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Poster exhibited at GPSC Student Showcase, November 7th, 2014, University of Arizona. This research has been presented at the 2014 Annual Student Showcase, where first prize recognition in the College of Humanities was received. An earlier version was presented at the 24th Annual Graduate and Professional Symposium on Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literature, Language and Culture. Recognition as the first undergraduate poster presented at the graduate symposium was received, as well as an award for Best Paper. Special recognition is due primarily to Dr. Katia Bezerra, head of the Department of Spanish & Portugese, for extending an offer for me to present, to Edgard Ore-Giron for private mentorship of my work, and to Akeem Flavors in the Department of Art History for willingly assisting me practice my presentation skills. / No amount research need be referenced to justify the consensus that a power differential exists among women and men. The outcome that this power differential has created, however, varies from one society to another. The role of women in male-dominated societies is deconstructed through two films, each situated in the drug trafficking industry—one set in Latin America and the other in the United States-Mexico border. While substantial literature explores the gender power differential in the United States and developing countries, little attention is given to the impact of gender participation in the developing world. Each of these countries has diverse expectations with gender politics; that is, some countries have women as leaders in suffrage reforms and corporations, while women in other countries are not even granted the right to divorce. This paper examines the relationship between gender participation of women and their defiance of the power differential as depicted in the Brazilian film City of God and the American film Traffic. While no evidence is independently presented that economic development provides a basis for equal participation, the most important factors such as gender violence and civil liberties provide a means of understanding the gender gap from a sociopolitical perspective.

The Swedish Curriculum for the upper secondary school states that teachers should “ensure that teaching in terms of content and its organisation is typified by a gender perspective” (Skolverket 2011, p. 9). Considering that there is no further information regarding what a “gender perspective” means in reality, this sentence could be interpreted in many different ways. This study aims to explore how EFL teachers deal with linguistic gender equality, and which strategies they use to maintain a gender inclusive language in their classroom. Six interviews were conducted with EFL teachers at upper secondary schools in Stockholm, Sweden. The results indicated that the teachers thought this was an important issue to consider in teaching, andthat they had well-reasoned strategies for maintaining a gender perspective. The most prominently discussed strategies were encouraging reflection and discussion on these matters, and choosing appropriate literature that either would show a variety of different perspectives, or else would question the social norm. However, concerning their own language production, some of the teachers lacked explicit strategies for maintaining a gender inclusive language, which could derive from a lack in knowledge. Thus, this essay proposes that gender inequality in language needs to be more explicitly explored, both in teacher education and in further education for employed teachers. The teachers displayed an ambition to maintain a gender equal language teaching; and would benefit from more explicit tools to realize that.

The Swedish Curriculum for the upper secondary school states that teachers should “ensure that teaching in terms of content and its organisation is typified by a gender perspective” (Skolverket 2011, p. 9). Considering that there is no further information regarding what a “gender perspective” means in reality, this sentence could be interpreted in many different ways. This study aims to explore how EFL teachers deal with linguistic gender equality, and which strategies they use to maintain a gender inclusive language in their classroom. Six interviews were conducted with EFL teachers at upper secondary schools in Stockholm, Sweden. The results indicated that the teachers thought this was an important issue to consider in teaching, and that they had well-reasoned strategies for maintaining a gender perspective. The most prominently discussed strategies were encouraging reflection and discussion on these matters, and choosing appropriate literature that either would show a variety of different perspectives, or else would question the social norm. However, concerning their own language production, some of the teachers lacked explicit strategies for maintaining a gender inclusive language, which could derive from a lack in knowledge. Thus, this essay proposes that gender inequality in language needs to be more explicitly explored, both in teacher education and in further education for employed teachers. The teachers displayed an ambition to maintain a gender equal language teaching; and would benefit from more explicit tools to realize that.

Thesis advisor: Ruth G. McRoy / India has the world’s highest burden of child undernutrition. Lack of income has been attributed as the primary cause of child undernutrition. However, evidence suggests that despite steady economic growth and investments in social services directed towards child welfare, undernutrition rates in India are persistent. Thus factors impacting child undernutrition are entrenched within the social fabric of a community. Previous studies indicate that countries that have higher gender inequality have poorer health outcomes for women and children. India with its dominant patriarchal structure and deep-rooted gender biases has disproportionately worse outcomes for women and children. This dissertation study was designed to do the following: 1) emphasize the importance of maternal autonomy and health related awareness as factors significantly impacting maternal health and child nutritional status and 2) use a strengths-based approach to make recommendations for child welfare policy. By applying an asset-based approach, the social capital within a community is recognized interventions can be developed using community and individual level strengths. This study fills the gap in literature on the role of maternal autonomy and health related awareness on child nutritional status, particularly in communities with high levels of gender inequality. The current study utilized data from the India National Family Health Survey Round-3 (NFHS-3) to conduct a cross sectional analysis. The study sample consisted of urban married women between ages of 15-49 years who had at least one living child between the ages of 0-5 years (N= 9,092). It utilized the UNICEF ‘model of care’ and three distinct theories (i) Ecological Systems Theory, (ii) Capability Approach, and (iii) Positive Deviance Inquiry to develop the conceptual framework. Scales measuring maternal autonomy and health related awareness were developed and validated. Ordered Logistic Regression and Kohler mediation model were utilized to examine the relationship between maternal autonomy and health related awareness and child nutritional status and the mediation effect of maternal health. Implications are provided for child welfare policy and practice, social work policy and research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Abstract Human trafficking is interesting from a developmental point of view. It is one of the worst social phenomenon of our time due to the countless victims that go undetected. This paper examines connections between human trafficking and gender inequality and between human trafficking and inequality overall. The research question is as follows: Is it the level of gender inequality or is it the level of inequality overall that correlates with human trafficking? Looking at previous research stating that human trafficking is related to other social injustices, and applying a vulnerability theory this essay hypothesizes that increased gender inequality and increased inequality overall will increase the level of human trafficking in a country. There is still no known way of estimating how many victims of human trafficking there are. Due to this, rather than looking at the number of people who fall victim to this crime, a scale looking at the perceived level of human trafficking was created by the author. A quantitative method is used to investigate the relationships between human trafficking and gender inequality and between human trafficking and inequality overall. The main finding of this thesis is that there is mainly a connection between human trafficking and gender inequality, but a connection between human trafficking and inequality overall could not be strengthened.

It is well known that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have affected millions of people throughout the world and continues to affect people on a day to day basis. In Africa, sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected. Malawi, one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa is no exception to the growing trend and severity in HIV prevalence (Kalipeni& Ghosh, 2006).Like many countries in Africa, cultural practices in Malawi have been criticised as contributing to the spread of HIV and AIDS (Mwale, 2008). In recent years it has been recognised that in order to understand the spread of HIV and AIDS it is imperative to address the economic, social, cultural and political issues that lead to the contraction and spread of the virus. Hence there is a growing realisation that more effective prevention strategies in response to HIV and AIDS should focus on traditional, cultural, medical and political beliefs and practices as well as perceptions of individual risk to HIV and AIDS (Lwanda, 2005).The proposed research seeks to explore the perceptions of Malawians in the role and implications that cultural practices play in promoting HIV infections in Malawi. A sample of 17 people representing both genders from three tribes, namely the Yao, Tumbuka and Chewa participated in the study. Participants were purposively selected on their knowledge of cultural practices and in their being members of the tribe that was investigated. The research study was qualitative and a case study research design was applied. Data was analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings were therefore organised according to themes. The findings were that a number of cultural practices of the Tumbukas, Chewas and Yaos play a role in HIV and AIDS infections. Some of the cultural practices that were identified included wife inheritance, polygamy, initiation ceremonies, the practice of fisi(hyena), the practice of kulowafumbi(wiping of dust) and traditional marriages. The study found that cultural practices accompanied by lack of education, poverty, gender inequalities, lack of condom use and peer pressure among the youth promotes risky behavior that often leads to HIV transmission and prevents behavioural change. It was identified that it would be beneficial to educate elders of the community and influential people about HIV so that they could teach community members about the link between HIV and AIDS and cultural practice, and to find alternative ways to ensure that the cultural practice is safer, such as encouraging people to test before they practice wife inheritance. This study hopefully has the potential of contributing to knowledge and awareness in the fields of social development and social work on the role that cultural practice plays in promoting risky behaviour,which leads to contracting HIV infection among the Chewa, Tumbuka and Yao tribes. These findings could be useful in the creation of cultural-specific intervention programmes that are aimed at curbing HIV infection in Malawi and in many African countries where similar cultural practices are practiced.

Science and technology (S&T) disciplines at universities are still largely dominated by men, and few women are found in the highest employment ranks. Using the faculty data from Utah State University, this thesis explores the factors that help explain the difference in career trajectory between men and women in the S&T colleges. While there were few women in S&T colleges prior to the 1990s, more women have been hired since then, and the lower ranks of the faculty corps are starting to reflect the gender composition of the doctoral degree holders in the different fields. This is not the case for full professors and leadership positions, where women are still underrepresented. Analysis of the university careers of faculty in S&T colleges revealed that in the absence of formal guidelines, promotions to full professor were inconsistent, but men were generally promoted faster, especially when hired as associate professors. However, conscious measures by the university to make the promotion process more transparent and formalized reduced the variability in time to promotion to full professor for all faculty and minimized differences between men and women. Recognition of faculty achievement through awards still shows gender bias. Women proportionally receive less awards, especially in recognition of research activities. This study illustrates that clear guidelines reduce gender bias in decisions and improve gender equity in the academia.