Social Statistics Commons^™

African-Centered Psychological Perspective On Happiness, Kopano Ratele, Carmine Rustin

The Qualitative Report

Happiness scholarship has gained prominence in a number of disciplines over the last few decades, including economics and psychology. In South Africa, we have observed an uptick in happiness studies, but also that these studies are mostly using quantitative methodologies. What is missing in nearly all these studies are conceptualizations of happiness from African-centered decolonial psychological perspectives. The main objective in this article is to approach happiness from an African-centered decolonial psychological perspective. The article draws on data from a qualitative study which investigated happiness and gender equality amongst South African women. Convenience sampling was employed to recruit participants. Eleven …

Empowered Women In A Rural Community: A Case Study In Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, Patricia López-Estrada, Lady Fernández-Mora, Estefanía Pérez-Hidalgo

The Qualitative Report

Community empowerment plays a key role in the working of society. Providing support and training opportunities to communities and promoting socioeconomic growth can be of fundamental importance to the progress of any region but is particularly important in rural areas. Women in rural communities frequently have been confined to playing roles in the home, despite recent literature suggesting that empowering them can boost the development of their communities. Drawing on inductive qualitative research, this case study describes the perceptions of five rural women from Sarapiquí in the Northern Region of Costa Rica after undergoing training in tourism entrepreneurship in the …

The Lived Experiences Of Middle Eastern Immigrant Women During Their Cancer Survivorship Journey: A Phenomenological Study, Enam Alsrayheen, Khaldoun Aldiabat, Catherine Aquino-Russell

The Qualitative Report

The number of Middle Eastern immigrant women (MEIW) living in Canada has significantly increased. However, this group of women is underrepresented in health research and there is a gap in knowledge of their cancer survivorship experiences in Canada. This phenomenological qualitative approach was employed to uncover the meaning of the lived experiences of MEIW during their cancer survivorship journey (CSJ). Data were collected through unstructured interviews and one written description from three MEIW. The participants' perspectives of cancer risk factors were believed to be the cause of their cancer, and their CSJ was fear-inducing and anxiety-provoking. There appears to be …

Calling Out Street Harassment Of Women And Lgbtq People: A Review Of Kolysh’S Everyday Violence, Alexandra Nowakowski

The Qualitative Report

Street harassment often impacts people whose identities and presentations of self-intersect with femininity in any way. Yet, despite this frequent unwelcome scrutiny of our bodies and selves, few scholars have turned their own appraising gazes on street harassment in kind. Fewer still have centered queer and trans people in their inquiry. In Everyday Violence: The Public Harassment of Women & LGBTQ People, Dr. Simone Kolysh (2021) critically investigates street harassment from intersectional queer and nonbinary feminist perspectives. Their research both amplifies voices from survivors of harassment and directly explores perspectives from perpetrators of harassment. Per Kolysh’s own reflections, this …

Resilience And Fortitude: The Lives Of Impoverished Women In Fremantle, Western Australia, 1890-1914, Linda Mcgowan

Theses

Many impoverished women struggled to raise their children without support in Fremantle, Western Australia, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This thesis investigates how these women managed to provide for their children, and keep their families together, at a time when society expected women to be supported by men. The appalling living conditions in the slum areas of Fremantle, which often led to serious health issues that further impacted on women’s struggle for survival, are explored as well as how the denial of legal rights, and harsh community attitudes towards these women, exacerbated already difficult situations. Options such …

Research Recruitment: A Case Study On Women With Substance Use Disorder, Kristy J. Cook Phd, Rn, Ibclc, Kim L. Larson Phd, Mph, Rn, Fnap

The Qualitative Report

Women with substance use disorder may evade research participation because of individual and societal factors. Limited information exists on recruitment of women with substance use disorder. The purpose of this study was to delineate recruitment challenges among women with substance use disorder and identify successful recruitment strategies. An exploratory case study was used to examine recruitment of women with substance use disorder. This case study was informed by a pilot study in 2017-2018, where data were generated from 25 direct observations and three key informants from a drug rehabilitation treatment agency. Analysis took an explanation-building approach, which incorporated chronological field …

Strategies Used By Military Spouse Small Businesses During A Military Relocation, Sandra D. Heredia, Patricia Fusch

The Qualitative Report

There are over 615,000 women military spouses and 1,786 known military spouse business owners who relocate every 2 to 3 years to follow their active duty spouse. The research problem addressed was the lack of strategies military spouse small business owners used to sustain their business during a mandatory military relocation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies 5 women military spouse small business owners, located at military installations in the Midlands and Pee Dee regions of South Carolina, used to sustain their businesses during a relocation. The sampling method used was census sampling. The …

“Save My Baby”: The Lived Experience Of Hospitalized Pregnant Women With A Threat Of Preterm Birth, Dua' Yousef Al-Maharma, Inaam A. Khalaf, Fathieh Abu-Moghli, Sajeda Alhamory

The Qualitative Report

Activity restriction in hospital to prevent preterm birth (PTB) is widely used as the first step of treatment. It is associated with adverse physiological and psychological effects on maternal and fetal health that might persist years after birth. A sample of 10 pregnant women who were hospitalized for being at risk for PTB were purposively recruited to describe their lived experience via semi-structured in-depth interview. Five themes were identified, the maternal role establishment and suspending responsibilities, the women's perception of fear of uncertainty and finding support, dissatisfaction of care, the change of routine life and family relationships, and the cultural …

Lost Voices: Solutions For Achieving Gender Parity On Corporate Boards, Mary Tursi

Senior Theses and Projects

Women have never gained a significant voice in corporate America, holding only 27% of the board seats on the S&P 500. Recently, an increasing number of Americans have grown to realize the inequity of this practice, resulting in a rise in female directors. However, this growth is slow and largely in need of a policy to speed up the process. Gender quotas have garnered the most attention, but political limitations make them largely unattainable in the United States. In order to assess viable alternatives, this thesis assembles a database on corporate practices and uses statistical models to predict what policies …

Using Interviewing In Public Health Research: Experiences Of Novice Researchers, Caroline I. Wood, Nancy Daley-Moore, Rachel Powell

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we provide the experiences of three novice public health researchers conducting studies with several vulnerable populations: women, people with disabilities, and children. We describe all phases of our interview studies including developing data collection guides, planning the interview in an appropriate setting, conducting the interviews, and bringing the interview to a close. Specific components of the interviews that are discussed include establishing rapport and minimizing the power imbalance inherent between interviewer and interviewee, including the added power imbalance that vulnerable populations experience. Issues of maintaining quality and rigor, as well as ethical considerations for working with our …

Creating New Metaphors For Women Engineering Students Through Qualitative Methods, Cliff Haynes

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this study is to describe female students’ experiences in an engineering living-learning program using metaphorical analysis through a constructivist theoretical perspective. Extant literature uses metaphors from a negative viewpoint or a deficit model to describe the experiences of female undergraduates in engineering; however, new metaphors have not been used to describe the experience. This study aims to fill existing gaps in LLP literature using qualitative methods. Data from 13 semi-structured individual interviews (7 initial interviews and 6 follow-up interviews) serve as the primary data source. After conducting metaphorical analysis, I found five interpretive metaphors emerging: LLP as …

An Analysis Of Major Issues For Culturally-Minded Professionals In Women's Health Care, Victoria Clark

Senior Honors Theses

Women's health care professionals, such as general physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists, midwives, nurses, and doulas, in the US need to be aware of cultural issues and disparities. Minorities and migrant women experience cultural challenges and disparities when receiving health care in the US. Without cultural sensitivity, patient care is compromised. Pregnancy and childbirth practices vary widely by culture, and potential differences in perspectives, beliefs, and treatment of these are critical issues for women’s health care professionals to study. Female genital cutting (FGC), obstetric fistulas (OF), and female cancer are also discussed in this paper.

A Woman As A Decision-Maker: Exploring The "Lived Experience" At Home And Outside, Ray Titus, Debashish Sengupta, Sahana Madan

The Qualitative Report

In this research paper, we look at decision-making by women in India from a contextual perspective. This study looks at decision making by women as based on four possible contexts that may arise, and where decisions are called for. These contexts are qualified based on two broad parameters, namely the level of involvement (dictated by the stakes at play) and the predisposition displayed. Involvement is qualified as high or low (on a continuum), whilst predisposition is stated as either cognitive or affective. The results of the research study reveal a difficult act of balancing that women have to do in …

From The Voices Of California Female High School Principals: Examining Barriers And Support Systems In A New Era Of Educational Reform Through The Lens Of Activity Theory, Janice M. Jones

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceived barriers and support systems female high school principals experienced, through the lens of activity theory, while attaining and serving in their current position during the newest era of educational reform in a specific geographical region.

Methodology: Semistructured interviews were conducted with current female high school principals to gather data on the barriers and support systems they experienced. The theoretical framework of activity theory was used to analyze the subjects’ interaction with their environment as they sought the outcome of becoming and serving as high school principals. …

Two Decades Of Progress For Minorities In Aviation, David C. Ison, Rene Herron, Linda Weiland

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Diversity within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has historically lagged behind that which is found in other vocational paths. Aviation has also suffered poor diversity with virtually no participation among professional pilots. With both the literature specifying the benefits of diversity in the aviation workplace and potential shortages of pilots looming, it is in the interest of aerospace stakeholders to have access to the most comprehensively diverse employee pool possible. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the trends in participation by minorities who completed professional pilot education programs in the United States. Data concerning the …

Perceptions Of Being A Woman And Strategies For Women’S Body Image Resilience, Lauren L. Mclean, Amanda C. Laguardia

The Qualitative Report

Although the negative effects of female body objectification are well established, there is a lack of qualitative research examining how women can develop resiliency against body image issues and low self-esteem. Through the current phenomenological qualitative study, we sought to explore how participants defined being a woman, particularly a woman with healthy self-esteem. In addition, we explored several resiliency strategies, based on Choate’s (2005) theoretical model of body image resilience, that women could potentially use to combat some of the effects of objectification. Results indicated that female participants experience normative beliefs and gender expectations that a woman with a healthy …

The Impact Of State-Provided Paid Family Leave On Wages: Examining The Role Of Gender, Aimee Samantha Abrams Widdicombe

Scripps Senior Theses

The U.S. is the only OECD country that does not offer any form of federal paid parental leave. Only three states—California, New Jersey and Rhode Island—have state-provided paid leave policies; implemented in 2004, 2009 and 2014, respectively. Through descriptive statistics and difference-in-difference-in-difference regression analyses of the wages of women and men of childbearing age (19-45 years) in those three states, we assess whether the paid leave programs have effected wages, and whether these effects vary depending on gender. Our results show that wages of women of childbearing age saw negligible net effects post-policy in policy states, although statistically insignificant. On …

Seeking A Research Method To Study Women Who Have Recovered From Trauma And Addiction That Combines Feminist Theory, Somatic Theory, Alternative Forms Of Representation, And Social Justice, Sharon N. Stopforth

The Qualitative Report

The following paper attempts to find an approach to research that will best suit women who have recovered from addictions and trauma and consider themselves resilient. This approach will need to combine contemporary feminist theory, somatic theory, and alternative forms of representation/interpretation. The paper will begin by exploring the connection between postmodern feminist theory and somatic theory and what they both have to say about how we embody social conditions of gender through non-verbal interactions. Research will then be examined that captures the non-verbal aspects of being in the world and how this intersects with the postmodern turn. Finally, in …

Inconvenient Women, Audra Skukauskaite

The Qualitative Report

The poem developed from collective stories of women who have shared their experiences, challenges, and actions of being scholars, professors, graduate students, business owners, and/or parents, among a multitude of other roles that often inconvenienced those who had particular views of what women are supposed to be and do.

Reflexivity: Interviewing Women And Men Formerly Addicted To Drugs And/Or Alcohol, Judith Grant

The Qualitative Report

This article considers how one researcher used reflexivity in two research projects. Qualitative research often involves a consideration of sensitive topics, one which may include research with individuals formerly addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. However, there is little in the literature that focuses directly on such experiences for researchers in this field; that is, a consideration of how a researcher might use reflectivity while interviewing those formerly addicted to substances. Exploring the following themes, I highlight how I reflected on the experiences that my participants (25 women and 25 men) revealed about their stories of their addiction and recovery processes: …

Letters To Grandma: A Comparison Of Generational Perspectives Of Women's Growth As Higher Education Faculty, Elyn Mcreynolds Palmer

The Qualitative Report

This ethnographic compilation is the result of a course exercise in qualitative research. A current student of Texas Tech University interviewed an 87-yearold faculty member from the 1950s, comparing her experiences to those of the author in similar, present-day academic environments. The author developed the format of the paper as letters between a young faculty member and her experienced grandmother. Results of the study reflect many similarities between the experiences of past female faculty members and female faculty of today; the exercise does convey, however, many advances for women in the academic culture as well. Finally, the recorded experiences of …

Diplomacy & Negotiation, Liefke M. Cox

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

Over the course of history when women have been involved in the diplomatic, political, social, and economic structure of a country it has been found they are one of the key ingredients to building an effective and stable democracy. Investing in women strengthens the back bone of any society. Top CEO’s, such as Tupperware’s Rick Goings and Warren Buffett, have also publically supported this assumption. I argue that women in different societies have traits that have been instilled in them culturally which in turn translate directly to their ability to handle diplomatic situations and business negotiations. Societies, however intentionally or …

Women In Transition: A Qualitative Analysis Of Definitions Of Poverty And Success, Crystale M. Marsh-Mcdonald, Sybil Schroeder

The Qualitative Report

A phenomenological approach examined the stories of ten women transitioning from childhood poverty to adult life. Women were chosen from a pool of participants in an Upward Bound program designed to assist low-income and/or first-generation college students in the Midwestern United States. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to retrospectively explore their lived experiences. Recurring themes included facilitators of change, specifically the people, including mental health professionals, family members, romantic partners, and friends who helped make change possible. Another frequent theme found in the research was the impact an education had on the participants. Finally, the participants shared their own insights related …

Applying Grounded Theory To Weight Management Among Women: Making A Commitment To Healthy Eating, Christie Zunker, Nataliya Ivankova

The Qualitative Report

In this study we developed a theory grounded in data from women who continued healthy eating behaviors after a weight management program. Participant recruitment was guided by theoretical sampling strategies for focus groups and individual interviews. Inclusion criteria were: African American or Caucasian women aged 30+ who lost > 5% of their body weight in a weight management program > year ago. Participants > 5% below their baseline weight were maintainers (n = 9); those above were non-maintainers (n = 14). We asked open-ended questions regarding healthy eating behaviors. The systematic design is described in detail, including categories from open coding, connection during …

A Qualitative Study Of Providers' Perception Of Adherence Of Women Living With Hiv/Aids In Puerto Rico, Marta Rivero-Méndez, Carol S. Dawson-Rose, Solymar S. Solís-Báez

The Qualitative Report

This study examines healthcare providers' perceptions regarding experiences and factors that contribute to adherent and non-adherent behaviors to HIV treatment among women living with HIV infection in Puerto Rico and describes strategies implemented to improve adherence. Providers' accounts revealed that women with HIV infection are living "beyond their strengths" attempting to reconcile the burden of the illness and keep adherent. Factors putting women beyond their strengths and influencing non-adherence behavior were: gender-related demands, fear of disclosure, and treatment complexity. Strategies to improve adherence included: ongoing assessment, education, collaborative work, support groups, networking, disguising pills, readiness, and seeking medications outside their …

Characteristics Of Home: Perspectives Of Women Who Are Homeless, Christine A. Walsh, Gayle E. Rutherford, Natasha Kuzmak

The Qualitative Report

We employed participatory, community-based research methods to explore the perceptions of home among women who are homeless. Twenty women engaged in one or more techniques including qualitative interviews, digital story telling, creative writing, photovoice, and design charrette to characterize their perceptions of home. Analysis of the data revealed themes related to the physical, affective, and external environment. By understanding how participants perceive home and the qualities they deem necessary for home, we can begin to construct home from both a service and design perspective that meets womens needs for stable, safe housing and home, and also gain a better understanding …

“Taking Charge Of One’S Life”: A Model For Weight Management Success, Marlene Adams

The Qualitative Report

Obesity is a serious, prevalent, and refractory disorder that increases with age particularly in women who enroll in formal weight loss treatments. This study examined the processes used by obese postmenopausal women as they participated in a formal weight loss program. Using grounded theory, interviews were conducted with 14 women engaged in a formal weight loss study examining success with specific, targeted weight loss treatments based on one’s weight control self-efficacy typology. “Taking Charge of One’s Life” emerged as a model for weight management success, comprised of three phases: engaging, internalizing, and keeping one’s commitment. This study supports the unique, …