My aim in this study was to understand and explain the academic performance of married women students in higher education. The study was conducted on married women students who are studying at higher institutions in Nigeria. A mixed research method was used. The study population was drawn from two higher education institutions – a university and a college of education. Focus group conversations and interview protocol were used to gather qualitative data, while a questionnaire and the academic results of participants were used to gather quantitative data. Data were analysed using constant comparative approach – the reported stories that emanated from the conversations with the research participants; the deduced meanings from the interview protocol; and the statistical testing of the generated hypothesis via t-test statistics and Pearson product moment correlation. The findings include the readiness of women students to narrate their experiences, and the hindrances cultural practices impose on their academic performance, amongst other things. This study uniquely reveals that the academic performance of women students in higher education in Nigeria differs between married women students and single women students. However, some women students in this study were satisfied with their academic performance while others were not. They blamed their academic performance on several factors including cultural practices, marital status, financial constraint and so forth. Apart from women students in higher education who were not satisfied with their academic performance, all women students who formed the sample, including those who considered their academic performance to be satisfactory, complained about cultural practices and their effect on academic performance. Despite their complaints, however, the majority of the women student participants in this study, both married and single, continue to support cultural practices. They said that cultural practices, including the ones that are considered harmful to higher education for women and their academic performance, should not be eradicated or changed, as they maintain that these practices make women truly responsible. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Single women living in nineteenth- and twentieth-century America faced ever-changing, but constant, analyses of their lives. It seemed privacy was revoked when a woman chose to remain single in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, leaving them to be hyperaware and conscious of all other choices that they made in their lives. Not only was their business not theirs alone, but single women were often also defined by their lack of spouse, regardless of their accomplishments or fulfilled lives. Despite the full life that she led and ways in which her singleness allowed her to contribute to her family, friendships, and community, Julia Graydon Sharpe, a white, elite woman from Indianapolis, Indiana, was one of the many women whose legacy has been defined by her marital status. Sharpe was many things in her life: an artist and clubwoman being two of the most visible. However, it was her role as a sister, aunt, daughter, and friend that were the most fulfilling and important to her in her life as a single woman. An examination of what Sharpe saw as her defining roles within her immediate family and close friendships, as well as what coming from elite family afforded her, helps reveal the life she was able to lead and how she chose to present herself. The exploration of her many intimate roles also put into context how indispensable Sharpe’s commitment and contributions, albeit not monetary, were to her family and friends. Understanding these roles challenges the way we view the “spinsters” of the late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century.

Housing researchers are aware of the lower homeownership rates and other housing problems of single women but there is very little research focusing on single women homeowners or the characteristics of the housing they buy. Also, since a wide body of research can be found that examines determinants of homeownership for various population groups, the importance of this study was in its focus on single women homeowners and the characteristics of their housing rather than the determinants of ownership for this group. Using data from the 1993 American Housing Survey (AHS), the study sample consisted of 639 women homeowners who were either widowed, divorced, separated, or never-married, and who did not own their previous residence. The study's purpose was to construct a profile of single women home- owners that included a description of their demographic and housing characteristics, the means by which they acquired their homes, and the changes made in their housing when they became homeowners. Additionally, this study examined which demographic and previous housing characteristics of this group were related to the housing characteristics of their present homes. Descriptive results from this study suggested that single women homeowners are primarily middle aged without young children at home, earn moderate incomes, and that the largest proportion of them live in the South and metropolitan areas. When compared to homeowners in general, single women homeowners' homes cost less and represented a higher proportion of attached and mobile home units. The results also showed that single women used low-down payment financing instruments to a lesser degree than did all homeowners. Results from statistical analyses suggested that significant relationships exist between single women homeowners' housing characteristics, and a) their demographic characteristics, b) their previous housing characteristics, and c) their reasons for moving and selecting their current homes and neighborhoods. Another key finding was that single women homeowners of varying marital status differed in their present and previous housing characteristics and their reasons for selecting the current home. The results of this study support suggestions made by other researchers that examining differences not only by gender but also by the variations in marital status will help to clarify and add to the knowledge of housing and its relevance to populations of varying social composition. / Ph. D.

The main goal of this project is to achieve successful architecture regarding its creativity and authenticity. It is always the content, not the aesthetic, that forms the basis for the final evaluation of design. Thus, the main intention is to bring together -in a design- issues from three different circumstances: the 'present' situation -a personal view of femininity and women's permanency in dwelling, the 'past' cultural background -tradition in the "porteria" culture- and its evolution and the 'future' possible direction of society -the critical innovative thought through the project. The reaching of the 'concept' in the architecture makes a design authentic. "True architecture does not just agree with [essence] but also asserts the agreement." (Kaersten Harries, Representation and Re-presentation in Architecture, 1988). Ludwig Wittgenstein, an Austrian philosopher of the 1940's, defines architecture as the 'innovative critical thought' of a given situation summarized in a concept -idea, emotion, intention- which is translated and transformed into visual representation to be understood by the designer, and then communicated and shared with society."Remember the impression one gets from good architecture;that it expresses a thought "(Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1940's)The proposed approach concerns itself with the idea of un-veiling and re-vealing the hidden knowledge in the design actions that architects make in their search for realization. These actions are both conscious and unconscious, where accidents also occur allowing for the limitlessness characteristic of the design process. In this way, the objective of this journey of exploration is to find and visualize those steps that architects take while designing. The process of design is very rich in options and in alternatives. It is also rich in its detours and deviations. When all the stages are seen and visualized to the point of bringing them into the consciousness, the design in itself becomes richer and is taken to a further and more profound definition.The underlying ideas of the creative thesis is segmented into attitudes that give shape to the final project. Each attitude is a constituent concept of the end design. The blending and fusion of these diverse issues are perceptible in the final venture. These components begin appearing with the first attempt, evolve in the next various undertakings, and are finally intertwined in the last design."To explain howsbvctures come to hare specific designs[..) we must examine the design process. In particular, we mustidentify thegeneral causal factors (and their inteffeladonsfirp) that influence the decisions leadingto the designs for specific structures " (McGuire & Schiffer, 1938)The following is an enumeration of the attitudes or 'casual factors' that create the basis for the decisions taken along the design process. The basic foundation is the urbanity, the framework or system where the project takes place. This element comprises the urban context and the history of the place which eventually become the rules -the limits- set by the environment. The idea of dwelling also comes into play suggesting the need of permanency and the understanding of the concept of living and inhabiting a space. Next, the feminine component acts as a basis for reflections on femininity, where protection, subtlety and sensuality play important roles. This feminine attitude is carried not only thematically but also architecturally. Also, the culture is important in regards to tradition and contemporaneousness. The fact that the site is situated in Buenos Aires -Argentina- implies an understanding of its people and the values of its culture. Finally, the architectural component establishes personal beliefs toward architecture and the role of the architect in society along with the personal ability to realize the design. All these attitudes fuse together to become the final project: a house for a woman in Buenos Aires.In this way, the challenge is to work with and within the different limits and find the inherent freedom. "Architects are able to creatively play with these limitations and still achieve great responses to both their own intentions and today's society's needs" (previous research). This search carries various decisions regarding a balanced 'giving and taking', and a great deal of creativity. Certainly, it is in the creative 'way-finding' that architecture can express itself most gracefully and truthful. In conclusion, in this project there are limits regarding the contextual issues, rules and norms (urbanity), society's needs and beliefs (women issues), cultural constraints (tradition) and the architect's social responsibilities. In spite of these limitations and thanks to them, the intention is to 'seek for a solution' manipulating and creatively handling these limitations to achieve an architectural artifact. / Department of Architecture

Orientador: Adriana Piscitelli / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciencias Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T08:17:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Goncalves_Eliane_D.pdf: 2077207 bytes, checksum: 08c1e86e9f9f60f2f8362ba4564c2271 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Nesta tese exploro como são construídas as noções de ¿mulheres sós¿ no Brasil contemporâneo a partir de três contextos distintos: estudos de população, textos da mídia brasileira e narrativas de mulheres de camadas médias, sem filhos, que moram sozinhas na cidade de Goiânia. Nos estudos de população, mulheres que moram sós são contempladas nas discussões sobre os ¿novos arranjos familiares¿ e na tendência de crescimento progressivo do número de pessoas morando sozinhas (¿domicílios unipessoais¿) observada a partir dos anos 1970. A mídia coloca em ¿evidência¿ o alto número de ¿solitárias¿ nas metrópoles brasileiras e chama a atenção para o estilo de vida das ¿novas solteiras¿, consideradas um fenômeno mundial. O debate ganha relevância nas ciências sociaisbrasileiras e assume uma dimensão de notícia em um processo no qual morar sozinha é freqüentemente associado à idéia de estar ¿solteira¿, compreendida enquanto ausência de vínculos amorosos e sexuais e, conseqüentemente, traduzido como ¿solidão¿. Várias noções atribuídas às mulheres ¿sós¿ nos distintos contextos remetem a algumas idéias proclamadas pelo feminismo, sendo a educação e o trabalho qualificado e remunerado percebidos como centrais à autonomia das mulheres. A partir de algumas terminologias recorrentes nos recortes considerados ¿ ¿nova mulher¿, mulher ¿independente¿, ¿livre¿ e ¿autônoma¿, etc. ¿, proponho uma reflexão sobre as possíveis conexões entre a produção da noção da ¿mulher só¿ e algumas noções centrais do ideário feminista / Abstract: In this thesis, I explore how contemporary notions of ¿single women¿ are constructed in three different contexts: Population studies (Demography), the Brazilian media, and the narratives of middle class childless women living alone in the city of Goiânia. In population studies, women living alone are considered in the discussion of ¿new families¿ and the increasing number of ¿single person households¿ observed beginning in the 1970s. The media emphasizes the ¿evidence¿ of the high proportion of ¿single¿ women in Brazilian metropolitan areas, drawing attention to their ways of life, in what is seen as a worldwide phenomenon. The debate becomes relevant in the Brazilian social sciences and draws the attention of the news in a process in which living alone is often associated with the idea of being single (unmarried), understood as the absence of partnership and sexual life, and therefore translated as ¿loneliness¿. Several notions attributed to single women in the three different contexts resonate with ideas proclaimed by feminism, where education and professional and paid work are perceived as central to the autonomy of women. Regarding recurrent terminologies such as the ¿new woman¿, ¿independent¿ woman, ¿free¿ and ¿autonomous¿, etc, I question the potential connections between the production of the notion of the ¿single woman¿ and key ideas in feminist thinking / Doutorado / Ciencias Sociais / Doutor em Ciências Sociais

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:30:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Mariana Serafim Xavier Antunes.pdf: 1659688 bytes, checksum: bfcc9291d345c32bd0290874905a462c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-21 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This dissertation addresses the disclosure of a supposed itinerary of female single life conjectured by the production of a discourse, broadcast in mass communication media on a new social character: the new single female . Apparently, the notions about this new single female can build a political identity seeking recognition of new meanings to the character, who is then promoted as the protagonist of contemporary social changes. In a context of pluralism, it also seems to substantiate a process of social individualization. Interests linked to this proposed cultural enhancement, when based on instrumental purposes, may trigger greater disparities to access and participate in social, economic and cultural benefits, and highlight unequal relationships already established among social actors. In these cases, the restoration of the single female character seems to distance itself from the notion of an identity proposal of autonomous character. Contrarily, it is designed as an option among excluding and discriminatory choice possibilities. Thus, this research seeks to understand the reasons and directions laid out by these women regarding their life projects. This study is proposed within the field of Critical Social Psychology, in which we aim at covering, in the light of the sintagm Identity-Metamorphosis-Emancipation, potential pitfalls that such itinerary may give an emancipatory utopia. Moreover, we seek to recognize in lifestories the movements to overcome the restrictive conditions identified through a historical context that, in turn, provided us with information to discuss the possibility to strengthen the autonomy of women nowadays / Esta dissertação aborda a divulgação de um suposto itinerário da vida de solteira, conjecturado por meio da produção de um discurso, veiculado nos meios de comunicação de massa, sobre uma nova personagem social: a nova solteira . Aparentemente, as noções a respeito desta nova solteira podem compor uma política identitária que busca o reconhecimento de novos sentidos à personagem que é, então, promovida como protagonista das mudanças sociais contemporâneas. Num contexto de pluralismo, parece também substanciar um processo de individualização social. Os interesses vinculados a essa proposta de valoração cultural, quando baseada em propósitos instrumentais, podem fomentar maiores disparidades de acesso e participação aos bens sociais, econômicos e culturais, além de acentuar as relações de desigualdade já instituídas entre os atores sociais. Nestes casos, a reposição da personagem solteira parece se distanciar do sentido de uma proposta identitária de caráter autônomo, mas se configura como uma opção dentre possibilidades de escolha excludentes e discriminatórias. Deste modo, esta pesquisa busca compreender as razões e os sentidos dispostos por estas mulheres para seus projetos de vida. Este estudo é proposto dentro do campo da Psicologia Social Crítica, em que procuramos abarcar, à luz do sintagma Identidade-Metamorfose-Emancipação, as possíveis armadilhas que tal itinerário pode conferir a uma utopia emancipatória. Além disso, buscamos identificar, em histórias de vida, movimentos de superação das condições restritivas, identificadas por intermédio de uma contextualização histórica que, por sua vez, nos forneceu elementos para discutir a possibilidade de fortalecimento da autonomia feminina nos dias atuais

This is an exploratory study that seeks to establish the extent to which traditional theologies on 'imago Dei' may contribute to the vulnerability of Catholic single women to HIV and AIDS. It employs a feminist framework of study to critically analyse how androcentric theologies on imago Dei informed by the Greek philosophies of Plato and Aristotle and advanced by the Church fathers do contribute to the dehumanisation of women. Argued in this study, is that these teachings could be responsible for single women‟s vulnerability in the context of HIV and AIDS. Following extensive research done on women, HIV and AIDS, this study also presents cultural, social, economic and religious factors as players in women‟s susceptibility to HIV and AIDS. However, in a unique and particular way, this study seeks and presents a possible connection between the Catholic Church‟s teachings on imago Dei and the vulnerability of Catholic single women to HIV and AIDS. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

No description available.

Text in Afrikaans / Die effek van die klient-verpleegkundige-verhoudings op kliente se keuse en volgehoue gebruik van kontraseptiewe metodes het tot op hede baie min aandag geniet. Die doel van hierdie studie was 'n ondersoek na die ongetroude klient se persepsie van die verpleegkundige se houding. Die steekproef het bestaan uit 99 kliente (tussen die ouderdomme van 15 en 50 jaar) wat die betrokke reproduktiewegesondheidsklinieke in die Kaapse Metropool besoek het. Die eerste 20 kliente wat die kliniek besoek het, is genader om 'n vraelys in te vul. Hierdie studie toon 'n algehele positiwiteit, naamlik 58,3% teenoor die houding van geregistreerde verpleegkundiges. Die meerderheid van die kliente (88,0%) het aangedui dat hulle weer die kliniek sal besoek wat dus die kliente se tevredenheid toon. / The effect of the client-registered nurse relationship on clients' choice and continuous use of contraceptive methods has until now received very little attention. The purpose of this study was to explore unmarried clients' perception of the attitude of the registered nurse. The sample existed of 99 clients (between the ages of 15 and 50 years) who visited the relevant reproductive health clinics in the Cape Metropole. The first 20 clients who visited the clinic were approached to complete a questionnaire. This study shows an overall positivity of 58,3% with regard to the attitude of registered nurses. Most of the clients (88,0%) indicated that they would visit the clinic again, which indicate their satisfaction. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

This purpose of this study is to incorporate women into the history of homelessness. Women's experience is missing from the narrative of industrial era homelessness, which causes researchers to make a distinction between the modem day homeless population and its predecessors. This distinction prevents researchers from examining the long term structural causes of homelessness and analyzing the role homelessness plays in U.S. society. This study explores the population characteristics and living conditions of three groups of women who were considered homeless during the early decades of the twentieth century in Portland. These groups include single working women who lived away from their family, prostitutes, and single mothers. This study also traces the development of charitable institutions and social welfare programs that arose to meet the needs of homeless women during this era and examines the relationships between homeless women and the reformers and charities that took up their cause. The inclusion of women's experience into the history of early twentieth century homelessness necessitates a broadened definition of the homeless phenomenon. Women's homelessness during this era was both defined and determined by their family situation. Women who lived outside of the patriarchal family were considered homeless and suffered economic hardship because of their non-traditional living arrangements. Incorporating an analysis of home back into homelessness will result in non-gendered policy implications. Labor market remedies and affordable housing solutions are still needed, but changes to the structure of the household economy are also called for. The unpaid labor women traditionally perform must be socially and economically valued and the sexual division of labor within the home needs to be challenged.