ABSTRACT OVERCOMING BARRIERS: WOMEN IN THE SUPERINTENDENCY by Claire M. Miller Women currently represent the largest number of teachers in the United States but remain underrepresented in the superintendent position. This suggests that the superintendency has been influenced by patriarchy. If women are to break through the barriers that prevent them from attaining a superintendency, we will need to understand the social construction of the position and women superintendents’ experiences with barriers. What do women in the superintendency think about what it means to be one of a few women in a male-dominated occupation? How does gender consciousness play a role in the ability to examine and understand barriers? How do characteristics of the position interacting with gender? Literature is reviewed surrounding these questions and includes barriers with feminine expectations, career mobility, good old boy network, mentors, family obligations, and the selection process. A qualitative approach was used to examine the experiences of five female superintendents. Additionally, race was masked to protect the identities of the women. Patriarchy was identified as the central structure for understanding the women’s experiences with barriers. This study also sought to draw on the theoretical model of sociocultural explanations for the underrepresentation of women in the superintendency. This model analyzes gender differences and focuses on sex role stereotyping, career socialization, and women’s culture to describe women’s experiences. The findings indicate that women are beginning to overcome some of the barriers; however, many of them are still present. This inquiry is important because it allows us to examine the barriers within the superintendency in order to provide a new perspective to the body of literature that has historically been grounded in almost exclusively white, male, and heterosexist epistemologies. This new perspective includes methods to overcome the barriers rather than navigate them.

ABSTRACT An Examination of Socio-demographic Characteristics and Perceptions of Cycling among Students at Georgia State University (Under the direction of Christine Stauber, Faculty Member) Background: Bicycling as a form of transportation is important to public health and the improvement of the environment by way of sustainable transportation. Active transportation is inversely related to all-cause mortality, obesity, and levels of ozone and greenhouse gases. University communities have been shown to bicycle more than big cities. However, downtown setting of the Georgia State University (GSU) campus poses unique barriers to bicycling. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in fall, 2009 at GSU. To determine perceptions and barriers to bicycling, the sample was divided into cyclists and non-cyclists. Chi square analysis, odds ratios, and multivariate logistic regression were used to compare the socio-demographic characteristics and perceptions surrounding bicycling between the groups. Results: The survey included 314 students; 60% female, 11.1% bicyclists, and mean age of 23. Of the socio-demographic characteristics examined, gender was the only factor significantly associated with bicycling, with males being 6.82 times more likely to cycle. Independent t-tests found that bicyclists viewed the built environment, social support, and future bicycling support more favorably than non-cyclists. Of the built environment factors, distance was the most important barrier to bicycling (OR=2.156, 95% CI= 1.484-3.133). Cyclists and non-cyclists were in agreement that bicycling was unsafe due to motor vehicle traffic, roadway conditions, and theft risk Conclusions: Overall, the findings were consistent with current knowledge about bicycling. The findings show that distance appears to be the most significant barrier to bicycling. Although safety due to roadway conditions and motor vehicle traffic and risk of bicycle theft did not produce significant results, these factors should be addressed in future studies and/or programs. Further investigation into how to alter these perceptions and create safer environments for the community would be beneficial.

Magistro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamos marketingo komplekso valdymo priemonės, taikomos organizuojant ištvermės sporto renginius. Teorinėje dalyje nagrinėjami marketingo komplekso valdymo barjerai. Darbas rengiamas argumentuojant, kad Lietuvos ištvermės sporto šakų federacijos, klubai, asociacijos vangiai ir sunkiai persiorientuoja prie šiuolaikinių sporto verslo vystymosi tendencijų, neturi reikiamos kompetencijos marketingo srityje, dėl to susiduria su esamais barjerais, kurie daro poveikį dalyvių masiškumui. Pagrindinis darbo tikslas įdentifikuoti ištvermės sporto šakų marketingo komplekso valdymo barjerus ir pateikti pasiūlymus, kaip juos eliminuoti, remiantis geraisiais renginių atvejais. / Master‘s thesis analyzes the means of marketing complex management that are common in endurance sports organizing. This thesis is based on idea that endurance sports federations, clubs and associations hardly adapt to development as a new business field and do not meet qualifications in marketing, and consequently, fail in attracting more people. The main objective is to identify the barriers of endurance sports marketing complex management and to find solution how to eliminate them by giving an examples of the best events in this field.

Girls with foreign background is the group that is most left outside the sports movement in Sweden and the ones with the least sports habit. Sports assumed to provide an arena for integration that these girls are being left outside from. The Swedish sports movement has adapted the conditions for them as a way to encourage them to participate in sports, but there are still lots of girls with foreign background that stands outside the sports movement. One input that the Swedish National Association has done for children and young adults is to adopt the Drive-in-sport, which can work as an entrance to the sports movement. The aim of the study is therefore to investigate which barriers, motivators and requests girls in Sweden with foreign background have to participate in Drive-in-sports. Eight interviews have been done to girls who do not participate in Drive-in-sports. The results shows that the main reasons for the girls to not participate are: lack of time, homework, babies, don't have friends to go with and that they think they will be left outside because of their veil. The conclusion is that the girls are looking for community and continuity which the sport clubs can offer them but the Drive-in-sports probably can not.

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<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">Despite wide acceptance of Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) as a crucial entry point for the prevention, treatment, care and support of HIV-infected persons / the prevalence of testing in Ethiopia remains very low. A review of the literature identifies the set of factors that influence HIV testing of individuals to include socio-economic and demographic factors, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, risk perception, fear of stigma, social capital and the perceived benefit of VCT. By drawing assumptions based on the known literature, this mini-thesis explores the relationship between VCT usage and the above factors in order to explain the status of HIV testing in Moher and Aklil district, Gurage Zone, Ethiopia. The study hopes to address the dearth of material on VCT and contribute to it in a non-clinical and rural context.</p> </font></font></p>

<p>In countries like Zambia where HIV prevalence (14.3% in the age group 15-49 years) is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV testing is an important strategy to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, because it is a critical step towards HIV/AIDS care, treatment and support. Despite decades of HIV/AIDS information and education campaigns, only 10% of Zambians know their HIV status. This study aimed to describe the uptake of voluntary counseling and testing and factors associated with uptake at Ngungu Mini - hospital in Ngungu Township, Zambia. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted among 100 adult clients accessing health care at Ngungu mini - hospital during the second week of January 2009. Participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire on VCT, knowledge, attitudes towards HIV testing, and factors that promote/hinder HIV testing. Data was captured with Excel and basic descriptive analysis done using SPSS version 16.0 and Epi Info Version 3.3.1.</p>

The increase in the contamination of ground-water (GW) with nitrates in both developing and developed countries mainly results from agricultural activities and improper sanitation systems, and is a recent phenomenon that has become a source of great health concern, particularly in regions where people rely on the ground-water as their primary water source. Due to the advantages of using Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRB) including its cost-effectiveness as well as its capability to remove or mitigate the spread of large spectrum of contaminants (including nitrates), a significant increase has been observed in the use of this subsurface treatment technology compared to other methods. However, identifying more economic and reliable reactive media to be used instead of the costly conventional PRB materials is now of key importance. Two local soils namely Berea Red Sand (BRS) and Umgeni Sand (US) were the main focus of this research. In addition to these soils, Zero Valent Iron (ZVI) was also used in this study. Through the use of batch experiments the feasibility of the nitrate reduction was investigated by five substrates including 100% ZVI, 100% BRS, 100% US, mix of 75% ZVI + 25% BRS, and mix of 50% ZVI + 50% BRS. Five concentrations of nitrate synthetic solution including 10 mg/l, 25 mg/l, 50 mg/l, 100 mg/l, and 500 mg/l were used to simulate nitrate-contaminated ground-water. All the batch experiments were performed under semi-aerobic and uncontrolled pH conditions, and only one solid/liquid ratio of 1:10 was used. The two mixes (mix of 75% ZVI + 25% BRS, and mix of 50% ZVI + 50% BRS) exhibited a nitrate removal efficiency of 100%, with all the different initial concentrations that were used with it; besides these two mixes, none of the other substrates showed this performance. 100% ZVI; however, managed complete nitrate reduction when the 10 mg/l and 25 mg/l concentrations were used. Finally, it was concluded that the benefits of using BRS in combination with other materials such as ZVI in the PRB field are promising. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

This thesis evaluates the waste management system in the province of Manitoba, Canada and other jurisdictions to identify best practices for, and barriers and opportunities to, improving its impact on the environment. Multiple methods were used. First, a survey of expert stakeholders in the waste management sector in Manitoba was conducted, which was followed by an expert stakeholder meeting that further refined the results of the survey. Second, waste management systems of Manitoba, Canada, Nova Scotia, Canada, New South Wales, Australia, and Denmark were compared to determine which of the options already in use by other jurisdictions might be useful in Manitoba. Finally, an estimation of the amount of organic waste entering landfills in Manitoba was conducted, along with an estimation of the resulting methane emissions from landfills to determine their greenhouse gas emissions.

Background: Social participation is essential to well-being for adolescents with and without disabilities. Adolescents with a disability, however, often have fewer friendships and experience social isolation compared to their peers without disability. Telecommunications play a vital role in facilitating social participation for adolescents yet those with a disability experience reduced access. Based on the World Health Organisation’s framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) this study aimed to identify environmental factors (barriers and facilitators) that impact on participation in telecommunication use, as perceived by adolescents with cerebral palsy and their communication partners. Method: A qualitative research design was adopted using observations and in-depth interviews with five dyads of adolescents with cerebral palsy and significant communication partners. Data from interviews was analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify barriers and facilitators. Results and Conclusions: A total of 66 facilitators and 72 barriers to telecommunication use were identified. These were divided into four categories; people-related, equipment-related, support/training-related and ‘other’. A large number of interrelated people and equipment related factors were identified. Participants also identified the need for further training and support. In order to improve social participation for adolescents with disabilities, future research must investigate the development of assessment tools that accurately identify environmental barriers to telecommunication use and contribute to the development of strategies to over come these barriers.