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Melusine, Invisible Leadership And The Future (In The Past), Jan Shaw

Medieval Feminist Forum: A Journal of Gender and Sexuality

This paper considers the operation of “invisible” leadership in the figure of Melusine from the late Middle English romance Melusine. By invoking contemporary leadership theory, this paper identifies leadership maneuvers in Melusine that are similar to those often practiced by women today, but the discourses of gender identity then ultimately render Melusine’s leadership invisible, just as leadership discourses today often render female leadership invisible. By uncovering the operation of “invisible” leadership in the figure of Melusine and identifying commonalities with the leadership of women today, this paper aims to improve our understanding of the contemporary problem of the marked …

Pre-Professional College Women’S Perceptions Of The Social Implications Of Company Sponsored Fertility Postponement, Jordane Schooley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Large corporations, such as Apple and Google, as well as other tech companies, began incorporating fertility postponement in their health benefits to employees through the form of egg freezing and in-vitro fertilization starting in 2014. While some research exists looking at the implications of this policy for women in the workforce, little attention has been given to the perspective of young women about to enter the workforce. This research examines the perceptions of pre-professional women on the implications of potential future employers offering them egg freezing and IVF benefits, revealing contradictory feelings towards such policies. Since these women are in …

Reframing The Role Of Renaissance Women: Anne Boleyn As A Humanist, Kara E. Guthrie

Honors College Theses

Recent work by historians like Sarah Ross (The Birth of Feminism: Women as Intellectuals in Renaissance Italy and England, 2008) reframes the role of gender in the Renaissance. Humanism, as well as reformist ideas about the church, spread widely across Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries among learned women. In England, these changes are still usually associated with men like Sir Thomas More or Henry VIII himself. Research into Anne Boleyn’s correspondence and library suggests that she directly participated in women’s intellectual circles, playing an important and ignored role at the English court in that regard. This research poster …

The Nonprofit Gender Leadership Gap: Data-Driven Systemic And Inclusive Solutions, Katya Alcaraz-Minnick

Master's Projects and Capstones

The gender leadership gap has maintained its divide throughout world history. There have been positive advancements in gender leadership equity within the political arena and in the for-profit sector, however, it is within the nonprofit sector that the most progress has been made in collapsing the gender leadership gap. Women make up a large percentage of the nonprofit sector’s workforce, so it would seem that the nonprofit sector is poised to lead the economic world to close the gender leadership gap and achieve equity within its top managerial ranks. Research on leadership theories relating to skills, traits, and styles will …

Development Of A Method For Utilizing Oriental Belly Dance Rhythms To Deepen A Client’S Understanding Of Their Emotions After Experiencing Trauma, And Move Towards Healing, Jenny Nehir Eish-Baltaoglu

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

A workshop was offered to local women in North Eastern Ohio who have experienced trauma and are facing uncomfortable emotions or unpleasant memories as a result. A guided body scan, Focusing Oriented Art directives, and improvisational movement explorations were employed to deepen awareness and understanding of the emotions and memories participants wished to have better control over. Three movement rhythms, which are central to the ancient feminine dance form popularly known as belly dance, were explored through improvisational movement both as a group and independently. These movement rhythms included staccato pops and locks, fluid figure eights, and vibratory shimmies. Participants …

Divorce As Liberation: Marital Expectations Among The Working-Class In The 1950s, Kristin M. Catrone

Theses and Dissertations

Divorce was a remedy employed by working-class Americans in the 1950s when their marital expectations went unmet. Spouses left emotionally, physically, or sexually abusive marriages. Expectations for marriage also centered around assumptions based on gender. Working-class women showed how divorce could be used as a tool of liberation and empowerment.

The Denial Of Black Victimhood: Examining Attitudes Of Sexual Assault And Victim-Blaming On A College Campus, A Continued Analysis, Odia Kane

Master's Theses

This study examines the attribution of guilt and victimhood in the context of rape on predominately white college campuses. The study is comprised of two samples; Sample 1 (n=362) and Sample 2 (n=1,144) of students from a New England university. Each participant read a vignette regarding two classmates: a female victim, Taneesha or Madeline, and a male perpetrator, Jamal or Connor, completing a group project. The findings of this study are critical because they analyze the surrounding attitudes of the treatment of victims of sexual assault and assess the social and political climate of rape culture on college campuses.

"You Play Like A Girl": How Alternative Conceptualizations Of Sexism Impact Attitudes Toward Women In Professional Sports, Kate Wigod

Honors Theses

This thesis examines whether alternative conceptualizations of sexism impact attitudes towards women in professional sports. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT), who sued their governing body in 2018 on the bases of unequal treatment and pay. The choice to focus on this particular team is because these women generate more revenue and outperform the United States Men’s National Soccer Team; two factors that are normally used to justify why female athletes should not be paid equally. To measure sexist attitudes, a survey of 74 questions was administered through Lucid and served as the …

Women Trailblazers In The Local Oxford Community: Real And Relevant Stories Of Six Unique Paths To Success, Karsyn S. King

Honors Theses

Women Trailblazers In The Local Oxford Community is a collection of six women’s stories in six different fields and their unique paths to success, all showcased through written and visual elements in a multi-modal website. The goal of the project was to have a diverse compilation of women from a variety of backgrounds, ages, careers, and experiences. The trailblazers represented include a woman in the STEM field (science, technology, engineering, math) who is the only female on the biomedical engineering staff, a first generation college student who now holds the second highest position in higher education academia, a local woman …

Etruscan Biophilia Viewed Through Magical Amber, Greta Rose Koshenina

Honors Theses

In this thesis, I explore the usage and purpose of amber objects in burials from Etruria, specifically from the late Villanovan Period (ca. 800-720 BCE) to the Orientalizing Period (ca. 720-580 BCE). I have followed a combination of quantitative and qualitative research approaches as well as visual analysis of amber grave goods. While there has been extensive research on the medicinal and ritual purposes of amber grave goods from excavated Etruscan tombs, I show that there was likely a specific interest in amber that contains organic inclusions likely because of the Etruscans’ interest in nature. I examine the presence and …

Women’S Sexual Satisfaction In The Context Of Midlife Relationships: Examining An Ecological Model And Intergenerational Caregiving, Katherine M. Arenella

Dissertations

This study examined an ecological model of sexual satisfaction in midlife women in relationships, and paid particular attention to the role of intergenerational caregiving in predicting satisfaction. Participants were 1,411 midlife women in relationships who participated in the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) national study. Using split samples for replication purposes, data from this survey were examined to test the hypothesis that an ecological model - including the macrosystem level variable of religiosity, the exosystem level variables of SES, social support, and parenthood, the mesosystem level variables of relationship satisfaction, affectual solidarity, relationship length, and sexual functioning, and the …

Iron Manicures: Sex, Power, And Sedition In Margaret Atwood's Writing, Anna Zarra Aldrich

Honors Scholar Theses

Margaret Atwood has often been criticized as a bad feminist writer for featuring villainous, cruel women. Atwood has combatted this criticism by pointing out that evil women exist in life, so they should in literature as well. Every story requires a villain and a victim, for Atwood these roles are both usually played by women. This thesis will explore the idea of the woman as spectacle in both behavior and body. Women are controlled by the idea that they must care. When they stop caring, they become a threat. At the heart of Atwood’s writing are the relationships between women …

Women’S Experiences Of Disability And Community-Based Rehabilitation In Sri Lanka, Carmen R. Britton

Doctoral Dissertations

The majority of people with disability (PWD) live in the global South. Over the last four decades, community-based rehabilitation (CBR) programs have dominated the way development programs operate and intercede in the lives of PWD, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This research uses participant observation and in-depth interviews to gather women’s experiences of disablement and CBR in Sri Lanka. Major findings detail ways CBR programs fail to address larger social inequities, specifically centered around ableism and sexism, and how these barriers are embedded in societies. Thus, these programs continue to target rehabilitation efforts at the level of the individual, …

The Rhetoric Surrounding Mary Cain, Katie O'Malley

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

As the date of the one hundred year anniversary of women gaining the right to vote approaches, one might believe that today’s society is successfully progressive in making strides toward equality for women. The reality is, while progressive strides have been made, society has not and is not close to achieving a space in which women do not face discrimination. This study observes the specific case of the professional female runner, Mary Cain, and her struggle against the hegemonic power system in place on professional running teams. By reading her article and sifting through the responses Cain received, it is …

Cuba’S Use Of Political Imagery In Creating Societal Gender Norms: 1940-1980, Matthew Wingfield

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The gendering of Cuba began during the power imbalance during the colonial era. Gender is an important way in which the relationship of Cuba to Spain, to the United States, and of 1959 Cuban revolution has been expressed. However, the practice of the United States gendering Cuba became commonplace after the end of the Spanish-American War. During this period Cuba was often portrayed in US popular culture as a gendered Orientalized other in ways that reflect what scholar Edward Said defined as Orientalism elsewhere. This will be defined later in the introduction. Gender intersected with racial ideologies in many of …

More Than Just Wicked: The Tales Of Female Criminals In 17th- Century London, Savannah Resendes

Honors Program Theses and Projects

In 17th-century London, where women were bound to strict social rules and regulations, those who break free from these strict rules are often viewed with suspicion. Some may even call these women wicked as they stray away from what is expected of them. There was also surge of women committing crimes in this time period, which inspired literature to follow the same trend. Female criminals were often represented as sinful and wicked monsters of the time, showing people exactly what not to do if they want to fit in. However, in several specific literary texts set in 17th-century England these …

Ma Final Portfolio, Jessica Puder

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

This portfolio features a revised syllabus for an online writing course, job application packet, and two researched papers.

Sexual Violence Against Female College Students In The United States, Lauren Wolters, Macy Smith

Ballard Brief

Sexual violence against female college students is a prevelant and deep-rooted issue across universities in the us. Despite an increase in attention from the federal government. it is predicted that 1 in 4 women will experience sexual violence as undergeradute students. A pattern of university negligence surrounding cases of sexual violence suggests that universities prioritize securing funding and protecting perpetrators over aiding victims and preventing sexual assault. Several other factors contribute to the occurence of sexual violence including dangerous fraternity traditions. extensive alcohol and drug use among college students, and vast normalization of sexual violence-but the only true cause of …

Gender-Based Violence Against Women In South Africa, Lacey George

Ballard Brief

Dubbed the "rape capital of the world" by Human Rights Watch, South Africa has some of the highest rates of gender-based violence worldwide, including rape, female homicide. and domestic abuse. The women in South Africa are faced with pronounced challenges. stemming from a historical background of apartheid-era oppression, when it comes to equality. Some of the most significant challenges that contribute to South Africa's gender-based violence problem include a lack of government action in legal implementation, pervasive patriarchal cultural attitudes. and widespread poverty. Gender-based violence affects everyone in society-the women themselves, their children, and the men who perpetrate the crimes. …

The Effectiveness Of Education Aid In Kenya: Using Women's Access To Education As An Indicator Of Welfare, Dawn Dimick

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Global Journal reported an estimated 10 million NGOs worldwide and in Kenya alone, the number rose to 11,262 by June 2019 (Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Board, 2019). Though committed to alleviating the same issues, the existence of so many organizations breeds vast differences in approaches. Are the issues simply too complex for a handful of organizations to fix or are the organizations themselves becoming an integral part of the problem? Most organizations fall short in evaluating their effectiveness, partly because there is no standard model by which to measure success. While it would be nearly impossible to design a perfect …

Women's Resistance And Consequence In The Struggle For Chimeric Space In Post-Revolutionary Iran, Antonio Salazar Iii

Research Papers

Women’s struggle for equal rights in Post-Revolutionary Iran has left women to navigate between competing patriarchally prone identities, a secular pre-Islamic Persianness and a territorially bound Shi’a Islam. Because of Iran’s unique national identity, gender roles were dually affected. Representation of the male gender was normalized in both identities, stationing women into subordinate spaces populated by overlapping impositions on women’s equality. The necessity of women to carve out and occupy an elusive paradoxical space, for their voices to be heard, and which pursued modern women’s rights within the framework of Islamic ideological interpretation, left few terminal solutions.

The investigation of …

The Influence Of Heteronormativity On Sexual Health Disparities In Queer And Heterosexual Women, Jacqueline Bible

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This research focuses on identifying how heteronormativity moderates links between individual and interpersonal processes (i.e., communication self-efficacy, safe sex behaviors) that influence comprehensive sexual health (CSH) disparities among queer and heterosexual cisgender women. The World Health Organization (2019) defines CSH as well-being across physical, emotional, and social domains; yet, the extant literature often fails to consider determinants of, or disparities in, CSH. The first aim was to validate a measure of CSH and test its validity across online survey samples of queer and heterosexual women (N = 246) using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis in MPLUS. Data fit the model …

Mass Matters: Increasing Mammography Rates To Underserved Women, Ingrid N. Cooper

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Indiana and the United States (Indiana Cancer Organization, 2019). An estimated 268,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed and 41,760 women died due to breast cancer in 2019 (ACS, 2019). Substantial breast cancer-related morbidity and mortality disparities persist among the underserved. Disparities in breast cancer outcomes are due to lower mammography screening rates, lack of timely follow-up of abnormal results, and lack of timely treatment initiation among women with breast cancer (Highfield et al., 2015). The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to address low mammography …

Church Revitalization Through Effective Women’S Ministry, Dennis Jay Mccullough

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

America’s churches are in crisis. Historically, women are the majority and have been the backbone of the American Church. They go faithfully to churches where their needs are often overlooked, not identified, and they are unfulfilled. They faithfully serve the ministry while they are suffering in silence and waiting for the church to respond. The following thesis explores church revitalization efforts through effective women’s ministry. A qualitative approach will be utilized to collect and analyze the data. The data will be collected through recorded personal interviews and observations. Some interview statements will be measured on a Likert scale to judge …

Globalization: A Blessing Or A Curse For Women In Developing Countries, Magaly Denisse Carrillo Terriquez

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Countries have been able to exchange goods and services as well as intellectual property. However, they have not addressed how these changes affect those that are considered a vulnerable population, women. The feminization of poverty is a real problem in our globalized society, where women form 70% of the world’s poor. This paper investigates globalization’s impact on women empowerment by focusing on maternal mortality and female primary education in eighty-seven developing countries. The literature suggests that an increase of globalization leads to a decrease in maternal death and to an increase in female primary education. The pooled data set was …

Exploring The External Barriers Faced By Female Military Spouses In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Richelle Keilholz

Theses and Dissertations

The study discusses the insufficient amount of research concerning the unique barriers faced by female military spouses in the pursuit of higher education. Although the information on military veterans in education has increased exponentially over the last decade, little is known about their female spouses. By adopting a narrative analysis approach to qualitative research, the study explored the perspectives of female military spouses and the barriers they may face in pursuit of higher education. Seven female military spouses were asked to complete 30-minute to 60-minute interviews with the researcher, to consider a more personalized experience. The following three primary research …

A Reanalysis Of The American Revolution: Causes For Support And Opposition To The War Among Women, Jacquelin Biggs

Research Papers

This paper examines the existing intellectual historiography of the causes of the American Revolution through the perspectives of both Revolutionary and Loyalist Women. Through the analysis of letters, petitions, and political pamphlets authored by women of the Revolutionary era, this research challenges Bernard Bailyn’s Ideological Origins of the American Revolution and highlights the limitations of his conclusions when applied to the female experience. Women such as Abigail Adams, Martha Washington, Esther Reed, Grace Galloway, and Sarah Fisher demonstrate that despite being aware of the ideologies behind the American Revolution, these were not the only factors they considered in making their …

Redefining Reproductive Rights And Justice, Leah Litman

Michigan Law Review

Review of Reproductive Rights and Justice Stories edited by Melissa Murray, Katherine Shaw, and Reva B. Siegel.

Women Engineering Faculty Well-Being: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Shannon Kristine Stefl

All Dissertations

This study examined the lived experiences of women as they navigate faculty pathways in engineering. This qualitative research study centered on the well-being journeys of seven women who have achieved tenure as engineering faculty to uncover how these women psychologically experienced and incorporated well-being across their personal and professional lives in support of their success, happiness, and satisfaction.

Leveraging qualitative research techniques aligned with the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology, this study elicited and systematically analyzed accounts of well-being across participants’ professional and personal life spaces. The well-being journeys of seven participants, JoAnn, Rose, Marie, Allison, Dylan, Mary, and Gabriella, …

When We Tell You We Can Do It, Believe Us: An Analysis Of The Legislation And Policies Related To The Employment Of Women With Disabilities In The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Sarah M. Alem

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation aims at exploring the barriers to the adequate implementation of the legislation, policies and regulations related to the employment of women with disabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the private sector. It uses Article 27 of the United Nations Convention for Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as an international standard. This dissertation explores the strengths and challenges of Saudi Arabia’s Labor Law and regulations in protecting the employment related rights of women with disabilities in Saudi Arabia. It adopts a multi-component analysis by comparing standards (a, b, e and h) of Article 27 of the CRPD with …