In many sport associations, regardless of level, women and men rarely practice together. Previous studies indicate that work groups are generally more efficient when there is an even distribution between the sexes. Could that also be the case in sports? This study aims to investigate whether the sex composition of a training group affects the effort and performance of the participants. Eleven volunteers participated in the crossover study consisting of three different 150-meter sprint conditions; individually, single-sex group and mixed-sex group. Sprint times, heart rate and RPE were recorded during all three trials. The result of this study suggests that there might be practical benefits in regards to physical performance and effort to exercise in a training group consisting of both sexes instead of training only with the same-sex or individually. The understanding could be useful in areas such as; training optimisation for both athletes and in patient- and rehabilitation groups, increasing efficiency in work environments, in schools and sports clubs striving for both athletic success and gender equality.

Mixade vårdsalar, det vill säga där man blandar män och kvinnor, är något som förkommer på sjukhusen runt om i landet och bör uppmärksammas utifrån patientens perspektiv då denne är i beroendeställning av sjukvården och dess vårdmiljö. Det blir allt vanligare att sjukhusen idag har mixade vårdsalar, detta oftast på grund av tids- och platsbrist. Studiens syfte var att beskriva patienters upplevelser av att vårdas på mixad vårdsal på en akut sjukvårdsavdelning inom nedre kirurgi. Studien var kvalitativ med fenomenologisk ansats. En intervjustudie med femton patienter som hade vårdats på mixad vårdsal genomfördes och i resultatet framkom att majoriteten av patienterna upplevde det positivt att vårdas på mixad vårdsal. Patienterna upplevde en bättre stämning, mjukare jargong och en lugnare atmosfär. Det visade sig också att några inte hade reflekterat över den mixade vårdsalen. De menade att det var någonting helt normalt och att alla strävade mot samma mål, att bli friska. Dock var det några få som kände sig chockade av upplevelsen och upplevde det som integritetskränkande. Sammanfattningsvis påvisade studiens resultat att mixade vårdsalar sågs som en positiv upplevelse och något som flera patienter kunde tänka sig i fortsättningen. / Mixed sex-wards, where you mix men and women, occur in hospitals around Sweden and should be recognized by the patient´s perspective when they are in a position of the medical and healthcare environment. Today it is becoming increasingly common for hospitals to have mixed sex-wards, this is usually because the lack of time and space. The study's purpose was to describe patients' experiences of care in a mixed sex-ward on an acute medical department of the lower surgery. The study was qualitative with a phenomenological approach. An interview study with fifthteen patients who had been cared for in a mixed sex-ward was conducted. The result showed that most patients felt positive when cared for in mixed sex ward. It turned out that they experienced a better atmosphere, softer jargon and a calmer ambience. It also emerged that some had not reflected on the mixed sex ward. They argued that there was something quite normal and that all patients towards the same goal, to get well. However, it was a few who felt traumatized by the experience and felt a violation of integrity. In conclusion, the study´s results showed that the mixed sex-wards were seen as a positive experience and something that many patients would consider in the future.

This thesis examines the gender-subversive potential of mixed-sex martial arts. The research problem takes its significance from the well-documented linkages drawn within feminist research between combat sports and hierarchal gender differentiation. It is posited that from a feminist perspective, gender-subversive physical practices are desirable because they instigate a shift towards fairer and freer bodily discourse, and as such they are deserving of critical academic attention. Furthermore, sex-integrated sports have the potential to lead participants towards embodying and propagating such subversive gender discourses, and when these changes take place within highly masculinised activities such as combat sports, the significance of this subversion is amplified. While existing literature has addressed these themes with reference to women s participation in these kinds of activities, there is a relative paucity of sociological work explicitly examining mixed-sex participation, which this thesis is intended to redress. Using semi-structured interviewing, qualitative data were gathered from a group of male and female martial artists across the English East Midlands. The interviews were transcribed and then subjected to discourse analysis. Findings suggested that mixed-sex martial arts does involve gender subversion but that the practice also remains structured by dominant, hierarchal gender discourse in several significant ways. It is therefore suggested that mixed-sex training can present the possibility of gender subversion under particular conditions, such as: martial arts being accessible to both men and women at multiple levels of participation; a normalised presence of women, particularly at higher levels such as being coaches and competitors; participants coming to share an identity as martial artists which is irrespective of sexual difference; and ultimately training being integrated as much as possible, particularly with regard to the more intensely physical, combative aspects, such as sparring. The participants indicated that under these conditions they were able to conceive of and practice their gender differently, in ways which portrayed little or no hierarchal distinction between the sexes, and as such is considered subversive . Following these findings, the thesis ultimately concludes with a brief outline of some recommendations for good practice in martial arts clubs. In this way, the thesis contributes towards feminist understandings of the body and of physical culture, by highlighting one possible way in which to conceive of the sexed body differently from the prevailing norms of hierarchal sexual differentiation.

This doctoral thesis consists of four papers. Strategic behavior across gender: A comparison of female and male expert chess players analyzes gender differences in risk behavior in chess. We use a panel data set with 1.4 million games. Most notably, the data contains an objective measure of individual playing skill. We find that women are more risk averse and that men choose riskier strategies when playing against female opponents even though this reduces their winning probability. Gender differences in time preference and inconsistency among expert chess players presents findings on gender differences in time preference and inconsistency in chess. Impatience is estimated by measuring preferences for game durations while inconsistency by exploiting the 40th move time control. The results reveal that men are more impatient while women are more time inconsistent. Moreover, the difference in impatience increases with expertise while the difference in inconsistency decreases. Beauty queens and battling knights: Risk taking and attractiveness in chess explores the relationship between attractiveness and risk taking in chess. We examine whether people use riskier strategies when playing with attractive opponents and whether this affects performance. Our results suggest that male, but not female, chess players choose significantly riskier strategies when playing against an attractive female opponent, although this does not improve their performance. Strategic Learning in Repeated Chess Games, examines if chess players in repeated games with the same opponent, learn about the opponent’s type and adapt future strategies accordingly. It also shows how matching background characteristics affect the choice of strategy. The findings show that chess players learn about the opponent’s type. Players with similar background characteristics coordinate better than players of different gender or nationality but this difference decreases as the players update their beliefs. / At the time of doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows:Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.

<p>In this essay, I have investigated whether players of World of Warcraft change their language to suit the gender of the character they play. I have researched if there are gender differences that correspond to what is defined as male and female language in mixed-sex conversations. Chat-logs, collected during four participant observations, were used for making an analysis based primarily on research by Coates (1993) and Yale (2007). Seven features were selected for analysis: amount of participation, hedges, questions, directives and commands, taboo language, compliments and grammar. It was possible to discover gender differences, but these were not consistent in all areas of research. For example, female characters had a higher contribution than males, as well as a higher use of hedges and tag-questions among males, which contradicts previous research. The lack of consistency might be due to the fact that the participants do not specifically consider all areas as typically female or male, or their unawareness of these tendencies. We also need to consider disagreement in previous gender studies as well as folklinguistic belief. The explanation of the lack of consistent differences may be a more equal relationship between males and females in this context, or due to thepossibility that the participants, who are usually male, make use of their normal male language.</p>

In this essay, I have investigated whether players of World of Warcraft change their language to suit the gender of the character they play. I have researched if there are gender differences that correspond to what is defined as male and female language in mixed-sex conversations. Chat-logs, collected during four participant observations, were used for making an analysis based primarily on research by Coates (1993) and Yale (2007). Seven features were selected for analysis: amount of participation, hedges, questions, directives and commands, taboo language, compliments and grammar. It was possible to discover gender differences, but these were not consistent in all areas of research. For example, female characters had a higher contribution than males, as well as a higher use of hedges and tag-questions among males, which contradicts previous research. The lack of consistency might be due to the fact that the participants do not specifically consider all areas as typically female or male, or their unawareness of these tendencies. We also need to consider disagreement in previous gender studies as well as folklinguistic belief. The explanation of the lack of consistent differences may be a more equal relationship between males and females in this context, or due to thepossibility that the participants, who are usually male, make use of their normal male language.

The study aimed to analyze females and males in mixed-sex conversations and same-sex conversations using cooperative speech, competitive speech, interruptions, and similarities and differences in their communication styles in the Tv series modern family. Men and women are said to use different speech styles regarding cooperative, competitive, and interruptions. I used three conversations taken from Season 1 Episode 24, Family Portrait, for mixed-sex conversations in my analysis. I also used three same-sex discussions taken from Season 3, Episode 5, Hit and Run, and Season 1, Episode 11, Up all night. The result shows similarities in both same-sex and mixed-sex conversations regarding women’s use of cooperative speech styles and men’s use of competitive speech styles and interruptions. However, my study found differences regarding women in mixed-sex and Same-sex conversations when it comes to interruptions. Women interrupt in mixed-sex discussions and not in same-sex discussions. Therefore, my analysis of the series modern family is in line with previous research on gender and language.

Intimate relationships function not in isolation, but within a broader social network and social environment, in which the opinions and actions of close network members can play a role in how a relationship develops. The current study investigated how perceiving support for one’s relationship (including same-sex and mixed-sex relationships) from friends and family is associated with not only relationship well-being, but also the mental and physical health of the individuals within the relationship. After establishing that social support specifically for a relationship was indeed a separate and unique construct as compared to more general social support for an individual, the study tested a hypothesized model using structural equation modeling, finding evidence for a model in which the association between support for a relationship and the health outcomes for an individual is fully mediated by relationship well-being. Relationship type (i.e., same-sex versus mixed-sex) was not a significant moderator, indicating that regardless of relationship type, individuals who perceive more support for their relationship are also more likely to report greater relationship satisfaction and better mental and physical health. Furthermore, participants provided data up to three times over a period of three years, allowing for an examination of how social support for a relationship functions as a predictor of relationship well-being and health outcomes over time. Perceived social support for a relationship at Time 1 was found to be a significant predictor of the rate of relationship dissolution over the course of the study as well as relational and health outcomes at later points in time. With respect to the source of support for the relationship, evidence was found that support from parents and friends both have associations with relationship outcomes, but these findings were inconsistent across analyses with support from parents having stronger associations in some analyses and support from friends having stronger associations in others. Reasons for these discrepancies are discussed, as well as theoretical implications concerning the role that perceived social support for relationships plays in the prediction of relationship well-being and mental and physical health. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-29 21:04:59.381

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