This thesis provides a comparative analysis of seven different variants of the fairy tale commonly known as “Donkeyskin,” classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther folktale motif index as ATU 510B. By comparing so many different iterations of one fairy tale, it is easier to recognize the inherent attitudes concerning women and their place in society contained in this tale. Additionally, reading multiple variants from different centuries lends a perspective on the way that these attitudes changed over the centuries. Each of the thirteenth century texts considered end with their heroines trapped in loveless marriages, much like the seventeenth-century fairy tale, “Donkeyskin,” their direct literary descendant. The nineteenth century texts then present death or marriage as the alternatives for women, while the twentieth century brings the first instance of a heroine choosing for herself. This comparison allows the reader to learn not only what was considered a “happy ending” at the time, but also to gain a better understanding of the means by which a woman could gain agency.

This research argues that with the rise of the middle-class, Victorian England saw the development of a power model in which middle-class men, middle-class women and disenfranchised bodies of children and lower-class women suffered from the demands of bodily domination. Because the bodily health of middle-class men was believed to represent national health, it was imperative that he dominate his body, particularly with regard to sexual urges. Consequently, the bodies of women with whom he sought sexual release suffered from forms of bodily domination as well. Through an analysis of journals and private writings of those living in Victorian England, magazines, books, and advisory texts published during the nineteenth century, and philosophical interpretations of Victorian sexuality by historians, an image emerges in which Victorian sexuality is categorized by the need to dominate the body.

The strength of health systems predict access to medicines that prevent death from pregnancy related complications (essential maternal health medicines). But little is known about the relative impact of each health system building block on access. This quantitative cross-sectional study applied Ishikawa model to examine the relative effect of health systems governance, facilities, service delivery, financing and medicine procurement and distribution (independent variables), on availability, affordability and accessibility (dependent variables) of maternal health medicines in resource poor settings. Data analyzed was pulled from 37 WHO pharmaceutical country profiles and USAID MCHIP survey that assessed national programs for the prevention and management of Postpartum hemorrhage and Pre-Eclampsia/Eclampsia. Data analysis included bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions. All independent variables, except for quality of health services showed statistically significant association with access to maternal health medicines and achieved a p-value < .05 in bivariate analysis. Only three predictors however explained 27% of the variance (R2 =.266, F(5,162)=13.12, p<.01). The strength of medicine procurement and distribution systems significantly predicted access to essential maternal health medicines (β= -.41, p<.001), as did robustness of health system financing (β= -.51, p<.001), and quality of health facilities (β= -.34, p<.05). Authorities may prioritize investments in quality improvement, supply chain strengthening programs, and incentives for private sector financing and public-private partnerships for health system strengthening. This study contributes to positive social change by identifying key health system considerations that can inform future efforts to close geographical gaps in MCH outcomes.

Work-life balance is a dilemma for both men and women. However, the perspective of men on this issue has not been previous addressed. Work intensification and societal pressures cause men to work longer, harder, and cope with the stressors of multiple role conflicts and work-life imbalance. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore men's lived experience in managing multiple roles regarding work-life conflicts, and identify coping strategies they used to achieve a work-life balance. The research questions were related to the lived experiences, perceived causes, and coping strategies of work-life imbalance for men in the aerospace industry. The study was based on the theoretical construct of Maslow's and Herzberg's motivation theory. The modified Van Kaam method was used to analyze data from interviews with 20 men. The findings of the study revealed 6 themes: recreation, regain composure, set priorities and goals, good stewardship, time management, take chances, and utilize resources. These 20 men desired more out of life than just a career and more out of their career than just compensation; they wanted the ability to balance the demands of life and high expectations set for themselves that caused them stress and drained them of their energy. Unless accommodations are made, these men may continue to experience challenges balancing multiple life roles. Organizations should develop or modify policies and programs to ameliorate conditions that exacerbate work-life conflicts for employees, especially men. The implications for positive social change include the potential to educate managers, business leaders, and policy makers on the importance and mutual benefit of supporting the work-life needs of all employees regardless of gender.

Researchers vary on their definitions of paraphilia. A difference exists between an individual possessing a paraphilia versus an individual possessing a paraphilic disorder. Hanson (2010) proposed a dimensional model of sexual deviance that includes a measure of intensity. However, research on sexual intensity has been lacking. A majority of existing research focuses on the potential risk factors of possessing a paraphilia or paraphilic disorder (e.g., criminality). There is less focus on whom in the population has the potential to develop a paraphilia; or which factors predict paraphilic behavior. The Big Five personality factors (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), obsessive-compulsive behavior, and sexual fantasy (exploratory, intimacy, impersonal, and sadomasochism) were used to predict paraphilic intensity using the Edwards Paraphilic Inventory (EPI). Surveys were placed on Amazon Mechanical Turk (n = 100), the Celebrity Feet in the Pose website (via https://celebrityfeetinthepose.com), and its social media (n = 163) to reach a total of 263 participants. Results indicated that obsessive-compulsive behavior, sadomasochism, and agreeableness significantly predicted the level of paraphilic intensity. Such findings support that paraphilic disorders are likely obsessive-compulsive in nature. Furthermore, agreeableness and paraphilic intensity were negatively correlated. This suggests that the lower the individual is in agreeableness, the higher the likelihood he or she falls on the paraphilic spectrum. Lastly, those who practice sadomasochistic roleplay in the bedroom are likely to report higher levels of paraphilic intensity. According to the United States sample, 1 out of every 10 participants reported some type of paraphilic activity. Individuals who participated in the survey from the website self-reported higher levels of paraphilic behavior than those who completed the survey from Amazon Mechanical Turk. In addition, these individuals are represented in more than one paraphilic category. It remains unclear how large of a role pleasure plays in an individual seeking therapeutic or pharmacological help with paraphilic disorders. Pedophilic disorder was not examined due to ethical concerns with the United States and other various countries. Future research should examine education level and sexual orientation as predictors of paraphilic intensity.

This thesis intends to demonstrate that, because of the unusual circumstances of its writing - a semi-journalistic piece produced during a period of crisis in the real-life community fictionally depicted - Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series stands as an unusually accurate and reliable ethnographic source for information concerning the gay male subculture of San Francisco in the late 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, not only the practice and behavior themselves, but also reflecting their personal and communal function. The methodology employed in demonstrating this thesis is necessarily subjective. Like gay folklore scholar Joseph P. Goodwin in More Man Than You'll Ever Be, the seminal study of the folklore of gay men in the United States, I am a gay man, who, to some degree, draws on personal knowledge and observation to recognize and identify elements of gay folklore depicted in the fictional milieu I have chosen to study. This is unavoidable to an extent: ethnographic work within the gay communities has been limited by a number of factors, including the covert nature of the group, the biases of exoteric analysts, and the lack of observations informed by insiders' perspectives. Nonetheless, the groundwork that has been accomplished by Goodwin and a handful of other scholars provides an adequate basis for comparison between the "real" world, professional folk study, and the fictive domain of Armistead Maupin. In addition to an examination of gay oral folklore in the novels - including how gay oral tradition informs both the content of the novels and Maupin's authorial voice - this thesis also considers aspects of gay customary folklore and gay material culture, including how the content of the novels chronicles some of those folkloric forms and how the novels themselves have become a significant part of gay customary and material tradition. To a large degree, folklore functions in gay folk culture to encourage communication and cohesion and to divulge important psychological insights into the minds of many group members.

One dressmaker, Mrs. A. H. Taylor of Bowling Green, Kentucky, was studied in order to draw attention to the role of the dressmaker in American fashion. A biography of Mrs. A. H. Taylor and the business history were compiled; available designs were analyzed in relation to current fashion; and an investigation of the business organization was made. It was found that the dressmaking establishment played an important role in the lives of women of that time period. Fashionable custom fit clothing was made available to local residents and to mail-order customers. The establishment was one of the few businesses which offered women employment in that area. Through a comparison with contemporaneous fashion magazines, the examples of Mrs. Taylor's work which were available were found to be in current fashion, although many distinctive individual characteristics were noted. By the late 1920's the acceptance of ready-to-wear items and the death of Yrs. Taylor had brought about the decline of the dressmaking establishment, thus ending an important phase of American life.

This study examined the predictive validity of the WAIS in an academic setting. Traditional WAIS IQ scores and subtests of 127 male and 163 female college students were correlated with Grade Point Averages at the end of four semesters and within five academic areas. Five groups were examined including the total group, male group, female group, black group, and white group. The academic University's general and Communication of areas investigated corresponded to the education requirements; Organization Ideas, Humanities, Social and Behavioral Studies, Natural Science and Mathematics, and Physical Development. Results indicated that dictor of both semester GPA and five groups. Full Scale IQ was Verbal IQ was the best preacademic area GPA for the the second best overall indicator. Verbal IQ for blacks was a better predictor of success in college than it was for whites. Verbal abilities appeared more important for blacks than whites in terms of how well they did in school. WAIS IQ tended to best predict first semester GPA and the areas of Social and Behavioral Studies, Organization and Communication of Ideas, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Humanities and Physical Development, in that order. WAIS Verbal subtests were more efficient predictors than were the Performance subtests. The Digit Span and Arithmetic subtests of the Verbal scale and all five of the Performance subtests appeared to be of negligible value in predicting academic achievement. The highest correlations were found in the Vocabulary subtest, then Similarities and Information, and finally Comprehension. The female group had consistently higher correlation coefficients in every Performance subtest across all semesters and in each of the five academic areas.

Biography of Alice Hegan Rice, author from Louisville, Kentucky.

Sex and morals have often been factors in custody disputes. Courts have felt that giving custody of children to homosexual parents would create an environment not in the best interest of the child. Many mental health professionals argue that these decisions have been based on prejudice and homophobia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate research on the sexual orientation of children raised by homosexual parents and review data on the mental/psychosexual health of these children. These studies revealed no difference between children raised by gay/lesbian parents versus those raised by heterosexual parents on IQ scores, gender identity, or peer group relations. Daughters raised by lesbian mothers tended to choose more masculine toys and engage in more masculine activities than daughters raised by single heterosexual mothers. Nearly all of the adolescent children of homosexual parents experienced periods of questioning their sexual orientation. They also expressed the possibility of changing their sexual orientation later in life. Problems in research methodology (i.e., pre-experimental designs and lack of external validity) however, severely limit the validity and generalizability of these conclusions. Given the absence of externally valid, rigorous research on the relationship between homosexual parents and the sexual orientation of their children, these authors conclude that this question remains unanswered. These authors argue that custodial decisions regarding children of homosexual parents be based on sound information in the best interest of both children and parents and not rooted in homophobia.