This thesis will focus on two similarly positioned characters: Peggy Olson and Leslie Knope, both of whom are female characters who successfully navigate male-dominated workplaces. Using Bonnie Dow’s lifestyle feminist framework and critique of postfeminism, Sheryl Sandberg’s advice for women who wish to succeed in the workplace, and bell hooks feminist theory, I hope to use this thesis to locate Peggy and Leslie’s respective places in the tradition of feminism on television, and I will argue that describing characters like Peggy as “feminist” is outdated.

Thesis (M.A.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / "Workshop report." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-71).

In 1973 , the citizens of Nebraksa embarked upon the Nebraska I-80 Bicentennial Sculpture Project, which provided large roadside sculptures along Interstate 80. A controversial project, referred to as an outdoor sculpture garden, it was completed in 1976 as a lasting commemoration of America's Bicentennial, The sculptures are interspersed for approximately five hundred miles throughout the state and located on alternate sides of the expressway at roadside rest areas.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship between computer experience and selected demographic variables to knowledge about computers; knowledge of computers, experience with computers and selected demographic variables and attitudes towards computers to perceived computer helplessness. The study utilized two samples. Questionnaires were hand delivered to 68 out of 81 students enrolled in recreation classes at North Texas State University and questionnaires were sent to 130 Dallas Park and Recreation professionals via their inter-department mail (115 surveys returned). The data analysis indicated that the knowledge, attitude, and helplessness scales were highly reliable. Regression analysis indicated that knowledge, experience, attitudes, sex, age, and occupation were significant predictors of helplessness.

Workplace violence infects many organizations. This descriptive study assesses the extent to which Texas park and recreation departments institute policies and procedures for preventing worker-initiated violence. Thirty directors from local park and recreation departments were interviewed by telephone and asked to identify whether their departments used specific prevention strategies to thwart instances of worker-initiated violence. The findings reveal few prevention strategies being used and suggest a need for park and recreation managers to increase their awareness and take a more proactive approach to violence prevention.

Abstract. This thesis project analyzes how the principles and methods of service design, design thinking, and human-centered design research can be utilized to re-imagine a county-level parks department, specifically Allegheny County Parks. Allegheny County Parks is a system of nine parks that have suffered for 30+ years from deferred maintenance, funding cuts, and other shortages. Boyce Park, one of the nine County parks, includes a broad range of prototypical park activities. My previous employment and established relationships made Boyce Park an excellent service design case study. To begin the project, I employed exploratory research methods (e.g., literature reviews, observations, participation in services, surveys, and interviews) to understand the design space. Then, generative research methods (e.g., affinity diagrams, personas, stakeholder maps, and service blueprints) led to the identification of key service improvement areas: organizational structure, increase revenue, infrastructure, user-centered park policies and communications. The area of communications was chosen for further exploration, due to its potential as a first step in transforming the parks and affecting the other service improvement areas. Another round of communications-centered exploratory and generative research (e.g., benchmarking and speed dating) was completed, resulting in a new service ecology and communications system proposal for Allegheny County Parks. A portion of the new communications system, specifically a responsive website design for mobile, tablet and desktop platforms, was prototyped. The responsive design, which showcased an activity finder and reservation system, was evaluated through paper prototyping sessions. The feedback from these sessions was implemented within a final HTML prototype.

Changes in climate result in wide-ranging economic impacts, especially for businesses that rely on consistent weather patterns. The North Carolina ski resorts (Beech Mountain Ski Resort, Appalachian Ski Resort, Sugar Mountain Ski Resort, Wolf Ridge Ski Resort, Cataloochee Ski Area, and Sapphire Valley Ski Area) are the southernmost resorts on the east coast in the US. They are able to stay in business because of the diverse terrain and elevation of the Appalachian Mountains where they can see low record temperatures of -34°F. Observable increases in temperature and less snowfall accumulations generate concern for these businesses that rely not only on snow but temperatures low enough to produce their own snow. To understand what may happen in the future, it is pertinent to examine past and ongoing trends. Yearly snowfall data from fall 2010 to spring 2018 were obtained from the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and interpolated using ordinary kriging. Teleconnections (Arctic Oscillation, El Niño Southern Oscillation, and North Atlantic Oscillation) were examined to help compare similar years to observe possible relationships. The stations that had data for all of the years observed were spatially analyzed through regression kriging (RK) to determine how climate change will affect those areas. A kernel density map was then created from active CoCoRaHS stations to observe which areas need more stations to generate better interpolation data for future years. The results are impactful for the ski resorts, helping them to make effective business decisions based on climate trends and to promote the use of citizen science to improve research efforts.

The investigator had the following purposes in mind: 1. To determine the expansion of the recreational facilities equipment, and activities of the Dallas Park and Recreation Departments from 1940 to 1950. 2. To determine the increase in population of Dallas, Texas from 1940 to 1950. 3. To determine the sections of Dallas where population has shown an increase from 1940 to 1950. 4. To determine the sections of Dallas where recreational activities have increased from 1940 to 1950. 5. To determine the sections of Dallas where the need for the expansion of facilities is indicated by the growth of the population and by the existing offerings of the Recreation department.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Mary Catherine (Katie) Kingery-Page / In the United States, minorities are less physically active and in turn at higher risk for heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The purpose of my study is to examine the factors that influence physical activity in neighborhood parks and to answer: What aspects of park design and programming discourage physical activity participation in African American women? My goal is to identify barriers to physical activity and make recommendations for improving design and programming of a neighborhood park. The results of my research are relevant to the planning profession because planners can use public policy to combat inequality in the built environment. Many studies have related recreation access to socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, age, and gender. While African American women are not the only disadvantaged population when it comes to access to recreation, they do have a higher risk for obesity. In trying to answer why African American women have higher rates of obesity, some studies have found that while willingness to participate in physical activity does not differ in white and black women, duration of physical activity does. My research employs a mixed methods approach to understand the barriers to physical activity experienced by African American women, in context of a neighborhood park. This study uses a physical assessment of James Mulligan Park and the surrounding neighborhood within Alexandria, Virginia. Following the physical assessment I piloted a survey to gather information on the barriers to physical activity. The pilot guided a final survey of seventeen participating African American women in the neighborhood. I hypothesized that the perception of park safety will have an effect on the rate of physical activity in African American women. This hypothesis points to a general barrier for all women. Based on literature review, I also expected to find barriers unique to African American women. The study concluded that African American women in this neighborhood share some barriers with all women and they also expressed some barriers unique to African American women. I found that personal barriers like “exercise tires me” was the most common, rather than perceptions of safety. In addition, I found culturally specific barriers, such as “exercising is not my cultural activity” and “I avoid exercise to protect my hairstyle.” Based on my analysis of the setting and surveys I make several recommendations for the park and neighborhood.