Digital Commons Network^™

Grandma In The White House: Legal Support For Intergenerational Caregiving, Jessica Dixon Weaver

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Marian Robinson’s status as the live-in First Grandmother is an example of a growing trend in the United States - the multigenerational family. The 2010 United States Census Data reflects that the number of households with multiple generations living under one roof has increased by 25% this decade. Mrs. Robinson also reflects another new development in American families: grandparents helping their adult children with caregiving. More than 70% of grandparents are taking care of their grandkids on a regular basis, and 13% are primary caretakers. Many grandparents treat their role as caregiver like a profession, and they sacrifice jobs, residences, …

Computational Analysis Of The Body In European Fairy Tales, Scott Weingart, Jeana Jorgensen

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

This article explores how digital humanities research methods can be used to analyze the representations of gendered bodies in European fairy tales, a flexible and pervasive genre that has influenced Western children's education and acquisition of gender identity for centuries. By blending the theoretical and methodological concerns of folkloristics, gender studies, and large-scale scientific research, this article demonstrates the utility of cross-disciplinary collaboration in asking traditional questions of traditional materials with new methods. To facilitate this research, a hand-coded database listing every reference to a body or body part in the 233 fairy tales was created. Analysis revealed strong indications …

The Black And The White Bride: Dualism, Gender, And Bodies In European Fairy Tales, Jeana Jorgensen

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Fairy tales are one of the most important folklore genres in Western culture, spanning literary and oral cultures, folk and elite cultures, and print and mass media forms. As Jack Zipes observes: ‘The cultural evolution of the fairy tale is closely bound historically to all kinds of storytelling and different civilizing processes that have undergirded the formation of nation-states.’¹⁴³ Studying fairy tales thus opens a window onto European history and cultures, ideologies, and aesthetics.

Feminist Approaches And The South African News Media, Denise Buiten

Arts Papers and Journal Articles

Despite apparent feminist advancements within contemporary South Africa, gender transformation in the South African media industry has been both limited and irregular in terms of the ways in which newsroom cultures are being transformed, and the ways in which this impacts on the production of gendered media texts. Based on interviews with journalists and editors from three weekly South African newspapers, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Sun and the Mail & Guardian, this article explores the ways in which journalists articulate their understandings of gender and gender transformation within the media, and reflects on the ways in which these articulations …

Gender And The African Burial Ground, Ashley Parks

Theses & ETDs

This thesis is an examination of the African Burial Ground in New York. In the analysis I consider burials that were associated with items of adornment and shells, coins, and other items in the time periods from the 1760s to 1794. Through the application of queer theory within a Black feminist archaeological framework, I hope to open up new understandings of gender during this time period. The analysis focuses on the gendered aspects of burial good associations as well as how two burials, Burials 259 and 332, challenge the conflation of sex and gender in archaeology, as well as the …

Power Girls Before Girl Power: 1980s Toy-Based Girl Cartoons, Katia Perea

Publications and Research

The socio/cultural history and partnership of toy advertisement and children’s television is rich and well documented (Schneider 1989, Kunkel 1988, Seiter 1993). In this article I discuss the influence of policy in girl’s cartoon programming as well as the relationship between commercialization and financial motivation in creating a girl cartoon media product. I then discuss the formulaic, gender normative parameters this new genre set in place to identify girl cartoons as well as girl media consumption and how within those parameters girl cartoon characters were able to represent an empowered girl popular culture product a decade before the nomenclature Girl …

I Play To Beat The Machine: Masculinity And The Video Game Industry In The United States, Anne Mcdivitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the video game industry within the United States from the first game that was created in 1958 until the shift to Japanese dominance of the industry in 1985, and how white, middle class masculinity was reflected through the sphere of video gaming. The first section examines the projections of white, middle class masculinity in U.S. culture and how that affected the types of video games that the developers created. The second section examines reflections of this masculine culture that surrounded video gaming in the 1970s and 1980s in the developers, gamers, and the media, while demonstrating how …

The Effectiveness Of The Missoula Active 6 Afterschool Program On Participation And Health Outcomes, Carly Michelle Holman

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The afterschool environment has arisen as one of the main settings for physical activity programs that aim to prevent childhood obesity and increase physical activity (Beets et al., 2009). The YMCA Active 6 program in was created in 2010 in reaction to the obesity and physical activity trends in Montana’s youth. The program aims to increase physical activity in sixth grade participants and to educate them on different components that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of the study was to assess the Active 6 program’s impact on sixth grade students in Missoula, MT. by increasing physical activity, decreasing …

Feminist Zines: (Pre)Occupations Of Gender, Politics, And D.I.Y. In A Digital Age, Courtney Lee Weida

Journal of Social Theory in Art Education

This article examines the potential of recent feminist zines as frameworks of grassroots D.I.Y. and direct democracy in physical and digital communities. While the height of zine creations as works on paper may be traced to the 1990s, this form of feminist counterculture has evolved and persisted in cyberspace, predating, accompanying, and arguably outlasting the physical reality of protests, revolutions, and political expressions such as the Occupy Movement(s). Contemporary zines contain not only email addresses alongside ‘snail mail’ addresses, but also links to digital sites accompanying real-world resources. Zinesters today utilize the handmade craftsmanship and hand drawn and written techniques …

Closing The Gap: A Research Agenda For The Study Of Health Needs Among American Indian/Native Hawaiian Transgender Individuals, Irene S. Vernon, Trudie Jackson

Ethnic Studies Review

Objectives: To explore health research needs of American Indian and Native Hawaiian (AIINH) transgender individuals. Methods: This qualitative study is composed of four focus groups and one informal meeting, totaling 42 AIINH transgender individuals in four major cities. The theoretical and methodological approaches combined grounded theory with the principles of community based participatory research. Results: Healthcare and resiliency are two main themes that emerged as research needs with important subcategories within them. Access to quality care from medical professionals and access to care that is unique to their trans gender status were subcategories within healthcare. Lived experiences, culture, and history …

"A Stranger Within The Gates": The Construction Of Non-Normative Gender And Sexuality In Three Fin-De-Siecle, Emily Ryan

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines representations of non-normative gender and sexuality in three fin-de-siecle novels: The Well of Loneliness, Orlando, and Monsieur Venus. The first chapter deals with gender melancholia, gendered belonging, and the problematization of identity categories in The Well of Loneliness. The second chapter looks at performative gender, gendered displays of desire, and the subversiveness of relationships between women in Orlando. The third chapter focuses on the construction of gender roles in Monsieur Venus within a relationship of dominance and submission. Gender means something different to each of the protagonists—in The Well of Loneliness, gender is an elusive identity that …

Advertising Androgyny: How Models' Gender Presentation Impacts Young Adults' Evaluations Of Advertisements And The Effects Of An Inclusive Instructional Frame, Arielle Scherr

Theses & ETDs

This study investigated how the gender presentation of models in advertisements and an instructional frame emphasizing gender fluidity affected adolescents' and young adults' evaluations of these ads. Participants were exposed to five advertising images picturing a feminine female, a masculine female, a feminine male, a masculine male, and a pair of jeans (control). Participants then completed a survey measuring their evaluations of model attractiveness, ad effectiveness, ad relatability, self-attractiveness, sex role orientation, and media-inspired social comparison behavior. Participants exposed to the inclusive instructional frame rated the four model images as more effective and relatable than participants in the control group …

Negotiating Ethnosexual Difference In The Armenian Transnation, Nelli Sargsyan

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Since heteronormativity is an inextricable part of the ethnonationalist ideologies and discourses of Armenianness, conformity and transgression are communally policed both in the Republic of Armenia, as well as in the Armenian diaspora, albeit in different ways. In the diaspora it is through public silence regarding Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) and queer self-identified Armenians that hetero-belonging is managed. In the Republic of Armenia, on the other hand, it is managed through hate speech promoted by public figures and through mass media. In both cases the anxiety that the issue of non-heteronormativity points to in the public outcry is that …

Making Sense Of Mason Jars : A Qualitative Exploration Of Contemporary Home Canning, P. Suzanne Pennington

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The practice and popularity of home canning in the United States has dramatically fluctuated since John Mason’s 1858 invention of the ‘fruit’ jar, influenced by cultural trends and sociopolitical events such as war, economic oscillation, activist movements such as environmentalism, and the politicization of food. The contemporary social context in which popular interest in home canning has most recently revived is an era of high cultural awareness and activity regarding multiple food issues. Traditional American foodways, including food preservation techniques such as home canning, are regaining importance as many Americans look to the past for solutions to current needs. This …

Tabaqueras On The Shop Floor : Gendered Labor Process And Production Model Transformations In Cigar Factories In Santiago, Dominican Republic, 1940-2011, Ingrid Mercedes Bircann-Barkey

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation uncovers the different gendered labor processes that have shaped the cigar women workers or tabaqueras' work experiences on the cigar shop floor or galera since the 1940s. I argue that contradictory processes of exclusion and inclusion in the urban-rural nexus of the tobacco/cigar economy may be based on gendered notions of skills. This gendered notion may be traced to how changes in state policy, international markets, and financial systems as well as changes in premium cigar production models, have transformed the galera's social organization and labor process.

The Glass Cliff: An Examination Of The Female Superintendency In South Carolina, Blanche Boyd Bowles

Theses and Dissertations

South Carolina public school districts are confronted with a series of difficult circumstances and rely more on female superintendents than the national average. The investigation of female South Carolina superintendents was guided by the glass cliff conceptual framework. The glass cliff represents situations where females are promoted over males to risky or precarious leadership positions where the chance of failure is high

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine the relationship between the sex of South Carolina public school superintendents to (a) self-reported transformational leadership behaviors and (b) select district indicators indicative of the difficult circumstances confronted …

Black & White Running Bodies: Masculinity, Muscularity & Femininity, Jenny Lee Lendrum

Wayne State University Theses

Women as a population have been marathoning for less than thirty years, many are fresh and new to the sport, and are making such sacrifices by squeezing the sport into their full lives along with their career and familiar responsibilities. Many women, Black and White, some with family responsibilities, others with demanding careers, several with both, are running. By doing so, they are challenging male dominance and demand an equality on and off the road. Women have created meaning in their lives as a result of marathoning. Their lives, perceptions and experiences, and bodies have changed in the process.

The Insignificance Of Feature Frequency In Classifying Gender Of Twitter Tweets, Amanda Marie Kroft

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In 2011, Internet users spent almost 23% of their time on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Twitter alone was estimated to have over 200 million active users. With social media being such a popular online pastime, a tremendous amount of information becomes available from the posts that users put on social media sites. This information has the potential to reveal details about the social media users, such as the relationship between characteristics of the users and what they post. This relationship is a hot research topic and one of the most frequently studied characteristic is the gender …

Theorizing The Effects Of Color, Environmental Space, Culture And Gender On Communication, David A. Brucker

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Extant literature indicates it is our physical, psychological interactions, and perceptions with certain colors and space and our culture and gender influence the way we verbally and nonverbally communicate. I discuss how the meanings of different colors have been depicted throughout history. Summarize my research on the physiological and psychological effects on individuals and show how certain colors are used. Describe environmental space in terms of natural, acute, chronic space and the psychological effects of different spaces. Describe how the perception and use of space affects how we feel. Explore how culture strongly influences the "windows" of the world we …

Making Sense Of Motorcycle Brotherhood: Women, Branding, And Construction Of Self, Kimberly Michelle Maas

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project focused on the motorcycle culture as evidenced in the definition of motorcycling brotherhood, the role of women in motorcycle culture, branding, and construction of self-identity. This study is intended to provide an in-depth analysis of these four areas for every-day bikers rather than outlaw motorcycle gangs. Previous research to date has focused on the culture and context of brotherhood among outlaw motorcycle gangs. I use these four sections to determine what the everyday bikers understanding of brotherhood is, what women's current place is in motorcycle culture compared to men, the effects of branding and logos on motorcyclists, and …

The Inclusion Of Women's History In The Secondary Social Studies Classroom, Cicely Scheiner-Fisher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The author examined the motivation for why, and methods of how, some secondary social studies teachers incorporate women’s voices into the traditional history framework. A multi-layered qualitative methodology was employed for this study using survey, case study, and phenomenological approaches, including interviews and classroom observations of participants. The researcher discovered the percentage of teachers who claim to incorporate women’s history/perspectives into their lessons; how teachers incorporate women’s history/perspectives into their lessons; and, the factors that contribute to teachers including women’s history/perspectives into their classes.

Showcasing Self: An Intersectional Analysis Of Body Type Presentation In Online Daters, Andrew Latinsky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using data collected from the online dating site Match.com, this paper performs a content analysis examining the relationships between race, gender, and sexuality as both independent variables and as intersections on impression management strategies in online dating. Impression management strategies form a foundational core of how people interact with others in social situations. This analysis focuses on impression management strategies by examining how people advertise their body type in a public arena. Analysis also draws upon the types of bodies these people desire in an ideal date, as a second method of looking at the norms surrounding the ideal body …

Faculty Usage Of Social Media And Mobile Devices: Analysis Of Advantages And Concerns, D. Roebuck, S. Siha, R. L. Bell

Faculty Articles

This study seeks to understand the perceptions of professors using social media (also called Web 2.0 tools) in the classroom, what kinds of mobile devices are used to access the social media used, and what drives individuals to use them. In addition, it seeks to identify the advantages and concerns faculty has with the use of social media for classroom instruction. Two-Way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) procedure was used to ascertain whether differences existed between two dependent variables and (a) gender, (b) different academic ranks, and (c) gender *rank to determine if there are any interaction effects between genders …

The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: Using Data To Identify And Reach The Most Vulnerable Young People—Rwanda 2010, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

“The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: Using Data to Identify and Reach the Most Vulnerable Young People: Rwanda 2010” is part of a series of Population Council guides that draw principally on data from the Demographic and Health Surveys to provide decisionmakers at all levels—from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and advocacy groups—with evidence on the situation of adolescent girls and boys and young women aged 10–24 years. The data are presented in graphs, tables, and maps (wherever possible), providing multiple formats to make the information accessible to a range of audiences. Section I is the Foreword. Section II offers brief technical notes specific …

Normalizing The Deviance: The Creation, Politics, And Consumption Of Sexual Orientation And Gender Identities In Online Fan Communities, Dianna M. Fielding

Departmental Honors Projects

Communities of fan producers have been creating and consuming works labeled deviant by both laypeople and academics for decades. Fan producers take the popular media they enjoy and rewrite it to fit their needs and desires. Online, these fan producers have found a new space to re-write what it means to be normative. These fan producers often write about slash, which depicts homosexual relationships as normal, and genderswap, which plays with the idea of gender by physically switching characters’ sex. Understanding how norms are created within fan productions can help us understand how norms are created more broadly. Through content …

The Brave Heart Society: An Oral History Of An Indigenous Women's Society, Brook Spotted Eagle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examines the Brave Heart Society and the ways in which Brave Heart women collectively approaches trauma-healing outside of the programmatic structures of federally funded tribal systems. National statistics speak to the contemporary struggles impacting most US Indigenous populations in the present-day. Such struggles are residual symptoms rooted in a long history of domination and US imperialism. These data indicate that most tribes have not fully recovered from federally imposed systems of deprivation. Within the context of the Ihanktonwan Dakota community in southeastern South Dakota, the nuanced ways in which trauma impedes development and community wellness is both realized …

The Underrespresentation Of Hispanic Women In The Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Fields: What Can Be Done To Curie The Problem., Elky Almaraz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Hispanic women comprise approximately eight percent of the United States’ population and represent the largest group of minority women. However, Hispanic women only make up approximately two percent of the science and engineering workforce. In contrast, Caucasian women form approximately one-third of the United States’ population and eighteen percent of the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) workforce. Hispanic women begin a post-secondary education in STEM fields with a proportional interest to other gender or racial groups. However, they are far less likely to continue the coursework and ultimately earn a degree than their non-minority classmates. Schools and education officials …

Virtual Travel And The Pleasure Peripheries -- Case Study Of Second Life, Judith A. Elund, Panizza R. Allmark

Research outputs 2013

No abstract available

The Emotionally Supportive Sister-Soldier: How The United States Military Values Normative Femininity And Devalues Nonconformist Servicewomen, Kristal Marie Gray

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Women need to be vigilant about the rights and strides they have gained to be sure they are not circling back to feed an oppressive system. Women may be serving in the military but they are filling specific roles as the feminine presence within the ranks. Women are gendered and sexualized from the day they swear in. My research gives valuable insight into the world of the military and how much emphasis is placed on conforming. I explain how servicewomen are expected to act and then interview eleven servicewomen to see if they are behaving according to the military (and …

Examining The Role Of Race, Gender, And Class In African-American Police Perceptions In Rural Kentucky, Paul Maxwell Blackhurst

Online Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has consistently demonstrated the role of race in understanding racial and ethnic differences in perceptions of the police. This research has overwhelmingly shown that Blacks and Latinos hold lower levels of trust and confidence in the police than do Whites and other racial minorities. The increased skepticism of the police expressed by minority citizens is commonly associated with racial profiling and documented racial disparities in police behavior. Although policing research has empirically demonstrated the influence of race on perceptions of the police, few studies have explored police perceptions from a rural context. By employing the Citizen's Attitudes Towards …