The purpose of this thesis is to understand the experiences and meanings of tourism employment for Muslim women in the Middle East, including the positive and negative aspects of this form of employment. The study was conducted in Oman, which was the research site and cultural setting for this study. The theoretical paradigm that guided this study was social constructionism. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was also used for this study in order to interpret and analyze the collected data into themes. A combination of convenience sampling and snowball technique was used to recruit participants for the interviews, resulting in a total of 9 interviews being conducted with local Muslim women working in the Oman tourism industry. The data were collected through open-ended interviews conducted face to face, using a semi structured interview format. The analysis process led to the development of seven themes. The seven main themes related to finding work in the tourism field, facing negative attitudes, challenges of tourism work, dealing with negative attitudes and challenges, the importance of tourism work in women lives, an expanded vision of tourism work, and implications for social change. The study revealed that the idea of women’s tourism work as exploitation is complex and multi-layered in Oman. Although there were some indicators of exploitation for the Omani tourism workers in this study, this form of work was also shown to be a source of benefits and form of empowerment for women. Further, the study revealed that tourism employment could also be seen as a site for women’s resistance, particularly for Muslim women seeking to change attitudes towards women, and to create a new society.

As Canada becomes increasingly multicultural, counsellors along with other mental health professionals are challenged to find ways to meet the varying needs of an increasingly multiracial, multi-religious, and multicultural population (En-Nabut, 2007; Lambert, 2008; Qasqas & Jerry, 2014). Gaining knowledge about counselling Muslim women is essential as the Muslim community is growing throughout Canada. Muslim women face various challenges as they endeavor to respond to changing social conditions as an underserved minority and religious community (En-Nabut, 2007). A basic interpretive qualitative research design (Merriam, 2002) was utilized to investigate the dynamics of working with Muslim women in a therapeutic setting. Next, ways of being more culturally informed in working with this population, from the perspective of female Muslim mental health professionals were explored. Interviews were conducted with five female Muslim mental health professionals. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used to analyze patterns in the data. Four themes emerged: (a) seeking help is not easy: challenges faced by Muslim women clients, (b) lack of awareness: fear of the unknown, (c) participants’ suggested solution: psychoeducation and cross-cultural training, and (d) the building blocks of client-counsellor relationship: trust and communication. Findings are described alongside implications for counselling practice and future research.

This study analyzes identity, class, religiosity, and belonging as they affect the experiences of female Middle Eastern and Muslim immigrants in various spaces within the context of the Atlanta, Georgia area and draws attention to the ‘othering’ of immigrants in American society. The exploration of immigrants’ experiences in various spaces includes public and semi-public, employment, educational and organizational spaces. Interviews were conducted on 24 female immigrants in the Atlanta area who possess various backgrounds. While female immigrants who wear the hijab experienced more, and more direct, discrimination than those who wear Western styles, the women who wear hijab were not discouraged from attempting to participate in the host society. Female immigrants who wear Western style attire reported indirect negative experiences in public and semi-public spaces. Immigrants’ experiences underscore the concept that socially acceptable stereotypes in the media become fodder for negative stereotypes in mainstream American society.

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No description available.

The core of the thesis investigates the role of education in the engendering of cultural change and leadership among a select group of a powerful 'first generation' of Arab women; specifically, the role of dual educational/cultural experiences, both Arab and Western. The broader aim of the study is to analyze the merging of cultural traditionalism and modernity and how dual education has enhanced the ability of women, especially Arab women, to become leaders in their professional careers, and within their respective communities, whilst still maintaining strong ties to their culture, religion and traditions, albeit to varying degrees. The writer has chosen to investigate the association between cultural identity and educational experience of elite educated Arab women, through a small sample, who have had exposure to both Western and Arab educational systems at different points in their lives. The researcher's heritage has led to a fundamental ideological interest in the coexistence of traditionalism and modernisation and whether the two can complement one another. There are now a significant number of Arab women who have had the privilege of education and exposure to the two types of systems. Yet, gender constraints and predefined gender roles still very much dictate the socio-cultural contexts in which such women have to operate. The patriarchal 'system' is omnipresent in the West as well as in the Arab world. The challenges the writer has faced even as a 'Western' Arab to reconcile tradition and intellectual and educational exposure has served as a greater impetus for this investigation. The investigation and the intent of this thesis as described above, is to test the preliminary hypothesis that, in the context of elite Arab women, their exposure to both West and Arab educational cultures is germane to their potential for influencing female professional development. How their educational experiences have influenced their own identities and their ability to adhere to the gender roles prescribed is of significant interest. What influence has such education had on these women's prospects for instituting and pioneering change in their respective societies and professions? Is the synergy of certain aspects of modernity and tradition possible? The general conclusion is that it is.

This thesis is an examination of representations of Muslim women in the American print media. I focus on one particular publication, The New York Times within a time frame surrounding the events of September 11, 2001. Articles were selected from this publication that fell within the time period of September 11, 2000 to September 11, 2002, in selecting articles, I chose those based on their inclusion of any discussion that clearly identified those discussed as Muslim women, through the use of the words "Muslim" or "Islamic" in their descriptions. The case study was carried out by reading through each daily edition of The New York Times in order to identify any articles that fell within my criteria. I also used an online database containing abstracts of the publication to verify that no article of relevance was overlooked. I then devised 5 categories within which to analyze the representations of Muslim women that were found within these articles, "Veil", "Biographical", "Women's Issues", "Politics" and "Muslims in the West". The main goal of this thesis is to determine how Muslim women are represented within this particular publication and to analyze whether the events of September 11, 2001 had any effect on how Muslim women were portrayed in The New York Times articles.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-298).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, School of Education, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Harvard University, 1999. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 265-405). Discography: p. 363-364.