<p> This research investigates the sociological, psychological, and physiological factors known to affect women&rsquo;s career advancement opportunities. It examines how awareness and knowledge shared through the #MeToo (hashtag Me Too) movement influenced gender specific perceptions about the factors affecting women&rsquo;s workplace opportunities. Finally, it recommends measures to alter the divergent gender perceptions that remain an obstacle to gender equality in the workplace. </p><p> This study was conducted because gender inequalities continue in the U.S. workplace in 2018. Currently women fail to advance in careers at the same rate as men, and they are paid 21% less for similar work with equal skills and experience. Women comprise approximately 51% of the U.S. population and 47% of the workforce, so equality would dictate a one-to-one male to female ratio throughout all levels of government and private industry. The current male to female ratio in the U.S. Congress is four-to-one. The male to female executive ratio in Fortune 500 companies is three-to-one, and in the U.S. Government it is two-to-one. </p><p> The researcher conducted a mixed method experimental study by comparing pre- and post-treatment interview and survey data to determine how much awareness and knowledge shared through the #MeToo mass media event impacted gender specific perceptions of women&rsquo;s equality struggles in the workplace. The qualitative interview analysis indicated a moderate shift from divergent gender perceptions in Study 1 to convergent viewpoints in Study 2 following the #MeToo media events. </p><p> The quantitative analysis of pre- and post-treatment survey studies supported the qualitative findings and showed a 43% reduction in the gender perception gap in the post-event assessment. </p><p> With outcomes from three independent qualitative and quantitative investigations aligning, the researcher concluded the overall statistical results demonstrate a strong impact on men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s perceptions and a largely reduced gender perception gap following the #MeToo media events. Because it is unknown if those changes are permanent, the researcher believes future research could focus on awareness, education, and accountability initiatives to more adequately address gender equality problems in the workplace and bring about lasting change.</p><p>

<p> This research explores what happens to some men when, despite the best of intentions and heroic efforts on all sides, a marriage ends in divorce. Using a blend of alchemical hermeneutics and hermeneutic phenomenology, this qualitative study explores the lived experience of 5 heterosexual men who suffered psychologically in divorce. Divorce was examined from Freudian, Jungian, and archetypal perspectives using the depth psychological lenses of alchemy, mythology, and fairy tale. A hybrid method of qualitative analysis was created that incorporated the use of psychodrama to analyze the data. From the results of this study, the journey through divorce for suffering men can be seen as being comprised of 3 stages: a Coming Storm, a Tempest, and an Aftermath. The intrapsychic destruction experienced by many men in divorce was also viewed as an attempt at an undoing of the <i>hieros gamos</i>, or sacred marriage. From the results of this investigation, it is further postulated that such a divorce may be a psychological impossibility. The author&rsquo;s experience as a divorced man informs his observations and conclusions. </p><p>

<p> This participatory action research (PAR) described Restorative Justice (RJ) as a paradigm that supports the socio-emotional and behavioral development of students. Restorative practices are a framework for building school community, responding to challenging behavior using authentic dialogue, and accepting accountability to make things right. RJ is a philosophy that shifts from punitive discipline to an alternative, positive- based approach to discipline. Students of color have been disproportionately suspended from school, specifically Black male students. School suspensions lead to poor attendance, loss of instructional days, low academic achievement, and potentially to dropping out of high school. RJ is a proactive approach to transform schools and stakeholders into a positive school culture built on the foundation of community building, fairness, and justice. The purpose of this action research was to investigate and describe the experiences of 10 Black male 10th-grade students who participated in the restorative justice group. Participants engaged in a 6-week Restorative Justice Community Building Circle to develop social-emotional learning and to explore in-depth outcomes in the process. The following research questions were used to guide the study. 1. What is the experience of Black male students&rsquo; in restorative justice Community Building Circles? 2. To what extent did Black male students change during the Restorative Justice Community Building Circles in terms of social-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes? </p><p> This PAR provided a systematic approach to qualitative research. The findings were based on observations, semistructured interviews, and the interview protocol. The students expressed 6 predominate themes that showed relationships matters in the success of young Black male students. The participants reported that the RJ community building circle positively improved their self-perception and influenced their attitude and mind-set. The teacher-to-student and the student-to student relationship matters for the success of Black male students. The relationships teachers have with students appear to be related to student performance and academic achievement. The participants described the RJ group as a safe space that provided solidarity to express their personal views, thoughts, and emotions openly. The recommendations suggest how RJ can be embedded in school practices and how they can be used to address traumatic experiences of students.</p><p>

<p> The use of the Internet to gamble has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Although researchers have suggested that adult Internet gamblers are at high risk for developing a gambling disorder, few studies, overall, have been conducted on the effects of Internet gambling. Furthermore, conflicting research exists regarding what moderates gambling-related problems. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if age, gender, and emotions prior to the gambling experience are related predictors of Internet problem gambling severity. A retrospective design was used. The pathways model was used to support the belief that emotions felt before an Internet gambling session are associated with the severity of the gambling problem. Data were obtained from adult Internet gamblers who had Internet gambled in the preceding week. One hundred and fifty participants completed an online survey about the emotions they felt before an Internet-gambling session and self-reported the negative consequences of their gambling. The survey contained demographic questions, questions from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (to assess emotions felt before participants&rsquo; last Internet gambling session), and questions from the Problem Gambling Severity Index. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis were significant, indicating that, as a group, participants&rsquo; age, gender, and emotions felt prior to the gambling experience predicted their problem gambling severity. This study can assist with prevention, early intervention, and treatment of adult Internet gamblers.</p><p>

<p> Institutions of higher education have a glass ceiling: women are underrepresented in the college presidency with 30% of college presidents as women, 83% white and 17% women of color. By nature, the culture of higher education has been traditionally male centered, with female professors and researchers struggling to advance in their careers. Contributing factors that may lead to the lack of women college presidents may be linked to long-held systemic views of women and gender biases that create barriers in career advancement. The objective of this qualitative study is to explore the ways in which women, from their perceptions, navigated opportunities and managed obstacles as they advanced into the college presidency. For the women who did advance to the highest level of leadership in IHE&mdash;the college presidency&mdash;what did they experience as they advanced in their career, and what enabled them to navigate the system and transcend the barriers? Qualitative data were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis process through convergent and divergent coding tools. Four key findings emerged from this study: (1) Women were intelligent, talented, successful, savvy, and brave; (2) Servant Leadership; (3) Gender Fluid Characteristics; and (4) Support and Well-Being for current college presidents. This study offers an increased awareness of barriers that are limiting women from progressing to the college presidency in institutions of higher education. It also offers an increased awareness of the phenomenology of women college presidents and the ways that they managed obstacles and took advantage of opportunities as they advanced in their careers.</p><p>

<p> Today, colleges and universities are tasked with understanding complex and sometimes conflicting data on female students. Until 2018 and the #METOO movement, media narratives proclaimed that Western women lived in a postfeminist world where &ldquo;sexism no longer exists&rdquo; (Pomerantz &amp; Raby, 2017, p. 11). Meanwhile, researchers have demonstrated in multiple studies that the experiences of undergraduate women differ from those of their male peers (Kim &amp; Sax, 2009; Wharton, 2012). </p><p> Looking at committees on the status of college women is a way to understand how the institutions preparing young people for the world metabolize conflicting data on female students and approach equity issues. The purpose of this study was to examine how three universities&mdash;Duke University, Princeton University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology&mdash;researched and wrote about the status of female undergraduates and to assess the impact of each university&rsquo;s work. </p><p> Through analyses of reports and interviews with campus leaders and current students, I concluded that the work of the committees at Duke and Princeton was framed as &ldquo;women&rsquo;s work&rdquo; for administrators, faculty, staff, and students. This framing is consistent with neoliberal ideology: The committees saw the impact of cultural and institutional gender inequity but described it in a way that made it only the work of some&mdash;it was &ldquo;women&rsquo;s work,&rdquo; and female students should adapt, cope, or change. </p><p> At MIT, the report was &ldquo;women&rsquo;s work&rdquo; because two female students spearheaded and led it. Their approach to data collection could serve as a model for other campuses that want to understand the extent to which the undergraduate experience is gendered.</p><p>

<p> The nation&rsquo;s gender leadership gap, or the disproportionate number of men in top leadership positions versus women, has prevailed throughout the history of public education (Superville, 2016; Rosenberg, 2017). Despite the fact that 76% of America&rsquo;s educators were women, only 27% of the nation&rsquo;s school superintendents were female (U.S. Department of Education, 2016; Rosenberg, 2017). Thus, men have continued to dominate the top-level leadership positions within the educational arena (Superville, 2016). The purpose of this study was to investigate the gender leadership gap in the position of school district superintendent. Specifically, the researcher developed two research questions aimed to explore the following: a) to determine what demographic variables show the greatest impact on gender leadership and b) to research Missouri school superintendents perceptions of the variables (gender roles, stereotypes, and implicit biases) influencing the gender leadership gap in public education. The researcher utilized a mixed-method approach in the instrumentation with a Likert-scale survey and open-ended written-response items to collect current superintendents&rsquo; input on the topic. The researcher sent the six-part, 45-item online survey to all 561 Missouri school superintendents in 2018. Exactly 137 (24%) superintendents completed and submitted the <i> Missouri Superintendent Gender and Leadership Survey</i>. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concluded some Missouri superintendents perceived issues related to gender roles, stereotypes, and biases as being obstacles to the female superintendency. The findings also showed more female superintendents believed gender roles, stereotypes, and biases adversely affected the gender leadership imbalance within the school superintendency. Though the majority of the Missouri superintendents surveyed believed in the existence of the gender leadership imbalance, most believed it was closing.</p><p>

This essay came into existence as a result of a collaboration between us, two students in gender studies working on our bachelor thesis, and an employee at Svenska skolidrottsförbundet. The paper explores diversity and gender equality work within this organization, and the main focus is how people holding leading positions within the organization express their view on equality and diversity work. To do this, we have completed interviews with 6 different people in leading positions, as well as participant observation during the association meeting (förbundsmötet), which is the highest decision-making authority within the organization. We have analyzed our data with inspiration from feminist theory, organization theory, as well as some earlier conducted studies from the field of sports, all with a primary focus on gender and diversity questions. The conclusion shows that there is a discrepancy between the self-image some members of the organization express in regard to their equality and diversity work, the work they actually do, and the views they hold in relation to increased equality within the organization. In other words, the actions do not match the description. The reasons behind this are complex, but some possible explanations we found is the reproduction of negative masculinity norms, the homogeneity within the decision-making bodies of the organization, and dissonance in approaches to diversity and equality work between members within the organization. In our opinion, one important element for the organization to regard in future work is to make sure that knowledge concerning gender and diversity is shared with all members involved in their day-to-day activities. Especially since Svenska skolidrottsförbundet is an arena for children and youths to develop, grow and play.

<p> Gun homicides are highly concentrated in African American communities and are widespread in urban neighborhoods. African American males are disproportionately victims and perpetrators of gun violence, have a higher propensity to use and carry weapons, and are more likely to die due to gun violence. Few studies, however, provide a detailed account of the history of gun carrying, the value of gun carrying, and the individual and situational factors that lead to or inhibit the use of guns among young African American males. </p><p> Based on semi-structured interviews of 11 African American males obtained via snowball sampling, this thesis explains the causes of African American male gun violence, and describes the patterns and decision-making processes around gun carrying and the use of guns (i.e. how gun were introduced, obtained, used or not used, loved, and despised) among African American males in Oakland, California. Based on the sample&rsquo;s insight, this thesis concludes that strengthening collective efficacy and community-police relationships, providing employment and educational opportunities and resources, implementing mentorship and restorative justice programs, and Crime Prevention Through Experimental Design (CPTED) strategies can reduce gun violence.</p><p>

In this dissertation I argue that despite the liberatory promises of mid-century American social justice movements, women's literature in the late 20th and early 21st centuries treats motherhood as a dystopic and economically marginalized subject position. In genres as disparate as science fiction and gang narrative, authors Octavia Butler, Yxta Maya Murray and Suzanne Collins engage problematic ideologies of maternal love, asserting, through their renderings of fictional maternal characters, that mothers are powerless in contemporary society. This pessimism contrasts with the view of woman of color (WOC) feminist writers of the 1980s, who participated in social justice movements by asserting their own politics and including mothers in their liberatory vision. Audre Lorde's biomythography Zami (1982) is emblematic of their optimism, which imagines a regenerative possibility for mothers. I begin this dissertation with an exploration of Zami in order to ask how and why later texts appear to unwrite this transformative potential of the maternal as envisioned by earlier WOC feminists. Thus, Lorde serves as a lens through which I examine the increasingly despairing attitude of women writers toward the maternal. I argue that the shared focus on the maternal among such dissimilar writers demonstrates that in American women's writing, mothers are a crucial literary subject across sexual, gendered, racial and ethnic lines. By drawing on critical race theory, WOC feminism, queer theory, and maternal theory to examine interlocking formal and thematic elements--unreliable narrators who sanctify motherhood, reworking of the sentimental, the ironic use of both saintly and devouring mothers--I expose writers' dystopic reworking of the meanings of motherhood. The breadth of texts I read prompts an interdisciplinary approach, with close attention to socio-historical context; thus reading Butler's ironic black superwoman in Lilith's Brood gains coherence when placed in the light of 1960s Black Nationalism, which traded on the trope of a Black Matriarch in order to blame women for black social ills. I argue that maternal oppression is essential to the nature of women's identity in contemporary American women's literature, wherein being human for women includes the expectation to be a mother, in often brutally oppressive contexts. / 10000-01-01