Digital Commons Network^™

Women Parliamentarians In India Since 1991: Challenges And Opportunities, Vatsala Bhusry

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

India gained a new economic orientation in 1991 following the policy of economic liberalization. It offered the opportunities to close the gender gap in various fields including the political field as visualized in the original goal of the Indian constitution. However, there is an acute underrepresentation of women at the national political level and there is a lack of evidence-based research studies to analyze this gap. This study maps the political trajectories of 13 elected women leaders holding offices at the national level since 2019. To better understand the challenges and opportunities at both macro and micro levels they came …

Social Capital And Gambling Risk Perception 'A Social Marketing Dilemma', Otila Osborne, Maree Thyne, Kirsten Robertson, Janet Davey

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

AIM: To explore the relationship between social capital (social networks, familial and close relationships) and risk perception amongst older female gamblers (50 years+)

BACKGROUND: Despite significant investment in social marketing initiatives gambling harms persist. Predicted to live longer, poorer, and less healthy lives than men, older women are increasingly gambling online with gambling harms rising accordingly. Typically, older women are portrayed as being risk averse. However recent studies across several jurisdictions reveal significant shifts in risk perception in the domain of social risk. Yet little is known about how older women perceive gambling risk. This study provides an alternative to …

Caring Hurts, Otila Osborne

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

‘Caring Hurts’

The Effects of Social Capital on Gambling Risk Perception

AIM: To explore the relationship between social capital (social networks, familial and close relationships) and risk perception amongst older female internet gamblers (50 years+)

BACKGROUND: Despite significant investment in social marketing initiatives gambling harms persist. Predicted to live longer, poorer, and less healthy lives than men, older women are increasingly gambling online with gambling harms rising accordingly. Yet little is known about this vulnerable demographic or the factors that underpin the behaviour. This study provides an alternative to the psychological approaches that dominate gambling research. A social capital paradigm …

The Journeys Of Women In Local Elected Office: From Community Engagement To Making Meaningful Contributions, Andrea Marr

Dissertations

Women remain underrepresented across every level of elected office in the United States. More than 30 years after the supposed “Year of the Woman,” women hold less than 30% of the elected positions in local, state, and federal office. In the past, researchers attributed the paucity of women in office to structural barriers, including sexism in the electorate, fundraising difficulties, and discrimination by party gate keepers. A growing body of research, however, attributes the dearth of female politicians to a lack of political ambition among women and to gender socialization that prevents women from seeing themselves as political leaders.

The …

Women In Dentistry At The University Of Mississippi: Increasing The Confidence And Skills Of Future Women Dentists, Lakin Cramer

Honors Theses

Women in Dentistry became a registered student organization in February 2022. The purpose of the organization is to encourage and promote the professional and personal success of women in dentistry on the University of Mississippi Oxford campus. The historical and current literature of Women in Dentistry serve to provide a framework for the importance of uplifting women as they prepare for a career in dentistry. During my time as Founder and President of Women in Dentistry, my goal was to establish the organization, provide mentorship to prospective female dental school applicants, and increase the confidence and skills of future women …

From One Tired Black Student To Another: The Understanding Of Blackness In Non-Formal Spaces, Kenique Brown

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Black students all over the world are at a disadvantage. They are misunderstood and oppressed. Black students do not receive an adequate intentional education in traditional educational spaces. Non-formal educational spaces have been supportive to Black students since slavery. Non-formal spaces have provided a space for Black people to feel seen and learn in a safe space. In this phenomenological qualitative study, four female Black Zambian gap-year students within a non-formal educational space were interviewed individually to describe the impact of a non-formal space on their understanding of Blackness. Through individual, semi- structured interviews, and additional data from the researcher’s …

The Major Choice Experience And Motivation Of Women Who Are Nontraditional Students In Male Dominated Majors, Erin Flowers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe the major choice experience and motivation of nontraditional female students in male dominated majors. A transcendental phenomenological method was used to answer the central research question: how do women who are nontraditional students enrolled in male dominated majors at two-and four-year institutions of higher education perceive and describe their experience and motivation when choosing their major? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women who are nontraditional students in male dominated majors and, after analysis of that data, six themes emerged. One key finding of this study is the major choice experience for women …

Exposing The Governmental Amnesia Of The Human Rights Violations That Occurred In The Magdalene Laundries, Sarah G. Gallagher

Student Theses

Throughout history, Ireland is not regarded as a champion in the area of human rights discourse, but in recent years it has found itself present in it. Pre-secularized Ireland violated human and women’s rights in institutions such as the Magdalene Laundries. Within these institutions, girls and women were subjected to various types of abuse (e.g., sexual, physical, emotional, and mental). After their time in the Laundries, they faced a life of silence and shame due to the stigma of being incarcerated in a Laundry. Due to the stigma, survivors were unable to discuss their experiences in the Laundries as they …

Self-Managment Of Urinary Incontinence In Women, Abbey Klein

Theses & Dissertations

Urinary incontinence is experienced by approximately 60% of adult women in the United States and negatively impacts many aspects of physical and psychological health. Many women do not seek care for urinary incontinence due to social stigma. However, those who do seek care do not often receive treatment options that align with clinical guidelines. Urinary incontinence self-management has been used interchangeably in the literature with other terms, like self-care and coping, but no conceptual definition has been delineated. The overall purpose of this dissertation was to describe urinary incontinence self-management in women. To accomplish this, a concept analysis was conducted …

Prevalence Of Disordered Eating In Female Athletes Of The New Jersey Athletic Conference, Desiree Brower, Joanna Petrides

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: In 2018, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published that, 1 out of every 10 adolescent females suffer from an eating disorder in the United States. Although it is known that eating disorders have an impact on the entire population, there are currently no studies on the prevalence of disordered eating in female athletes of the New Jersey Athletic conference (NJAC). This study aims to determine how many athletes in this population are affected.

Methods: This IRB-approved project utilized a survey-based approach to assess the prevalence of disordered eating among female athletes within the NJAC. To participate, …

Exploring Risk Factors For Major Depressive Disorder For Female Patients Aged 18 Or Older Living In Ocean County, New Jersey, James Mack

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The incidence and prevalence of major depressive disorder has been increasing worldwide, in the United States of America, and on a local level. The population of Ocean County, New Jersey, a predominantly Caucasian, female, middle-aged population, may be at increased risk of developing major depressive disorder.

Purpose: To explore the social determinants of health and risk factors for major depressive disorder for female patients aged 18 or older living in Ocean County, New Jersey.

Methods: This literature review mainly used PubMed and Scopus for journal articles and utilized governmental databases for additional population data.

Results: Analyses conducted on social …

A Brief Analysis Of Contemporary Confucianism's Research On Feminine Topics, Jingzhi Pan

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Although Confucianism has been recognized as a world religion for more than a hundred years today, recent research, which studies it as a religion, still seems numbed to or ignores day-to-day feminine topics like sexual crimes, domestic violence, male patronize, and even gendered religious value itself. More often, even if they announce they are studying the religion, people study Confucianism as a philosophy, an ethic, a phenomenon, a political strategy…everything else but a religion with transcendent values like other world religions. This essay will overview the research of contemporary Confucian feminine topics and analyze and argue their utilities in helping …

Disability Justice In Higher Education: The Lived Experiences Of Disabled White Women Disability Services Directors, Emily Gaspar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Eight disabled white women disability services directors shared their experiences working in disability services in higher education. The ten principles of disability justice provided the framework for this interpretative phenomenological analysis. Individual interviews were used to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of the participants with specific focus on disability identity of the professionals working in disability services and how their identities inform their campus experiences, along with how their intersectional identities inform their disability identity. Participants were found to experience ableism and oppression, a broad spectrum of relationships, disability solidarity, disability disclosure, identity hierarchy, disability management and coping …

Lack Of Women In Government In The Mena Region, Emma Cummings

Ballard Brief

Only 24.3% of parliament seats globally are held by women, and an even lower 10.4% of parliament seats in the MENA region are held by women. With proper representation in government positions, it can be easier to further political positions such as human rights, education, and the overall development of a country. This is due in part to some of the top government positions in the family, social welfare, and gender equality areas being held by women. There is a lack in the MENA region due to popular social perception, the lack of education and experience, and limited support for …

Comparative Career-Path Growth Of Campus Leaders By Gender, Madison Foster

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

Promotions and growth in one’s own field of work are highly sought after by those who wish to see greater achievement, wealth, and personal satisfaction in the workplace. Opinion is divided as to whether or not men and women are paid equally in the United States. One issue less spoken of is the differences in the time and rate of promotions women and men see in their careers. Many studies seek to prove women are receiving less promotions than men, and posit their own hypotheses.

Women In Organizations: Leadership And Overcoming Biases, Madison T. Witt

Honors Thesis

This thesis will work to describe the different experiences women have in the workplace compared to men. It will discuss the biases faced: prove-it-again bias, tightrope bias, and the maternal wall bias. These play a large role in why women act as they do in the workplace as well as why they tend to experience different barriers within the corporate ladder. This research notes both gender biases facing women and the additional bias women of color face. These different experiences change how women lead companies when placed in executive positions. These leadership styles of women tend to be more welcoming …

Trend Of Women's Romantic And Platonic Sociality Across The Ovulatory And Luteal Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle, Kaylee Phimmasene

Psychological Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sociality (i.e., affiliative behavior) is a fundamental human motivation, and, while it has been extensively researched in the past, little research has examined how women’s menstrual cycle fluctuations may affect their sociality. Most studies examining women’s behavior across the menstrual cycle focus on mating. The few studies that have examined affiliation focused on general sociality ; however, sociality can be divided into multiple domains: romantic and platonic. Romantic sociality is defined through social interactions with a romantic partner, whereas platonic sociality describes interactions between family, friends, and potential new friends. The current study investigated the trends in women’s general, romantic, …

The Role Of Gender And Curiosity On Transformational Leadership: A Mixed-Methods Study, Brooke Colleen Mott

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Environmental leaders are tasked with finding innovative solutions to dynamic environmental challenges. Leaders must gain and use new knowledge and experiences that motivate resolving gaps in one’s knowledge (i.e., curiosity) and thereby find forward-thinking solutions. Although curiosity is an integral part of human existence, it may be experienced in various ways. Studies have shown that men and women may possess different leadership styles. Nevertheless, the influence of curiosity on leadership between genders has not been as readily explored. Women exhibit unique characteristics for successful leadership in many contexts, but they are often underrepresented in natural resource management overall. Characteristics of …

Domestic Shakespeares In The Antebellum United States, Daniel G. Lauby

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines how early nineteenth-century female novelists developed a new mode of adapting Shakespeare, what I am calling “domestic Shakespeares,” that cite, reference, and rearrange plays based on women’s experiences in and of the home. I focus on popular women authors whose novels appeared between 1827 and 1862, a time when identity was especially apparent in the geographical formation of the United States. These women novelists used allusions to and adaptations of Shakespeare in their works to express their frustrations with conventional paradigms of womanhood and related disciplinary systems, such as coverture, that limited women’s citizenship. “Domestic Shakespeares,” I …

Women In Conflict: The Psychological Effect Of Propaganda In Conflict, Elizabeth Valerio-Boster

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In conflicts across the world, propaganda is used to encourage people to support causes whether than be freedom, revolution, or political or economic changes. Previous research has shown that propaganda that targets preexisting notions is particularly effective. Women have been found to be particularly susceptible to propaganda that has emotional implications. My research has been conducted to discover if propaganda that is centered around female empowerment is more effective in getting women to participate in conflict. I use accounts from women participating in conflicts to learn about the roles they play, and the number of women involved. These numbers are …

Negotiating Acculturation: A Qualitative Study Of Muslim American Women, Noor N. Tahirkheli

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The estimated population of Muslims in the United States ranges from 3 to 7 million (Bukhari, 2003; Pew Research Center, 2017; Strumm, 2003), with an estimated 69-75% of Muslim Americans being 1st or 2nd generation immigrants (defined as those born abroad and those with immigrant parents, respectively), hailing from over 80 countries (Bukhari, 2003; Pew Research Center, 2017). Thus, most Muslims are navigating the complex processes of acculturation, which is the adaptation of behavioral, cognitive, and affective aspects of one’s cultural functioning, which result from consistent contact with different cultural contexts and groups (Driscoll & Wierzbicki, 2012). Research has noted …

The Underreporting And Dismissal Of Sexual Assault Cases Against Women In The United States, Jacey Passmore

Ballard Brief

Sexual assault is a highly prevalent yet rarely addressed issue within the United States. It is considered the most underreported and dismissed crime. There are a plethora of variables contributing to the underreporting and dismissal of sexual assault cases. The most prevalent factor appears to be the various understandings of sexual assault. The United States has no standard definition of rape or consent due to rape myths, victim blaming, disproportionately high perceptions of baseless allegations, and high-profile cases that are unrepresentative of the more common details of sexual assault. Other major contributing factors include knowing the perpetrator, victims’ pre-existing and …

Empowering Female College Students In Pursuing Careers In Science, Technology, Engineering And Mathematics (Stem), Jordan Armstrong

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

As the STEM field continues to grow, it is evident that there is a need to close the gender gap between males and females. This senior capstone examines the evolution of the acronym STEM and how programs have attempted to narrow the gender gap, but it is not easy to completely close the gap. Through a literature review and surveys with educators at the high school and university levels, this research project looks at the factors that have empowered female students to pursue careers in STEM. The findings provide insight into what has led female college students to pursue careers …

Argentine Women’S Narratives Of Leadership, Ileana Andrea Mocciola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated and examined the narratives of Argentine women leaders while obtaining and exercising leadership positions. This research was based on narrative theory and the feminist standpoint theory. Argentine female participants (N = 10) were subject to interviews that overall lasted 600 minutes and were conducted through the Zoom platform. Fifty-five pages of single-spaced transcripts were analyzed and studied. The results of this study revealed that Argentine women face major challenges when it comes to tokenism, exclusion, mentorship, and stereotypes that prevent and limit them from reaching and succeeding in leadership positions.

The Effect Of Abortion Rights’ Political Activity On Engagement With Planned Parenthood, Emma C. Hazen

Nonprofit and NGO Studies Student Projects

In 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States. Abortion became a hot topic of debate. Activists turned their attention to the issue with new vigor, and countless nonprofits became involved as well. The purpose of this study serves to explore the influence of political activity pertaining to abortion rights on Planned Parenthood. The aim is to analyze the ways that Planned Parenthood, as a national nonprofit, is affected by changes in the political sphere, which in turn generates activity via abortion activists.

This study will evaluate the extent to which abortion activity in …

When Tinder Swiping Gets Challenging: Women’S Narratives Of Gender-Based Violence As Shared Through Quora, Zivana Sabili, Elizabeth Kristi Poerwandari

Psychological Research on Urban Society

Amidst the popular use of Tinder in urban society, the decision whether or not to date someone tends to be made quickly based on a photo and a short profile description. Simple as it may seem, there are moments when swiping gets challenging, especially for women. Tinder has a notorious reputation when it comes to gender-based violence. Unfortunately, despite the significant increase in online dating apps usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, this phenomenon is still highly underresearched.

In this qualitative netnographic research, we explore Tinder sexual harassment narratives uploaded by women in Quora. Through judgment sampling, 15 answers from 7 …

Efficacy Of A Christian Intervention To Promote Posttraumatic Growth In Women Recovering From Intimate Partner Violence, Jerra L. Dooley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative pretest-posttest design evaluated a biblically based personal development program (PDP) for promoting PTG in Christian women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). A convenience sample (N = 7) of volunteers included women within a large county in the Southeastern United States. Participants were recruited through numerous large and small Southern Baptist churches. Qualifications included being female, at least 19 years old, and having experienced IPV but not within the last 12 months, to reduce the possibility of reinjury by rumination. Participants completed pretest assessments, attended the 3-hour personal development program, and completed a posttest assessment. Data was …

The Lived Experience Of Hmong Women In Leadership Roles, Nou Vang

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore and understand the lived experiences of Hmong women who have achieved leadership positions.

Methodology: This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experience of 12 Hmong women who have ascent to leadership roles through personal, face-to-face, in- depth, open-ended questions. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for emergent themes. Related artifacts from the participants, along with the participant interviews, were collected to triangulate data. Research findings were a result of the correlating themes based on the qualitative data analysis and research question.

Findings: The findings of the study indicated that …

Exemplary Senior Navy Female Leadership: A Study Of How Navy Female Leaders Use The Grit Characteristics Courage, Conscientiousness, Long-Term Goals, Resilience, And Excellence Versus Perfection To Create Extraordinary Results Within Their Organizations, Cache' Hapner

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and describe how exemplary senior Navy female leaders used five principles associated with grit (courage, conscientiousness, long-term goals, resilience, and excellence versus perfection) to accomplish extraordinary results in their organizations.

Methodology: This qualitative study used a phenomenological method to describe how eight senior Navy female leaders use five characteristics of grit to accomplish extraordinary results in their organizations. Respondents were purposively chosen. The researcher collected data through interviews, transcripts, and artifacts that were triangulated and coded for themes using NVivo software.

Findings: Exemplary senior Navy female leaders use …

Behind Closed Doors, Olivia Coy, Lexi Neely, Elizabeth Shirk, Laila Mcclimon

Spring 2023

This Zine works to bring awareness and education to domestic abuse in the United States. A history report of what has been done thus far to advocate against domestic abuse is included, as well as explanations of different tactics and models that are continuously used to combat the issue. Additionally, stories of women’s experiences with domestic violence are told to describe the issue in a real way. Tools and information about red flags, healthy relationships, and supporting and escaping domestic abuse provide individuals with ways to move forward as they approach the issue.