In an attempt better to understand the appeal of the Gothic novel during its initial appearance in eighteenth-century England, particularly that of the 'female Gothic'--a sub-genre recently declared by feminist critics such as Claire Kahane, Ellen Moers, and Tania Modleski--this essay considers three novels by Ann Radcliffe, possibly the best-known female writer of her time: The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794), The Romance of the Forest (1791), and The Italian (1797). Beginning with an examination of Radcliffe's unique use of landscapes and her adoption of Burke's Sublime, I postulate a symbology and subtext which address the generally unacknowledged topics of female sexuality and female creativity. The representation of feminine desire, as well as the continued theme of the hidden woman artist, I argue, together comprise the 'hidden discourse' integral to the 'female Gothic' pioneered by Radcliffe. Bearing in mind the emergence in the later eighteenth-century of a large female audience for Radcliffe's novels, l analyse the different physical prospects and personalities associated with heroine and villain as politically polarized 'visions' of reality. The inevitable moral and aesthetic conflict of these visions culminates in the heroine's ultimate triumph over the villain and the patriarchal society he represents. Through this analysis of her fiction's hidden discourse, Radcliffe's contribution to the Gothic genre can be seen as politically subversive, her novels concealing a defiance of her male-dominated culture as well as containing an affirmation of identity for her female readers. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Adult women enter or reenter college for a variety of reasons, one of which is because of the loss of a job and the need to retrain for reentry into the workforce. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the actual experiences of female displaced workers entering community college, as compared with their initial expectations as adult learners. Data were collected through interviews with 23 displaced workers age 25 or older who were either enrolled in or had graduated from an associate of applied science degree program at Northeast State Technical Community. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) constant comparative method. Achieving particular grades, obtaining a degree, and being able to get a job were the primary ways in which the participants initially defined success. In addition, they attributed the success they achieved to the encouragement and support of their teachers, their families, and their peers as well as to their faith and personal dedication and determination. The barriers they encountered included dispositional, situational, and institutional barriers. Furthermore, they found their initial fears of not "fitting in" and of being too old to learn to be without merit. While they had underestimated the amount and level of difficulty of the work that would be involved, they had also underestimated their own abilities. Recommendations for future practice included conducting annual orientation sessions for faculty; semester reviews of course offerings and instructional delivery formats; and a series of 10, one-hour workshops, provided at the beginning of each semester, to help alleviate the fears that were consistently expressed. Additional qualitative and quantitative research was also recommended.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to give voice to the experiences of African American female pastors of African American churches and their perceptions of gender and equity as it pertains to their role in the pastorate. This phenomenological study identified the lived experiences of each participant through her personal narrative, which reflects her path from birth to present. Participants’ experiences as a senior pastor provided a personal historical path of the journey of female pastors for a span of four decades. This dissertation shares the challenges, barriers, and support to female pastors. This study examined personal characteristics, acts of leadership, and acts of negotiating the system within the African American church. The participants’ ages ranged from 40-70+. The findings of this study indicated that there has been a slow change in the acceptance of female pastors. Female pastors have been a part of our culture since biblical times, but resistance is still present.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of the Master of Technology in Fashion, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / The years succeeding 1990 have seen a significant increase in the release of mainstream film featuring transgendered characters. The inclusion of such characters in popular film becomes a point of interest as transgendered identities differ from the hegemonic heterosexism of the audiences at whom these films are targeted. This investigation aims to gain a better understanding of how audience members read gendered identity through the visual appearance of drag queen characters in mainstream film. Due to the emblematic contrast between the male body and a hyper-feminine dress aesthetic, drag queens pose an overt visual challenge to the normative expectation of anatomical sex determining gender and gendered expression. This investigation is conducted from the paradigmatic perspective that recognises the impossibility of a ‘correct’ reading of dress aesthetics and is thus concerned with discovering the various gendered meanings audience members may attach to drag costume in film. This interpretivist standpoint, however, is held in conjunction with the critical understanding that prevalent contemporary socio-political constructs with regard to gender and dress will undoubtedly affect these perceptions. Segments from selected Hollywood films featuring drag queen protagonists were screened for a heterogeneous focus group and the subsequent discussion analysed through critical discourse analysis. Academic discourse concerning the socially constructed gender dichotomy and the debated subversive potential of the drag act is reviewed in order to provide a theoretical framework for analysing the participants’ comprehension of gendered performance. Gendered associations with dress and the body together with film theory are examined to better understand how an audience may perceive gendered identity through drag costume in film and what affect this may have on their conception of sartorial gendered expressions in reality. Finally, to situate and provide further context for this investigation, Queer theory critiques of the representation and reception of transgendered characters in past mainstream films are considered. / M

This thesis focuses on the life and artistic patronage of the Victorian philanthropist, Angela Burdett Coutts. The daughter of both an aristocrat and a member of the nouveau riche, Burdett Coutts was the product of both the new and old world of Victorian society and this thesis explores the ways in which Burdett Coutts fashioned an identity as a member of the aristocratic elite through her patronage of art and architecure. It explores the ways in which taste, gender and class are reflected in her collecting practice and examines her role as a patron through three case studies, as art collector, philanthropist and patron of architecture.

Female veterans' combat exposure to trauma places them at risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which has consequences for healthful reintegration to family and civilian life. Previous research found that wives who provide continuous care to male veterans with PTSD experience symptoms of psychological distress; however, little research has been conducted on the influence of female veterans' PTSD on their intimate male partners' (IMPs) psychological well-being. A multivariate correlational design was used to examine the influence of female veteran PTSD on psychological distress and relationship quality in IMPs. The couples' adaption to traumatic stress model was used as the theoretical framework. The research questions examined (a) the difference between female veterans with and without PTSD on the length of time in the relationship, combat experience, the total number of deployments, and IMP psychological distress and (b) the influence of female veterans' combat experience, PTSD, and IMP psychological distress on relationship quality. A sample of 71 IMPs between the ages of 18 and 65 provided survey research data on the variables of interest. Psychological distress, number of partner deployments, and length of time in relationship discriminated significantly between IMPS whose partners were diagnosed with PTSD, not diagnosed, or did not know about the PTSD diagnosis. The regression results revealed that the psychological distress of IMPs and the number of partner deployments positively predicted relationship quality. Attention to female veterans and their families can contribute to increased retention of female service members in the Army and successful integration into family and civilian life.

The creative work, Black-Winged Angels, is a collection of nine re-written fairytales. The collection is divided into three sections: Maiden, Mother, Crone and the three stories in each section explore various aspects of these traditional periods in a woman's life. The tales are re-written, or 're-loaded', to offer alternative views of the tales of childhood, to examine other forces that may be at work inside the stories themselves, and the possible consequences of 'living' those tales differently. The exegesis examines the colonisation and reclamation of a range of fairy tales. It traces the historical shift from oral to literary fairy tale traditions, and the ensuing patriarchal rewriting of those fairytales. The exegesis then considers the writing of Angela Carter and Emma Donoghue (specifically The Bloody Chamber and Kissing the Witch, respectively), in terms of how their work in the fairytale genre has both succeeded in, and failed to, avoid a simple inversion of gender with their revisions of the colonised literary fairytales. The exegetical work has grown, in large part, out of the process of critical reflexivity to which I have subjected my creative work. I chose Angela Carter's and Emma Donoghue's works of revisionist fairytales to act as 'bookends' for my own work; Carter as a starting point for fairytale reclamation and Donoghue as a more recent incarnation of the fairytale revisionist. In reflecting on my own work, I often looked back at what these two authors had done, to guide me in the eternal writers' struggle of what to leave in, what to leave out, and where to take the tale.

The thesis focuses on female orgasm and its relation to autoerotic activities and dyadic sexual behavior. The first theoretical part focuses on theories describing the function of female orgasms and factors influencing its occurrence. The second part consists of four articles published in peer-reviewed journals. The first article is a review, focusing on the development of expert opinions over time, with specific regard to female orgasms and the division between clitoral and vaginal orgasm. The second article discusses the role of general relationship and sexual satisfaction with respect to the female orgasm. The third article examined the association between first autoerotic experiences and the occurrence of vaginal orgasm. Finally, the fourth article concerned the frequency of dyadic sexual activity and its relation to vaginal orgasm. The findings within each article indicate that autoerotic and dyadic sexual activities together with general relationship and sexual satisfaction have a positive influence on the occurrence of female orgasms.

This study was designed to be the first step in an empirical investigation of the female offender, using biographical information. It Is the goal of the research to eventually be able to predict probable criminal activity among women. The most readily delineated group for study was female prisoners. The purpose of the study was to determine if factor clusters could be produced which were representative of women in prison. Specific objectives were to organize descriptive biographical information of incarcerated women and to correlate bio-data results with important current and post-incarceration events. This study makes it clear that merely labeling behavior as criminal—connoting a deviant class of behavior—is highly inexact in identifying it. The female offender cannot as yet be defined in the same way as a person suffering from depression, hypochondriasis, or schizophrenia—that is, by distinctive response groupings. While this study made many inroads, generating descriptive factors and significant behavioral/life-history correlates, incarcerated female offenders as a class cannot as yet be identified by responses that make up a valid category of behavior.

Introduction & Background: Female athletes are at risk for developing eating disorders, they feel the need to engage in dieting, fasting, vomiting, and diet pills. These actions impact 35-57% of female athletes. An eating disorder can be defined as a variety of mental conditions that are characterized by an imbalance in eating and a weakness in physical or mental health. The female athlete triad is three components including osteoporosis, eating disorders, and amenorrhea (absence of menstrual cycle). Purpose Statement & Research Question: For female athletes around the ages of 18-23, what is the risk of eating disorders compared to their involvement in a competitive sport within the years they are participating in their sport? Literature Review: Sources were pulled from the CINAHL database, these articles are under 5 years of age. Findings: Female athletes develop low body weights. Approximately 4.3% of female athletes struggle with the female triad. The demands of athletes cause extensive stress and unhealthy eating patterns. About 62% of female athletes develop eating disorders. Conclusion & Nursing Implications: Nurses should be educated on how to identify symptoms, educate on risks associated with energy deficiency, and refer athletes to resources. It is important for nurses, coaches, and families to work to promote the health and well-being of athletes, and to prioritize prevention and early intervention when it comes to eating disorders. Key search terms: Search terms include “female athletes”, “the female triad”, “eating disorders”, “eating disorders in sports”, “coaches' role in the female triad”, and “risk for injuries”.