Digital Commons Network^™

"Has The Millennium Yet Dawned?": A History Of Attitudes Toward Pregnant Workers In America, Courtni E. Molnar

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article will focus on what might be considered the "prehistory" of the PDA in an attempt to shed new light on the equality/difference debate. Beginning as early as the nineteenth century, pregnant workers have been forced into either the equality approach or the difference approach depending mostly on race and class. This Article will show that, at times, both approaches restrained the autonomy of women and even caused harm to individual women and society by contributing to the development of the stereotypes and social attitudes that continue to permit pregnancy discrimination today.

Gendering The Frontier In O. E. Rölvaag's Giants In The Earth, John Muthyala

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Translated from the Norwegian into English, O. E. Rölvaag's Giants in the Earth narrates the saga of pioneer life on the American prairies. It is a saga that has the sanction of official ideology and the authority of a religious edict: to go on an "errand into the wilderness," explore and subdue the frontier, which was the "basic conditioning factor" of American experience, and, in so doing, cultivate a new civilization. Indeed, it is hard not to read the novel as dramatizing the power of Turner's frontier thesis because it seems to unabashedly affirm the frontier as the great American …

An Implied Warranty Of Freedom From Sexual Harassment: The Solution For Harassed Tenants Where The Fair Housing Act Has Failed, Theresa Keeley

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Although sexual harassment in the workplace is recognized as a problem, sexual harassment in housing has largely been ignored. When confronting sexual harassment in housing, courts have borrowed standards for sexual harassment in the workplace. Criticism of this practice exists; however this Article examines the real source of the problem: bringing sexual harassment claims under the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, this Article shows how and why the Fair Housing Act fails to address the problem of sexual harassment in housing. To remedy this failure, this Article proposes an "implied warranty of freedom from sexual harassment" that both restores the tenant's …

The Effects Of Exposure To Feminist Ideology On Women's Body Image, Rachel Diane Peterson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body image disturbance has become an increasing problem among women (Cash & Henry, 1995). Thus researchers have begun to focus on methods of prevention and intervention. Programs utilizing psychoeducation and Festinger's cognitive dissonance theory, for example, have been found to reduce body image dissatisfaction and related symptomatology. The information provided and potential impact are limited, however, because the interventions do not offer women an adaptive method of interpreting the many appearance-related messages they experience. This study sought to determine if exposure to feminist theory of body image may act as a buffer – a filter through which cultural messages about …

Women's Participation In Disaster Relief And Recovery, Ayse Yonder, Sengul Akcar, Prema Gopalan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Too little attention has been given to the gender-differentiated effects of natural disasters, that is, women’s losses relative to men’s, how women’s work time and conditions change (both in terms of care-giving and income-generating work), or how disaster-related aid and entitlement programs include or marginalize affected women. The detailed case studies from three earthquake-stricken areas in India and Turkey that are contained in this issue of SEEDS help fill this information gap. They provide examples of how low-income women who have lost everything can form groups and become active participants in the relief and recovery process. Readers learn how women …

Effects Of A Primary Care Weight Management Intervention On Physical Activity In Low-Income African American Women, Gareth R. Dutton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although physical inactivity is associated with numerous medical conditions, most individuals do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity. Certain subgroups of the population are particularly inactive, including women, African Americans, and individuals with lower income and less education. While research suggests that interventions targeting physical activity can produce significant improvements in activity and cardiorespiratory fitness, there is less research examining physical activity interventions for these at-risk groups. In particular, there is a lack of research examining primary care physical activity interventions among low-income, African American women. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of …

Reading And Teaching Third World Women's Literature In The First World: Colonialism And Feminism In Crick Crack, Monkey And Nervous Conditions, Elvie Miller

Honors Papers

In this essay, I examine two novels by Third World women writers, with a view to exploring how to read and teach Third World texts in a First World context. Teaching these (and other Third World texts), I contend, must entail negotiating their status as "other" to First-World, Western texts and must include recognizing this status as imposed by the First World readership and as a heuristic to develop an understanding and a pedagogy that is able critically to examine the First World or West's naturalizations of its own pedagogical and knowledge-based claims. To do this, I focus specifically on …

Addiction And Recovery Experiences Of African American Women: A Phenomenological Study, Patricia Diana Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Historically, substance abuse research has for the most part excluded African American women. The small body of existing substance abuse research regarding African American women does not examine gender and socio-cultural issues from African American women's perspectives. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to develop a deeper, contextual understanding of the experiences and perspectives of this marginalized population of women. The major goal of the study is to examine the perspectives of African American women about their substance abuse, treatment and recovery. The knowledge gained from this research with African American women regarding their experiences and specific needs in …

Psychological Well-Being And Relationship Changes In Women After Obesity Surgery, Lindsey Bocchieri Ricciardi

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

The present study explored changes in patients' psychological well-being and relationship adjustment at three- and six-months after either Lap-Band or Gastric Bypass Surgery. Sixty-eight women completed the battery, which consisted of standardized questionnaires of self-esteem, body-image, psychological symptomatology, and assertiveness, as well as marital and sexual functioning, prior to surgery and then at the two follow-ups. Also included was the assessment of patient expectations of relationship change and the pilot Weight-Related Relationship Adjustment Questionnaires (WRRAQ's). Pilot WRRAQ's were designed for the purpose of the study, based on retrospective patient narratives, and assessed parenting, work, family, and friend relationship domains. Psychometric …

Innovative Interventions For Disordered Eating: A Pilot Comparison Between Dissonance-Based And Yoga Interventions, Karen S. Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

Disordered eating, including bingeing, dieting, purging, and clinical and subclinical forms of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, is prevalent among college-aged women. To date, few interventions have successfully reduced risk factors related to disordered eating. One promising intervention utilizes principles of cognitive dissonance to reduce thin-ideal internalization among women at risk for eating disorders. Additionally, the benefits of yoga, including increased awareness of bodily processes, offer hope that this practice might reduce disordered eating symptomatology. The current study compared cognitive dissonance and yoga interventions for disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that there were …

Help-Seeking For Depression In Rural Women: A Community Portrait, Vicky Mitchell Fisher

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted with fourteen participants who lived in a rural Virginia community. The focus of the study was exploration of the nature of the experience of depression and of help-seeking for depression in one rural woman and in her community social network. The need for exploration of the community social network was influenced by the DeFacto Services Model of Rural Mental Health, which emphasized the influence of community factors in making decisions to seek mental health care. Findings of the study included the following themes, which related to the nature of depression: 1) linkage of experiential depression to …

The Common Leadership Qualities Of Nazarene Women Pastors Who Have Led Good To Great Churches, Mary Rearick Paul

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Fibromyalgia And Bladder Irritability, Carolyn K. Brand

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Urinary tract sensory symptoms provide an additional symptomatic burden for women with fibromyalgia. The urogenital symptoms of both fibromyalgia and interstitial cystitis have been described as non-infective sensory disorders, suggesting the existence of substantial clinical overlap between the two conditions. Research suggests that although interstitial cystitis has been treated as a specific bladder condition, it may be part of the disorder of central processing of sensory information as seen in fibromyalgia.

The interstitial cystitis symptom index and problem index (ICSI/ICPI) have been used to measure lower urinary tract symptoms and to examine the impact of these symptoms in patients with …

Women's Uses Of The Internet, Rachelle Powell

LSU Master's Theses

In this study I will look at the main reasons women use the Internet. Studies about women and the Internet are divided; some indicate less use of the Internet than men, but other studies show strong evidence of a narrowing gap in use. Due to this lack of clarity, a study that looks exclusively at women’s Internet activities and usage is needed. Although qualitative research does not test or apply theory the same way quantitative research does, uses and gratifications theory informed this study. This is an exploratory study of women and the Internet.

Comorbid Childhood Sexual Abuse And Substance Abuse Among Women: Knowledge, Training, And Preparedness Of Graduate Counselor Education And Social Work Students, Laurie Elizabeth Pennington

LSU Master's Theses

This descriptive-correlational study examined the knowledge, training and perceived preparedness of graduate social work and counselor education students in the area of comorbid childhood sexual abuse and substance abuse among women. Participants were 71 graduate social work and approximately 12 counselor education students scheduled to graduate in the spring semester of 2005. The study was analyzed using univariate and bivariate statistics. No significant differences emerged between graduate counselor education and social work students using independent-samples t-tests and a Fisher’s exact test on the measure of knowledge and training. Using a Mann Whitney U test, significant differences emerged between counselor education …

The Best Interest Standard: How Broad Judicial Discretion And Influences Of Social And Political Suggestion Have Led To An Abandonment Of The Rule’S Primary Purpose In Child Custody Decisions, Lakeisha J. Johnson

ExpressO

The vital questions in child custody disputes all concern that which is in the best interest of the child. Historically, interpretations of the “best interest” standard have been founded upon presumptions steeped in the notion of natural rights and duties based largely upon a mix of scientific and subjective conclusions regarding gender-based parenting roles and the need to sustain them. My research demonstrates that, as courts attempt to avoid the decisions of the past and submit to the societal will of the present, the modern application of the “best interest of the child” standard has led unexpectedly to an abandonment …

Intimate Partner Violence And The Justice System: An Examination Of The Interface, Carol E. Jordan

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

Women entering the court system face a challenging experience, in part, because a courtroom can be an intimidating and difficult place for any person, and in part because women victimized by crimes in which the offender is known to them face distinctive difficulties when they seek the court’s remedies. The interface is also made more challenging for women as the literature offers disparate findings as to the efficacy of criminal justice responses and civil remedies. This article briefly explores the unique characteristics of intimate partner violence cases that influence the interface of these victims with the court system.Areviewis provided of …

Toward A National Research Agenda On Violence Against Women: Continuing The Dialogue On Research And Practice [Part Two], Carol E. Jordan

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

No abstract provided.

They Shoot Single People, Don't They?, Dianne J. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

They Shoot Single People, Don't They? is a romantic comedy of errors set in Boston about Lexie, a twenty-five year old pediatric nurse with still perky breasts and lightly dimpled thighs who can figure out pediatric drug dosages, but is so severely relationship-challenged that she can't make any choice at all when it comes to men. Her life becomes a convoluted mess that includes two guys and a tangled web of lies.

After Marcus dumps her with a post-it note taped to her refrigerator door, Lexie thinks that her five-year plan to get married and have a baby are back …

Toward A National Research Agenda On Violence Against Women: Continuing The Dialogue On Research And Practice [Part One], Carol E. Jordan

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

No abstract provided.

Institutionalized Powerlessness In Context: The Static And Dynamic Nature Of Women’S Status In Rural Bangladesh, Akiko Nosaka, Bradford W. Andrews

Journal of International Women's Studies

Understanding the institutional structures surrounding the social status of women is an important topic in studies of gender and inter-generational relationships. This article uses exchange theory to examine the status and familial interactions of women in rural Bangladesh throughout their lives. Overall, their status today remains low but it does fluctuate according to a highly institutionalized pattern of family-based social expectations. Furthermore, this article shows that although the institutions defining a woman’s status appear to be stable, they are also changing because of the society’s exposure to recent worldwide advances in family planning and health care.

2004 Cardozo Life (Fall), Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Life Magazine

Table of Contents:

Around Campus, page 3

Faculty Briefs, page 16

An Interview with Kathy Greenberg, page 23

A Free, Informed, and Courageous Press Insures National Security, page 27

The Guantanamo Detainee Case, page 32

Baghdad Diary, page 36

Using the Power of Imagination to Heal a Violent World, page 40

Alumni News & Notes, page 44

What Mothers Want: Welfare Reform And Maternal Desire, Patricia K. Jennings

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In this study I use participant observations,face-to-face interviews, and focus group interviews to examine how women on welfare read and negotiate culture-of-poverty discourse and the imagery that this discourse spawns. I spoke with two groups of young single mothers receiving welfare. The first group included young mothers between the ages of 18 and 23 who were attending high school in a community-based program that served women on welfare. The second group included mothers in their early to mid 20's who were attending either a local two-year college or research university. Education was a path of resistance for the women in …

Paradoxes Of Health And Equality: When A Boy Becomes A Girl, Noa Ben-Asher

ExpressO

This paper is about an unusual child custody dispute between the parents of a six-year-old child and the child welfare services of Franklin County, Ohio. The conflict emerged when the child’s parents complied with their male child’s professed desire to be treated as a girl by attempting to enroll the child in the first grade as a girl. The paper treats this case as an exemplary test-case of contemporary co-dependence between scientific-medical discourse and liberal-rights discourse. The paper analyzes the positions of the two sides of the custody dispute according to the classic modern distinction between mind and body. On …

Achieving Batterer Accountability In The Child Protection System, Leigh Goodmark

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

'Who Are You?': Alien/Woman As Posthuman Subject In Alien Resurrection, Ximena Gallardo C.

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[Editors' Introduction]

Traditionally considered a monster in outer space series, the four films comprising the Alien saga: Alien, Aliens, Alien³, and Alien Resurrection, contain a vision of the Alien creature as an agent of human evolution that, taken to its logical extreme in Alien Resurrection, produce an uncommon posthuman subject: the Alien/Woman protagonist named Ripley. In the following article, Ximena Gallardo C. explores the introduction of the series' conception of human evolution through fusion with the Alien as a driving theme in Alien. It then briefly follows through Aliens and Alien^{3, …}

Caring As Catalyst; A Model For Health Possibilities, Brenda A. Becker

Theses and Graduate Projects

This graduate field project presents a conceptual model based on the theoretical frameworks of Brentano, Frankl, Rogers, Merry, Benner, and Wrubel and is designed to facilitate the life journey to more complex levels. The model has a foundation in chaos theory and in the search for meaning. Key concepts of catalyst, presence, polarization, and participation are defined and described. Presence is defined at three levels: physical, psychological, and therapeutic. Participation is defined as a sharing of the life and experience between nurse and person. Polarization, or change in pattern, is also defined at three levels: active, collaborative, and passive. The …

Factors Influencing The Willingness To Mentor Female Campus Recreation Professionals., Glenna G. Bower

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover factors which influence a mentor's decision to engage in a mentoring relationship within campus recreation administration. The present study investigated four areas of inquiry within campus recreation: (a)what are the individual reasons for mentoring women? (b)what organizational factors inhibit or facilitate mentoring women? ©what protégé characteristics attracted mentors? And (d)what outcomes are associated with mentoring women? A qualitative research design from a phenomenological genre was chosen to examine the mentoring relationship from the perspective of the mentor. A group of campus recreation professionals from the Midwest were contacted for the study (N …

Amazonian Women: A Multi-Voiced Narrative On Surviving Breast Cancer, Melissa Bowles

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2003, I immediately turned to journal writing and to reading to try and make sense of what was happening in my family. I searched websites for causes of breast cancer and ways to prevent it, I read literary women's memoirs, and I wrote a great deal about the way that I was feeling: scared, guilty, angry, broken. As a reader and a writer I needed to somehow intellectualize all of the things I was feeling. This writing project is a product of that initial response and of my subsequent …

Aftermath, Emily Frances Miller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My work is an attempt to express some of the deepest emotions held within myself; truths that seem to flow straight from my unconscious to the surface through forms that are raw, powerful, ambiguous, mysterious, emotional, and pure. In my paintings, I am dealing with the aftermath of rape.

In my paintings, I combine content with complex studio processes by using the figure, limited watercolor palette, expressive mark making, and a distressed surface.