Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Voices Of The (In)Visible: A Gendered Study On Higglers In Downtown Kingston, Jamaica, Reneé Brown

Theses - ALL

This project examines the lived experiences of higglers in Downtown, Kingston, and how they survive Jamaica’s misogynistic capitalist patriarchal society as marginalized Black working-class women. Data were gathered through a series of semi-structured and unstructured interviews, and participant observation and journal entries. My theoretical frame employed historical materialism and Black Feminist epistemological standpoints which include Caribbean, African, and ‘Third World’ feminism, through a gendered lens to deconstruct neoliberal global capitalism in neocolonial Jamaica. My project also assumes that the impact of neoliberal global capitalism that thrives on patriarchy has forced Black working-class women in Jamaican to reproduce a political consciousness …

Agroecology Feminisms: Gender, Social Movements And Alternatives To Industrial Agriculture In Paraguay, Jamie C. Gagliano

Theses - ALL

As plantations of mono-cropped cash crops continue to expand globally, small farmers and peasants continue to make out a living at the edges of plantations. Though it draws on long histories of traditional farming, agroecology emerged as alternative set of agricultural practices to counter industrial agriculture in the 1990s. It encapsulates both the diversity of traditional agricultural systems and the systematization of these practices, making it a response of campesinos (peasants) to plantation expansion. In Paraguay, agroecology has been taken up by several campesino social movements, including the women’s and indigenous movement known as Conamuri. For twenty years, Conamuri has …

Attitudes Of Democracy: The Correlation Between Corruption, Social Sexism, And Democracy, Michelle Clifford

Student Works

Previous studies have found a correlation between gender inequality and corruption, but much debate still exists about the cause of this correlation. A common theory is that any country with little corruption and low gender inequality is a democracy and that the relationship is a spurious one that comes from the nature of democracies. Others contest that this is a reflection of women having a higher moral standard. This study measures the correlation between sexist attitudes and corruption. Measuring the attitude toward gender inequality rather than institutions, laws, or the behavior of individuals helps us better understand the culture and …

Correlation Between Victim-Blaming Attitudes And Victim Gender In Non-Sexual Crime Scenarios, Caroline Whitlow

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Sex crime victims often experience victim-blaming from third parties. Literature does not discuss whether this pattern comes from gender bias or stigma surrounding certain types of crime. This mixed methods study assesses correlation between gender of non-sexual crime victims and third-party blame assignment. Quantitative research found higher levels of blame towards male victims, with a t-statistic of 5.865. Qualitative research found gendered perceptions of responsibility that invoke female victims’ sex and instruct women to adjust lifestyle choices. Social work practitioners can use this data to improve practice with crime victims and encourage dialogues surrounding victim-blaming in education and practice.

Can Cities Be Feminist? A Cross-National Analysis Of Factors Affecting Local Female Representation In Latin America, Katie Davis

Honors Theses

Women are underrepresented in mayor’s offices and on city councils across Latin America. In this paper, I examine gender-based differences in individual opinions toward running for office in Argentina and Uruguay, as well as conduct a twenty-six country analysis on factors related to female representation in municipal government. Based on these analyses, I make three main conclusions about female local representation in Latin America. The first conclusion is that women in Latin America are significantly less likely to want to run or feel qualified to run for office. The second conclusion is that cross-national variation in the percentage of female …

Strong, Powerful, And Beautiful, Katie O'Malley

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

In the months of September, October, and half of November (2019) I have observed and taken note of my performance of gender in social groups (athletics and sorority) and under the constraints of gendered expectations on Pepperdine University’s campus. In addition to these observations, I reflected on influential past experiences and re-read journal entries from my time at college. Through this self-analysis I have come to realize that my own gender performance constitutes both sides of the culturally affirmed binary with my female masculinity partnered with my permeable ego-boundary. Furthermore I found that while my gender performance breaks some of …

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 …

Gender And Judicial Decision-Making, Alexandra Just

Undergraduate Theses

This study employs a unique two-tiered approach, involving both quantitative and qualitative methodology to analyze the influences – specifically, a judge’s gender – on the judicial decision-making process. First, a quantitative bivariate regression analysis was conducted to determine whether a Federal District Court judge’s gender had a statistically significant influence on the ideological direction of case outcomes (which is either liberal, meaning the decision was in favor of the petitioner, or conservative, meaning the decision was against the petitioner). Data was analyzed using the statistical program SPSS and was pulled from the 2016 Carp-Manning database, which contains over 110,000 federal …

The Effects Of Instagram User Weight And Health Orientation On Perceptions Of Food Posts, Alese M. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Past research has shown that social factors, such as social facilitation, influence what and how much people eat (Zajonc, 1965). One key factor seems to be others’ weights; people have a tendency to dissociate themselves with obese eaters (Barthomeuf, Rousset, & Droit-Volet, 2012; McFerran, Dahl, Fitzsimons, & Morales, 2010). A pilot study was completed to assess how people viewed food photos posted to Instagram, as well as their social media habits. These findings were used in the design of the present study; the purpose of the present study is to determine whether social factors involved in eating, like others’ weight, …

German-American Wpa Murals At The Milwaukee Public Museum And National Socialist Schultafeln: A Comparative Analysis, Katherine J. Santell

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis was to systematically examine and compare the themes and styles present in the Works Progress Administration (WPA) paintings housed in the Milwaukee Public Museum to a selection of National Socialist Schultafeln in Germany. The research conducted on the WPA paintings concentrated on pieces from the A.O. Tiemann collection and other works by painters who emigrated from Germany in the early 20th century or were of German descent. This was further narrowed to an in-depth analysis of pieces that depict lake dwelling sites of the European Neolithic and Bronze Ages in both US Museums and selected …

Does Gender Affect Subjective Well-Being? The Case Of Turkey, Seda Şengül, Kenan Lopcu

Topics in Middle Eastern and North African Economies

Significant differences in social and economic resources exist between genders in the world as well as in Turkey. These differences have definite potential to affect life satisfaction, a specific aspect of subjective well-being. Measuring and analyzing the impact of gender differences in subjective well-being are very significant for societies in defining efficient and effective policies to reduce social inequalities and to dampen the gap in the quality of life between genders. Hence, the purpose of this study is to estimate the effect of gender difference on subjective well-being between men and women in Turkey, using panel ordered probit models, and …

Gender, Race, And Childhood Abuse As Predictors Of Borderline Personality Disorder, Olivia Moses

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a debilitating personality disorder that impacts anywhere between 1% to 5% of Americans. Studies claim that women are significantly more at risk than men to suffer from this disorder and may experience stronger symptoms. Previous research has found that victims of childhood abuse such as sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect are more at risk for developing Borderline Personality Disorder as adults, particularly when abuse is paired with genetic susceptibility. Some researchers claim that there are no detectable racial differences in Borderline Personality Disorder, but previous studies often have very small sample sizes taken from …

An Examination Of Pervasive Language Around Sexual Harassment Through The Lens Of Anita Hill, Christine Blasey Ford, And #Metoo, Elizabeth Theriault

Honors College

This thesis explores the hypothesis that the #MeToo Movement and Twitter have contributed to the changes in language used by individuals to describe sexual harassment and the survivors that come forward with their stories. To do so, this thesis identified common themes derived from language used in New York Times articles published during the Hill and Thomas hearings of 1991, as well as Tweets published between the dates surrounded the Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh hearings, September 25, 2018 and September 29, 2018, to create a comparable platform for language used in similar settings 27 years apart. It contains a literature …

Lean On Me: Leadership Beyond The Patriarchy, Tamara Taylor

Master of Arts in Humanities | Master's Theses 1936 - 2022

Leadership styles have taken various forms throughout humanity’s trajectory on earth. Indicative of patriarchal systems, the most prominent styles of leadership that are widely recognized in the public and private sectors routinely favor individuals who portray characteristics of ambition, confidence and assertiveness that at times crosses over into aggression. When one considers which gender fit the stereotype of exhibiting leadership qualities under these assumptions, often hyper-masculine men fit the mold.

In contrast, when women are successful at ascending and working in higher ranking positions, the characteristics that are mapped on to their personas are often associated with collaboration and relationship-building. …

“Contact” Sports: Competitive Athletic Experience, Racial Attitudes, And Intergroup Contact, Savana Nawojski

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Allport’s (1954) Intergroup Contact hypothesis suggests that interaction among people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds can reduce prejudice, particularly in situations that involve cooperation and common goals. Although participation in competitive sports may provide opportunities for cooperative interaction among people from different racial backgrounds, and athletic teams tend to be more diverse at higher levels (NCAA 2019), relatively little work has examined the contact hypothesis in this context. Using a national representative data set (N = 966), we examine whether respondents’ levels of competitive athletic experience are related to their attitudes toward African Americans. We find no bivariate relationship …

Situating Worker Cooperatives: The Urban, Racial And Gendered Geographies Of Cooperative Development In New York City’S Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative, Rebecca Wolfe

Theses and Dissertations

Worker cooperatives are gaining increased traction as an urban economic development strategy aimed to better support low-income women, immigrants and communities of color. Worker cooperatives are businesses that are owned and managed by its workers, and their supporters see them as a more equitable form of development that facilitates enhanced economic agency and access to ownership and wealth building. Reflecting and reinforcing growing cooperative momentum, New York City developed the nation’s first municipal-sponsored cooperative development initiative in 2014. The Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative (WCBDI) brings together policy makers, city administrators and nonprofit community-based organizations to provide educational programming, cooperative …

Hispanics And The War On Drugs: An Explanation For The Rise In Hispánica Imprisonment, Bryan James Haakma

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to understand racial disparities that persist throughout the criminal justice system. Since the early 1970s, the U.S. female prison population has risen at a faster rate than the male prison population (Harmon & Boppre, 2016; Morín, 2008, 2016). Overall, a plethora of research has linked the rise in imprisonment to the War on Drugs and the criminalization of drug use. This thesis examined these questions: 1) are drug crime initiatives driving the rise in Hispanic female imprisonment in comparison to Black and White females and 2) using Blalock’s (1967) theory on group threat, do …

Love In South Korea: Transformations Of Intimacy And Gender Relations In Korean Romantic Relationships, Alex Joseph Nelson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Romantic love holds a central place in South Korean imaginaries, animating television dramas and pop ballads, but has been largely overlooked in Korea's ethnographic record. Drawing on data collected through 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork, survey research, interviews, and analysis of folklore, the present study investigates how South Koreans conceptualize romantic love, how those conceptions have changed over time, and the ways they are transforming with the Korean field of gender relations.

This study documents love's entwinement with marriage in South Korea. Koreans are developing companionate ideals of marriage that shift the focus of kinship from the parent-child relationship to …

Gender Differences In Second Language Learning: Why They Exist And What We Can Do About It, Merideth Wightman

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Coding Microaggressions Committed By First-Year Students, Katherine Kindy, Meghan Dunn

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Background

Microaggressions are forms of sexism, racism, and homophobia communicated through derogatory slights, including telling harmful jokes or making judgments about someone’s perceived identity. Previous research has shown microaggressions have a significant impact on college students' sense of self and belonging, often making them feel isolated on campus (McGabe, 2009). In order to assess exclusionary behavior, we asked first-year students if they have committed microaggressions and, if so, in what context.

Methods

We recruited 218 first-year Chapman University students (74% women, 24% men, 2% trans/non-binary; Mage = 18). Participants took a 20-minute survey asking about their overall college experiences and, …

Gender Dynamics In Charreria Mexicana, Karen Melissa Flores Tavizon

Theses and Dissertations

This research and analysis about the experiences of women in charrería show the pervasive negotiation of needs that they engage as practicing in an Escaramuza Charra. Inside this study, it is introduced the term Sisterhood Paradox, used to describe the struggle that represents the Escaramuza’s constant collective performance, in comparison to charros, but that paradoxically serves a tool of resistance of charra women inside this patriarchal institution. In this piece of work, it is also argued that women in charrería, in many cases, are not aware of the subordinate position they occupy and in an unconscious way function as agents …

Biological Sex As A Moderator Of The Association Of Military Sexual Trauma And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Total And Symptom Cluster Severity, Hallie S. Tannahill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a multifaceted disorder comprised of distinct symptom clusters and is commonly diagnosed in military service members/veterans (SM/Vs), particularly in those with history of military sexual trauma (MST). Evidence and theory suggest that females and males may have different traumatic responses following MST, though research investigating this association has limitations, such as modeling the sexes separately or not covarying for MST severity. The current study examined the moderating role of sex on the association of MST severity and PTSD total and symptom cluster severity. Participants were 1,161 SM/Vs (female: n = 782, 67.36%) who completed online …

Why Families Flee: A Study Of Family Migration Patterns From The Northern Triangle Of Central America, Claire Williams

Honors Theses

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in migrant families from the Northern Triangle, the region of Central America comprised of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The mass influx in family migration has important consequences for destination countries like the United States and Mexico as well as the countries which they leave behind. This study aims to answer the question of how family migration patterns in the Northern Triangle of Central America have changed in the past decade and why. I outline the migration decisions of families through a qualitative and quantitative lens. I use newspapers and NGO reports …

The Effects Of Food Insecurity On Indigenous Women In Maine, Sara Imam

Honors College

Indigenous women have been affected by food insecurity due to historical and continued impacts of settler-colonialism, which include the stripping of traditional gendered roles and responsibilities, environmental degradation, and poverty that limit access to traditional foods and resources. As a result, Indigenous women remain among the most vulnerable to malnourishment and hunger, as well as chronic health conditions that arise in part from colonial diets. Despite the severity of this issue in Native North America, there has been little research carried out on the topic in the state of Maine. This thesis analyzes the connections between factors underlying food insecurity …

Female Political Campaigns: Just The Right Amount Of Femininity, Harley Rogers

Honors College

This paper seeks to understand how female politicians develop their public identities to meet and reject the gender stereotypes society holds of women. The case study looks at Margaret Chase Smith’s political career, with a special focus on her 1964 presidential campaign. The research analyzed Smith’s career through the newspaper coverage of her in order to understand Smith’s choices surrounding her public identity and the media’s response. The analysis identified four distinct points of interest that contributed to Smith’s public persona: physical appearance, examples of housewifery, dialogue on women’s issues, and legislative accomplishments. These factors demonstrate how Smith presented her …

“Things Are Going To Get A Lot Worse Before They Get Worse”: Humor In The Face Of Disaster, Politics, And Pain, Sierra Semmel

Honors College

From the Holocaust and slavery victims to medical professionals to firefighters, coping humor has been used throughout history even in the darkest of times. While it is common among victims of unfavorable situations, it is also utilized by late-night television shows to package the news of the day in a format that both addresses the issues and eases the emotions surrounding them. This thesis critically analyzes selected clips from late night shows and sketch comedy surrounding three different news events: Brett Kavanaugh’s Senate Confirmation Hearings, the Boston Marathon bombing, and Hurricane Sandy. By studying a political event, a domestic terrorist …

Excavating Gender: The Embodiment And (Re)Presentation Of Social Relations In Mierzanowice Communities Of The Early Bronze Age, Mark Paul Toussaint

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The construction of gender in a society is based on a discursive relationship between culture and biology. Ideological components are often translated into structural factors, which condition access to social and biological resources and exposure to risk. Cumulative differential health outcomes for groups can become embodied in ways that affect the skeleton. By conducting population-level analyses of skeletal markers of health and trauma, bioarchaeologists work backwards to attempt to reconstruct social conditions. Archaeological and mortuary context is an important part of this process.

Cemeteries of the Mierzanowice Culture (MC) in southern Poland (2300-1600 BCE) offer a unique opportunity to study …

“Say Something!”: Examining The Bystander In Sexual Harassment, Lida Ponce

Theses and Dissertations

This research addresses the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace. Past research on harassment has primarily investigated the victim and the perpetrator, with limited research on bystanders in these events. However, bystanders can play an important role in the occurrence and outcomes of harassment by speaking up and intervening, particularly when the victim is too intimidated to do so. Therefore, this research examined this issue, focusing on factors influencing bystander intentions to intervene in sexual harassment incidents. Specifically, drawing from the Cognitive-Affective Processing System approach (Mischel & Shoda, 1995), this study investigated the construct of give/take/match (Grant, 2013) as …

The Concept Of Gender And Its Place In Linguistics, Shakhnoza Kakhramonovna Gulyamova

Scientific reports of Bukhara State University

The article deals with the emergence of the concept of gender and its place in linguistics. Gender tasks and problems are analysed. Thus, the concept of gender is a complex socio-cultural process, and the behavior of men and women in society is a social construct of gender, expressing their place. It is a comprehensive multifaceted concept that defines not only biological differences but also socio-cultural norms.

Gender And Sexuality-Based Bullying: Student Experiences And Educator Responses, Elizabeth Torrens

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Drawing on qualitative interview data, this dissertation critically examines the issue of gender and sexuality-based bullying (GSB) in the context of Ontario schools. GSB is explained through a theoretical perspective that situates bullying as a mechanism employed by students as they navigate gendered and heteronormative school status structures. Because the status-based structures are so entrenched in educational contexts, a resilience perspective is also adopted to determine best next-steps for mitigating the negative effects of GSB. Further, resilience in this case is viewed through a critical sociological lens that requires the consideration of broader social forces, rather than reducing resilience to …