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Thesis (B.A.)--Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

Dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / Previous research has shown that in the past males generally had negative attitudes and opinions about gender equity and the development of female autonomy and emancipation. The present study aimed to explore the perceptions of male university students in KwaZulu-Natal about independent women. More specifically the researcher tried to investigate whether “new generation” South African males are more accepting of gender equity and the independence and emancipation of South African females. An interpretive perspective was employed. A total of 6 assenting male university students, 3 from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and 3 from the University of Zululand situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, participated in the present study. In line with the researcher’s epistemology, the methodology was qualitative in nature and semi-structured interviews were used. All the participants were given a short biographical questionnaire and a one-on-one semi-structured interview was conducted thereafter. The research data was subjected to thematic analysis. The significant themes that emerged from the analysis are presented in the results chapter. The present study’s overall findings suggested that the “new” male generation of KwaZulu-Natal still generally hold negative attitudes and perceptions about gender equity and South African independent females. However, it was also found that the “new” South African male generation of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and University of Zululand is more receptive to the independence of South African females than the “older” South African male generation. In conclusion the present study’s contributions as well as shortcomings are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.

This is an investigation into the history of masculinity in spaceflight during some of the tensest years of the Cold War era. This dissertation asks why the U.S. did not counter the Soviet launch of the first woman into space. Scholars have pieced together the story of American women’s fight for spaceflight. The dissertation adds another layer to this narrative by analyzing the construction of the astronaut image from 1958 to 1972, a period characterized by a widespread masculinity crisis. Scholars of Cold War America suggest that Americans saw communism, conformity, feminism, homosexuality, bureaucracy, corporations, male consumerism, leisure, automation, and the dreaded “organization man” as a threat to masculinity. The astronaut was not only a way for Americans to display their superiority over the Soviets; he also represented a widespread domestic reaction against the threat of automation. I build on the scholarship of the Cold War masculinity crisis by focusing on how the crisis played out within the public discourse of the astronaut image. I begin with a narrative of the Cold War masculinity crisis. Using print media, congressional records, and astronaut accounts, I explore how the masculinization of spaceflight created a public image of the astronaut that mirrored the Cold War masculinity crisis. As the average American man struggled for individuality and control in his own life, the astronaut struggled to exert and maintain individual control over the space capsule. Continuing through the Apollo program, the discourse surrounding the astronaut shifted away from depictions of him as a rugged individual exerting control in space toward an emphasis on the astronaut as a team player who shared control of the capsule with computers, the scientist-astronauts, and Mission Command. In the end, the astronaut struggled to represent a superior masculinity as he increasingly became the corporate organization man, symbolizing the masculinity crisis. The struggle to resolve the masculinity crisis continued as teamwork replaced individualism, hyphenated scientist-astronauts flew into space, and NASA commissioned the first passenger space shuttles.

Research suggests that gender role, rather than sex, is associated with the perception of individuals as leaders. The current study tests the effect of gender role on leadership emergence by using a pattern approach and manipulating task-type. 200 female undergraduate subjects, categorized based on their personality pattern of three variables (i.e., masculinity, femininity, and intelligence), were placed in groups of four members. Groups were randomly assigned to a consensus building or initiating structure task condition. Hypothesis one, which predicted that feminine-intelligent individuals would emerge more than masculine-intelligent or mixed personality pattern individuals in the consensus building task condition, was not supported. However, support was found for hypothesis two which predicted that masculine-intelligent individuals would be perceived as more leader-like than feminine-intelligent or mixed personality pattern individuals in the initiating structure task. Partial support was found for the emergence of androgynous-intelligent individuals in the consensus building task condition (hypothesis three), but full support was found for the emergence of androgynous-intelligent individuals in the initiating structure task (hypothesis four). The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Title: Violence and women representation in video games (Vålds‐ och kvinnoskildringar i TV‐spel)</p><p>Number of pages: 42</p><p>Author: Karolin Bodling</p><p>Tutor: Göran Svensson</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies D</p><p>Period: Autumn 2005</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.</p><p>Purpose/Aim: The aim is to investigate how violence and women are presented in video games and in game reviews.</p><p>Material/Method: The study includes theories that consider violence and gender in media and video games. The material of the essay exists of two games and five reviews. The method that is being used is a content analysis. The games that are being analysed are Jade Empire and Grand Theft Auto – San Andreas.</p><p>Main results: The video games are often connected to brutal violence but the analysis of the game Jade Empire shows that it is possible to hve control of the violence in the games and that the player has a possibility to choose the outcome of violence. In comparence to Jade Empire, Grand Theft Auto – San Andreas shows brutal violence as entertainment. The games that have been analysed shows women as stereotyped objects. The development of women in games has been going forward but the question is wheter it´s going forward in the right way; from an innocent princess to a sex object. There is a big difference between how the violence and women are being showed in the games and how they are described in the rviews, the reviewer is often neutral in his or hers judgement of the violence and the female characters in the games.</p><p>Keywords: video games, gender, violence, media, gender roles</p>

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The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes about gay marriage. The main research question was: Do traditional attitudes toward familial gender roles and conservative, moderate, and liberal views about religiosity impact attitudes about gay marriage? I used data from the 2006 General Social Survey (GSS) of 1,977 adults living in the United States. Results of this study found people with traditional attitudes toward familial gender roles have more negative attitudes about gay marriage. Also, people with strong religious affiliation and more frequent attendance at religious services have more negative attitudes about gay marriage. Furthermore, people who were very religious and belonged to specific religious affiliations have more negative attitudes about gay marriage. Conversely, this study found people who were slightly religious, not religious, and very spiritual have more positive attitudes about gay marriage and people who belonged to specific religious affiliations have more positive attitudes about gay marriage. / Dr. Melissa Swauger Dr. Diane Shinberg Dr. Kay Snyder

ABSTRACT Title: Violence and women representation in video games (Vålds‐ och kvinnoskildringar i TV‐spel) Number of pages: 42 Author: Karolin Bodling Tutor: Göran Svensson Course: Media and Communication Studies D Period: Autumn 2005 University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University. Purpose/Aim: The aim is to investigate how violence and women are presented in video games and in game reviews. Material/Method: The study includes theories that consider violence and gender in media and video games. The material of the essay exists of two games and five reviews. The method that is being used is a content analysis. The games that are being analysed are Jade Empire and Grand Theft Auto – San Andreas. Main results: The video games are often connected to brutal violence but the analysis of the game Jade Empire shows that it is possible to hve control of the violence in the games and that the player has a possibility to choose the outcome of violence. In comparence to Jade Empire, Grand Theft Auto – San Andreas shows brutal violence as entertainment. The games that have been analysed shows women as stereotyped objects. The development of women in games has been going forward but the question is wheter it´s going forward in the right way; from an innocent princess to a sex object. There is a big difference between how the violence and women are being showed in the games and how they are described in the rviews, the reviewer is often neutral in his or hers judgement of the violence and the female characters in the games. Keywords: video games, gender, violence, media, gender roles