<p> During the last three decades, female inmate firefighters in California have augmented wildland firefighting efforts while incarcerated within the California Department of Corrections &amp; Rehabilitation. The contributions these women have made has saved lives, property, and enhanced the public safety of millions of California residents. While substantial attention has been given to female incarceration, the rising rates of female incarceration and pathways to criminality, scant research has evaluated the contribution of inmate firefighters to public safety, even less so female inmate firefighters. Further, what has not been evaluated is how the experience and participation in the California Conservation Fire Camp Program has contributed to the personal resiliency of the women who participated in the program, any potential positive outcome participation in this specific prison program provided to these women, or the impact on public safety. With resiliency serving as the theoretical foundation, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the lived experiences of eleven former female California inmate firefighters, any contribution to their personal resiliency during and post-incarceration due to their participation in a California Conservation Fire Camp Program and any contributions to public safety through a qualitative phenomenological inquiry. Research questions focused on their perceptions and experiences during incarceration as inmate firefighters. The results include a detailed narrative of each participant which resulted in seven emergent themes (a) family, (b) shame, (c) giving back, (d) treatment, (e) pride and accomplishment, (f) camaraderie, and (g) inner strength. The findings noted profound positive changes in the lives of each of the women who participated in the study based upon their participation in a California Conservation Fire Camp Program while they were incarcerated. The implications of this research study could provide insight into correctional programs, which may increase resiliency in inmates and thus lower recidivism rates while contributing to public safety. This research may also provide further insight into an exploration of correctional programs that could utilize inmates in other areas of emergency management as well as disaster response and recovery efforts.</p><p>

<p> Despite more than thirty years of the underrepresentation of women in engineering being a persistent concern, research on the cause of the problem has not been successful in reversing the trend. A plethora of theories as to why females are not entering engineering exist, yet they only address issues on the surface and do not attend to a deep-rooted culture in the field; a climate that has been traditionally male-normed and identified as &ldquo;chilly&rdquo; for women. My study calls into question traditional representations of the discipline by revealing an established culture of power, privilege and exclusion. In the tradition of ethnography, my study examined the environment of engineering education from the perspective of a 30-year insider, viewing the culture from the outside for the first time. Data were collected from class observations and interviews with engineering students and engineering professors at two state-funded and one private college of engineering. I found teaching methods and deeply entrenched beliefs that transmit inherent messages of a hierarchical discourse community, a community that is not friendly to women. Through my data I depict a hegemonic culture that has changed very little in the last 30 years in light of the many calls to diversify the discipline. Convinced that traditional teaching methods must be effective, since they themselves have been successful, professors I interviewed failed to identify contexts of persistence, challenge and success, socialization and preparation tasks, and engineering communications as contributing to an inequitable learning environment. Through this research journey, not only did I come to realize how the time-honored norms in engineering education have maintained a white, male dominance, I was confronted with my own domestication (Rodr&iacute;guez, 2006) into the discipline and the regrettable role I have played in upholding inequitable practices in the face of my efforts to recruit and retain more women students.</p><p>

<p> American females face challenges such as the glass ceiling, gender pay gap, and other hindrances due to gender discrimination. African American females face both gender and racial discrimination. The study consisted of 262 female undergraduate and graduate business students. An equal number of African American (131) and White American (131) females participated in the study. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the females&rsquo; leadership self-efficacy and leadership aspiration. In addition, the study focused on potential differences between the two groups of females. The findings revealed no significant differences between the two groups on leadership self-efficacy, nor for leadership aspiration, but the overall scores were high. Additional findings revealed ethnicity was found to moderate the relationship between leadership self-efficacy and leadership aspiration. At low levels of leadership self-efficacy, African American female business students have higher leadership aspirations than do White American female business students, while at high leadership self-efficacy, the White American female business students have slightly higher leadership aspirations than African Americans. Despite the possibility of the African American females in the study&rsquo;s history of double jeopardy challenges due to gender and ethnicity, they do not require higher leadership self-efficacy than their peers. This study highlights the unique challenges of females aspiring to leadership positions and the additional issues African American females potentially face. The future of female business students in America aspiring leadership is unique from their male counterparts. The findings are relevant to understand the converging of leadership, gender, and ethnicity in society.</p><p>

The purpose of this study was to investigate women's knowledge and attitudes regarding genital human papillomavirus (n=100). Using a descriptive design, the Health Education Questionnaire was administered to 100 female patients (Mean Age = 33, SD = 7.17) at a physicians office in South Florida. The results indicated a lack of knowledge regarding genital human papillomavirus with 21 patients (21%) reported having knowledge and 79 (79%) having never heard of this disease. In addition, the group familiar with genital human papillomavirus also possessed a low level of knowledge with only 57% acknowledging an association of genital human papillomavirus and cervical cancer, 52% aware that a pap smear can detect the virus, 42% knowing that antibiotics can not treat the disease and 57% aware that it is not associated with a family history. An association was found between attitudes and health seeking behaviors. Subjects stating that they would take all measures to prevent genital human papillomavirus, were more likely to have a pap smear within the last year (Chi-square (1) = 4.33, p < .05). Higher levels of education and income were associated with increased knowledge regarding genital human papillomavirus when subjects were categorized according to sociodemographic characteristic (Chi-square (1) =9.45, p < .05; Chi-square (1) = 6.75, p < .05). There was no significant correlation between knowledge and ethnicity, marital status or age. Findings indicated the need for improved education and promotion of positive attitudes regarding human papillomaviurs in order to improve health seeking behaviors among women.

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