published_or_final_version / toc / English Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, Discipline of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2004. / "July 24, 2004" Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-319).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Apr. 29, 2009). Advisor: Stevan E. Hobfoll. Keywords: psychological, distress, resources, inner-city, women, AIDS, HIV, program. Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-101).

The central theme of this study is that because of the changing life styles and the macro-events which occurred after World War I these years were a watershed. The women born in the three five-year cohorts from 1910 through 1924 were at different stages of maturity and awareness as particular economic and political events occurred. The social and political climates were different for each of these cohorts of women. Therefore there would be discernible differences in attitudes and opinions among the cohorts. A literature review indicated three models for the formation of social attitudes and political opinions. The "Personality Types" is based on the premise that attitudes formed early in life remain fixed. The "Aging/Conservative" model considers that attitudes become increasingly conservative as the person ages. This study, however, was based on the "Historical Change" model. Beliefs and attitudes may change in response to personal experiences throughout the life course. Four research questions were developed. 1. How have macro-events affected the life experiences of women in these cohorts? 2. How have social pressures affected their experiencing of employment, matrimony, and motherhood? 3. How do the opinions of women in these three cohorts with regard to social and political issues differ and change? 4. Can differences of opinions among the women of the three cohorts be traced to dissimilarities in life experiences? Census data literature was researched to provide background documentation on technological and demographic changes in the United States during the 20th century. Questions for cohort comparisons were selected from the National Opinion Research Council Surveys of 1972 through 1989. These considered individual and family demographics, labor force participation, social attitudes, and political orientation. For the 2,814 respondents analysis was done by five-year cohorts to determine differences and by six-year periods to point out trends. Both ANOVA and Chi-square were used to verify statistical significance. Focus group sessions, with 41 participants, met at senior centers and housing units in the Portland metropolitan area. A questionnaire completed by each participant confirmed that the focus group demographics corresponded to those of the national sample. Individual life experience time lines provided material for opening the discussion. Other discussion topics were based on differences noted among the three cohorts in the NORC data analysis. These were in the areas of education, work experience, family life patterns, political orientation, and attitudes toward societal changes. A brief finding for each research question follows. 1. NORC data indicated that each successive cohort held increasingly liberal sociopolitical opinions, and that women of all three cohorts became less conservative over the years. The focus group participants related these changes to specific macro-events in their life experiences. 2. Focus group discussions disclosed that the 1910-1914 cohort realized later in life that societal pressure had limited their educational achievement. Women of the 1915-19 cohort came to understand that their acceptance of the homemaker role was somewhat based on societal expectations. The 1920-24 cohort were aware that discrimination in the work arena was based on societal norms of the time. 3. Analysis of both NORC data and opinions expressed in the focus groups indicated that each successive cohort was increasingly broadminded and tolerant. 4. The women participating in the focus groups exhibited an awareness of the differential effects of life experiences. They specified the effects of macro-events (chiefly the Great Depression), education, mobility, and workforce participation. This research has tentatively confirmed that a generational watershed occurred for women born before World War I and those born after. As the women of the 1910 through 1924 cohorts matured they experienced differing social and political climates. This resulted in cohort differences. Further investigation may reveal more precise cohort boundaries for the 1910 through 1924 years. It should be remembered also that cohort boundaries for men may not coincide with those of women.

This thesis is a qualitative empirical study aimed at understanding the legal consciousness of women in a poor urban community. Through the narratives of women who were interviewed for this study, articles in the media, social media, and film, it explores the predominant problems experienced by women, and their experiences of engaging systems ‘in and around the law'. I argue that localities like Lavender Hill cannot be seen as homogenous and one cannot assume that all people approach problem solving from a similar perspective. Using a feminist lens, with literature on legal consciousness, legal cynicism, and legal pluralism as a backdrop, I describe the legal consciousness of poor urban women; what Ewick and Silbey refer to as ‘tracing the law in everyday life'. I interviewed 52 women, of which eight are women who live and work with other women in the community. Using an open ended questionnaire, I captured these narratives and analysed them, describing the themes and trends which surfaced. Poor urban women in this context not only navigate the daily threat of gang violence. They live in a place that is neglected, and seek positive solutions, despite high levels of patriarchy and systems that are inaccessible and unfair in response to their problems and disputes. A key finding of relevance to legal consciousness theory is the existence of different typologies of women − despite the relatively small geographic locality − with diverse norms and values. Of value is the description of varied attitudes towards systems ‘in and around the law', and different problem solving approaches. This makes a significant contribution to legal consciousness scholarship, in that it brings into view the seminal role of norms and values in social control, and how this shapes women's expectations of the law, as well as their approaches to the law, and other systems that assist with problem solving. This finding has value for practitioners and policy makers seeking to make a contribution to social justice and improve the lives of women in poor urban neighbourhoods like Lavender Hill.

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Master of Science

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho trata de um estudo das práticas discursivas das mulheres indígenas pertencentes à Organização dos Índios na Cidade de Boa Vista Roraima (ODIC). Busca-se analisar o modo de produção de sentidos que se referem à questão das identidades de grupos indígenas, especialmente aqueles vivendo em cidades amazônicas e regiões de fronteiras, como é o caso dos índios urbanos de Boa Vista. Tratou-se de examinar a questão a partir das mudanças e dos efeitos da globalização, que reposicionaram determinados sujeitos no discurso os quais hoje procuram transformar-se em sujeitos de direitos e da própria história. Utilizou-se como aporte teórico o viés analítico da Análise Crítica do Discurso, com base na Teoria Social do Discurso de Fairclough, na busca de compreender os processos discursivos sobre identidade indígena na cidade, com base nos enunciados de mulheres indígenas, que estão presentes no movimento em luta por seu espaço de direitos no meio urbano. Nele tratou-se de examinar o sentido destes discursos dentro das transformações provocadas pela globalização, que colocou também as identidades sociais e culturais dentro de uma perspectiva de fluxos, movimentos e trânsito por um lado e, por outro, com a onda da democratização que retirou determinadas desigualdades e assimetrias de direitos, obrigações e prestígios linguísticos de grupos e pessoas, vem permitindo que grupos e minorias antes assujeitadas em formações discursivas hegemônicas, se apropriem do discurso e empreendam lutas de projetos identitários, reconstruindo-se a partir das práticas discursivas. / This work aims to study the discursive practices of indigenous women belonging to the Organization of Indians in the city of Boa vista, Roraima (ODIC). It seeks to analyse the way these women produce the meanings that refer to the question of the identities of indigenous groups, especially those living in Amazonian cities and border regions, as it is the case of urban Indians of Boa Vista. It was examining the issue from the changes and the effects of globalization, which repositioned certain subjects in the speech which now seek to become a subject of rights and of history itself. It was used as theoretical basis the analytical bias of the Critical Discourse Analyses, based on Fairclough Discourse Social Theory, seeking to understand the discursive processes about the Indian Identity in the city, based on statements of indigenous women, who are presented in the movement in its struggle for space in urban environment. In this study it was examined the meaning of these discourses within the transformations caused by globalization. Ii is also raised the social and cultural identities within a perspective of flows, traffic and movement in one hand and, in the other hand, with the democratization movement that withdrew certain inequalities and asymmetries of the rights, duties and linguistic prestige of groups and individuals, which has been enabling groups and minorities, before subjected in hegemonic discursive formations, to appropriate the discourse and undertake projects of identity struggles, rebuilding itself from discursive practices.

"July 24, 2004" / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-319) / xix, 319 leaves : ill. (some col.), maps ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, Discipline of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2004

No description available.