<p> Participants were presented an impossible or moderately difficult mental addition task; half of them were led to believe that they could win a traditionally masculine incentive by meeting a certain performance standard and half of them were led to believe that they could win a traditionally feminine incentive if they met the same performance standard. In the feminine incentive group, Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) during the work period was stronger under difficult than impossible conditions among women, but low under both difficulty conditions among men. In the masculine incentive group, blood pressure measures (SBP, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure) were higher in the moderately difficult condition than in the impossible condition, regardless of gender. Findings support a conceptual analysis based on motivation intensity theory which suggests that gender differences in cardiovascular response could be partially understood in terms of effort processes that occur where men and women place different value on available performance incentives. </p>

<p> Similar to staffing patterns in public school systems, the majority of faculty employed in the 1,174 National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) member schools are women, suggesting that school leadership pipelines are filled with female faculty, along with middle- and senior-level administrators who demonstrate daily their executive leadership capacity. Yet women remain unable to achieve access to head of school leadership positions at a rate equal to their male colleagues. Utilizing qualitative research methods and the lens of post-structuralist feminist theory, this phenomenological study examines the gendered nature of leadership roles in independent schools and the ways this cultural phenomenon informs the strategies used by African American and White women seeking mentor-prot&eacute;g&eacute; relationships, networks of support, and sponsorship from "recognized" independent school leaders. Utilizing a feminist framework to examine the cultural context that informs women's leadership preparation (Olesen, 1994, 2003), semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 participants whose lived experience as independent school leaders and/or as executive search consultants for independent schools illuminated points of tension between settled and unsettled periods in the lives of aspiring women leaders and explored the strategies of action (Swindler, 1986) used to negotiate points of discursive disjunction (Chase, 1995, 2003). This study contributes to the present discourse regarding the role gender plays in the normalization of independent school leadership, proposes questions for further inquiry, and suggests strategies of action for independent school communities, trustees, and professional organizations to use when crafting policy, planning leadership training/development, and succession planning that addresses gender disproportionality.</p>

<p> This quantitative investigation focused on women high school principals at Jewish secular schools throughout Israel. Despite challenges, Israeli women have succeeded in obtaining over half of the principal positions at Jewish secular high schools, but the degree to which there is equal gender access to leadership roles in the school system remains unclear. This study examined whether there was clustering of women in high school principal positions in certain geographical areas, the process by which these women obtained principal positions, what obstacles the women overcame, and an analysis if respondents differed by district in terms of their career paths, career breaks, and military experiences. This study showed that although women are in principal positions in equal or greater numbers as men depending on the region, women had a different path than men to obtain this role. The key findings in this research were that 89.5% of women principals were able to return at the same level prior to taking a career break and that 31.8% of female principals had male mentors. </p>

<p> What can the experiences of queer medical students tell us about the existence of homophobia and heteronormativity in medical environments? This thesis focuses on the experiences of queer medical students and physicians as they are enculturated into biomedical theory and practice. I begin by laying out the historical and theoretical trends in the study of sex/gender and sexuality, with a particular focus on how these trends have affected the anthropological study of sex/gender and sexuality. Next, I review the literature on queer health and medical education in order to situate the results of the research within the broader medical education and queer health disparities literatures. After detailing the methods used to gather and analyze the data that makes up this thesis, I explore my informants' experiences with their medical education and training with particular focus on medical case studies as an example of the ways that heteronormativity becomes internalized by informants in medical environments. Next, I examine the interaction between my informants' ideas about (in)visibility in medical environments, and I introduce the concept of the irrelevance narrative as a means of making sense of how informants view the role of their queerness in their practice of medicine. I conclude with a discussion of the limitations of this research and provide a list of best practices for medical education, training, and practice on queer health issues informed by the literature and my discussions with informants. </p>

<p> Women have been experiencing challenges to upward mobility in executives&rsquo; positions because of negative stereotypes and social perceptions about their ability to be lead nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Despite their advancements in education, women are still not occupying leadership positions at the rate of their male counterparts. As a result, this study examined through a phenomenological lens the lived experiences of female CEOs on their perceptions about gender and their attitudes towards change as being open or their approach to change as being different to their male counterparts. The findings of this study revealed that it is the belief of female CEOs that gender matters. The results also pointed to female CEOs&rsquo; attitudes towards change as being more open and a different approach to change than their male counterparts. The qualitative methodology used was a phenomenological study drawing on multiple theoretical approaches. The main framework for this study, however, drew on the theoretical framework of the upper echelon theory to assist in the understanding of the complex operations of nonprofit organizations. Through theory tranquilizations, this study also examined other theoretical frameworks such as the glass ceiling theory, social role theory, expectations states theory as well as transactional leadership and transformational leadership, as they are all relevant to organizational leadership, attitudes towards change, and organizational stability and success.</p>

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, 1999.

The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a Coping Skills Training Programme in raising divorced women's self esteem and coping behaviour. This study incorporated feminist self esteem training and coping skills training which made use of social learning theory and. cognitive behavioural techniques, including rational emotive therapy. The Coping Skills Programme had an educational and personal growth focus and was presented in a written manual form consisting of educational notes, group exercises and homework assignments and was designed to be conducted on a small group basis for twelve sessions of two hours each. Evaluation of the programme included a qualitative, descriptive and quantitative research method which incorporated a 'between group' design (i .e. allocation of participants to an experimental and a control group at random and withheld treatment from the control group) and a 'single case' design which involved participants completing self report measurement data. In addition a 'replication phase' was added in which the control group served as the experimental group. Measurement tool s included the Index of Self Esteem (Hudson, 1982 : 9) and the Generalized Contentment Scale (Hudson, 1982 : 8) and various self measurement scales. Collection of the measurement data took place before, during and after the intervention.Results are statistically and graphically presented and on the basis of previous research, it was accurately predicted that the Coping Skills Training Programme would significantly raise the self esteem of divorced women. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal,Durban, 1991.

<p> One need not strain to find examples of male sentimentality in contemporary US popular culture: From frequent news stories on "Weeper of the House" John Boehner, to the success of Judd Apatow's poignant "bromance" movies, to last year's film adaptation of Stephen Chbosky's celebrated adolescent novel, <i> The Perks of Being a Wallflower</i> (1999), the man of feeling seems more present and popular than ever. With an unsettling display of excessive emotion emanating from the male body, each iteration provokes in viewers, listeners, and cultural critics any one of several disparate responses: Whether committed to the transgressive potential of a male who <i>feels</i> different because he offers vulnerability where others offer hardened restraint, or whether insistent in the claim that these texts simply add to what Gail Bederman would call the "remaking" of a continually complex normative subject, we find in the man of feeling an ambivalent subject for the public sphere. The initial question for readers, listeners, or viewers is often a simple one: is male sentimentality transformative and progressive, or is it pathetic and self-serving? But the presumption that we must answer one way or another belies the historical and cultural complexity of the man of feeling, and merely reinforces a kind of political approach to reading that simply replicates our own attitudes and relation to normativity and its privileges. This dissertation&mdash;under the impulse of recent work in queer theory and affect to reach closer to, rather than further from, normativity&mdash;takes up the counterintuitive position that we might draw this unlikely subject of the wallflower out from the sidelines and use him to interrogate normativity not from outside, but rather <i>beside,</i> its unsteady borders. It asks a central question&mdash;What does it mean for a critique of normativity to come from the normative subject?&mdash;and argues that the "peripheral" reading of normativity he helps enable might serve to render the logics of normativity in different ways than we can with more traditionally oppositional forms of critique.</p>

<p> The purpose of this project was to write a grant to fund spirituality-focused support groups for Latino adults who are HIV positive and their family members or significant others. The groups will provide a safe place for participants to receive additional education and support to enhance their coping skills and promote healthy ways to manage stress. An extensive literature review was conducted regarding traditional Latino cultures, including their emphasis on spirituality and communal support. </p><p> The Elton John AIDS Foundation was chosen as an appropriate funder. The groups will be provided in both English and Spanish through The LGBT Center OC. The Center is located in Orange County, California, where there are large numbers of HIV positive Latinos and few resources specifically designed to meet their needs. The actual submission of the grant application was not a requirement of the thesis project.</p>

<p> The U.S. military has struggled with the implementation of diversity efforts throughout history and a key factor supporting this failure is the lack of information collected from its minority groups. An extensive examination of women and gays in the military illustrated a continued disadvantageous environment for both minority groups, which was created by the military's sexual based discrimination. More specifically, the history of sexual orientation discrimination of gays in the military coupled with the lack of research available indicated a need for additional exploration in this field of study. Seminal research efforts provide little insight to the gay service members' perspective within the military. Additionally, current research is excessively narrow, focusing on military readiness, cohesion, and overall military effectiveness. In an effort to close the gap in literature, this qualitative study explored the perspectives of 11 gay men and their experiences as gay service members, before and after the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT). The results of this phenomenological research indicated, as per social identity theory, participants struggled with being gay in the U.S. military. Based on the in-depth interviews, participants felt DADT was an unfair policy which silenced them as a minority group. The DADT policy created family issues and a hostile work environment where participants were subject to sexual orientation discrimination, leading to a sense of alienation, a reduction in job participation, and a decrease in overall job satisfaction. After the repeal, participants reported a slow and sometimes forced attempt at cultural change which resulted in continuing discrimination and ongoing family issues. Out of fear of military retaliation, only some of the participants chose to reveal their sexual orientation following the repeal. Some of the participants who chose to come out of the closet reported continued harassment from their peers and leadership. These gay servicemen suffered from minority stress related to their experiences and expressed concerns regarding their future treatment in the U.S. military. </p>