Abstract Despite an aging U. S. workforce, age discrimination at work remains an issue. Researchers have found that beliefs about the aging process affect workers' performance and attitudes. There is little research available examining this phenomenon from the perception of older workers. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of 7 workers aged 55 and older regarding ageism through the theoretical framework of stereotype threat theory. Research questions focused on identifying age-related stereotypes held by the participants, the influence of those stereotypes on perceptions of aging, perception of the impact of aging on job performance, and experienced ageism and discrimination in the workplace. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using a modified Stevick Colazzi method to group significant statements into themes and form a composite description that included textural and structural description. Themes that emerged from the study included culturally absorbed stereotypes of helplessness, acceptance of the participants' aging process, positive perceptions of themselves as older workers, a perceived pressure to retire from coworkers, self-identified physical limitations, and life-stage acceptance. Overall, older workers reported a relatively positive self-image and positive perceptions of work performance by supervisors and coworkers. The findings of this study may contribute to social change by informing employers and employee assistance counselors how to address the realistic needs and concerns of older workers. Further studies in aging may promote understanding of aging not as equaling decline but as a time of opportunity to continue to make contributions to the community regardless of chronological age.

The purpose of the present study was two-fold: (1) to determine whether the ratings a client receives on measures of likeableness, psychological effectiveness, and prognostic outcome differ as a result of the client's perceived level of physical attractiveness (high or low) and, (2) to determine whether the level of professional training in clinical/counseling psychology possessed by the raters mediates these effects. To achieve these purposes, four groups of subjects (varying in level of training in clinical/counseling psychology) listened to the same 12-minute audio-tape excerpt of an actual initial interview with a client. Half the subjects in each group viewed a photograph of a woman previously determined to be of a high physical attractiveness level and half the subjects in each group viewed a photograph of a woman previously determined to be low in physical attractiveness level. The subjects were told that the photograph was of the client to whom they were listening. Following the presentation of these stimulus materials, the subjects responded to questionnaires designed to determine the subjects' perceptions of the client's likeableness, psychological effectiveness, and prognosis. Analysis of variance techniques were used for statistical comparisons of the data. The results showed: (1) the physical attractiveness level of the client (high or low) resulted in no systematic biasing of the subjects' judgements of the client's likeableness, psychological effectiveness, or prognosis, and (2) the four groups (representing different levels of training in counseling/ clinical psychology) did not differ significantly from one another in the ratings they gave the client. Therefore, the results of the present study did not support previous research on this topic. Possible implications of the findings of the present study, with consideration of the apparent contradiction with earlier research and suggestions for further investigation of this topic are discussed.

Academic underachievement among Black students, particularly Black male students, is a troubling trend that has long attracted scholarly attention. The prevailing consensus is that the shortcomings of some Black male students in academic achievement may be attributable to traumatic experiences arising from environments of violent, inner-city poverty that disproportionately affect Black men. Traumatic experiences have been shown to negatively affect Black men’s self-perception, emotions, self-image, and social and cognitive skills, with consequences in the form of measured shortfalls in retention and graduation rates. My qualitative, phenomenological study sought to explore how previous traumatic experiences of Black men affected their academic experiences and achievement while attending a community college. This study was conducted in a virtual environment setting using Zoom video conferencing and each interview ran approximately 45 minutes. Ten Black men were selected from a demographic survey to take part in this study. When asked about traumatic experiences, several participants mentioned the death of a family member as affecting their academic progress. Interpersonal loss may contribute to long-term effects on student engagement. Another reoccurring theme was negative stereotypes related to Black men being reinforced intentionally or unintentionally in the classroom. The findings from this study on the social and cultural experiences of Black men may encourage educational leaders to create more effective academic supports and services designed to improve the success rate of Black, male students who have suffered previous traumatic experiences.

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Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of accounting firms’ visual portrayal.  Theoretical perspectives: Institutional theory, stereotype theory, legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and framing theory have, together with earlier literature, been applied to the empirical findings to fulfill the purpose of this thesis.  Methodology: Images in the annual reports of the Big 4 accounting firms in Sweden have been analyzed over a ten-year period. In total, 654 images have been coded and analyzed based on seven concepts. The first three concepts, namely gender, ethnicity, and age, are based on a visual content analysis. For the remaining concepts: professionalism, environmental sustainability, technology, and well-being, inspiration has been drawn from a visual grading analysis. In addition, secondary data concerning various events on a firm, institutional, and macro level that are related to the concepts of this thesis have, in essence, been collected from online news articles and annual reports of the Big 4 accounting firms in Sweden.  Findings: The findings show that the portrayal of professionalism is rather high but that a downward trend can be observed for most accounting firms. Instead, more room is given to the portrayal of other aspects which mainly revolves around environmental sustainability and well-being. The portrayal of ethnicity and young people show an upward trend for most accounting firms whereas there is a rather high portrayal of women in most years. Furthermore, the portrayal in accounting firms’ annual reports seem to be somewhat related to internal as well as external events.

The official stance of the Association America of Medical Colleges (AAMC) regarding the undergraduate major of applicants for admission to medical school is that there are no required or preferred majors. While the AAMC is the body that governs admission to allopathic medical schools in the United States, this statement does not provide clarity to prospective medical school applicants as to what undergraduate major to select; it only encourages students from a variety of educational backgrounds to apply. Furthermore, a broad statement about undergraduate major flexibility does not indicate how choice of major will eventually impact admission to medical school. While the AAMC encourages applicants to choose any undergraduate major they wish, there is minimal peer-reviewed research or empirical evidence of the relationship between applicants' undergraduate major and their likelihood of admission to medical school. Through the lens of the student-choice construct, this dissertation sought to determine if applicants' undergraduate major is a statistically significant predictor of successful admission to medical school. This model accommodates decisions such as the intent to pursue post-secondary education, which institution to attend, what major to choose, and whether to persist to degree completion. The student-choice construct also contends that these decisions are influenced by the amount of human, financial, social, and cultural capital available to the student throughout the decision-making process. To study how choice of major impacts admission to medical school, I conducted a quantitative study using a hierarchical binary logistic regression. Secondary data were collected using the formal data request procedure outlined by the AAMC. Application-level data were received from the AAMC, and personally identifiable information including applicants’ names, identification numbers, and addresses were removed by the AAMC before the data were delivered. Additionally, given that the study involves the analysis of de-identified extant data, this study received exemption from the Institutional Review Board at Temple University. The dataset included 53,371 applicants to allopathic medical school for the 2019 application cycle. These applicants attended undergraduate institutions primarily located in the United States and Canada. The study revealed that undergraduate major does not serve as a statistically significant predictor of admission to medical school over and above applicants' demographic characteristics, MCAT scores, and undergraduate grade point average. Applicants who chose a Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics (BCPM) major did not have a greater chance of being admitted to medical school than an applicant who chose a non-BCPM major. These findings are consistent with previous studies that sought to predict variables that contribute to medical school admission. Future research should investigate the predictive ability of admissions variables such as applicant characteristics captured from medical school interviews; letters of recommendation; personal statements and community service, leadership, and healthcare experiences. A combined or comparative study similarly analyzing applicants to different health profession programs might also be useful. In addition, a non-binary categorization of specific undergraduate majors would provide an even more nuanced analysis of how different majors predict admission to medical school. / Educational Administration

Titel: Påverkar fastighetsmäklarens klädsel förtroende hos kunden?  Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Emma Ekvall och Yolanda Tidlund  Handledare: Lars-Johan Åge Datum: 2023 juni Syfte: Syftet med studien är att analysera kundens personlighetsdrag och skapa en förståelse för hur kunden uppfattar fastighetsmäklarens klädsel samt hur det påverkar förtroendet hos kunden. För att besvara syftet kommer studien att undersöka förtroendet hos populationen för fastighetsmäklare, hur fastighetsmäklarens klädsel påverkar förtroendet och sambandet mellan kundens personlighetsdrag inom The Big Five och deras uppfattning av fastighetsmäklarens klädsel som förtroendeingivande. Metod: Denna studie använder en kvantitativ metod med ett deduktiv synsätt för att undersöka ämnet. Datainsamlingen genomfördes genom en webbaserad enkät som distribuerades till ett bekvämlighetsurval via olika plattformar såsom Facebook, Instagram och LinkedIn. Totalt erhölls 176 svar, varav 173 bedömdes vara användbara för analys. För att analysera datan användes statistikprogrammet JASP. För att presentera och tolka resultaten utfördes deskriptiva analyser och bivariata korrelationsanalyser. Resultat och slutsats: Undersökningens resultat visar på ett svagt samband mellan kundens personlighetsdrag och deras uppfattning av fastighetsmäklarens klädsel som förtroendeingivande. Specifikt identifieras ett samband mellan agreeableness och neuroticism samt bedömningen av fastighetsmäklarens klädsel. Sammanfattningsvis visade deltagarna i studien generellt sett högt förtroende för fastighetsmäklare, där formell klädsel betraktades som mest förtroendeingivande. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar till kunskap om hur fastighetsmäklarens klädsel påverkar förtroendet. Denna studies resultat är också användbart i praktiken för fastighetsmäklare. Genom att förstå hur klädseln påverkar förtroendet kan fastighetsmäklare anpassa sin klädsel för att bli mer konkurrenskraftig på marknaden och bättre möta kundernas förväntningar.  Förslag till vidare forskning: Denna studie visar ett svagt samband mellan kundens personlighetsdrag och deras uppfattning av fastighetsmäklarens klädsel som förtroendeingivande. Studien indikerar att andra faktorer som kön, ålder, erfarenhet, förtroende och stereotyper har större inverkan på förtroendet än kundens personlighetsdrag. Därmed hade det varit intressant att vidare undersöka hur sociala och demografiska faktorer påverkar förtroendet för fastighetsmäklarens klädsel, samt genomföra undersökningen i en bredare målgrupp. / Titel: Does the attire of real estate agents impact customer trust? Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Authors: Emma Ekvall and Yolanda Tidlund  Supervisor: Lars-Johan Åge Date: 2023 June Aim: The purpose of this study is to analyze the customer's personality traits and gain an understanding of how the customer perceives the real estate agent's attire and how it influences customer trust.To address the purpose, the study will examine the population's trust in real estate agents, the impact of real estate agent attire on trust, and the correlation between the customer's personality traits within the Big Five framework and their perception of the real estate agent's attire as trustworthy. Method: This study employs a quantitative approach with a deductive perspective to investigate the subject. Data collection was conducted through a web-based survey distributed to a convenience sample via various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. A total of 176 responses were obtained, of which 173 were deemed usable for analysis. The statistical software JASP was utilized to analyze the data. Descriptive analyses and bivariate correlation analyses were performed to present and interpret the results. Result and conclusions: The results of the study indicate a weak correlation between the customer's personality traits and their perception of the real estate agent's attire as trustworthy. Specifically, a correlation is identified between agreeableness and neuroticism and the evaluation of the real estate agent's attire. In summary, the participants in the study generally displayed a high level of trust in real estate agents, with formal attire being perceived as the most trustworthy. Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes to the knowledge regarding the impact of real estate agent attire on trust. The findings of this study are also applicable in practice for real estate agents. By understanding how attire influences trust, real estate agents can adapt their clothing choices to become more competitive in the market and better meet customer expectations. Suggestions for future research: This study demonstrates a weak correlation between the customer's personality traits and their perception of the real estate agent's attire as trustworthy. The study indicates that other factors such as gender, age, experience, trust, and stereotypes have a greater impact on trust than the customer's personality traits. Therefore, it would be interesting to further investigate how social and demographic factors affect trust in real estate agent attire, as well as conducting the study among a broader population.

Many female characters in Thomas Hardy’s novels clearly illustrate one of the Victorian stereotypes of women: the proper, submissive housewife or the rebellious, independent dreamer. Hardy does not demonstrate how women should be, but rather how society pressures women to conform to the accepted image. Hardy progresses from subtly criticizing society, as seen in The Return of the Native and The Woodlanders, to overtly condemning gender roles and marriage in Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. The characters of Thomasin, Mrs. Yeobright, and Grace Melbury illustrate those who submit to society’s expectations; and Eustacia Vye, Felice Charmond, Tess Durbyfield, Sue Bridehead, and Arabella Donn illustrate the stereotypical seductress. Hardy’s female characters seem to experience especially harsh or condemning circumstances due to the social expectations placed upon them. These unpleasant events earn readers’ sympathy and work to subvert the traditional limiting views of women.

The aim of this study was to examine the depiction of female versus male antagonists. A semiotic qualitative analysis was used to execute this with a gender perspective in order to analyze the societal structures that may be reflected in the characters in the form of stereotypical gender roles. And the reason behind this.   Villains have mainly existed to drive the hero's narrative forward, until now. Recently they have excelled to become a big part of modern cinema. Despite the fact that villains are taking up more space in Hollywood, we hardly see an increase of studies in this area. This study focuses on the two antagonists Amy Dunne (Gone Girl, Fincher, 2014) and The Joker (The Dark Knight, Nolan, 2008). We have selected these characters from a gender perspective because we presume that they both are complex characters in the sense of gender roles and stereotypes. They have identities that challenge the traditional view of what is masculine and feminine, at the same time as they both have normative traits. One of the reasons we chose antagonists is because they are the character that drives the narrative forward.   Our main findings are that both characters mainly show masculine traits and show similar specific traits. They also show femininity, something that often relates to the sympathy of the character. We found a correlation between Amy’s masculine traits and her evil actions. This was not as prominent with The Joker. We see some traits that differ. Amy uses her sexuality as a weapon against men. Amy is also portrayed as weak in several scenes, while The Joker always remains in control.

Då antagonismen mellan öst och väst forstätter att eskalera i vårt postindustriella samhälle är det viktigt att ta reda på de bidragande faktorer som leder till en fortsatt motsättning. Det är min uppfattning att Hollywood är en bidragande faktor till denna antagonism. Det är även min åsikt att Hollywood blir påverkade av USA:s Mellanösternpolitik i utformandet av de filmer där människor från Mellanöstern och islam porträtteras.Syftet med studien är att utifrån teorier såsom orientalism, stereotypering, representation och common-sense antaganden analysera nio utvalda Hollywoodfilmer. Tre från 1960-talet, tre från 1990-talet och tre från 2000-talet för att klarlägga hur människor från Mellanöstern framställs och hur islam representeras.Syftet är även att med hjälp av Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys belysa hur samhället påverkar Hollywoods produktioner och hur dessa i sin tur påverkar samhället. Mot bakgrund av detta är Faircloughs trestegsmodell lämplig för att tydligöra det dialektiska samspel som existerar mellan samhälle och produktionen av film.Utifrån de teorier och metod som har presenterats har jag funnit att de nio utvalda filmerna framställer människor från Mellanöstern och islam på ett negativt sätt. Det har även varit möjligt att med hjälp av Faircloughs trestegsmodell tydligöra ett dialektiskt samspel mellan USA:s Mellanösternpolitik och Hollywood. / In a time when antagonistic feelings continue to escalate in our postindustrial society, it tends to be vital to look for the contributing factors to why opposition seems to continue. It is my understanding that Hollywood is one of several factors to the ongoing animosity. It is also my belief that the ongoing US Middle Eastern policy has an influence on Hollywood, which has a direct impact on the production of movies that represent people of the Middle East and Islam.The purpose if this paper is to analyze nine selected Hollywood movies using theories such as Orentalism, stereotypes, representation and common-sense assumptions. The films will be taken from three separate decades, from the 1960s, 1990s and the 2000s. The function of the investigation is to determine how people of the Middle East and Islam are being represented.Another purpose is also to establish an understanding on how society affects Hollywood productions but also how these productions in turn affect society; this will be done by using Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis. Fairclough’s framework for CDA is ideal in determenating the ongoing dialectical relationship between society and the production of movies.By using the theories and method formerly presented, I have concluded that when analyzing the nine selected movies, people of the Middle East and Islam are being represented in a negative manner. It has also been possible to establish that there exists a dialectical relationship between US Middle Eastern policy and Hollywood by using Fairclough’s framework for CDA.