To what extent does a leader behavior depend on his or her gender? Past research is divided. Some scholars found evidence that women's participative, caring, and collective orientations make them more democratic and inclusive leaders. Other evidence points to "leader androgyny" (Bem, 1977) or similarity between the genders. This quantitative study examined whether, in the eyes of 141 subordinates, 33 Information Technology project managers were significantly different in their empowering behavior. A revised Leader Empowering Behavior Questionnaire (LEBQ; Konczak, Stelly, & Trusty, 2000) was employed. The LEBQ has 6 behavioral dimensions which are correlated to subordinate psychological empowerment (Spreitzer, 1995, 1996). On two dimensions, Accountability and Self-Directed Decision Making, women leader's scores were significantly higher than men's. No significant differences between the genders were reported in Delegation of Authority, Information Sharing, Skill Development, or Coaching for Innovative Performance, nor were they significantly different on their Overall Empowerment scores. To sum up, these leaders were reported as more similar than different, indicating "gender similarity" (Hyde, 2005) rather than a distinct "Female Advantage" (Helgesen, 1995). / Additional future exploration of this topic includes a larger sample size or different population. Other areas include the gender interaction of superiors and subordinates, the extent to which leaders employ the empowering behaviors that matter most to subordinates, and relationship of empowerment to measures such as engagement or retention. / Keywords: Gender, Empowerment, Female Advantage, Gender Similarity, Psychological Empowerment, Leadership, Leader Behavior, Leadership Androgyny, Culture

Cirka fem procent av alla kvinnor i Sverige lider av någon form av ätstörning. Ett av få ställen dit de kan vända sig för att få hjälp är den offentliga sjukvården. Mitt syfte med denna uppsats har därmed varit att undersöka hur blivande sjuksköterskor tänker kring ätstörningar. Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra sjuksköterskestudenter har jag utifrån teorier om diskurs, kvinnlighet och makt gjort en diskursanalys av sjuksköterskestudenters tankar om ätstörningar. I analysen har jag kunnat utröna att studenternas syn på ätstörningar präglas av två olika diskurser. I första hand kommer den medicinvetenskapliga och sjukdomsorienterade diskursen. Men där kunskaperna från denna tar slut, vilket de gör ganska snabbt på grund av bristfällig utbildning i ämnet, övergår de till en mer vardaglig diskurs som mer påminner om massmedias bild av ätstörningar. Genom min analys framkommer det även att kvinnlighet och ätstörningar ligger nära varandra definitionsmässigt. Detta medför att det är svårt att skilja på ett ”naturligt” kvinnligt beteende och en ätstörning.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Women and Gender Studies." Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-86).

<p> Technological shifts in recent decades have allowed individuals working in electronic instrument design access to resources and information regardless of their affiliations with academia or other institutions. Women have historically had limited involvement in electronic instrument design due to a number of social factors; a few elements are crucial to supporting the endeavors of women and girls interested in contemporary electronic instrument design, including deinstitutionalized access to resources and information, supportive mentorship and the availability of role models, and the acknowledgement and deconstruction of social factors that hinder the progress of women in the field of music technology. The intent of this research is to explore the social forces that serve to limit the involvement and achievement of women in the field of electronic instrument design by examining the practices of individual women involved in this discipline alongside sociological and psychological research on the implications of social constructions of gender, technology, creativity, and intelligence. My hope is that this research will serve to further discourse and open a dialogue on the necessity of dismantling and examining social constructions of gender and technology.</p>

<p> When groups of people are represented in classification systems, potential exists for them to be structurally or linguistically subordinated, erased or otherwise misrepresented (Olson &amp; Schlegl, 2001). As Bowker &amp; Star (1999) have shown, the real-world application of classification to people can have legal, economic, medical, social, and educational consequences. The purpose of this research is to contribute to knowledge organization by showing how the epistemological stance underlying specific classificatory discourses interactively participates in the formation of concepts. The medical and legal discourses in three timeframes are examined using Foucauldian genealogical discourse analysis to investigate how their depictions of gender and epistemic foundations correspond and interplay with conceptualizations of similar concepts in four editions of the <i>Dewey Decimal Classification.</i> As knowledge organization research seeks solutions to manage the paradigm change from assumptions of universal knowledge to instability of knowledge, recognition of epistemological underpinnings of classification systems is necessary to understand the very real consequences of corresponding classifications of gender.</p>

<p> This quantitative research study examined differences in women&rsquo;s giving motivation in a large membership based nonprofit across 3 types of women. The theoretical framework was based on the identification theory that postulates an individual&lsquo;s personal motivation to give was directly correlated to self-identification with an organization. The findings of this study indicated that overall 89% of the 855 respondents donated to another nonprofit with only 14% donating to the selected membership based nonprofit. As boundaries between nonprofit revenue sources and philanthropy are increasingly fluid, our theoretical understanding as well as our empirical research on fund development must expand to encompass these new fundraising strategies. The study summarizes the extant empirical literature on nonprofit financial development programs and compares this research to emerging work on women&rsquo;s motivation for giving. Drawing on this literature, the study specifically calls for research on nonprofit fundraising that (a) gives greater attention to the links between volunteerism, identification and women&rsquo;s giving motivation, (b) target marketing efforts of volunteerism and philanthropy to members with a bachelor&rsquo;s or higher educational level, and (c) the data suggests the nonprofit sector should focus their efforts on approaches that deepen identification with the female donor base through programs that allow; service on boards, ongoing volunteer activities that change lives and more frequently asking for giving of financial resources.</p>

<p> This study argues that the veneration, romanticization and projection of the feminine in depth psychology is problematic. Depth psychology claims that the masculine and feminine principles exist as archetypes in the collective unconscious. It also claims that these principles are not attached to men and women, yet it coopts imagery that represents the principles in ways that identify them as such, as well as describing certain modes of thinking or acting as definitively masculine or feminine. Specifically, the claim that the masculine principle dominates conscious life results in positing the feminine as a powerful unconscious force, leading to an interpretation of it as transcendent or numinous, revered as a principle needed to heal psychic damage from the overreach of the masculine in patriarchy. This veneration leads to the feminine being romanticized as a panacea for sociocultural ills and projected onto women as carriers of this healing potential. </p><p> This dissertation employs philosophical and depth psychological theories highlighting the relationship between truth, history, myth and fiction to challenge mythopoetic narratives of the feminine and their effect on perceptions of women. Specifically, it uses James Hillman&rsquo;s concept of healing fiction to demonstrate how narratives that result from mythopoetic collusion between psychological fictions are believed as true, and when applied retroactively, are used to reframe historical personal and cultural experiences. The study critiques the comingling of women and the feminine and the resultant essentializing of women by analyzing depth psychology&rsquo;s anima theory, matriarchal and Goddess mythology popularized in the twentieth century, the conflation of women, nature and the feminine in the ecology movement, and narratives implying women&rsquo;s obligation to use the feminine to heal the world. </p><p> The findings of this study call for the lived experience and potential of women to be recognized and valued above fantasies about the feminine. They also suggest that depth psychology&rsquo;s insistence on the masculine/feminine polarization contributes to patriarchal ideology. Finally, they identify the feminine as a psychological fiction that helps the psyche navigate through the sociocultural complexity of patriarchal culture. Keywords: the feminine, healing fiction, women, patriarchy</p>

<p> Aaron Belkin argues that military men must navigate "binary oppositions" of masculine and anti-masculine or feminine behaviors, mostly of a physical nature, to be considered good soldiers/good men. Embracing these polar behaviors of strong and weak, expressing the masculine aggressiveness expected of them hand-in-hand with the non-masculine submissiveness of obedience to superiors, creates "double binds," he argued. This study expands on and challenges Belkin's theory by identifying how soldiers' navigation of conflicting gendered discourses may extend beyond the body and the barracks. The study identified physical/psychological toughness and leadership and duty/respect as core masculine military discourses consistent with the literature. It also uncovered soldiers'/veterans' conflicting expectations around the expression of emotions, particularly in how they must navigate a military community of practice that breeds deep bonds and affection among men yet conditions them to defer or compartmentalize expression of emotions about their comrades. This conflict between the subjugation of the individual and the deferral of emotions may create more contradictory discourses when combat soldiers re-enter mass culture and its expectations of self-made masculinity. The study's findings raise interesting questions about how participants experience and articulate "being a man" both in the military and civilian worlds and may contribute to better understanding the difficulties some veterans face, including psychological/mental health issues, upon their return to civilian life. The study has potentially important ramifications for policy at many levels, particularly around how the military and society at-large facilitate and ease re-entry and re-engagement of veterans.</p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: Masculinity, public policy, military, veterans, communication, mental health</p>

<p> The nonprofit sector is the third largest employing industry in the United States and impacts almost 10% of the economy (Roeger, Blackwood, &amp; Pettijohn, 2012; Salamon, Sokolowski, &amp; Geller, 2012). Women comprise over 75% of the nonprofit workforce, yet men hold over 80% of leadership positions (Bronznick &amp; Goldenhar, 2009; McInnes, 2008). The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the work-life balance practices of women leaders in nonprofit organizations and determine experiences impacting their life course. The ultimate goal was to gain insight from women leaders in nonprofit organizations to identify strategies for more women to advance into leadership roles. The researcher utilized a qualitative methodology with the life course theory developed by Giele (2008). </p><p> The research questions were: 1. What demographic factors, if any, are related to work-life balance issues for women leaders in nonprofit organizations? 2. How is the life course for women leaders in nonprofit organizations impacted, if at all, by experiences, identity, motivation, adaptive and relational style? 3. What strategies, if any, are women leaders in nonprofit organizations utilizing for work-life balance? </p><p> 20 women leaders in nonprofit organizations served as the study population. The women held positions of vice president or above or positions equivalent to vice president if the organization did not use such titles. Participants provided socio-demographic data and responses to 5 sets of questions regarding early adulthood, childhood and early adolescence, current adulthood, future adulthood and coping strategies. </p><p> The key findings and conclusions revealed challenges with work-life balance associated with diverse demographic factors. Experiences related to identity, relational style, drive and motivation and adaptive style influenced life courses and are anticipated to influence the future life courses of participants, specifically regarding decisions on educational attainment, partnerships, family, careers, and social involvement. Work-life balance strategies were discovered in 4 areas: self-care, partners, professional skills, and social support. </p><p> Overall, the research provided a composite of the participants as women leaders in nonprofit organizations, including their backgrounds and life stories. The research demonstrated that work-life balance continues to be an issue and an interest for women leaders in nonprofit organizations. </p>