Cross-Gender Teaching Dynamics In Single-Gender Schools: A Case Study On School Leaders’ Perspectives On Gendered Teaching Practices, Support, And School Culture, Kelsie R. Copeman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this comparative case study is to examine the gendered experiences of teachers through the perspective of school leaders at single-gender schools. The theory guiding this study is Tomlinson’s theory on differentiated instruction, as it explains how the recognition and response to student differences allows for effective teaching in order to optimize learning experiences. The central research question is: How do school leaders perceive and navigate cross-gender teaching dynamics in single-gender schools? This study uses semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and journal entries from school leaders. The sample consists of 10 school leaders with current experience in single-gender schools, …

How Gender Impacts Mock Jurors’ Receptiveness To Aggravating And Mitigating Evidence In Capital Trials, Jolie E. Parker

Undergraduate Theses

This study examines how gender influences mock jurors’ receptiveness to aggravating and mitigating evidence in capital trials. Drawing on prior research that highlights the critical role of mitigation in reducing death sentences and persistent gender differences in death penalty attitudes, this study addresses a gap in the literature by analyzing how gender shapes responses to specific types of evidence rather than general support for capital punishment. Using a quantitative survey of 209 participants, the research analyzes Likert-scale responses measuring how various aggravating and mitigating factors impact sentencing preferences. Results indicate a weak but consistent relationship between gender and receptivity to …

Gender And Emotional Expression In The Courtroom: Mock Juror Perceptions Of Attorney Effectiveness, Emma Cantrell

Undergraduate Theses

This quantitative study examines how gender and emotional expression influence mock jurors' perceptions of an attorney's courtroom effectiveness. Using mock jurors, this study extends previous research suggesting that assertiveness and emotional displays are evaluated differently by gender. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of four closing statements in a mock burglary trial. The videos were of either a male or a female attorney delivering a passive or an aggressive argument. Participants then evaluated the attorney’s effectiveness across four categories: competence, persuasiveness, ability to instill confidence, and emotionality. Male participants generally rated female attorneys as less effective than female participants …

Accelerating Adolescent Girls’ Education In West And Central Africa, Mame Soukeye Mbaye, Sarah Engebretsen, Maty Dia, Karen Austrian

Adolescents and Young People

This brief summarizes the evidence on gender inequality in education in West and Central Africa (WCA), particularly the GIRL Center’s priority countries. It explores attendance, progression, transition to secondary, and re-entry. This brief informs strategies that address persistent inequalities and promote transformative outcomes for adolescent girls in the region.

Transforming Sexual And Reproductive Health And Rights For Adolescent Girls In West And Central Africa, Mame Soukeye Mbaye, Sarah Engebretsen, Maty Dia, Karen Austrian

Adolescents and Young People

This brief summarizes the evidence on adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in West and Central Africa (WCA), particularly evidence from the GIRL Center’s priority countries. It explores social norms and structural barriers to adolescent girls’ SRHR, pregnancy, harmful practices, unmet need for contraception, service gaps, SRHR in conflict settings, and legal and policy barriers. The brief informs strategies and promising entry points that have the potential to transform SRHR outcomes for girls in the region.

Child Custody Presumptions: From Fault And Gender To Equal Time, Thomas James

Georgia State University Law Review

For most of history, judges have applied fault- and sex-based presumptions to decide the kinds of custody arrangements that are in children’s best interests. Now that those have been eliminated, courts have no clear guidance for deciding the custody of children other than a vague directive to do what is “best.” Legislatures have enacted non-exclusive lists of suggested factors to consider, but these statutes are frequently as vaguely worded as the “best interest” directive. Because precatory words inserted into statutes with the intention of guiding a judge’s discretion are not binding, they do not provide a basis for appellate review. …

Addiction And Dalits: The Impact Of India’S Caste System, Ava Jackson

Audre Lorde Prize

Across global public health and psychology, addiction is defined as a chronic condition that involves compulsive seeking and taking of a substance. In Western frameworks, addiction is often treated as an isolated condition, where the individual is blamed for their actions. In reality, addiction is rooted in biological, psychological, and social factors and is more complex than an individual level. Looking at the Global South, addiction is prominent in Dalit or “untouchable” individuals in India’s caste system, who face exclusion from all forms of society, including education, work, and social experiences. Addiction among Dalit women in India, Bangladesh, and the …

Velcro, Sarah Welker

Audre Lorde Prize

An artwork that aims to focus on the gender euphoria, dysphoria, and different emotions that come with having breasts.

Women Leading In Higher Education: Exploring The Experiences Of Women Leaders In Student Affairs, Amelia Lindsay

Honors Theses

Student affairs is a field within higher education that works to support students’ out-of-classroom needs and provide them with a college experience that promotes holistic growth. This study examines the experiences of women leaders in student affairs at a mid-sized university in the southeastern United States and the opportunities and barriers they encountered in their pathways to their careers. Through in-depth, qualitative interviews, clear themes emerged regarding both facilitators of and challenges to their progression to leadership. Data show that their early life characteristics, self-perceptions, collegiate involvement, and mentorship were the largest catalysts in their career trajectories while the challenge …

Exploring The Psychological Health Of First Responder Women And Their Children, Shelby S. Deschepper

Honors Thesis

Abstract

First responders (law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians) often face occupational stressors and may have exposure to traumatic events. As a result, they are at risk for developing mental health conditions. Although there is substantial research on first responder mental health, potential gender differences within this population have received limited attention. The existing evidence suggests that first responders who are women encounter an even higher risk for adverse mental health outcomes than first responders who are men. Additionally, few studies have explored the mental health outcomes of children with first responder parents, and even fewer have …

Buried Identities: Analyzing Maya Gender Roles Through Burials At Chan Chich, Belize, Nicole Watson

Student Publications

The site of Chan Chich, Belize, has undergone excavations since 1996, but there has been little attention given to the question of gender. Burial analyses serve as the most fruitful way to comprehend gender inequalities and differences at Chan Chich, and this paper examines every burial excavated at the site since its first field season. The findings show evidence for elite women engaging in craft production and ritual activities, while also receiving immense care and effort in their burial constructions. Although there is limited data to work with, it is clear that some women held essential responsibilities and gained respect …

A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Community College Presidential Job Announcements And The American Association Of Community Colleges Competencies For Community College Leaders, Leslie M. Boon

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Women are overrepresented as students and employees of community college, yet they are underrepresented in presidential leadership roles. Prior research has examined the career trajectories and experiences of women aspiring to community college presidencies; however, less research has examined how discourse shapes expectations of leadership. Because community colleges have been described as gendered, the language used to describe leadership competencies may reinforce gendered assumptions about effective leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine the discourse of community college presidential job announcements and the American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) Competencies for Community College Leaders (4th edition) to examine …

Ultra-Processed Food Consumption, Physical Activity, And Overweight Among Adolescents: A Path Analysis In Indonesia, Oktia Woro Kasmini Handayani, Syifa Qolbiyah Nasir, Rinta Amalia, Rafidha Nur Alifah, Ida Leida Maria, Wahiduddin Wahiduddin, Andi Selvi Yusnitasari

Media Kesehatan Masyarakat Indonesia

The prevalence of overweight in adolescents aged 13–15 has increased from 2018 (11.2%) to 2023 (12.1%), as well as the impacts caused in the short and long term related to degenerative diseases. This study aimed to analyze the influence of Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) consumption habits and physical activity on overweight incidence among adolescents. A quantitative approach was employed, involving 280 junior high school students in Tangerang Regency, Banten Province, Indonesia, selected through quota sampling based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The independent variables were UPF consumption habits and physical activity, while the dependent variable was the incidence of over-weight. Age, …

Limit Of Labels: Examining The ‘Masc’ And ‘Femme’ Labels In Wlw Relationships Through Judith Butler’S Theory Of Performativityauthors, Nikky Garo

Mabini Review

Judith Butler’s theory of performativity emphasizes the idea that gender is constructed through a series of repeated acts. Within this framework, labels such as ‘masc’ and ‘femme’ can play a role in shaping gender identity and expression, especially in womenloving- women (WLW) relationships. Even though queerness is famously understood as a space for challenging gender norms, and WLW relationships to that extension should be a site for gender fluidity, the use of these labels in WLW relationships can reinforce patriarchal structures by replicating binary gender expressions. The act of labeling oneself or one’s partner as ‘masc’ or ‘femme’ is evidence …

The Power Of A Princess: Rebranding For A New Generation, Victoria A. Heath

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The lyric “Well, that sounds an awful lot like princess problems” from Snow White (2025) reflects Disney’s evolving portrayal of its princesses as more self-aware and independent. This shift is echoed in earlier live-action adaptations, such as Beauty and the Beast (2017), where Belle’s longing for “adventure in the great wide somewhere” signals her rejection of a limited, traditional role. Guided by Feminist Film Theory and media framing, this study examines how Disney’s rebranding of princess characters in Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Little Mermaid (2023), and Snow White (2025) reflects contemporary ideals of empowerment. Through narrative content and …

Reimagining The American Dream Of Aging: Filmic Portrayals And Implications For Transformative Advertising Research, Katherine C. Sredl, Julie Whiteman, Finola Kerrigan, Cagri Yalkin

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Transformative advertising research uses institutional theory to position advertising as a site for transformative well-being, highlighting the role of ideology in shaping industry practice and output. Our study into discourses of successful aging in three films addressing the lives of older women demonstrates how film uses cinematography, dialogue, and mise-en-scène to discursively create film templates of successful aging. Templates provide cultural ideological frameworks for film audiences in their materialized representations of subject positions, thereby creating consent for the conditions and consumption that symbolize those positions. Although film can offer advertising and its audiences potentially transformative ideological templates of aging and …

Madwoman Makings: The Modern Girl As An Object Of Fear And Fascination In Unno Jūza’S "Mrs. Hirumi's Refrigeration Bag", Eliza Joy Mortimer

University Honors Theses

This thesis argues that Unno Jūza's 1937 short story "Mrs. Hirumi's Refrigeration Bag" uses the sensational tropes of deviant detective fiction to both stage and interrogate interwar Japanese anxieties around gender, science, and modernity. Focusing on the figure of Mrs. Hirumi—a scientifically empowered and sexually assertive female plastic surgeon who dismembers and cryogenically preserves her husband—the author reads her as a radical iteration of the Japanese Modern Girl character. By drawing on scholarship on deviant detective fiction, imperial modernity, and Kazue Harada's concept of (re)productivity, this thesis demonstrates how the short story both reproduces misogynistic criminological discourse and unsettles heteronormative …

Bodies And Beyond: Reading Liminal Corporealities In Ambai’S Short Stories, Keerthana S

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article demonstrates how the Indian writer Ambai’s short stories construct counter-narratives to phallogocentric structures, opening up fresh avenues of theoretical engagement in the cultural context of Tamil Nadu, India. Despite advancements towards gender equality, cultural symbols and metaphors such as tali (ornament worn by Tamil women denoting their marital status), karpu (chastity), and veera tai (valorous mother), often govern the lives of women to a great extent. I argue that Ambai’s stories both resist the hegemonic constraints of such cultural symbols and also endeavour to reconfigure them. Ambai’s renderings of cultural semiotics enable women to experience their bodies removed …

Social Support And Mental Toughness As Predictors Of Perceived Stress Among College Kinesiology Students, Jianmin Guan, Wan Xiang Yao, Xiaofen D. Hamilton, Gaofeng Lu

International Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Drawing on Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional theory of stress and coping, this study examined the associations of age, gender, three types of social support (family, friends, and significant others), and mental toughness with two dimensions of perceived stress (helplessness and coping inefficacy) among 666 college students majoring in Kinesiology. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that male college students, as well as those with higher levels of mental toughness and family support, reported significantly lower levels of helplessness and coping inefficacy in managing stress. Additionally, greater support from friends was significantly associated with lower levels of coping inefficacy, while younger students …

An Autoethnographic And Relational Exploration Of Identity Negotiation Within Romantic Relationships Between Nonbinary Partners And Cisgender Women, Maddison L. Russell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how trans and cisgender partners negotiate gender identity, care, and relational well-being through an autoethnographic examination of everyday communication. The study draws from eighteen personal narratives across family, academic, and romantic contexts to trace how gender-based microaggressions and cisnormative expectations become embedded in ordinary talk, gestures, and silences, shaping identity development and relational stability. At its core, this work argues that relationality emerges as a pervasive and constitutive condition that shapes how affirmation, misrecognition, and belonging are experienced within trans/cis relationships and across time. Through examining moments of misunderstanding, minimization, and avoidance, the study reveals how microaggressions …

Organizational Crisis Management: Addressing Professional Misconduct In Modern Workplaces, Christina Nizamidou, Martin Sposato

All Works

Since the 1970s, governments and organizations across the globe have achieved tremendous progress against sexual harassment (SH), especially in the workplace. However, the number of organizations suffering from this crisis has increased significantly over the past few years. Based on an overview of SH crises -that have received extra media coverage since 2014- this paper explores whether organizations managed to learn from these crises. Compared to other crises, SH scandals produce a higher magnitude of provocation within society. An individual's act, based on their perception that the influence of power can be exchanged for sexual favors, destroys a business's global …

The Ai Academic Integrity Dichotomy: A Gender Lens, N. Sayegh, S. Larloulian, A. C. Elias, Leila Halawi

Publications

Using a gender lens, this research explores the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) educational tools and academic integrity. Studies suggest gender differences exist in academic dishonesty rationalization, with males potentially exhibiting more opportunistic behaviors. This qualitative study collected data through 30-minute face-to-face semi-structured interviews, recorded with consent, and analyzed thematically. Four significant themes emerged: Gender Perspectives on AI Tool Usage, Patterns of AI Tool Utilization, Academic Integrity Concerns, and Implications of Academic Dishonesty. The results indicate that educational establishments should adopt responsible AI governance frameworks and ethical guidelines to uphold academic standards while promoting scholarly integrity and institutional trust.

A Review Of Deborah Weiss's Women And Madness In The Early Romantic Novel: Injured Minds, Ruined Lives, Jennifer L. Nault Ms

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

A review of Women and Madness in the Early Romantic Novel by Jennifer Nault.

Teaching Phillis Wheatley (Peters) As A Working Artist, Lenora Warren

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

In recent years, the challenge of teaching the poetry of Phillis Wheatley (Peters) has been managing my students’ expectations of what constitutes “representative” African American literature and coming to a more comprehensive idea of constitutes both “political” and black art. In managing some initial confusion around Wheatley’s muted response to her enslavement I have landed on presenting Wheatley’s insistence of her work as a poet as “labour” to be the most interesting tact to take with students. For Wheatley it is the imperative of becoming a poet that allows her access to what might be seen as a more vital …

Queer Excess And Hybrid History In Elizabeth Cary’S Edward Ii, Kelley K. Glasgow

ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830

Elizabeth Cary’s prose history The History of the Life, Reign, and Death of Edward II (1627) follows the fourteenth-century king of England, whose love affairs with his favorite courtiers ultimately resulted in his overthrow and execution. She identifies Edward’s queerness, and his resulting lack of emotional control, as central to his inability to govern England, and as an example of the dangers of excessive emotions for her readers. Because of Edward II’s complicated publishing and attribution history, much of the scholarly effort around this text has been spent attempting to interpret it through Cary’s personal life and political aims. …

Discouragement Of Men's Display Of Emotions In Western Culture, Kevin C. Modeszto

The Kean Review: Journal in Student Research

In Western culture, there are different expectations for handling emotions based on gender. Women are encouraged to show their emotions, while men are heavily discouraged from showing them. There is no difference between genders as babies in terms of showing emotion, but the difference is significant by as early as middle childhood. However, as demonstrated in a study with 68 responses dominated by people between the ages of 18-21, this trend is slowly dissipating.

Redefining Female Identity In Interactive Media: Deconstructing Gender Stereotypes Through The Character Yuna In Ghost Of Tsushima, Putri Sri Aryana, Rostineu -

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study examines the deconstruction of female gender stereotypes through the character Yuna in the game Ghost of Tsushima. The analysis employs a qualitative approach that explores narrative, visual, and gameplay aspects. The theoretical framework draws on Judith Butler’s gender performativity, Marie-Laure Ryan’s digital narrative theory, and Stuart Hall’s representation theory to identify forms of resistance to traditional gender norms reflected in the game industry. The findings indicate that Yuna emerges as an active agent who influences the protagonist’s ideological development, plays a significant role in shaping the overall narrative direction, and avoids visual objectification. This study is expected …

Semiological Analysis Of Visual Representations Of The Female Body On Instagram, Hassan Baha

Faits de Langue et Société (FLS)

On digital social networks and Instagram in particular, female influencers mainly use images to communicate with their audience. A form of visual communication that allows them to enter a process of digital self-presentation. On Instagram, the female influencers in our sample are depicted as perfect, slim body and attractive. These images can impact women's perception of their own bodies and self-worth. A visual/virtual representation that can encourage women to seek an unrealistic physical perfection maintaining, in order to achieve this ideal, a set of stereotypes that persist in the social imaginary. In this present project, we will study the images …

Bodies As Battlefields: Gendered Violence During The Russian Pogroms, Alisa L. Fixler

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

This paper explores how sexual violence during the Russian Civil War, particularly perpetrated by the White Army, was used as a ubiquitous tool for genocide against Jewish women. From 1918 to 1922, Jewish Women in the Russian Empire faced pervasive sexual violence during the pogroms: periods of mass violence and riots targeting Jews. This wave of violence led to displacement, immigration, and a profound impact on culture, reshaping the Jewish community forever and serving as a driving factor in the Jewish diaspora. Previous scholarship fails to critically engage with sexual violence as a unique tool in itself, as opposed to …

Reading About Gender Identity In A Rural Community: Discourse Around Young Adult Literature And Social Justice, Ashley S. Boyd, Rachael R. Wolney

Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education

This study explores how a rural adult book club engaged with gender identity through young adult literature (YAL), focusing on Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All the Best. Facilitated by two teacher educators, the club brought together local residents and a guest speaker from a regional support organization to discuss gender, pronouns, and the experiences of nonbinary youth. Using critical discourse analysis and thematic coding, the authors examine how participants, cisgender adults, navigated unfamiliar concepts, reflected on their own beliefs, and considered implications for their personal and professional lives. Findings highlight the power of YAL to serve as a …