Why, despite evidence to the contrary, does the narrative of the negative consequences of teenage pregnancy, abortion and childbearing persist? This book outlines a critical view of "teenage pregnancy" and abortion, arguing that the negativity surrounding early reproduction is underpinned by a particular understanding of adolescence. The book traces the invention of "adolescence" and the imaginary wall that the notion of "adolescence" constructs between young people and adults. It examines the entrenched status of "adolescence" within a colonialist discourse that equates development of the individual with the development of civilisation, and the consequent threat of degeneration that is implied in the very notion of "adolescence". Many important issues are explored, such as the ideologies and contradictions contained within the notion of "adolescence"; the invention of teenage pregnancy as a social problem; the construction of abortion as the new social problem; issues of race, culture and tradition in relation to teenage pregnancy; and health service provider practices, specifically in relation to managing risk. In the final chapter, an argument is made for a shift from the signifier "teenage pregnancy" to "unwanted pregnancy". Using data gathered from studies from four continents, this book highlights central issues in the global debate concerning teenage pregnancy. It is suitable for academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students of health psychology, women’s studies, nursing and sociology, as well as practitioners in the fields of youth and social work, medicine and counselling.

<p> This qualitative study measures the perceptions of gender equity in educational leadership among female superintendents in Kentucky. Education is dominated by females; however, superintendent positions are held by men in much greater numbers than women. Research questions are as follows: 1) What common experiences and traits do female superintendents share?, 2) What do female superintendents in Kentucky see as the rewards and challenges of the position?, and 3) To what reasons do female superintendents attribute the great disparity in the numbers between male and female superintendents? What are catalysts and barriers to career advancement? How can these numbers be improved? These questions are answered via surveys and personal interviews. While opportunities are increasing for women, the pace remains slow. Mentors play a key role in career advancement for women. On this basis, a key recommendation is that formal mentoring programs supporting aspiring female educational leaders be implemented in Kentucky.</p><p>

<p> An academic dialog concerning the intersectionality of national origin, economic class and gender, as mutually constitutive elements of migration, set the context for my inquiry into the experiences of wives who are barred from paid labor by their restricted visa status. Guided by grounded theory, I conducted seventeen semi-structured qualitative interviews to examine ways in which a move to Silicon Valley under a restricted visa class changes the self-image of women, and how they evaluate this change. I found that the ambiguous agency construct of women socialized in the Soviet and post-Soviet eras facilitated their choice to migrate despite the visa restrictions. After emigrating, the women tended to embrace values of individualism and self-reliance, which reinforced their professional ambitions. However, the absence of professional options created a split between the women&rsquo;s lived experiences and their self-representation. In addition, I found that a visa that prohibits employment creates a homogenizing effect on women&rsquo;s self-images, putting them on similar personal and professional tracks and making their legal and economic status less predictable. These findings suggest that structural strategies might be adopted to help these women reclaim their self-images and exert more control over the selection and pursuit of their goals.</p><p>

abstract: The occupation of policing has long been associated with masculinity. Resistance to the integration of women into the law enforcement profession stemmed from widely held beliefs that women were incapable of performing the police function. Although much has changed in policing, female officers are bombarded with masculine symbols depicting mostly the agentic characteristics associated with the law enforcement profession. Or, they are offered socially and culturally constructed definitions of who they are supposed to be as women as well as what is lacking in them as officers. This study explores the disparity between how female police officers are viewed, what they experience, and how they are represented. The perspective of the female officer was captured, and presented through visual images obtained by participants. Descriptive coding and thematic analysis converted photographs and written narratives into participant generated themes and stories. Female officers in this study resisted stereotypic portraits of women in policing and sought expanded boundaries of inclusion within their profession. Participants produced some understanding of how women construct their personal and professional identities relative to gender, as well as the larger roles of women in society. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2015

abstract: The goal of this study was to explore the multidimensionality of gender typicality and its relation to preadolescents’ psychological adjustment. With a sample of 378 6th grade students (52% male; M age = 11.44, SD = .56; 48% White), I examined how four specific dimensions of gender typicality (behavior, appearance, activities, and peer preference) predict children’s global sense of typicality; whether children’s global sense of gender typicality, behavior, appearance, activities, and peer preference are differentially predictive of self-esteem, social preference, and relationship efficacy; and whether examining typicality of the other gender is important to add to own-gender typicality. Regression analyses indicated that all four specific typicality dimensions contributed to preadolescents’ overall sense of own- and other-gender typicality (except appearance for own-gender typicality). Generally, all domains of gender typicality were related to the four adjustment outcomes. Own-gender typicality related more strongly to self-esteem, social preference, and own-gender relationship efficacy than did other-gender typicality; other-gender typicality was more strongly related to other-gender relationship efficacy. Relations between typicality and adjustment were stronger for gender-based relationship efficacy than for self-esteem or social preference. Although some differences existed, relations between typicality and adjustment were generally similar across typicality domains. Results implicate the need to measure other-gender typicality in addition to own-gender typicality. Additional contributions and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Family and Human Development 2015

abstract: In the face of what many scientists and cultural theorists are calling the Anthropocene, a new era characterized by catastrophic human impact on the planet’s geologic, atmospheric, and ecological makeup, Latin American writers, artists, and filmmakers today from various disciplinary and geographical positionalities are engaging in debates about how to respond ethically to this global crisis. From an interdisciplinary perspective that incorporates cutting-edge theories in multispecies ethnography, material ecocriticism, and queer ecology, this study examines multispecies relationships unfolding in three telescoping dimensions—corporealities, companions, and communities—in contemporary Latin American cultural production while uncovering indigenous and other-than-dominant epistemologies about human-nonhuman entanglements. I argue that contemporary cultural expression uncovers long, overlapping histories of social and environmental exploitation and resistance while casting the moment of encounter between individuals of different species as hopeful figurations of human-nonhuman flourishing beyond the Anthropocene. Instead of remaining hopelessly mired in the dire geographies of planetary decline, the works of Uruguayan writer Teresa Porzecanski, Mexican author Daniela Tarazona, Mexican textile sculptor Alejandra Zermeño, Argentine filmmaker Lucía Puenzo, Colombian installation artist María Fernanda Cardoso, Colombian poet Juan Carlos Galeano, Colombian graphic artist Solmi Angarita, and Brazilian poet Astrid Cabral dramatize a multitude of multispecies encounters to imagine the possibility of a better world—one that is already as close as our skin and as present as the nonhuman “others” that constitute our existence. These works imagine the human itself as a product of multispecies interactions through evolutionary time, multispecies companionships as formed around queer kinships, and biocultural communities as emerging through communicative, ethical encounters. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Spanish 2017

abstract: This dissertation examines gender differences in career advancement outcomes among academic science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) scientists. In particular, this research examines effects of gender, PhD advisors and postdoctoral supervisors mentoring resources and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads on the career advancement outcomes at early career stages. Female academic scientists have disadvantages in the career progress in the academic STEM. They tend to fall behind throughout their career paths and to leave the field compared to their male colleagues. Researchers have found that gender differences in the career advancement are shaped by gender-biased evaluations derived from gender stereotypes. Other studies demonstrate the positive impacts of mentoring and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads. To add greater insights to the current findings of female academic scientists’ career disadvantages, this dissertation investigates comprehensive effects of gender, mentoring, and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads on female scientists’ career advancement outcomes in academic science. Based on the Status Characteristics Theory, the concept of mentoring, Social Capital Theory, and Ingroup Bias Theory, causal path models are developed to test direct and indirect effects of gender, mentoring resources, and gender homophily on STEM faculty’s career advancement. The research models were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with data collected from a national survey, funded by the National Science Foundation, completed in 2011 by tenured and tenure-track academic STEM faculty from higher education institutions in the United States. Findings suggest that there is no gender difference in career advancement controlling for mentoring resources and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads and other factors including research productivity and domestic caregiving responsibilities. Findings also show that the positive relationship between gender homophily in mentoring dyads and the reception of the mentoring resources, especially regarding providing help on career development and research collaboration, lead to enhanced early stage career advancement. Insights from the findings contribute both to theoretical understandings of the overall effects of gender, mentoring, and gender homophily in the mentoring dyads on female academic scientists’ career advancement at early career stages and to provide evidence of positive effects of same-gender mentoring dyads to universities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Public Administration and Policy 2017

<p>ABSTRACT Background In the US, the incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer (PCa) are higher among African American men compared to European American men. Obesity is an important risk factor of PCa. Obesity is known to alter the gene expression profiles in prostate tumors. This study evaluates the impact of obesity and the expression of obesity-related genes on the progression of PCa in African American men. Methods The primary outcome of interest is biochemical recurrence (BCR) of PCa. There were 48 African American prostate cancer patients in the study. The tissue samples included 42 normal tissues, 40 Prostate Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN) and 45 tumor tissues (127 tissue samples in total). We assembled 99 obesity-related genes and determined the levels of their expression in the three types of tissue samples using Nanostring Technologies. An ANOVA test was used to compare the means for gene expression among normal, PIN and tumor tissue samples. Unconditional logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and their respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) to determine the association between obesity and BCR as well as gene expression and BCR. Results were regarded as statistically significant if p-values were less than 0.05. A Kaplan Meier Curve was constructed to depict the survival time and time to event (BCR) among obese and non-obese African American prostate cancer patients. Patients were followed up from the date of first surgery to the date of biochemical recurrence or date of last follow-up. Statistical analysis was done with SAS 9.4 software. Results Forty-three obesity-related genes were statistically significantly associated with biochemical recurrence. There was no association between obesity and biochemical recurrence (BCR) in obese African American men compared to non-obese African American men (OR= 2.03, 95% CI = 0.22 - 18.77, p-value= 0.53). Twenty genes showed an upward trend in gene expression among normal, PIN and tumor tissue samples including ADIPOR1, AKRIC4, ALOX12, ALOX15, CRYBB2, EIF5A, ERG, GNPDA2, HNF1B, HSD3B1, KLK4, LEP, MC4R, MTCH2, PCSK1, PIK3CB, SLC2A2, STAT1, SULT1A1, YY1. The probability of survival (not having BCR) is lower in obese African American men compared to non-obese African American men as indicted in the Kaplan Meier curve. In other words, the probability of developing BCR is higher in obese African American men compared to non-obese African American men. Conclusion We did not find a significant association between obesity and biochemical recurrence. However, we elucidated some obesity-related genes that could explain PCa carcinogenesis. Further studies are needed to determine functional significance of these selected obesity-related genes and the role they play in encouraging PCa progression in African American men.

<p> Culture and social norms influence sex roles and expression, according to previous studies. This leads to the research question of whether there a difference in sex-role characteristics and generational category among cisgender American adults from Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. A gap in the research about sex-role evolution in generational and cultural shifts provided an open opportunity for this investigation to strengthen the literature. Data collection without making any changes or introducing any treatments was employed, via quantitative non-experimental means, using survey methodology. The population consisted of cisgender American adults from Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. SurveyMonkey Audience was used to sample the population, through participant inclusion criteria outlined as being aged 18 to 50 years, a U.S. citizen, and identifying as cisgender, and able to read and understand English. The self-perceived sex-role characteristics of three generational groups (Generations X, Y, &amp; Z) were analyzed, employing a quantitative non-experimental design to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference between group means. Results concluded that a statistically significant difference was found for the interaction of generation and self-identified sex for both masculinity and femininity. Continuing research in this area will ensure that extending the body of knowledge of evolutionary psychology will enable the social support systems to allow for more flexibility in relation to socially dictated norms. Additionally, governing bodies, mental health workers, and medical professionals would benefit from more thorough and sensitive gender identity training.</p><p>

This thesis assesses the role conceptions of masculinity, more particularly hyper-masculinity play in male prisoners' strategies for coping with the challenges posed by a virtually unisexual prison environment. The study used eight autobiographies by former male prisoners who served sentences in either Canada or the United States in the last forty years. The findings were gathered using a qualitative three-stage coding process and were analyzed using masculinity theories. The results reveal that male prisoners use both hyper-masculine, violent coping strategies and non-violent strategies depending on the circumstances. Critical masculinity theory is better able to explain the violent strategies rather than the non-violent ones. This research is significant because it illuminates the impact of gender on male prisoners' lives and their abilities to cope with imprisonment. The results can be used to inform both treatment and policies regarding male prisoners' incarceration.