Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1951, Educational Administration and Supervision

Committee: Ralph L. Beck (Advisor) Subjects: Education

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2017, English

Many scholars have investigated the bed trick and its significance within the context of gender and sexuality in two of Shakespeare's plays, All's Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure. Yet, I contend that an analysis and discussion of the physical bed is as important as the trick itself. Just as the trick has brought about important discussions relating to men's and women's sexual experiences in the early modern era, an examination of the physical bed and Helena's and Mariana's return thereto, illuminates the different yet equally important issues surrounding early modern women's marital property. In this thesis, I will demonstrate that despite restrictive and limiting coverture laws of the time, both plays indicate that early modern married women were experiencing more autonomy over their own persons and possessed more rights to property than is often associated with or discussed in relation to the early modern era.

Committee: Cynthia Klestinec Dr. (Committee Chair); Gillespie Katharine Dr. (Committee Member); Bromley James Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: British and Irish Literature; History; Law; Literature; Religion

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1970, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Sociology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2014, Leadership and Change

Wadla Woreda is located in North Wollo Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia. The woreda is predominantly agrarian and the population produces mainly subsistence food crops with small amounts of cash crops. Access to basic social and economic services such as health, education, and employment for rural communities is limited due to poor development of rural infrastructure. Wadla is one of the food insecure woredas in the region. As a result some of the people are internally displaced and a portion of the population is included in safety-net programs. The Wadla Woreda is prone to famine due to severe droughts, soil degradation, primitive modes of production, religious and cultural attitudes toward work, and bad governance. Due to male domination, women are victims of social discrimination, gender-based violence, and other socio-economic barriers. In the woreda women have limited access to resources. Their employment rate and representation in local government are low. Their economic status is marginal. At times, their income generation is negative, meaning their returns are less than what they invested, leading them into absolute poverty. To redress existing economic problems and tendencies in relation to women, there are some initiatives organizing women in the woreda into groups and clusters so they can better tackle poverty themselves. The purpose of the study is to add empirical evidence to existing knowledge on Income Generating Activities (IGA) by identifying opportunities for women in the woreda and by sharing success stories of women's advancement while also identifying barriers. It is hoped that the results of this study will provide information to concerned stakeholders for scaling up IGAs and for enhanced social mobilization. The dissertation builds upon an earlier project I conducted that included income generating activities and advancement among the women. In this follow-up research study a qualitative methodology is used based on case study interviews (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Philomena Essed Ph.D (Committee Chair); Laura Morgan Roberts Ph.D (Committee Member); Norma Romm Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Area Planning and Development; Economics; Finance; Gender Studies; Womens Studies

Master of Science, Miami University, 2008, Family and Child Studies

Holding unrealistic expectations is a significant risk factor for marital distress and divorce. Further exploration concerning these unrealistic expectations will provide greater understanding of which marital expectations are detrimental and how married individuals cope when their expectations go unfulfilled. Participants were 10 married women who had never been divorced or separated. In-depth interviews were used to explore participants' descriptions of marital expectations, what expectations they identified as harmful and helpful and the ways they handled unmet marital expectations. An inductive approach to data analysis was employed. Data analysis resulted in the identification of multiple themes: Everything Happy, A Companion for Life, You Are Never Going to Have Perfection, Understanding We're Normal, Expect to Work through it: Adjusting and Accepting, and Staying Connected through Communication. These findings demonstrate that initial martial expectations can be adapted to become more realistic through communication, acceptance, and willingness to adjust one's marital expectations.

Committee: M. Elise Radina PhD (Committee Chair); Charles Hennon PhD (Committee Member); Katherine Kuvalanka PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life

Master of Science, Miami University, 2005, Physical Education, Health, and Sport Studies

This paper reports on the meanings of leisure for seven later-life, never-married, childless women. The study is qualitative, using semi-structured, open-ended interviews to explore the meanings and perceptions of leisure for this group of women living in the same Midwestern city. Interview data were analyzed via analytic coding (Lofland & Lofland, 1995). Analysis of the interviews indicated that the women varied in their experiences of being single and never having children. That is, the contexts of these women's lives and leisure differed and shaped how they participated in leisure. Further, these women reported that leisure held a variety of meanings for them including self worth, nurturance, challenge, that which is not required, time away/escape, and constraint. Most striking in the results is that the meanings of leisure for later-life, never-married, childless women is not that different from the meanings of leisure for ever-married (i.e., currently married, divorced, or widowed) women. The implications of these findings for future research and practice, as well as study limitations, are also discussed.

Committee: Valeria Freysinger (Advisor) Subjects: Women's Studies