<p>The central question in this research asks why some women do "men's work." The literature suggests two basic approaches: according to the demand approach, women are placed in certain jobs because of employment practices; according to the supply approach women are inclined to look for certain kinds of work. The supply explanation suggests that the socialization of a woman influences her work motivation and the kinds of work she will consider for employment. Our research focus is on such supply factors. Our general hypothesis is that women who enter non-traditional occupations will have had non-traditional socialization experiences; women who enter traditional occupations will have had traditional socialization experiences. Specific hypotheses are developed to capture the influence of the family and, in particular, the role of a working mother on the work behavior of the daughter.</p> <p>To test our hypotheses a sample of 111 women was drawn. Our aim was to select both a traditional and nontraditional occupation in professional and non-professional categories. Two occupations were chosen--elementary school teachers and registered nursing assistants--and defined as traditional areas of female employment. Two occupations--pharmacists and policewomen--had a small number of women employed and they were titled non-traditional female occupational areas of employment. The quantitative and qualitative data gathered through interviews are used to test specific hypotheses and explore patterns within each hypothesis. The data are presented in three chapters: the influence of the family of origin, the effect of education and school experiences and the importance of the work environment and conjugal family on the work behavior of women in traditional and non-traditional occupations.</p> <p> The research shows that the socialization experiences within the family of origin reveal no significant difference between women who selected traditional occupations and those who selected non--traditional employment. In fact, almost all of the women in our sample, in all occupations, expressed traditional values regarding work and home. However, the research did find that socialization experiences are important in providing more general occupational orientations which directed the women toward either "professional" goals or "work" goals. Moreover, social class variables were more important in determining these occupational orientations than were the hypothesized sex-role variables.</p> <p>As well, the women's attitudes regarding school were largely a function of their socialization experiences in the home. Professional women placed a high evaluation on schooling and were more likely to report that they had done well in school. This was rarely the case for the non-professional woman. For women who had acquired professional aspirations, academic performance seems to have been an important factor in their occupational choice. The women who did not aspire to careers and who therefore did not view formal education as an important occupational route seem to have been most vulnerable to the vagaries of chance. The most important factor in their occupational choice appears to have been the influence of close informal work contacts.</p> <p>With respect to their experiences at work, women in non-traditional occupations were more likely to report that they had experienced sexual discrimination than were women in traditional occupations. However, the data suggest that such perceptions may reflect a greater consciousness of a "minority status" than actual discrimination. Almost all of the married women in our sample were concerned about the potentially conflicting demands of family and work. However, professional women seem to have the greatest number of alternatives in dealing with these demands. The problems are greatest for those women who work because they need the money and who work in occupations which are inflexible. </p> <p>The central theme of the data suggests clearly that women's early socialization experiences are important in the development of professional or job orientations but less important in the selection of a traditional or nontraditional occupation. In the most general terms, the research suggests that supply factors are important in constraining women's occupational behavior. However, the data also lead us to believe that as more male dominated occupations are ''opened up" to women, there will be women-even traditional women--to take the positions.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This was a study of the personal apparel and clothing interest of Virginia Polytechnic Institute male professors in regard to their class size, academic rank, college affiliation, and age. Data were obtained by use of mailed questionnaires completed by 440 men who were age twenty-five years or older and had taught at least one year. Each participant was classified as: (1) leader of large or small classes; (2) full professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor; (3) member of one of the four Colleges of Agriculture, Architecture and Arts and Sciences, Business, or Engineering; (4) and member of one of three age categories. Chi square was used to test for significant differences among classifications. Principal findings were: (1) Differences between college affiliation of respondents and their clothing behavior were significant. The agricultural faculty was most likely to wear one or two average priced suits, short sleeved broadcloth shirts, solid colored ties, and no vests; members of the combined Colleges of Architecture and Arts and Sciences were most inclined to grow beards and mustaches, and wear cuffless trousers, contrasting vests, and oxford cloth shirts; architects were most likely to always wear trousers with tweed or corduroy sportcoats, bow ties, calf length socks, and to have high clothing interest; natural scientists had the greatest tendency to wear ankle length socks, and a sweater or open neck shirt with trousers; business teachers were most likely to have three or more high priced suits with matching vests for classroom wear, to leave their jackets on in class and wear medium length socks; engineers were most inclined to make a major clothing purchase less than once a year, pay the lowest suit prices, remove jackets in class, have cuffed trousers, and wear ties daily. (2) Leaders of large groups had a greater tendency to wear long sleeved shirts regardless of weather. (3) Age and rank were similarly related to apparel: the oldest men had about the same practices as full professors. Faculty members age fifty years or older had the greatest tendency to wear suits and have three or more for school; cuffed trousers with waistline pleats; white broadcloth shirts with long sleeves and plain, pointed collars; wing tip or plain, laced shoes cleaned as needed; solid colored ties, and tweed and corduroy sportcoats. The youngest respondents were most likely to wear shirts or sweaters with trousers; turtleneck or colored oxford cloth shirts with buttondown collars, short sleeves, and open necks; loafer type shoes; empty breast pockets; beards; cuffless trousers with a smooth waist; vests; a variety of jacket fabrics; club or striped ties; and jackets removed in class. Respondents in the middle years were in a period of transition between extremes of older and younger men. / M. S.

Men’s magazines is a form of media that has been present and popular among men for decades and even centuries. In the beginning of 1990 the popularity for men’s magazines boosted as the new ideal man was presented. The new lad represented a new masculinity that was more honest about its ideals and point of views. Media is being consumed in order to find an identity of self and be able to partake in a group culture. The purpose of this study is to analyze the content of men’s magazines and put that in relation to the male consumer’s homosocial quest for male identity and fellowship. The study analyzes American Playboy magazines of three decades being 1990s, 2000 and 2010. The method of the study is discourse theory and semiotic theory. Discourses describe how people discuss and comprehend their surrounding world through cultures within social group formations. The semiotic theory refers to the study of the meaning that is being created by people in different contexts. The theory being used in the analysis of the content in Playboy is the homosocial theory. Homosocial theory is based on the notion that men have a need of identification and to be a part of a group consisting of other men in a joint male culture. Through the analysis of the content of Playboy the study has come to the conclusion that there is a common pattern in Playboy that presents a homosocial male culture. By consuming the magazine, the man partakes in the male fantasy world that is presented in Playboy. The study also showa that Playboy preserves an ideal man that is a sophisticated gentleman. This culture has flourished over 60 years and shows no signs of dying off.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio State University, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-95).

Research has shown that meaning in life is a universal human need, regardless of cultural identity or education. This research study investigated how the encounter with prostate cancer impacted men's sense of well-being and what they considered meaningful in life. An interpretative phenomenological research design was used because of its descriptive nature and its focus on the individual's perspective. The sample included 6 men between the ages of 18 and 65 who had been out of treatment for 1 year. Participants completed essays about their perceptions and experiences over 3 periods of time: before diagnosis, during treatment, and as survivors. The analysis concentrated on exploring participants' perceptions; identifying themes, commonalities and discrepancies in the data; and drawing comparisons between participants' definitions for meaning in life with the meaning making model of Park and Folkman. Study results addressed issues including a lack of information about side effects and the depth of the mental and emotional toll taken not only on the patients but also on people around them. Social change implications include the importance of (a) educating men with prostate cancer about the mental and physical health challenges they may face as they undergo treatment; (b) encouraging them to reach out for support (including professional services) should they encounter psychological difficulties over the course of dealing with their illness; and, (c) providing them with opportunities to speak about the mental, emotional, physical, and relational challenges they have faced and may still be facing in their lives as a consequence of the disease and its associated treatments.

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No description available.

‘Sexuality, Identity and the Clothed Male Body’ is a PhD by Published Work that draws together a collective body of work that deals specifically and significantly with the dressed male body. This thesis presents a case for the collection of publications included in the submission to be viewed as a coherent body of work which makes a contribution to knowledge in the fields of fashion studies and cultural studies, in which the works are situated. The body of work consists of two monographs - Don We Now Our Gay Apparel: Gay Men’s Dress in the Twentieth Century (Berg, 2000), and The Story of Men’s Underwear (Parkstone International Press, 2010) - and two chapters in edited books - ‘Butch Queens in Macho Drag: Gay Men, Dress and Subcultural Identity’ (2008) and ‘Hair and Male (Homo)Sexuality: Up-Top and Down Below’ (2008). Through an examination of the major themes addressed throughout the submitted body of work – sexuality, identity, subcultural formation, men’s dress and masculinities and clothes and the body - this thesis demonstrates that the published work contributes to knowledge through its two major foci. Firstly, the means by which gay men have utilised their dressed bodies as a situated and embodying practice to articulate identity, masculinity, and social and sexual interaction, and secondly an examination of men’s underwear’s specific function in the covering, exposing and representation of men’s bodies. These were, until recently, relatively neglected areas of fashion studies and dress history, and by explicitly bringing together these areas to present a comprehensive investigation this thesis serves to provide a new contribution to knowledge in these areas. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, that is common in both fashion studies and cultural studies, the specific combination of research methods that is employed throughout the body of work, has provided a unifying element that further enhances this contribution to knowledge.

The UK market in fashion retailing is recognised as being the most concentrated in the world and companies in this sector are constantly striving to improve their market share and profitability. To do this requires a strong market position, which is developed, maintained and communicated to the target customer. This thesis explores the key issues of consumer and retailer perspectives of store positioning, how customers and retail employees perceive this image; and how image variables can be manipulated to defend or enhance market positioning. It concludes by developing a framework to indicate how image can be strategically managed. The literature review commences by setting out the historical perspective of the study of consumer behaviour and discusses a number of models, which aim to explain shopper attitude towards store and product selection. It moves on to investigate the attributes contributing to store image perception and to explore a number of methods of measuring store image. Past and current trends in retailing are examined and marketing strategies in the formation of retail image are discussed. The methodological pluralism used to obtain, generate and analyse data, is justified and results from four separate research phases. The exploratory research phase utilised qualitative methods to identify factors contributing towards store choice. In the second phase a multi-attribute model was applied to data to measure consumer and retail staff perception of store image. Furthermore, the congruence of customer and employee perception was evaluated. The third phase considered how con'sumers make store choice decisions by trading off attributes and allowed segmentation of sub-groups of customers with similar purchasing characteristics. The fourth phase used an interpretative approach to understand and compare key marketing strategies for two retailers. The conclusion highlights the issues that retailers have to manage in a fragmented market of consumers with high expectations of product quality, customer service and store environment. The research identifies that store choice factors vary not only between sectors but also significantly within sectors and shows product quality to be the prime factor. In addition, employee store image perception is acknowledged to be a useful indicator of customer purchase intention and the research emphasises the importance of companies having an organisational culture, which nurtures employee attitudes, motivation and skills to anticipate consumer behaviour and to provide quality service.