The computing profession in the United States would benefit from an increasingly diverse workforce, specifically a larger female presence, because a more gender-balanced workforce would likely result in better technological solutions to difficulties in many areas of American life. However, to achieve this balance, more women with a solid educational foundation in computing need to enter the computing workplace. Yet a common problem is most colleges and universities offering computer-related degrees have found it challenging to attract females to their programs. Also, the women who begin a computing major have shown a higher tendency than men to leave the major. The combination of these factors has resulted in a low percentage of females graduating with a computing degree, providing one plausible explanation for the current gender imbalance in the computing profession. It is readily apparent that female enrollment and retention must be improved to increase female graduation percentages. Although recruiting women into computing and keeping them in it has been problematic, there are some who decide to pursue a computer-related degree and successfully finish. The study focused on this special group of women who provided their insight into the pursuit and completion of an undergraduate computing degree. It is hoped that the knowledge acquired from this research will inspire and encourage more women to consider the field of computing and to seek an education in it. Also, the information gathered in this study may prove valuable to recruiters, professors, and administrators in computing academia. Recruiters will have a better awareness of the factors that direct women toward computing, which may lead to better recruitment strategies. Having a better awareness of the factors that contribute to persistence will provide professors and administrators with information that can help create better methods of encouraging females to continue rather than leave. The investigation used a sequential explanatory methodology to explore how a woman determined to pursue an undergraduate computing major and to persevere within it until attaining a degree.

This dissertation examines the role gender plays in predicting referral beyond juvenile court intake. Using referral data from Texas for 1999-2003, multinomial logistic regression is used to examine case processing decisions. Males were found to be more likely than females to be processed beyond intake for both status and delinquent offenses. Legal variables were found to influence processing decisions for delinquent offenses more than non-legal variables. In contrast, non-legal variables were found to influence processing decisions more than legal variables for status offenses. Finally, overall, minority females were not found to be more likely to be processed beyond intake than white females. Further research is needed to determine if the same finding is true for males.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-02T13:55:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LucienyOliveiraCosta_dissertacaocompleta.pdf: 360050 bytes, checksum: 8d7f1f64d7adf3c6ec4a39d01097d5a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-03-04 / Azadirachta indica A. Juss, a tree native to India, commonly Known as neem, characteristic of tropical climate, is virtually non-toxic to humans and does not harm the environment. Boophilus microplus belongs to the family Ixodidae and is a species of tick that undermines cattle productivity. This study determine the effect of two treatments - alcoholic extract of Azadirachta indica and TriatoxTM - on the reproductive parameters and tickcidal actions of the telegenic females of the Boophilus microplus tick. Neem leaf extract was obtained with alcohol 70° GL, according to the technique described by Caceres et al. (1990, 1995). About 200 Boophilus microplus telegenic females were obtained from two naturally infested dairy Holstein cows in a farm of Alfenas, MG, Brazil. The females were analyzed at the Universidade José do Rosário Vellano UNIFENAS Laboratory of Biology and Physiology of Microrganisms. The following preparations were used: neem leaf extract: non-diluted (pure) and diluted to 10-1 and 10-2; distilled water (negative control); and Amitraz, which was diluted according to the manufacturer's recommendation. The telegenic females were submitted to an immersion bath during 30 seconds, and then distributed, one by one, into test tubes capped with gauze and left in a horizontal position at room temperature. The parameters were evaluated only after the death of all the telegenic females in distilled water. The results were analyzed by means of the statistical software Bioestat, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the groups (neem, distilled water, and Amitraz) at the 5% significance level. The results showed that Amitraz may be replaced by the Azadirachta indica extract, because the latter was effective against ticks by inhibiting oviposition, increased mortality, reduced survival, producing fewer numbers of fertile and/or infertile eggs and lower weight of egg masses. / A espécie Azadirachta indica A. Juss, popularmente conhecida como nim, é uma árvore nativa da Índia, característica de clima tropical, sendo praticamente atóxica ao homem e não agride ao meio ambiente. O Boophilus microplus é pertencente à família dos Ixodídeos e considerado a principal espécie de carrapato que compromete a produtividade da pecuária bovina. Este trabalho foi conduzido com o objetivo de verificar o efeito do extrato hidroalcoólico de Azadirachta indica e do Amitraz (Triatox®) sobre os parâmetros reprodutivos e suas ações carrapaticidas nas teleógenas do carrapato da espécie Boophilus microplus. O extrato das folhas secas de nim foi obtido através da extração com álcool a 70° GL, conforme técnica descrita por Caceres et al. (1990,1995). Foram coletadas, aproximadamente 200 teleógenas do carrapato Boophilus microplus, de duas vacas leiteiras das raças holandesas, naturalmente infestadas, pertencentes a uma propriedade da cidade de Alfenas MG. As teleógenas foram transportadas para o Laboratório de Biologia e Fisiologia de Microrganismos da Universidade José do Rosário Vellano UNIFENAS Alfenas MG, onde foram realizadas as análises. Foi utilizado o extrato de nim sem diluir (bruto) e diluído a 10-1 e 10-2 mg/L, bem como a água destilada (controle negativo) e o Amitraz, que foi diluído conforme a recomendação do fabricante. As teleógenas foram submetidas ao banho de imersão durante 30 segundos e, em seguida, foram distribuídas unitariamente em tubos de ensaios tampados com gaze e deixados na posição horizontal, em temperatura ambiente. Os parâmetros foram avaliados somente após a quenógena (morte) de todas as teleógenas com água destilada. Para a análise dos resultados, utilizou-se o software estatístico Bioestat e o teste de Kruskal-Wallis foi utilizado para a comparação dos grupos (extrato de nim, água destilada e Amitraz) ao nível de 5% de significância. Os resultados experimentais mostraram que o extrato de Azadirachta indica pode ser substituído pelo Amitraz (produto sintético), pois sua eficácia na inibição da oviposição, menor tempo de mortalidade, menor sobrevivência, menor quantidade de ovos férteis e/ou inférteis e menor peso das massas de ovos das teleógenas submetidas a esse extrato foi comprovada nesse trabalho.

Desde sua eclosão na década de 1980 na forma de epidemia, a AIDS tem sido principalmente associada a homossexuais masculinos: inicialmente partindo da literatura médica, essa visão espalhou-se também para o público leigo e mantém-se viva no imaginário popular, ainda que, a partir da década de 1990, tenha havido um movimento para reconhecer a parcela cada vez mais vitimada pela síndrome: mulheres heterossexuais. A essa progressão, deu-se o nome de feminização do HIV/AIDS, uma narrativa sobre uma suposta mudança no perfil da epidemia. No entanto, é possível encontrar informações sobre ocorrências da doença em mulheres desde muito antes, e é por meio de uma análise discursiva acerca do tema que este trabalho nasce: embora a epidemia da AIDS nunca tenha deixado de ter mulheres como parte expressiva de seus portadores, os discursos e narrativas desde 1980 vêm sistematicamente falhando em incluí-las e direcionar políticas de prevenção e combate que levem em consideração as particularidades das vivências femininas ou a complexidade de sua vulnerabilidades – parte de um sistema intricado de influência bidirecional entre cultura e materialidade. Utilizando metodologias, conceitos e textos de diversas áreas de produção de conhecimento, me proponho a analisar a inserção do corpo feminino na narrativa da epidemia HIV/AIDS privilegiando a historicidade e as diferentes versões desse objeto. / Since its occurrence in the 1980s in epidemic form, AIDS has been mainly associated to homosexual males: initially put forth by medical literature, this view spread to the non-expert audience as well and is kept alive in people’s imaginations, even though by the 1990s there has been a movement towards recognizing the group increasingly victimized by the syndrome: heterosexual women. This progression has been dubbed feminization of HIV/AIDS, a narrative about a supposed change in the profile of the epidemic. However, it is possible to find information about occurrence of the disease in women since much earlier, and it is through a discoursive analysis around the subject that this work came to be: even though the AIDS epidemic has never been without women as an expressive part of its carriers, mainstream discourse and narratives have since the 1980s systematically failed to include them and direct prevention and treatment politics that take into account particularities of femalehood or the complexity of its vulnerabilities – part of an intricate system of bidirectional influence between culture and materiality. By using methodologies, concepts, and texts from several fields of generation of knowledge, I propose to analyze the insertion of the female body in the HIV/AIDS epidemic focusing on the historicity and the different versions of this object.

The purposes of the study were to compare ratings of perceived exertion of aerobic dance and treadmill performances under equal work loads and to compare ratings of perceived exertion by males and females in aerobic dance and treadmill work. Subjects were twenty-six college men and women in co-educational conditioning classes. Heart rates were monitored after work bouts and perceived exertion was determined using Borg's RPE scale. Data were analyzed by a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures. Conclusions of the investigation were: (1) aerobic dance is perceived as less strenuous than the treadmill under equal work loads, and (2) males and females perceive aerobic dance as less strenuous than the treadmill under equal energy bouts.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental diagnosis that occurs around four times more often in males compared to females. Most of what is known about ASD, as well as diagnostic criteria and screening tools are therefore based on male expressions. Little is known if females differ from males and how female specific expressions of ASD looks like. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the explanations of the male bias and increase the understanding of these sex differences and female expressions of ASD. My research provides a systematic review of 35 articles that has examined these areas. By conducting a thematic analysis I found that females and males diagnosed with ASD in general show similar expressions but that there is small evidence for female specific expressions. By using the theory of gender stereotyping I am discussing these results and argue that research in the area is caught in a looping effect. The reviewed articles use predominantly male samples while researching sex differences and are therefore reproducing the male bias. Because the stereotypical male expressions persist, females need to express more severe symptoms in order to be detected and correctly diagnosed. I suggest that by increasing the number of female participants in research, the female expression of ASD will be better understood which can aid social workers to detect and provide adequate support and interventions for females. / Autismspektrumtillstånd (AST) är en utvecklingsrelaterad neuro-diagnos som förekommer fyra gånger så ofta hos män som hos kvinnor. Det mesta av den nuvarande kunskapen om ASD samt diagnoskriterier och screening-verktyg är därför baserade på manliga uttryck. Huruvida kvinnor skiljer sig från män och hur kvinnliga uttryck ser ut är fortfarande relativt outforskat. Min studies syfte är att undersöka den manliga snedfördelningen som finns i diagnosen för att öka förståelsen för könsskillnader och kvinnliga ASD uttryck. Detta sker genom en systematisk forskningsöversikt av 35 artiklar som avhandlar nämnda områden. Genom att genomföra en tematisk analys fann jag att kvinnor och män överlag uppvisar liknande uttryck men att det trots det finns bevis för vissa kvinnospecifika uttryck. Jag belyser dessa resultat vidare genom en teori om könsstereotyper och argumenterar för att forskningen på området är fast i en looping-effekt. Då de granskade artiklarna använder övervägande manliga forskningsobjekt när de utforskar könsskillnader så återskapas den manliga snedfördelningen. På grund av detta så fortlever den stereotypiska manliga bilden vilket gör att kvinnor behöver uppvisa starkare symptom för att bli upptäckta och få en korrekt diagnos. Jag föreslår därför att forskningen ökar antalet kvinnliga deltagare så att kvinnliga ASD-uttryck kan bli bättre förstådda vilket kan hjälpa professionella i socialt arbete and enklare upptäcka och bistå med adekvata interventioner och stödprogram för dessa kvinnor.

MA (English) / Department of English

"I can't stop raving" is a qualitative study based on five semi-structured interviews with young women who participate in the rave culture of Stockholm, Sweden. The study aimed to explore in what ways these women's experiences are characterised by safeness and worries. It identifies what risk and protective factors are prevalent in the environment, and what strategies these women employ to negotiate the risks. Proceeding from risk and resilience research, further focus lies on negotiative processes of risk versus pleasure, to understand what actions propel participation in rave culture. Judith Butler's theories on performativity and agency were employed as models to situate risk-taking as part of identity-making processes. The study results tell how the young participants sometimes experience worry in the environment, but also their awareness and resilient capacities towards the risks involved. The community experience within rave culture was further identified as a strategic protective factor, in the informants' pursuit of risk reduction. The study also identifies how Swedish political discourse on narcotics negatively impacts the participants' reliance on law enforcement and health services, even when facing explicit risk situations, indicating evident challenges for mainstream society to interact with rave culture and its participants. / ”I can’t stop raving” är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med unga kvinnor som deltar i Stockholms ravekultur. Studien har syftat till att undersöka hur de unga kvinnorna upplevelser präglas av trygghet kontra oro. Vidare undersöktes vilka risk- och skyddsfaktorer som finns i miljön samt vilka strategier de unga kvinnorna använder sig av för att hantera riskerna. Studien utgår från risk- och resiliensforskning och förhandlingsprocesser mellan risk och njutning har satts i fokus för att förstå mekanismerna bakom ravedeltagandet. Judith Butlers teorier om performativitet och agentskap har använts som modell för att situera risktagandet som del av identitetsskapande processer. Studiens resultat visar på att de unga deltagarna ibland upplever oro i sammanhanget, men att det finns en riskmedvetenhet och resilienta egenskaper hos individerna. Den upplevda gemenskapen inom ravekulturen identifierades som en strategisk skyddsfaktor i informanternas strävan efter riskreducering. Studien identifierar även hur den samhälleliga diskursen om narkotika negativt påverkar deltagarnas tillit till myndigheter—även vid explicita risksituationer—vilket indikerar utmaningar för majoritetssamhället att bemöta ravekulturen och dess deltagare.

The effects of top-level text structure and signaling on the reading recall of Japanese female junior college students studying English as a foreign language were investigated in this study. One hundred thirty-two subjects were selected from a private female junior college in Tokyo. The students were divided into three groups—high, average, and low reading comprehension levels—based on the results of the Test of Reading Comprehension. The instrument used to measure students' recall ability was developed from expository passages taken from a biology textbook. The passages were rearranged to show identifiable top-level structure, collection of description, causation, problem/solution, or comparison. Each passage was divided into two versions: a with-signaling version, in which top-level structure was explicitly stated by signaling words or phrases, and a without-signaling version, where signaling words or phrases were omitted. After the students were stratified on reading comprehension, they were assigned to eight different versions of text—two of each of the four top-level text structures, one with- and one without-signaling. In the recall test, students were instructed to read the text and to remember as much as they could.

Insufficient sleep duration and poor sleep quality can potentiate weight gain and obesity in adolescents. Furthermore, overweight and obese females are at unique risk for insufficient sleep and associated health complications. We examined self-reported sleep duration and self-reported adequacy of sleep duration as potential moderators of the relationship between eating behavior and several cognitive processes including hedonic hunger, executive dysfunction, and self-control. We used a multisystemic conceptual framework to highlight the pathways that may explain the relationship between sleep behaviors and the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). The study employed a cross-sectional design. Participants completed baseline measures of height and weight, self-control, executive functioning, hedonic hunger, and sleep functioning. Self-report of poor sleep adequacy directly influenced executive dysfunction which consequently explained a decrease in self-control functioning. Moreover, we evaluated whether sleep deprivation and extension influences caloric intake. We offer novel yet promising evidence that 9 hrs of sleep fostered greater self-control functioning which promoted intake of 484.69 fewer calories per day compared to sleep deprivation. Our study is well-positioned to improve understanding of individual cognitive subsystems and the mechanism that underlies the influence of sleep behavior on weight-related behaviors among overweight and obese females. Findings from this study have the potential to inform health interventions that promote healthy eating and sleep behaviors.