Digital Commons Network^™

Turning The Tables: A Student’S Study Into The Frequency Of Physical Activity Among University Faculty And Staff, Julianna M. Detrane

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity and gender, position, social support, and motivation. The researcher conducted an observational, cross-sectional study of James Madison University faculty and staff (n=423) through the use of SurveyPlanet. The survey was adapted from the 2002 International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and participants responded to items regarding their current moderate and vigorous physical activity level based on the previous seven days, as well as items assessing level of motivation and sources of social support. Results of a multiple regression analysis, F(4, 412) = 6.811, p < .001, adj. R² = …

Running Comes Before Winning: Explaining The Gender Differential In State Legislatures, Marissa Piccolo

Honors Scholar Theses

What factors influence the likelihood that a woman runs for, wins, and holds political office across the country? Is it easier to explain why a woman runs in, than that she ultimately represents, a certain district? I compare a series of state-level and district-level independent variables and relate them to two different dependent variables: that a woman ran for a district seat, and that a woman represents a district. I explore what, and how much, political geography and contextual factors can explain. My preliminary findings show that it is easier to explain the probability that a woman runs, than that …

Understanding The Factors That Influence Motivation And Experiences In High School Physical Education, Brenna M. Cosgrove

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Intro: In comparison to children, adolescents achieve significantly less physical activity (PA). Additionally, activity differences exist among genders and race/ethnicities. One way to influence the PA habits of adolescents is through high school physical education (PE). Though PE class reaches students of all ages, genders and races, motivation and experiences across these groups appear to differ.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to determine if physical education descriptors, motivators, and experiences in ninth and tenth grade students differ across gender, race/ethnicity, and grade.

Methods: Students completed a questionnaire about the factors that influence their motivation and experiences in …

What It Means To Do Gender Differently: Understanding Identity, Perceptions And Accomplishments In A Gendered World, Joshua S. Smith, Kristin E. Smith

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Recent changes in policies, laws, and public opinion have brought discussions about gender and gender-related topics to the forefront of cultural discourse. In spite of increased acceptance of gender nonconformity in public laws and Supreme Court rulings, we continue to see acts of hostility towards people who express their gender in nontraditional ways on both macro-system and individual levels. Viewing questions surrounding the issues of gender through an identity-oriented lens may shed light on some aspects of this complex topic. The present research utilizes social psychological and gender theories in order to better understand and explore the apparent contradictions in …

An Examination Of Goal Orientation Between Genders – An Exploratory Study, Amanda M. Boyd

Honors College Theses

Goal orientation is defined as the perceptual-cognitive frameworks that determine how an individual approaches, interprets, and responds to achievement situations (Janssen & Van Yperen, 2004). Goal orientation refers to the reasons an individual engages in an activity and the goals he or she sets to define success (D’Lima et al., 2014). Research has shown that there are gender differences when examining goal orientation. However, little research has been found that has examined this within the millennial generation. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the differences between male and female millennial college students on goal orientation. The …

“White People Are Gay, But So Are Some Of My Kids”: Examining The Intersections Of Race, Sexuality, And Gender, Stephanie A. Shelton

Occasional Paper Series

A significant body of research examines the roles and characteristics of teachers who identify as allies to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students. Literature notes LGBTQ students’ vulnerability but often excludes students’ racial identities as relevant to LGBTQ identities. Drawing on queer theory and a longitudinal study, this paper examines through individual and focus group interviews the ways that a novice English Education teacher shifted from a bifurcated understanding of race as separate from LGBTQ topics to a position that fully embraced the importance of race as a factor in both serving LGBTQ students and teaching LGBTQ-positive topics.

Girls Just Wanna Be President: How The History Of Female Presidential Candidates Affects Political Ambition And Engagement, Kaycee Babb

History Graduate Projects and Theses

Female political ambition drops around high school, none of the 45 presidents of the United States have been female, and the history of female presidential candidates is largely absent from public memory. This project examines the connection between social perceptions of political involvement and the history of female politicians by creating a resource website of female presidential candidates in the United States. The website is meant to encourage youth political engagement, specifically the engagement of middle school to college-aged female students to lower the gender gap of political ambition. Without representation within American politics, many young women are not inspired …

Building An Inclusive Peace: Lessons From El Salvador, Patrick C. Seed

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper argues that the peace created after a conflict becomes more sustainable when peace processes are inclusive. The Salvadoran peace process shows how including certain actors reduced political violence while excluding other actors allowed for social and economic marginalization to continue. Based on secondary literature, this paper addresses who was involved in the peace process and how their involvement shaped the evolution of violence within El Salvador. While the peace process erased political violence, not including the unique needs of women and men led to continued social and economic exclusion and marginalization of vulnerable populations. The lessons from El …

Demographic Characteristics And The Bounds Of Occupational Choice, Cheryl K. Mcintosh

Business Administration Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between race, gender, generation, perceptions of discrimination, and socioeconomic status (SES) of origin and the prestige level of occupational choice. This study finds that the prestige level of occupational choice is significantly related to background factors that are outside of the control of the individual. This suggests that the interaction between race, gender, generation, perceptions of discrimination, and SES of origin may shape the choices that people make, potentially calling into question the extent of control that people have over their occupational choices. This is an important addition to the …

Demographic Characteristics And The Bounds Of Occupational Choice, Cheryl K. M. Mcintosh

Management Dissertations - Archive

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationships between race, gender, generation, perceptions of discrimination, and socioeconomic status (SES) of origin and the prestige level of occupational choice. This study finds that the prestige level of occupational choice is significantly related to background factors that are outside of the control of the individual. This suggests that the interaction between race, gender, generation, perceptions of discrimination, and SES of origin may shape the choices that people make, potentially calling into question the extent of control that people have over their occupational choices. This is an important addition to the …

Becoming Women Engineers: Dismantled Notions And Distorted Perspectives, Lisa Zagumny, Holly Garrett Anthony, Sally J. Pardue

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In an investigation of (non-international) undergraduate students’ experiences with their engineering major, we interviewed 10 young women asking questions about their interactions with instructors, academic successes/struggles, and any challenges they felt they had faced as women/girls in engineering. Initial findings echoed those in previous research serving to affirm held notions of interventions that would improve women/girls’ experiences in engineering. In reflecting on the research methods and troubling its design, we realized that we had approached the data with limited perspectives. A new approach to analysis opened up concepts and yielded findings that offer a different course of action for abating …

Don't Go Unless You Mean It : A Novel With Critical Afterword : Heteronormative Masculine Performance In Contemporary Fictions Of The Rural American South., Nathan N. Gower

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of a full-length novel for an adult audience as well as a substantial critical afterword to elucidate and complicate germane thematic concerns of the creative artifact. The novel, leaning on the rich traditions and many genre conventions of fictions of the American south, tells the story of an unlikely underground coal miner in Blue Banks, a fictional southern town set in the caverns and rolling hills of the western Kentucky coal fields. The narrative follows its fish-out-of-water protagonist, Cody Culver, a fledgling academic who thought he had escaped his fate as a third-generation coal miner when he …

Examining The Impact Of The Haven Training On Perceptions Of Rape, Katerina Marie Oberdieck

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to study the effect of a university-mandated sexual assault prevention program-Haven: Understanding Sexual Assault-on college students' judgments of three different rape vignettes (Stranger Rape, Acquaintance Rape, Acquaintance Rape with Intoxication), and overall rape myth acceptance. A sample of 490 participants who either had or had not completed Haven training participated in the study, and each participant was also randomly assigned to read either a brief summary of the Haven training or a control paragraph before judging the vignettes. Gender was also treated as an independent variable due to robust evidence of gender differences in …

Expressing Pride: Effects On Perceptions Of Agency And Communality Based On Race And Gender, Rosalyn A. Miles

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This study investigated how the expression of pride shapes perceptions of agency and communality, and how those perceptions differ when the pride expresser is of a certain gender and race. Participants were primed with a scenario featuring a picture of a target varying in race and gender. Participants were then invited to complete a survey assessing their perceptions of agency, communality, leadership competence, and ascribed interpersonal hostility. It was hypothesized that the expression of pride over happiness would rank someone as being more or less agentic, communal, competent in leadership, or interpersonally hostile. It was also hypothesized that black targets …

Becoming Queer In The 20 Th Century: An Analysis Of Print Literature And Changing Queer Identity, Keith Plummer

Sociology Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Flesh In Line With The Mind : Gender In Caitlin Kiernan’S The Drowning Girl., Sarah Buckley

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This paper analyzes how Caitlyn R. Kiernan in her novel The Drowning Girl characterizes gender identity, particularly in regards to women, both transgender and cisgender. The book's characterization of gender roles for cisgender men, cisgender women, and transgender women, while seeming on the surface to subvert sexist stereotypes, reproduces the pitfalls of feminist literary criticism popularized in the 1970s and 1980s. Notably, such themes include viewing women's madness as a method of transcending masculine rationality, a dichotomized essentialism of masculinity and femininity, and universalizing women's experience without regards to race, class, and nationality. Transgender autobiographical and literary archetypes employed in …

The Relationship Between Self-Perceived Gender Typicality, Self-Esteem And Psychological Distress In College Students, Godswill O. Chuku

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The role of gender identity in the gender differences observed in psychological distress has been established in research with researchers acknowledging the importance of a multidimensional conceptualization of gender identity. Gender typicality is one aspect of gender identity that has been identified to be related to psychosocial adjustment such as self-esteem in adolescents. Self-perceived gender typicality describes how typical people feel they are in relation to their own gender group. By asking college students to fill out an online survey on gender typicality, self-esteem and psychological distress, the present study explored the relationship between self-perceived gender typicality and psychological distress …

Breaking The Cycle Of Silence : The Significance Of Anya Seton's Historical Fiction., Lindsey Marie Okoroafo (Jesnek)

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the feminist significance of Anya Seton’s historical novels, My Theodosia (1941), Katherine (1954), and The Winthrop Woman (1958). The two main goals of this project are to 1.) identify and explain the reasons why Seton’s historical novels have not received the scholarly attention they are due, and 2.) to call attention to the ways in which My Theodosia, Katherine, and The Winthrop Woman offer important feminist interventions to patriarchal social order. Ultimately, I argue that My Theodosia, Katherine, and The Winthrop Woman deserve more scholarly attention because they are significant contributions to women’s …

The Woman Card: Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential Campaign As A Case Study On America's Gendered Politics And Their Impact On Female Presidential Campaign Efficacy, Skylar Mcclain

Senior Theses

I posit that the gendered American cultural expectations for women, although they are not as rigid as they once were, inhibited the efficacy of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and impacted voter behavior. By assessing the indicators most commonly used in gender stereotypes; personality traits, domestic behaviors, occupations, and physical appearance, it is possible to construct a realistic portrait of Clinton’s public gender persona and the resulting electoral response.

Effect Of Physical Activity On Quality Of Life For College Students: A Comparative Gender Study, Sarah J. Boozer

Honors Theses

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity levels in college students and health related quality of life scores. Additional analysis was used to determine whether more of a relationship exists between female or male students’ in terms of activity versus quality of life.

Methods

Students for this study were gathered through their involvement in kinesiology based organizations on campus. Two surveys were utilized, the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Health Related Quality of Life survey. Students were also asked to record their gender, which allowed for the second analysis. After scoring the …

Gender In Black And White: Examining Interracial Relationships In Shondaland, Caitlin V. Downing

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Shonda Rhimes has been credited for crafting progressive television dramas that attract millions of viewers. Scholars have found that through the use of tactics like colorblind casting, Rhimes unintentionally creates problematic relationships between characters. Focusing on production techniques and dialogue, this paper examines episodes from two of her most popular shows, How To Get Away With Murder and Scandal. This paper argues that while the shows pursue progressive material, the shows present African-American female characters that require partners. Further, both white male characters negatively influence the women s independence. Through media representations, Shonda Rhimes shows reinforce inequality of race and …

The Role Of The Speech-Language Pathologist When Working With Clients Who Are Transgender: A Guide Of Gender Identity And Cultural Competency, Brett Welch

Theses and Dissertations

It is within the scope of practice of a speech-language pathologist to work with a client who is transgender for voice. However, regardless of the setting, a speech-language pathologist is likely to encounter a person who is transgender on their caseload. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association mandates that all of its members be culturally competent when working with clients from different cultural backgrounds, including those from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.

This thesis pulls from sociological, linguistic, and queer theory literature to provide an in-depth understanding of identity, gender, and transgender identity formation. With this nuanced understanding of …

“Patriotism Is Not Enough”: Edith Cavell’S Life And Death In Anglo-American Context, Erin B. Blackledge

Honors Theses

In October 1915, British nurse Edith Cavell was killed by the Germans for aiding in the illegal liberation of Allied soldiers. In the wake of her death, the British government created a propaganda firestorm to garner both domestic and foreign support for the war. In particular, the propaganda featuring Cavell was highly gendered and over the course of multiple generations has generated a diverse, and often polarized series of social and political responses in both Britain and the United States. Through the examination of government documents, newspapers, and popular culture, such as film and children’s novels, this thesis examines the …

"This Was Locker Room Talk": A Content Analysis On The Preservation And Policing Of Rape Culture On Twitter, Allison M. Sheets

All Theses

On October 9, 2016 during the second presidential debate, Donald Trump was asked by debate moderators to respond to a recently released audio recording in which Trump can be heard boasting about grabbing women without their consent. The term "locker room talk" was used by Trump to justify the discourse overheard in the tape. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the way in which registered Twitter users interpret and react to the use of the term "locker room talk" in relation to nonconsensual sexual activities. Using a sample size of 3,280 tweets, this content analysis draws upon …

The Rug's Topography, Rana Young

School of Art, Art History, and Design: Theses and Student Creative Work

My complex relationship with photographs began when I was young. I remember tearing images out of publications and bringing them to my dad prepared with questions. Where I grew up, normative values defined by anatomy at birth impacted an individual’s gender perception and performance. Raised by a single father, I experienced a non-traditional family structure in my home. Seeing photographs portraying the “wholeness” of family contradicted my reality. Those psychological impressions provoked my curiosity and propelled me to solve the mystery of what existed beyond the scene depicted.

In retrospect, my search for missing context stems from an interest in …

Gender, Punishment, And Cooperation: Men Hurt Others To Advance Their Interests, Terence C. Burnham

ESI Working Papers

A laboratory experiment that reports on gender, cooperation, and punishment in two repeated public goods game using high-powered punishment. In a repeated public goods game with punishment, no statistically significant differences between men and women are reported. In a modified game that adds an explicit payoff for relative performance, men punish more than women, men obtain higher rank, and punishment by males decreases payoffs for both men and for women. These results contribute to the debate about the origins and maintenance of cooperation.

The Gender Salary Gap And Race: A Case Of College-Educated Individuals, Giannina Celis

Honors Projects

Despite the fact that today, women constitute the majority of higher education graduates, (U.S. Department of Education 2016) they still earn considerably less than their male counterparts.This study examines some of the different factors that affect salary differentials by race and gender for the college-educated population. Using data from the The National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), I estimate a series of OLS regressions with controls for geographic location, social demographics, human capital development and occupation to see how they work together to explain these differences in pay.

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Student Readiness For School, James A. Wernke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The design method for this study was non-experimental quantitative. The survey was distributed via email to Kindergarten teachers in two Northeastern Tennessee school districts. There were 69 Kindergarten teachers who responded to the survey. The study revealed that Kindergarten teachers perceive that gender, socioeconomic status, and preschool experience have a significant impact on student readiness for school. Chronological age was not perceived to have an impact on student readiness for school to a significant extent. Kindergarten teachers perceived that preschool experience has the greatest impact on student readiness for school when asked to rank the order of impact from greatest …

Video Game Engagement, Gender, And Age: Examining Similarities And Differences In Motivation Between Those Who May Or May Not Play Video Games, Joseph Camarata

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aims to fill a research gap by examining video games to explore whether gender, age, or hours played per week would exert any influence on the information of those who may or may not play video games. Mood Management Theory and Uses and Gratification Theory were used as the theoretical foundation for this study. Four-hundred-three East Tennessee State University students who received the survey via email were asked to voluntarily participate in a survey about their motivations behind playing video games. Results from MANOVA showed that the motivations of male participants on video games were significantly higher than …

Gender Differences In Participation In And Motivations For Sexting: The Effects Of Gender Role Attitudes, Masculinity, And Femininity, Katie M. Springston

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Sexting, the exchange of sexually explicit messages, images, and videos through mobile phones, has in recent years become an increasingly publicized and common occurrence in our technologically advanced society (Strassberg, Rullo, & Mackaronis, 2014). The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of gender, gender role attitudes, and self-perceptions of masculinity and femininity on participation in and motivations for sexting. Using a cross-sectional design, a self-administered questionnaire was given to 222 Butler students during the early part of the spring 2016 academic semester. This questionnaire included items regarding demographics, the activity of sexting, personal participation in sexting, self-perceptions …