A Marxist feminist standpoint positions patriarchy and capitalism as mutually beneficial, thus interestingly situating the new market of male contraceptives (MCs). This project takes an in-depth look at the opinions of 15 young men regarding the use of MCs by examining how Western, heterosexual masculinity informs their attitudes and discusses how a new economic market of MCs may affect current social ideologies about of the sexual division of labor. Because notions of masculinity are essential in perpetuating such ideologies, understanding masculinity as it relates to a new market for MCs is imperative. During a series of focus groups men described this relationship in terms of responsibility, control, sexual pleasure, cost, gendered ideologies, and side effects. As a result of this research, I argue that the emerging market for MCs may simultaneously strengthen power dynamics and restructure labor practices within the sexual division of labor.

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Socorro G. Herrera / The Study of Principals’ Perceptions of Competence in Common Administrative Roles is quantitative. All Kansas principals were surveyed using the Principal’s Perception of Competence Survey, an instrument developed by the researcher, to gather the quantitative data. The issues surrounding the principalship are varied and complex. Many researchers would contend that building principals and the leadership they provide have more impact on school effectiveness than any other person or program. Whether they are beginning or experienced administrators, research suggests that principals must feel confident in their abilities if they are to be effective and make a strong impact on effective school functioning. The current and future shortage of quality principals is well documented. The present study was designed to identify common administrative roles and responsibilities in which beginning and experienced principals lack competence. In particular, the study identifies and addresses areas in which additional preparation and training of principals should be dedicated, which will assist preparatory programs and school districts. The results of this study will assist professors in university-based leader preparation programs, school district superintendents, and other school district personnel in developing university and site-based programs of preparation and support designed to retain quality school leaders. The findings of the study are organized around three research questions throughout Chapters IV and V. Discussions of the findings, as well as recommendations for future studies are also organized around the research questions.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / BACKGROUND: Global female workforce participation has increased rapidly over the past few decades, and the majority of marriages are now dual-earning. Marriages were therefore expected to shift from traditional to egalitarian, where household tasks are shared equally between spouses. However, decades later, the majority of marriages are still found to be in a transitional phase, where women are employed outside of the home, but maintain responsibility for the majority of domestic tasks and childcare. The transitional marriage holds a number of complications for spouses, as gender roles are no longer clearly defined and more difficult to negotiate. Married women are under particular strain as they now have to balance both the work and family roles. OBJECT: The aim of the present study is to gain a better understanding of how women in transitional marriages experience and make meaning of the roles that they fulfil. Minimal research has been devoted to this issue, and the literature largely focuses on marriages at the traditional or egalitarian ends of the gender role spectrum. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight women in transitional marriages, with children living at home. The data were examined using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The results indicated that the majority of participants worked out of economic necessity as opposed to choice, and that half of the participants earned more than their spouses. Most participants still harboured traditional gender beliefs even though their external circumstances had changed. This discrepancy seemed to cause significant internal and marital conflict, yet the attainment of more egalitarian beliefs seemed difficult to attain owing to feelings of guilt and a perceived threat of identity loss. Consequently, the majority of participants had difficulty relinquishing control over several household tasks. Furthermore, demanding work hours, the lack of family-friendly policies at work, and cultural factors also played a role in the maintenance of traditional beliefs by participants CONCLUSIONS: Much research still needs to be conducted to gain a more thorough understanding of changing gender roles in society, as well as to inform new workforce legislation that could enhance the lives of families. Lastly, as most studies focus on the experiences of women regarding the division of labour (probably because of the significant adaptations that have occurred in women’s roles), it becomes necessary to gain an understanding of the experiences of men as well, particularly if research is going to be utilised for the benefit of the whole family. As became evident, unequal division of tasks is often maintained by women for several reasons, and is no longer necessarily the result of oppression by men, as much of the literature suggests.

Effective implementation and monitoring of education policies in schools impact directly on the quality of education in public schools in general and on the vision and mission of the North West provincial department of education in particular, where the research was conducted. The effectiveness of the implementation and monitoring of education policies in schools are investigated by analysing data collected in through questionnaires and interviews conducted on the study in the Moretele Area Project Office (APO) of the Bojanala Region of Education in the North West Province. The study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the implementation and monitoring of educational policies by educators, Principals and District Officials in schools. The study focused on their understanding of the concept policy and its purpose, since policies serve different purposes and are constructed for different reasons. It has immerged from the study that much still has to be done in order to improve on effective policy implementation and monitoring in schools. Educators have shown that they are aware of the concept policy and its purpose. There are, however, challenges identified in terms of implementing these policies and also ineffective communication by the district offices and the schools. This assertion is evidenced by the findings from the questionnaires that revealed a serious communication problem between districts and schools. It was also found that educators are aware of the different authoritative roles held by policies in education system. They were able to give examples of policy documents that have national authority, provincial authority, and district and school authority. What seems to be still lacking is the effective application of the theoretical knowledge gained on policies when executing their duties. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

This study examines gender roles, with a basis in the fundamental values of the Swedish curriculum. I analyse dialogues in two commonly used textbooks, Magic! Classbook 5 by Hedencrona, Smed-Gerdin and Watcyn-Jones (2009) and Happy textbook year 6 by Sutcliffe, Thunman and Mälström Timling (2011) for English, 4-6. The dialogues are analysed with a quantitative and a qualitative method. In the qualitative analysis, I investigate gender awareness, using levels from negligence to a high level of gender awareness. The result of this study shows that the dialogues in the two textbooks do not entirely correspond with the fundamental values in the curriculum as some stereotypes appears.

Connections between athletes and musicians have been drawn recently by scholars, sports psychologists, and musicians. Literature on these connections, however, has focused on individuals rather than exploring connections between teams and ensembles. The broad goal of our study was to determine whether leadership roles like those observed in sports research emerge in chamber music ensembles. We chose to focus on connecting the literatures of leadership in sports and music by using a questionnaire drawn from sports research (Fransen, et al., 2014) in a chamber music setting. Fransen’s model was designed to measure the emergence of four leadership roles (Task, Social, Motivational, and External) in teams. In our study, fifty local musicians responded to an online questionnaire derived from Fransen (2014). We found that all four of Fransen’s leadership roles were identified by respondents as present in chamber ensembles. Respondents were also asked to describe leadership roles in their ensemble that did not fit Fransen’s four leadership roles, where such existed. From their responses, we postulate the roles of “organizational leader” and “leader by example” in chamber ensembles. We interpreted the organizational leader to be an extension of Fransen’s “external leadership” role. We interpret he leader by example role to be a set of attributes as predictors of shared leadership in individuals, rather than as a separate leadership role. In light of our findings, we offer suggestions for improving the functioning of chamber ensembles and for future research in this topic.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) represents a recent manifestation of the shifting of Role of Business in Society (RBiS). This thesis aims to study the development of and negotiation of various RBiS among various governance actors as manifested in CSR practices. In so doing, it reveals the heterogeneity of CSR practices over time as a contrast to the rigid and simplistic delineation of CSR practices; the institutionalisation of CSR into business strategy that so far has been perceived as a black box in the CSR literatures; and the co-constructed dynamic exchanges between perspectives of RBiS and their respective supporters, which I have called a relational perspective on governance and RBiS.This research employs a single case study research strategy with a qualitative multi-methods design as the synthesis of multiple instruments each pertain to particular level of analysis i.e. institutional, organisational, and individual. The research methodology is intentionally designed to operationalise a multilevel analysis of CSR and longitudinal insights on CSR. As such, the research methodology is offered as one of contributions in this research.The thesis finds that longitudinal insights matter, in order to understand various CSR practices as responses to external crises and situations, which at the same time, serve as an arena for negotiating interests between related parties in particular political-economic-social-environmental contexts. The thesis reveals processes of incorporating CSR into business strategy. Particularly, it demonstrates how businesses mobilise external resources and internal resources to meet shifting domains of responsibility through various investment inputs, to achieve a range of CSR outcomes. CSR practices, as situated within changing understandings of RBiS, reflect the negotiation between various interests, in relational perspective, linked to the perceived effectiveness of government as the guardian of wider public interests. The thesis argues that a simplistic view of CSR and RBiS as suggested by much of the available literature is partial and provides inadequate accounts and explanations of the burgeoning of CSR practices; in particular in appreciating the various competing interests and perspectives which are brought to bear during processes which continually shape and (re-) shape CSR practices; as well as the variety of mechanisms and practices through which CSR is incorporated into business strategy.I conclude the research by offering a proposition to examine and understand CSR. I propose to see CSR as a dynamic heterogeneous temporal and contextual tool incorporated by businesses through multi-avenues into corporate strategy as a result of negotiation of interests of various alliances of governance actors.

Role behaviors for men and women in our society are undergoing change. Research data to reveal student attitudes toward these role behaviors and choices were needed for the -development of strategies to eliminate sex bias and sex stereotyping in our educational programs and ultimately in the socialization process. The purpose of the study was to collect research data to determine Utah high school student attitudes toward women's roles and non-traditional vocational career choices. The survey instrument used to collect the data was constructed, pilot tested, factor analyzed, and revised prior to its administration to the sample. The revised instrument contained 60 attitudinal statements regarding women 's roles and non-traditional vocational career choices and demographic data requests. Instrument reliability was determined on each of the factors using the Guttman Split-half. The Factor I coefficient of reliability was .gl. The reliability coefficient on Factor II was .82 , while the Factor III reliability coefficient was .81. A total of 23 Utah public high schools and 1,454 sophomore students participated in the study. The data were analyzed using Five-way Analysis of Variance and Chi Square programs (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The Total Attitudinal Score, based on Women's Roles and Non-Traditional Vocational Career Choices, and three factor scores were the dependent variables analyzed. The factor scores included: Factor I, Women's Place--Women's Roles; Factor II, Sex Role Equity--Equal Treatment; and Factor III, leadership Roles . Comparisons were made on total score and three factor scores based on the five independent variables: Sex (male/female), Religious Commitment (high/low), location of Family Residence (rural/metro), Mother's Employment Status (employed/not employed), and Social Class (middle/working). A significant difference was found between male and female student attitudes for each factor and the total score. On each comparison of the Sex variable, female attitudes toward women's roles and choices were more non-traditional than male attitudes. For comparisons on the Religious Commitment variable, a significant difference was found in attitudes between students of high and low religious commitment on total score and each of the factor scores. Students of low religious commitment held more non-traditional attitudes toward women's roles and choices than students of high religious commitment. A significant difference was found on the location of Family Residence variable for Total Attitudinal Score . Students from metropolitan locations responded more non-traditionally toward women's roles and non-traditional vocational career choices than students from rural locations. Differences in rural and metropolitan student attitudes were not found to be significant for Factor I, Factor II, and Factor III scores. Significant differences in student attitudes were found on the Mother's Employment Status variable on total score and each of the factor scores. Students whose mothers were employed outside the home held more non-traditional attitudes toward women's roles and related career choices than students with homemaker mothers. Findings on the Social Class variable were found to be significant for the Total Attitudinal Score and Factor scores II and III. A significant difference was found in attitudes between students from middle class families and students from working class families. Students from middle class families held more non-traditional attitudes toward roles and related career choices for women than students from working class families. No significant difference was found on the Social Class variable for Factor I.

In recent years, the interest in work-life balance within organizations has increased to a great extent due to the high technology development such as smartphones, laptops, tablets etc. The existing high technology work equipment has generated a possibility for employees to be more available and work more if needed and expected by the employer. The extended availability has caused a lot of employees to increase their working time, which in turn has induced increased stress and pressure (Yarnall, 2008, 121). The consequences have led to that the dichotomy work-life and private life adopts more blurred borders and often develops into a situation like the ”role-overload” (Allvin et al., 2013, 107) and a conflict between these two life spheres becomes a fact. Nowadays, several Swedish organizations have work-life balance practices for their employees. Some of these practices are regulated under Swedish legislation, for instance parental leave and the possibility for parents with small children to work part-time. This study investigates the employees’ actual experiences of work-life balance practices and how these practices affect the employees and indirectly the employer. There is a general assumption that organizations that offer different work-life balance practices do so to attract and keep employees, which is the reason why such practices are being viewed as a positive measure (Doherty, 2004, 447). This study investigates if and in what way there are positive and/or negative experiences or consequences of work-life balance practices for the employees, which in turn also could be affecting the employers. The study is qualitative and empirical. Eight Swedish officials employed in different Swedish organizations (one informant works for an American organization) have been interviewed. The theoretical models that have been used to specify and define the research method are “The Career Active System Triad, CAST” (Baruch, 2004, 100) and “The pros and cons of alternative work arrangements” (B.H. Gottlieb, E.K. Kelloway and E. Barham 1998) and to explain the result “The role expansion theory” (Nordenmark, 2004, 47). This study reveals the informants’ reality and experiences, which shows how society through companies and organizations (mezzo level) forms and guides the individuals (micro level) to act in certain ways. This phenomenon illustrates how society generates a “collective conscience” (Durkheim in Andersen & Kaspersen, 2007, 64). This study shows that organizations and societies implicitly through legislation, rules, practices and policies generate “value rational social action” (Weber in Andersen & Kaspersen, 2007, 74-75) among the individuals, which make them act in a certain way in accordance with the value rational social action, whether or not it fits in their individual life at the moment. Nevertheless, the result also demonstrates the positive attitudes towards the work-life balance practices offered by organizations and society through legislation. These practices allow employees regardless of gender to make choices that enables them to have several roles in life, which has been verified in previous research to be beneficial for well-being and health in general.

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