Exit Survey and had identified themselves as being part of a STEM graduate program. Literature displayed the underrepresentation of women and individuals of certain racial or ethnic backgrounds in STEM fields and particularly in graduate …

Validation Of Chinese Women’S Alcohol Expectancy Instrument, Yue Qiu Yu

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The present study was designed to develop and validate the Chinese Women’s Alcohol Expectancy scale; and to examine gender differences in alcohol expectancy. 134 interviewees from Canton, Kaiping and Hong Kong participated in study 1. 1,550 students from thirteen universities in three provinces, Beijing, Yunnan and Wuhan, China, completed the women’s alcohol expectancy questionnaire in study 2. The findings in study 1 revealed six prominent categories that inform women’s alcohol expectancy. Findings in study 2 provided 7-subscales (α > 0.7) for the instrument’s reliability and validity. Additionally, there were significant differences in alcohol expectancy by genders. Implications related to expectancy theory …

Understanding Mesosystemic Influences On Reported Health Among Rural Low-Income Women: A Structural Equation Analysis, Tiffany Wigington

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While ensuring access to health insurance and health care services is important, emerging research indicates that individual health and well-being result from a complex array of environmental, social, and psychological factors. The delineation of how factors of health and well-being unfold and impact rural low-income women is particularly salient for social workers who provide services to rural residents and who work within a rural context. Utilizing components from the ecological systems perspective, this study explored how the factors associated with health risk influenced reported health and mesosystemic processes among rural low-income women. This sample (n=304) for this study was drawn …

Women In Positions Of Influence: Exploring The Journeys Of Female Community Leaders, Mary Pflanz

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Although the leadership norm continues to be male-oriented, more women are occupying positions of leadership in our society. The prevalent question has shifted from whether or not women can lead to how effectively they lead. To better understand the effectiveness of female community leaders, this qualitative research study explores the common features in the paths of women who have attained leadership positions. The stories of these women were derived by conducting ten interviews with women who are in positions of leadership within their communities. The interviews used open-ended questions to elicit personal responses from the interviewees, and phenomenological methods were …

Chintz Appliqué Albums: Memory And Meaning In Nineteenth Century Quilts Of The Delaware River Valley, Carolyn K. Ducey

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study examined two sub-sets of a unique style of chintz appliqué album quilt that developed in the 1840s in Delaware River Valley, specifically Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Trenton, New Jersey. The two groups provide examples of two distinct roles that the album quilts played in the lives of their makers: one acting as a literal record of familial ties, serving to preserve memory and reinforce family structure and the other representing the work of the members of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, providing a vehicle to recognize and appreciate dedicated service and playing a role in encouraging interest and …

Women Leaders In Student Affairs: A Case Study Exploring Career Choices, Julie C. Taylor-Costello

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, multiple case study explored what women working in student affairs reported as influences on their career choices and the impact that the type and level of student interaction has on their careers.

Data from semi-structured interviews and journal entries were obtained from ten women working in student affairs at private, four-year institutions of higher education in the Midwest. The “Stage Model of the Careers of Successful Women” (White, Cox, & Cooper, 1992) provided the theoretical framework and the basis for selecting women for the study. Two women at each of the five stages of White, Cox, and Cooper’s …

Ec04-469 When Words Are Used As Weapons: The Signs Of Verbal Abuse (Part 2 Of A Four Part Series), Kathy Bosch

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Verbal abuse finally is being recognized as a form of domestic violence and as the behavior that usually precedes physical violence. There has been little support for individuals who are verbally abused because it's not as readily visible as a black eye or bruise. However, many individuals, particularly women, suffer with verbal assaults from their partners.

Ec04-466 There's No Excuse For Abuse: Domestic Violence Affects The Workplace (Part 3 Of A Four Part Series), Kathy Bosch

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

It's no secret that domestic violence is an epidemic that is profoundly affecting American communities and workplaces. The U.S. Justice Department reports that in 60,000 incidents of on-the-job violence each year, the victims immediately knew their attacker.

For many women suffering from domestic violence, the workplace is no haven because stalking, threats and violence follow them to their job. In the past, workplaces did little to address domestic violence issues. But today, businesses realize the great costs incurred from domestic violence in lost production estimated at $3-5 billion annually. Employers and labor organizations have begun to consider the special needs …

Ec04-464 There's No Excuse For Abuse (Part 1 Of A Four Part Series), Kathy Bosch

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

In this series of four articles, information will be provided from the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the Nebraska and Kansas Coalitions Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, K-State Research and Extension, Nebraska Cooperative Extension, and many other research-based sources. You will learn more about how you can help a woman who is being abused, how you can offer support to children in abusive situations, how you may approach potential abusers, how to access resources, steps that can be taken in the workplace to help end domestic violence, what to teach children about partner abuse, how to raise community awareness, and how …

Ec04-471 When Words Are Used As Weapons: Youth Can Prevent Verbal Abuse (For Use With Teen Youth) (Part 4 Of A Four Part Series), Kathy Bosch

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Most physical abuse or battering begins with some kind of verbal abuse. Physical abuse is easy to identify because you can see a black eye or bruise. But verbal abuse is hard to see and define. Laws usually don't define verbal abuse or require it to be reported. Verbal abuse might be misinterpreted as a bad habit, a bad temper, or "just the way the person talks."

Verbal abuse can be a weapon used by either girls or boys, men or women. However, reports show that more women are abused by men, than men by women. Verbal abuse sometimes is …