Thesis (M.A.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Women and Gender Studies." Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-86).

<p> Technological shifts in recent decades have allowed individuals working in electronic instrument design access to resources and information regardless of their affiliations with academia or other institutions. Women have historically had limited involvement in electronic instrument design due to a number of social factors; a few elements are crucial to supporting the endeavors of women and girls interested in contemporary electronic instrument design, including deinstitutionalized access to resources and information, supportive mentorship and the availability of role models, and the acknowledgement and deconstruction of social factors that hinder the progress of women in the field of music technology. The intent of this research is to explore the social forces that serve to limit the involvement and achievement of women in the field of electronic instrument design by examining the practices of individual women involved in this discipline alongside sociological and psychological research on the implications of social constructions of gender, technology, creativity, and intelligence. My hope is that this research will serve to further discourse and open a dialogue on the necessity of dismantling and examining social constructions of gender and technology.</p>

<p> When groups of people are represented in classification systems, potential exists for them to be structurally or linguistically subordinated, erased or otherwise misrepresented (Olson &amp; Schlegl, 2001). As Bowker &amp; Star (1999) have shown, the real-world application of classification to people can have legal, economic, medical, social, and educational consequences. The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge organization by showing how the epistemological stance underlying specific classificatory discourses interactively participates in the formation of concepts. The medical and legal discourses in three timeframes are examined using Foucauldian genealogical discourse analysis to investigate how their depictions of gender and epistemic foundations correspond and interplay with conceptualizations of similar concepts in four editions of the <i>Dewey Decimal Classification.</i> As knowledge organization research seeks solutions to manage the paradigm change from assumptions of universal knowledge to instability of knowledge, recognition of epistemological underpinnings of classification systems is necessary to understand the very real consequences of corresponding classifications of gender.</p>

<p> This quantitative research study examined differences in women&rsquo;s giving motivation in a large membership based nonprofit across 3 types of women. The theoretical framework was based on the identification theory that postulates an individual&lsquo;s personal motivation to give was directly correlated to self-identification with an organization. The findings of this study indicated that overall 89% of the 855 respondents donated to another nonprofit with only 14% donating to the selected membership based nonprofit. As boundaries between nonprofit revenue sources and philanthropy are increasingly fluid, our theoretical understanding as well as our empirical research on fund development must expand to encompass these new fundraising strategies. The study summarizes the extant empirical literature on nonprofit financial development programs and compares this research to emerging work on women&rsquo;s motivation for giving. Drawing on this literature, the study specifically calls for research on nonprofit fundraising that (a) gives greater attention to the links between volunteerism, identification and women&rsquo;s giving motivation, (b) target marketing efforts of volunteerism and philanthropy to members with a bachelor&rsquo;s or higher educational level, and (c) the data suggests the nonprofit sector should focus their efforts on approaches that deepen identification with the female donor base through programs that allow; service on boards, ongoing volunteer activities that change lives and more frequently asking for giving of financial resources.</p>

<p> This study argues that the veneration, romanticization and projection of the feminine in depth psychology is problematic. Depth psychology claims that the masculine and feminine principles exist as archetypes in the collective unconscious. It also claims that these principles are not attached to men and women, yet it coopts imagery that represents the principles in ways that identify them as such, as well as describing certain modes of thinking or acting as definitively masculine or feminine. Specifically, the claim that the masculine principle dominates conscious life results in positing the feminine as a powerful unconscious force, leading to an interpretation of it as transcendent or numinous, revered as a principle needed to heal psychic damage from the overreach of the masculine in patriarchy. This veneration leads to the feminine being romanticized as a panacea for sociocultural ills and projected onto women as carriers of this healing potential. </p><p> This dissertation employs philosophical and depth psychological theories highlighting the relationship between truth, history, myth and fiction to challenge mythopoetic narratives of the feminine and their effect on perceptions of women. Specifically, it uses James Hillman&rsquo;s concept of healing fiction to demonstrate how narratives that result from mythopoetic collusion between psychological fictions are believed as true, and when applied retroactively, are used to reframe historical personal and cultural experiences. The study critiques the comingling of women and the feminine and the resultant essentializing of women by analyzing depth psychology&rsquo;s anima theory, matriarchal and Goddess mythology popularized in the twentieth century, the conflation of women, nature and the feminine in the ecology movement, and narratives implying women&rsquo;s obligation to use the feminine to heal the world. </p><p> The findings of this study call for the lived experience and potential of women to be recognized and valued above fantasies about the feminine. They also suggest that depth psychology&rsquo;s insistence on the masculine/feminine polarization contributes to patriarchal ideology. Finally, they identify the feminine as a psychological fiction that helps the psyche navigate through the sociocultural complexity of patriarchal culture. Keywords: the feminine, healing fiction, women, patriarchy</p>

<p> Aaron Belkin argues that military men must navigate "binary oppositions" of masculine and anti-masculine or feminine behaviors, mostly of a physical nature, to be considered good soldiers/good men. Embracing these polar behaviors of strong and weak, expressing the masculine aggressiveness expected of them hand-in-hand with the non-masculine submissiveness of obedience to superiors, creates "double binds," he argued. This study expands on and challenges Belkin's theory by identifying how soldiers' navigation of conflicting gendered discourses may extend beyond the body and the barracks. The study identified physical/psychological toughness and leadership and duty/respect as core masculine military discourses consistent with the literature. It also uncovered soldiers'/veterans' conflicting expectations around the expression of emotions, particularly in how they must navigate a military community of practice that breeds deep bonds and affection among men yet conditions them to defer or compartmentalize expression of emotions about their comrades. This conflict between the subjugation of the individual and the deferral of emotions may create more contradictory discourses when combat soldiers re-enter mass culture and its expectations of self-made masculinity. The study's findings raise interesting questions about how participants experience and articulate "being a man" both in the military and civilian worlds and may contribute to better understanding the difficulties some veterans face, including psychological/mental health issues, upon their return to civilian life. The study has potentially important ramifications for policy at many levels, particularly around how the military and society at-large facilitate and ease re-entry and re-engagement of veterans.</p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: Masculinity, public policy, military, veterans, communication, mental health</p>

<p> The nonprofit sector is the third largest employing industry in the United States and impacts almost 10% of the economy (Roeger, Blackwood, &amp; Pettijohn, 2012; Salamon, Sokolowski, &amp; Geller, 2012). Women comprise over 75% of the nonprofit workforce, yet men hold over 80% of leadership positions (Bronznick &amp; Goldenhar, 2009; McInnes, 2008). The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the work-life balance practices of women leaders in nonprofit organizations and determine experiences impacting their life course. The ultimate goal was to gain insight from women leaders in nonprofit organizations to identify strategies for more women to advance into leadership roles. The researcher utilized a qualitative methodology with the life course theory developed by Giele (2008). </p><p> The research questions were: 1. What demographic factors, if any, are related to work-life balance issues for women leaders in nonprofit organizations? 2. How is the life course for women leaders in nonprofit organizations impacted, if at all, by experiences, identity, motivation, adaptive and relational style? 3. What strategies, if any, are women leaders in nonprofit organizations utilizing for work-life balance? </p><p> 20 women leaders in nonprofit organizations served as the study population. The women held positions of vice president or above or positions equivalent to vice president if the organization did not use such titles. Participants provided socio-demographic data and responses to 5 sets of questions regarding early adulthood, childhood and early adolescence, current adulthood, future adulthood and coping strategies. </p><p> The key findings and conclusions revealed challenges with work-life balance associated with diverse demographic factors. Experiences related to identity, relational style, drive and motivation and adaptive style influenced life courses and are anticipated to influence the future life courses of participants, specifically regarding decisions on educational attainment, partnerships, family, careers, and social involvement. Work-life balance strategies were discovered in 4 areas: self-care, partners, professional skills, and social support. </p><p> Overall, the research provided a composite of the participants as women leaders in nonprofit organizations, including their backgrounds and life stories. The research demonstrated that work-life balance continues to be an issue and an interest for women leaders in nonprofit organizations. </p>

<p> This case study explores the dynamics of a small long-term leaderless group of five, Jungian-oriented, women therapists. The group, meeting from 1992 to 2005, was originally convened to explore how women's initiatory journey is distinctive from men's. Refusing to adopt a leader, its non-hierarchical structure merited further exploration. The research questions were as follows: What are the individual and collective meanings given to a successful, long-term leaderless women's group? What aspects of the group contribute to its meaningfulness, vitality and longevity? </p><p> The dissertation adopts the metaphor and meta-framework of the Father's House and Mother's House, referring to two distinct ways women's consciousness develops. The Father's and Mother's House form a continuum that ranges from women's adaptation to conventional values and structures to women's ways of knowing and being. Extensive literature reviews describe consciousness in The Father's House, The Mother's House and Women in Groups. </p><p> Case study data illuminate both individual and group perspectives on the group's life. They include audio-taped individual interviews and group sessions, including typical and crisis sessions, along with researcher observations and reflections. The researcher conducted the study as a participant member. </p><p> Narrative analysis reveals three phases in the group's life: an initial phase exploring the dreams and visions of Christiana Morgan and Jung's <i> Visions Seminars;</i> a second phase of moving into a void with an unfolding emergent process; and a third phase following 9/11 in which the group attended to psychological trends manifesting in collective consciousness. </p><p> The Weaving chapter relates the group's experiences to the literature on women's groups, noting a key challenge faced by the group and by women generally&mdash;the dynamic of connection, disconnection, and re-connection. </p><p> The final chapter presents major conclusions drawn from the research: Women's groups serve a developmental function for women and can impact the collective in transformative ways. The Visions group found that the prevalent archetypal drama of saviour, victim, and persecutor must give way to new ways of relating. This study adds to our understanding of groups that learn organically and shows how a group functions when it lives in the Mother's House.</p>

A leader of the student movements in 1968, a pioneer of homosexual liberation in the 1970s, and a lifelong critic and polemist of French society, Guy Hocquenghem published some twenty books and literally hundreds of articles before his premature death in 1988. This dissertation is a biography of Guy Hocquenghem. However, although it makes ample use of personal interviews and other biographical information, its chief aim is not to psychologize but to contextualize. Its primary orientation is that of the history of ideas, an approach that is more concerned with the relationship between ideas and society than with the logical consistency of the ideas themselves. The present work endeavors, first of all, to explain the evolution of Hocquenghem's ideas and assess his impact as both a philosopher and a militant on French society after 1968. In addition, because Hocquenghem's career is, in many respects, emblematic of the journeys of the French '68ers, it uses his intellectual and political trajectory to describe general patterns that he shared with his generation. More specifically, it relies on Hocquenghem's career to illuminate a critical but often overlooked and misunderstood dimension of the May '68 revolt and its legacies: the eruption of "everyday life" into French politics. Finally, this dissertation aims to contribute to the rehabilitation of Hocquenghem's reputation as key militant, significant philosopher, and consummate polemist of the French '68 generation. In doing so, it is not Hocquenghem's ideas themselves that it seeks to redeem so much as his unique utopian perspective.

This thesis explores the experiences of women in the military using narratives published by military servicewomen from Canada and the United States. The success of traditionally “female” bodies in combat-related trades in the military destabilizes the binary opposition between “male” and “female” in western society. Nevertheless, women are still excluded from identifying with the “soldier ideal” that is emphasized in western militaries and must make alternative “hybrid” identifications in order to articulate their understanding of their experiences in the military. Gender integration needs to be rethought in hyper-masculine military institutions. Since “hybrid” identities can be seen emerging in military servicewomen, members of the military have a unique opportunity to rethink the “soldier ideal” in order to make room for bodies that express gender identifications other than “male.” While military servicewomen adapt to their roles by generating “hybrid” identifications in the “Third Space” between the “soldier ideal” and feminine identities, military men are excluded from accessing the benefits of women’s “hybrid” identifications. Men, women, and other emergent gender identities need to engage in a theatrical exploration of their experiences to investigate the possibility of generating new military ideals that resist social constructions that oppose gender integration. It is crucial that research about the experiences of women in the military involve bodies in order to acknowledge that these women experience resistance to their presence because their bodies visibly differ from the masculinised “soldier ideal.” Some of this experience cannot be articulated verbally. I work toward creating the conditions for bodies to engage with my research by combining a theatrical script with an accompanying analytic essay. / Thesis (Master, Cultural Studies) -- Queen's University, 2011-09-09 14:50:32.334