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Till (Un)Death Do Us Part : Exploring The Romanticization Of Adolescent Dating Violence In The Twilight Saga And The Romantic Relationship Beliefs Held By Female Fans Of The Series, Aviva H. Jacobstein

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the romantic relationship beliefs held by female fans of The Twilight Saga and to explore influences of media that romanticizes adolescent dating violence. This study specifically examined 18 to 20-year-old female fans’ varying degrees of Twilight exposure, narrative immersion into the series, and their beliefs regarding what constitutes a healthy romantic partnership. A total of 194 individuals who were exposed to the entirety of Twilight completed an anonymous online survey, which asked individuals to reflect on their reading/watching exposure to Twilight and immersion into the series. Participants also answered Likert-scale questions …

Coping With Incarcerated-Related Stress : A Study Of Coping Responses By Women Romantically Involved With Incarcerated Men, Jaleesa I. Myers

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

Research related to coping responses of women romantically involved with, or married to, incarcerated men has been unexamined in social work literature. This study examined how women romantically involved with, or married to, incarcerated men cope with economic, social and emotional stress associated with their partners ’ incarceration by examining their use of problem-focused, emotion-focused and avoidant-focused coping styles. The study answered to what extent do women romantically involved with, or married to, incarcerated men utilize adaptive coping responses, especially paying close attention to experiences of African American women. Using quantitative methods, the Brief COPE —a 28-item inventory—was administered to …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Authenticity And Female Sexual Dysfunction, Ellen Kaye Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since the late 1990s, researchers have reported a high degree of sexual dysfunction among American women that is associated with significant negative consequences (e.g., reduced quality of life and sexual satisfaction). In addition, sexual satisfaction is a primary factor in marital stability. Because of the widespread impact on both individual well-being and marital relationships, female sexual dysfunction is a significant public health problem. Most research has supported the predominance of psychocultural factors in women's sexual issues. Authenticity, defined by Kernis and Goldman as acting in accord with one's natural inclinations, is associated with increased well-being, but researchers have often overlooked …

What Are The Perspectives Of Osteoporosis Screening Among Black Women?, Angela Alsberry Wilkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Osteoporosis is a serious disease which often brings pain, disability, hospitalization, and even death. An increasing number of studies have been conducted on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis in White women, yet a paucity of research exists to explain disparities in screening and treatment of osteoporosis in Black women. This narrative study describes the perspectives of Black women regarding individual barriers to osteoporosis screening. The purpose of this study was to better understand the perspectives of Black women regarding prevention of and screening for osteoporosis. Selections included purposive, criterion sampling of 10 Black women who were 50 years and …

Women Entrepreneurs: Keys To Successful Business Development And Sustainability Beyond Five Years, Delores Duncan Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial populations, accounting for 8 million of the 28 million small businesses in the United States. Small businesses fail at a rate of 55% by the 5th year of operation and women, who own over 30% of all small businesses, contribute significantly to the 55% small business failure rate. Using Schumpeter's framework, this single exploratory case study investigated how women entrepreneurial small business owners use strategies to sustain their business operation beyond 5 years. A purposeful sample identified 2 women salon small business owners located in the Macon, Georgia metro area. Data …

Perceived Behavioral Control, Stress, Body Image, And Exercise Intentions In Overweight African American Women, Heidi L. Paruch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A disproportionate number of African American women are at risk for illness and mortality due to obesity. The aim of this study was to explore perceived behavioral control (PBC), stress, body image, and exercise intentions (EI) using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as the primary theoretical framework. The TPB is a leading model in health research to predict behavioral intentions, yet its application to the general female African American population is lacking. Seventy-nine African American women were sampled utilizing a cross-sectional, online survey method. A series of bivariate correlations tested the relationships among PBC, stress, body image, age, and …

Delaying First Pregnancies: Canadian Women's Knowledge And Perception Of The Consequences, Deborah Haynes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many women aged 20-30 are postponing their first pregnancies until their mid 30s and beyond, which has resulted in compressed childbearing years and/or infertility. Little is known about the knowledge and understanding that Canadian women of advanced age (age 35-45) possess of their reproductive capacity. This phenomenological study sought to explore these women's knowledge and perception of their reproductive capacity in relation to the timing of first pregnancy. Research questions using the constructs of Ajzen's theory of planned behavior were developed to explore how the behavioral, normative, and control beliefs of women's childbearing behaviors were based on their perceptions of …

Referral And Treatment Settings For Pregnant Women, Linda D. O'Daniel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women is a significant public health issue. The purpose of this study was to assess drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women and the setting in which they sought service or treatment to determine whether U.S. census regions and race data could predict the type of addiction service or treatment that pregnant addicts chose. The theories of self-efficacy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and rational emotive behavioral therapy were used as the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions were used to examine whether there was a relationship between the source of addiction treatment referral …

Stigma And Hiv Testing Among African American Women In New Jersey, Mirriam Limage-Pierre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American women are 18 times more likely to contract HIV than are European American women, yet they are less likely to be tested for HIV. Lack of HIV testing leads to late diagnosis and increased mortality from HIV-related illnesses. Based on the health belief model, this correlational study analyzed the extent to which HIV stigma mediated the relationship between perceived benefits or perceived severity of HIV and the uptake of HIV testing among African American women in New Jersey. A total of 93 African American women aged 18 and older who resided in New Jersey completed online questionnaires. Data …

Senior Army Women's Leader Behaviors And Their Civilian Career Transition, Sharon R. Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Female retired Army colonels (FRACs) have significant potential to contribute to civilian organizations. To take advantage of that talent, it is important to have a better understanding of their behaviors based on their dual identities as women and leaders. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the under researched factors accounting for the development of FRACs' leader behaviors and the transfer of those behaviors to civilian careers. The 4 underlying meta categories of leadership behavior formed the conceptual framework. The theory of planned behavior was used to explore potential influences on FRAC leader behavior development. The 3 …

The Use Of The Illness Perception Questionnaire: Enhancing Clinical Staff Understanding, Typhanie Beasley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women with Type II diabetes face unique challenges coping with the physiologic complications of the disease, which can be enhanced or hindered by their perception of their ability to effectively manage their diabetes. The Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) is a tool that evaluates factors influencing patient-provider communication and assesses patient's perception of their health. Guided by the common sense model of self-regulation, this quality improvement project focused on familiarizing health care providers with the IPQ-R and evaluating their receptiveness to implement it with women with Type II diabetes. Seven Primary Care providers participated in an educational in-service that included information …

Association Between Depression And Aggression In Rural Women, Laetitia Meyrueix, Gabriel Durham, Jasmine Miller, K. Bryant Smalley Phd, Psyd, Jacob C. Warren Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Rural women represent approximately 20% of women living in the United States, yet research on the specific mental health needs of rural women is limited. Given the well-recognized gender-linked disparity in depression, its correlated symptoms in women still need much investigation. While emerging notions of depression in men embrace potential symptoms related to irritability and aggression, less research has focused on the potential role of aggression in depressed women. This connection may be particularly relevant for rural women who face unique mental health stressors in comparison to their urban counterparts. The purpose of this study was to examine if aggression …

A Hidden Culture Of Carelessness: A Comparative Qualitative Study Of Gender Inequality And Its Implications For African American And South African Black Women Higher Education Administrators, Dawn S. Singleton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and compare the lived and career experiences of Black women higher education administrators in the United States and South Africa. This comparative study elucidated the women’s experiences while giving voice to Black women, whose experiences and status are often further marginalized under new managerial practices. This research used the theoretical lenses of intersectionality and carelessness, a new managerial practice within higher education, to uncover the challenges, opportunities, and contexts experienced by these women within gendered, racialized organizational structures and practices. A major finding of the research is that Black women shared …

The Constitution And Societal Norms: A Modern Case For Female Breast Equality, Brenna Helppie-Schmieder

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

“The Constitution and Societal Norms: A Modern Case for Female Breast Equality” argues that laws prohibiting the public display of the female breast, but not the male breast, are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. That these laws discriminate against women is obvious, yet courts have historically refused to recognize an Equal Protection Clause violation. However, the primary reasons courts rely upon are ripe for review. Most significantly, courts typically justify female breast censorship laws based on the government interest in protecting public sensibilities, without recognizing that public sensibilities change. Indeed, perceptions of the public female breast have …

All Is Not Fair In Love And War: An Exploration Of The Military Masculinity Myth, Meghan O'Malley

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

Sexual assault has become pandemic and even a common occurrence among the ranks of all branches of the U.S. military. The Department of Defense estimates that in the year 2012 alone, 26,000 active duty soldiers were sexually assaulted. The military rape culture was thrust to the forefront of the media in 1991 as a result of the Tailhook Scandal. The military and Congress have not sat idly by, but twenty-three years and hundreds of thousands of assaults later, nothing has successfully alleviated the rates of sexual violence.

This paper explores why such efforts have failed to produce the desired results …

Covernance: Feminist Theory, The Islamic Veil, And The Strasbourg Court's Jurisprudence On Religious Dress-Appearance Restrictions, Amina Haleem

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

This paper explores how the human right of religious freedom has been conceptually and pragmatically developed under international law within the European Court of Human Rights as applied to veiled Muslim women. This paper analyzes the application of human rights guarantees as established in the European Convention on Human Rights and case law established by the European Court that has interpreted international documents to determine the religious freedoms of veiled Muslim women in the public sphere. The analytical framework identifies the divergence between liberal and third wave feminist approaches to the Islamic veil, and identifies the feminist approaches to international …

Mothers Behind Bars: Breaking The Paradigm Of Prisoners, Anna Mangia

DePaul Journal of Women, Gender and the Law

Prison is an oppressive institution created for men, by men. While some may argue that oppression is the point of prison, this oppression is still created for and directed toward men. Because the paradigm of a prisoner is a violent male, the needs and concerns of women are often not considered. Female prisoners, therefore, experience layers of oppression: intended oppression inherent in the prison system, as well as gender-based oppression inherent in our society. Furthermore, incarcerated mothers experience a third layer of oppression due to their roles and expectations in society. “The mother” is glorified, but when a woman breaks …

Aileen Ishuin Macmillan, Aileen Ishuin Macmillan, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Aileen Ishuin MacMillan did not grow up wanting to be a nurse, but after two years of college in Montclair not knowing what she wanted to do, Ms. MacMillan decided by chance to pursue nursing at Jefferson. After graduating in 1976 from the Diploma program she took a job as a nurse in the maternity ward of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. During her forty year career at Jefferson Ms. MacMillan also completed her BSN at Gwynedd Mercy University. She remains very involved in Jefferson Nursing, serving on both the Jefferson Nursing College Alumni Board and, as president, on the Diploma …

Breaking The Cycle Of Incarceration: Strategies For Successful Reentry Final Report For Labyrinth Outreach Services For Women, Carolyn Moe, Brian Titzler, Melissa Johnson-Gross, Darek Conley, Emily Blankenberger, Kirk Richardson, Bethan Owen, Caleb Griffen, Andrew Kuka, George Stanton, Lauren Troxtel, Eliud Uresti, John Thornburg, Nicholas Anthony Canfield, Patricia Longwood, Jessica Linder, Amanda Britenstein

Student Research – Stevenson Center

Working with a local reentry organization, Labyrinth Outreach Services to Women, the purpose of this study was to gather information about opportunities and barriers related to two aspects of their program: employment services and establishment of a microbusiness. Information was obtained through a 22-item questionnaire given to a sample of local businesses, key informant interviews, and secondary data analysis. Thirty-nine businesses in the Bloomington-Normal area responded to the questionnaire via on-line and paper survey methods, nine face-to-face interviews were conducted, along with three case studies of similar reentry microbusiness programs and a review of current literature. Stigmas of formerly incarcerated …

Mary Woltemate Stec, Mary Woltemate Stec, Kelsey Duinkerken

Jefferson Nursing Oral Histories

Dr. Stec began her nursing career in 1973 as a graduate of Jefferson’s Nursing Diploma School. She would go on to receive her BS in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, her MSN from Gwynedd Mercy College, and her PhD in Nursing from Widener University. Dr. Stec has spent the majority of her career as a nursing educator, including as an instructor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital School of Nursing, Gwynedd Mercy College, and Abington Memorial Hospital Dixon School of Nursing. She is now an Assistant Professor at Temple University. She is also a Certified Nurse Educator, an Evaluator for …

A Page Of Her Own: How Women Navigate The Public And Private Facets Of Blogging, Emily Marie Flinders

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the complexity of the texts women create through blogging and their inherent value. I seek to explore how the mothers who blog are constructing online identities for their family units and family members in this space and how those constructions affect and inform the mothers' construction of their personal identities online. I analyze how perceptions of gender norms and practices of gender performance may affect and inform the identities thus constructed, and further complicate the liminal nature of blogging spaces. I begin with the sociological framework of Erving Goffman, which is commonly used to deconstruct identity performance …

Correcting For Measurement Error In Latent Variables Used As Predictors, Lynne Steuerle Schofield

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Works

This paper represents a methodological-substantive synergy. A new model, the Mixed Effects Structural Equations (MESE) model which combines structural equations modeling and item response theory, is introduced to attend to measurement error bias when using several latent variables as predictors in generalized linear models. The paper investigates racial and gender disparities in STEM retention in higher education. Using the MESE model with 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data, I find prior mathematics proficiency and personality have been previously underestimated in the STEM retention literature. Pre-college mathematics proficiency and personality explain large portions of the racial and gender gaps. The …

Tomorrow's Leading Ladies: How Core Self-Evaluations, Leadership Perceptions, And Social Support Influence Young Women's Leadership Aspirations, Lauren Ellis

All Dissertations

Given that women are an underrepresented population in organizational leadership, the purpose of this dissertation was to understand the forces driving college-aged women’s leadership aspirations. Using a two-study design, the current research sought to understand the influence that internal (psychological) and external (social) factors can have on a young woman’s desire to lead. In Study One, which included 228 college-aged female participants, results indicated there was a significant, positive between Core Self Evaluations (CSE) and leadership aspirations and provided partial support for the mediating effects of leadership fit on the CSE-aspiration relationship. Results from Study One failed to support the …

Rhetorical Strategies Of Visual Pleasure In Situation Comedies: 'Friends' And Female Body Image, Deanna Sellnow, Jonna Reule Ziniel

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The visual messages conveyed by and about the female characters on Friends reinforce hegemonic ideals of femininity and an ideal female body image that is excessively thin. Messages of narcissism, voyeurism, and fetishism draw adolescent female viewers to identify with the images, characteristics, and behaviors of Rachel and Monica as models and to distance themselves from the images, characteristics, and behaviors of Phoebe and “Fat Monica” as anti-models. The messages sometimes overtly and often covertly perpetuate hegemonic stereotypes about women. Messages advocate that the ideal female body image is a sex object, and the most desirable sex objects are excessively …

Poor, Rural Women: Spirituality, Religion, And Wellness Across The Life Span, Carman Sue Gill, Casey Barrio Minton, Jane Myers

Adultspan Journal

No abstract provided.

Immigrants From Cabo Verde In Italy: History And Paths Of Socio-Educative Integration, Clara Silva

Journal of Cape Verdean Studies

Cape Verdean migration to Italy started in the early sixties of the nineteenth century as an exclusively female one, mostly caused by the demand for domestic workers by bourgeois families. In the late eighties, the Cape Verdean community migrated to Italy was still composed of more than 90% of women. In 1990, the introduction of a legislation setting forth the right to family reunification allowed many women to reunite with their husbands and children remained in their homeland. In Italy, the gradual social inclusion process and the creation of a network of Cape Verdean migrants’ association, allowed to overcome all …

What Job Can You Get Without A Diploma? Gender Discrimination Against Relapsed Ex-Sex Workers, Resna Anggria Putri, Johanna Debora Imelda

Jurnal Ilmu Kesejahteraan Sosial

This study aims at describing the subordination and marginalization of ex-commercial sex workers in Indramayu District. This qualitative research was conducted through in-depth interview and observation on 5 (five) interesting case studies whose data, then, was triangulated to ensure the valid-ity and reliability of the data. The results of the study showed that there were gender discrimination in the form of subordination and marginalization in education and employment which are applied at different periods, i.e.: before and after they worked as prostitutes. Hence, it is then caused them relapse working as prostitutes without any other opportunity to get more normative …

Perceptions Of Impediments To The Advancement Of Women Leaders In Community Colleges, Teresa Alley Yearout

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

As community college presidents, chief operating officers (CEOs), and other senior level administrators plan to retire, the critical demand for qualified leaders brings greater focus on previous trends and current statistics in community colleges leadership. These findings provide evidence of the continuing underrepresentation of women in senior level leadership positions. Further investigation examines women leaders’ perceptions of the barriers or impediments to their advancement into these leadership positions. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of impediments of women community college leaders in a variety of institutional settings (rural, suburban, urban).

The literature provided an inventory …

Wearing Memories: Clothing And The Global Lives Of Mourning In Swaziland, Casey Golomski

Anthropology

This article situates a cultural phenomenon of women’s memory work through clothing in Swaziland. It explores clothing as both action and object of everyday, personalized practice that constitutes psychosocial well-being and material proximities between the living and the dead, namely, in how clothing of the deceased is privately possessed and ritually manipulated by the bereaved. While human and spiritual self-other relations are produced through clothing and its material efficacy, current global ideologies of immaterial mortuary ritual associated with Pentecostalism have emerged as contraries to this local, intersubjective grief work. This article describes how such contrarian ideologies paper over existing global …

Ebony And Ivory? Interracial Dating Intentions And Behaviors Of Disadvantaged African American Women In Kentucky, David J. Luke, Carrie B. Oser

Sociology Faculty Publications

Using data from 595 predominantly disadvantaged African American women in Kentucky, this study examines perceptions about racial/ethnic partner availability, cultural mistrust, and racism as correlates of interracial dating intentions and behaviors with both white and Hispanic men. Participants reported levels of dating intentions and behaviors were significantly higher with whites than Hispanics. The multivariate models indicate less cultural mistrust and believing it is easier to find a man of that racial/ethnic category were associated with higher interracial dating intentions. Women were more likely to have dated a white man if they believed it was easier to find a white man …