<p> This study investigates the relationship between gender identity and flirting styles. Data analysis on a sample (<i>N</i>=227) revealed the existence of a relationship between gender identity and the sincere style and between gender identity and the physical style, but not between gender identity and the playful, polite, and traditional styles. Masculine and Androgynous individuals are more likely than Feminine or Undifferentiated individuals to employ the physical style. Androgynous individuals are more likely to employ the sincere style than masculine or undifferentiated individuals. Feminine individuals are more likely to employ the sincere style than masculine individuals. Further analysis found that there is a relationship between biological sex and the traditional style and between relationship status and the playful style. This study finds that gender identity is a better predictor of flirting style than either biological sex or relationship status, but suggests that it would be more appropriate to consider all three.</p>

<p> Empathy is considered an important aspect of social interactions thus allowing social harmony and understanding however, little is known about what factors influence its development. This study examined how a child's gender, religiosity, and spirituality affect their level of empathy. A total of 79, nine- to 12-year-old students, from two rural school districts, completed questionnaires with parents providing additional information. Results indicate that the children's reported level of spirituality is not related to their reported level of empathy. Their particular religion was also not related to empathy. Additionally, Catholics and other religions were not significantly different from Protestants in terms of reported levels of spirituality. Gender was found to be significantly related to empathy, with females earning higher empathy scores than males. However, gender was not significantly related to spirituality. Although this study did not find factors related to the development of empathy, it is still important to continue research in order to determine what factors are involved. If we can learn what factors positively contribute to the development of empathy, we can support those factors in order to assist all children in becoming more empathic contributors to our society.</p>

<p> Transpersonal genealogy is the experience of feeling pulled toward and guided by deceased ancestors in researching their history, and how such genealogy enriches the psychospiritual development of the researcher. In this autoethnographic study, I explored such experience and enrichment by composing a narrative of my own ancestor's life as an early Mormon in the 19th century juxtaposed against my lived experience as a lesbian in the late 20th and early 21st century. Based on primary sources, historical documents, family lore, and my own felt-sense, I constructed a narrative that explored the lived experience of my fourth great grandmother, Elizabeth "Betsey" Arnold n&eacute;e Bliss. Contemporary sources and my own personal narrative were woven together with Betsey's story. Significant events in both of our lives were compared to demonstrate how my pull to learn more about her life has brought exceptional insight into the events of my own life. Creative expression further deepened my understanding and focus on significant events in both Betsey's and my life. I wrote the first 3 chapters (Introduction, Literature Review, and Research Method), conferred with 2 of Betsey's other descendants: 1 of my cousins who was a bishop in the Mormon Church to corroborate his understanding of the church's history and doctrine, and a second of my Mormon cousins on her transpersonal experiences conducting genealogy. Then through Michael Harner's approach to shamanic journeying, I contacted our shared ancestor regarding the details of her story and how they intertwined with mine. I wove the results of the interviews including the recurring themes of societal and personal neglect, persecution, perseverance, and resilience throughout the narrative comprising the fourth chapter. In the final chapter, I provided a reflection on my experience of the dissertation process including potential applications and transpersonal implications of the results, how I was transformed by the research, and ideas for future study. </p>

<p>The poem <i>B&emacr;owulf</i> has been translated hundreds of times, in part or in whole. In past decades translators such as Howell Chickering and E. Talbot Donaldson firmly adhered to formal equivalency, following the original text line-by-line if not word-by-word. Such translations are useful for Anglo-Saxon students but cannot reach a larger audience because they are unwieldy and often incomprehensible. In the past fifty years, though, a group of translators with different philosophies has taken up the task of translating the poem with greater success. Translators such as Marc Hudson, Edwin Morgan, and Seamus Heaney used dynamic equivalency for their versions, eschewing strict grammatical accuracy and literal diction in order to recreate the sense and experience of the poem for a modern audience. How two translators, E. Talbot Donaldson and Seamus Heaney, treat the queens in the poem as revealed by a close textual analysis proves to be an excellent example of the two methodologies; formal equivalence translators do not endow their female characters with the agency and respect present in the original text, while dynamic equivalence translators take liberties with the language to give their readers a strong sense of the powerful but tragic queen figures. Harold Bloom&rsquo;s theory of the development of poets in <i>The Anxiety of Influence</i> can help explain this shift from formal equivalency to dynamic equivalency. Translators of <i>B&emacr;owulf</i> necessarily react against their predecessors, and since translators usually explain their process and philosophy in forwards or introductions, their motivations for &ldquo;swerving away&rdquo; are clear. Formal equivalence translators misrepresented the original text by devaluing the literary merit of the original poem and dynamic equivalence translators seek to remedy the misrepresentation by elaborating and expanding the language of the original to reach a wider audience. Each generation must continue to translate against the grain of its predecessors in order to keep the poem alive for a larger audience so that the poem will continue to be enjoyed by future audiences. </p>

<p> This thesis examines the striking disconnect between the extensive power wielded by women in medieval Cairo and the 'official' constructions of gender relationships articulated by the 'ulama'. The formal discourses produced by legal-religious scholars encouraged men to monitor, correct, and chastise women in order to limit the chaotic and destructive potential innately present in female bodies and feminine activities. However, the larger population, including the very members of the 'ulama' who constructed these narratives of patriarchy, consistently undermined these beliefs in their daily practices. The tensions produced between patriarchal ideals and the relatively egalitarian reality of gender relationships in medieval Cairene culture were especially visible in the ruling class. While royal women actively shaped the popular image of the Mamluk sultanate and participated in extending its power throughout the city, their abilities to engage in statecraft from formal and official positions of authority were restricted by their culture's constructions of gender. However, rather than being oppressed by these limitations, Mamluk women created a unique sphere of power from which they exercised enormous influence on the epistemological framework of their society, especially through the establishment of <i>awq&amacr;f</i> (perpetual charitable endowments). </p><p> In the following analysis, I demonstrate how royal women utilized the locations and functions of these foundations to emphasize cultural norms that linked the female population of Cairo to the spaces of death and remembrance in the city's cemeteries. Underscoring their membership in two distinct bases of power&mdash;the ruling class and women in general&mdash;female founders utilized their <i>awq&amacr;f</i>to cultivate interpersonal relationships with the women of Cairo and to strengthen the Mamluks' hegemonic framework through the appropriation of female concepts of piety. By focusing their architectural and charitable patronage on the female population of the city, royal women also helped reinforce the spaces central to female expressions of piety and participation in the production of knowledge.</p>

<p> This thesis explores Julia Ward Howe's unfinished manuscript, <i> The Hermaphrodite</i> (2004). In order to establish a foundation, this thesis begins by approaching <i>The Hermaphrodite</i> through lenses that connect to Howe's life and times. The biographical, feminist, and gothic approaches analyze the effects of personal conflicts, gender concerns, and setting nuances on the manuscript. The analysis of previous treatment of hermaphrodites provides background on ambiguous protagonists. Ultimately, this thesis expands upon and diverges from preceding scholarship, and it establishes a new perspective through which to view the hermaphroditic protagonist, Laurence. This thesis argues that Howe's Laurence can be read as are-visioned Christ figure. His/her physical description is strikingly reminiscent of the accounts of Jesus's appearance. Both Jesus and Laurence are entwined with pious symbols. Laurence is intrinsically connected to the purity of the cross. Most importantly, Laurence and Jesus both gallantly endure burdens and selflessly sacrifice themselves for others while transiently inhabiting earth before returning to heaven. Laurence is an unexpected and reinvented savior.</p>

<p> This quantitative study used descriptive statistics to evaluate data obtained from 179 middle grade teachers, grades 5-9, currently working in a single-gender environment, including public, private, and charter schools, with regard to the academic and behavioral benefits of single-gender education. The study used a survey created by Dr. John Fry in 2009 for his doctoral dissertation, <i> Single-Gender Education: Teachers' Perspective,</i> and sought to confirm or refute his conclusions regarding the efficacy of single-gender education as recommended in his section for future research. The results of this study confirm his conclusions and indicate the teachers have positive perceptions regarding single-gender education, particularly in relation to academic achievement and behavioral change.</p>

<p> The following dissertation is an historical archaeological study of the material culture of gendered protective magic used by Anglo-Europeans in seventeenth-century New England as a tactic to construct boundaries that mitigated perceived personal, social, spiritual, and environmental dangers. Such boundary construction was paramount in the seventeenth-century battle between good and evil epitomized by the belief in and struggle against witchcraft. This dissertation sought to answer three interrelated research questions: 1) What constitutes protective magical material culture in seventeenth-century contexts and how is it recognizable in the archaeological record? 2) What signifies gender specific protective magical practices and what can these differences relate about gender roles, identity, and social relationships? and 3) In what way and to what degree is the recourse to traditional beliefs significant in coping or risk management contexts? Synthesizing data from historical and folkloristic sources, and reviewing all accessible archaeological site reports and inventories from State Historic Preservation offices and principal site investigators for domestic structures in New England ca. 1620-1725 provided data to catalog and develop a typology of potential magical items. Analyzing these data then allowed the assessment of domestic and gendered patterns of magical risk management strategies. Magical content was frequently embedded within or symbolically encoded in architectural or artifactual details, whose gendered association tended to correspond with gender role activities or responsibilities; however, the general omission of magical interpretations in historical archaeology limits the visibility of potentially magical objects in site reports and inventories, so it is likely a wider range of materials and contexts exist. The final result of this dissertation was the construction of a criterion model for the identification and interpretation of magic in historical archaeological contexts, which extends the notion of ritual from specialized places and materials, and communal behaviors to include quotidian objects and settings, and individual practices. Ultimately, the results of this dissertation extend the field of the archaeology of ritual and magic in particular, and the broader field of archaeology more generally by providing theoretical and methodological tools for understanding and recognizing how magical belief contributes to physical and metaphoric boundary construction and maintenance.</p>

<p> Using longitudinal data from Panel Study of Income and Dynamic (PSID) and multivariate analyses, this dissertation examines the dynamic and longitudinal relationship between gender, occupational career and health among people of working age under the new economy. The major concern is whether there are gender differences in the health returns to occupation/employment resources across life course, whether the gendered health gap diverges with age, and whether health affect men' and women's employment transitions and occupational mobility differently. </p><p> Results show that women experience significantly poorer health than men, but this health gap reduces with aging. The health disadvantages experienced by women are entirely explained by SES status. Working becomes increasingly important to maintain health as people age. However, women receive far fewer health rewards from employment than men, and this unequal health returns to employment are compounded with age. The health benefit from a higher occupational status is similar for men and women across the life course. More importantly, all else being equal, health of women declines at a rate half that of men, showing a reversed gender health gap toward old age. Regarding health selection, results show that health is not a predictor of occupational status for either men or women, but is an important predictor for employment status and downward mobility of both genders. </p><p> From a theoretical standpoint, this research illustrates the limitation of using one dominate life course theory, and calls for a more prominent theory that examine both biological and social processes that contribute to the life course gender health inequality. Methodologically, results suggest the superiority of combining longitudinal designs with hierarchical longitudinal models, which are able entangle the within-person health change and between-person effects of time. From a policy standpoint, the study suggests that family-friendly policies should be able to improve both women's employment and, by extension, their health status.</p>

<p> This study traces the history of birth control and reproductive politics in the West Indies from the 1930s to the 1970s, focusing on Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, and Bermuda. During this period, a diverse group of activists began to organize in order to spread modern contraceptives to the working classes. These efforts provoked widespread debate over reproduction and led to the opening of the region's first birth control clinics from the 1930s to 1950s. Birth control advocates also pressured politicians to support the cause, and by the late 1960s/early 1970s nearly every newly-independent government in the region had committed itself to state-funded family planning services. </p><p> Utilizing papers of family planning advocates and associations, government records, newspapers, pamphlets, and reports, this study places these birth control campaigns and debates within the context of Caribbean political and social movements, the rise of the international birth control campaign, working class family life and gender relations, the decline of British rule, and the expansion of political independence across the region. It demonstrates that &mdash; as argued by much of the scholarly literature on the international birth control movement &mdash; early campaigns in the West Indies were initiated and funded largely by local and foreign (white) elites, and were pushed by many conservative actors who blamed political and economic instability on working class (black) fertility as a means to stave off wider reforms. However, this study also shows that the birth control cause found support among a much wider demographic on these islands, including anti-imperial politicians who incorporated birth control into broader development plans, doctors, nurses, and social workers who saw it as a critical measure to aid working class families, black nationalist feminists who argued that it was a woman's right, and working class women and men who seized the opportunity to exercise a measure of control over their reproductive lives. These actors shaped both reproductive politics and the delivery of birth control services on the ground over the course of the twentieth century, producing campaigns that were more diverse, decentralized, and dynamic than they appear on the surface.</p>