Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, Political Science

My dissertation uses the case of women in the Bundestag (Germany's lower legislative house) to foreground the tension between liberal democratic conceptions of political representation and identity-based representation. Unlike previous research, which has focused on establishing that female legislators advocate for women at greater rates than their male colleagues, I focus on variation among women. I show that party affiliation's contribution to the variation among female legislators' attention to women's interests is not as strong as previous research has found, once we account for parties' varying conceptions of what these interests are. Instead, several social markers in the German context (motherhood and marriage) as well as generational differences (in the form of cohort effects) distinguish among female legislators and contribute to understanding who will be more likely to advocate for women. In establishing this argument, I use material from interviews with 54 female and male members of the Bundestag and biographical information about the 340 women in the Bundestag between 1998-2009, as well as original content analyses of party platforms and parliamentary debate transcripts from three legislative terms (composed of 360 speeches across 40 debates, addressing 21 laws, spanning 1998-2008).

Committee: Goldie A Shabad PhD (Committee Chair); Pamela M Paxton PhD (Committee Member); Richard P Gunther PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2023, Film Studies (Fine Arts)

This project introduces a new reading of Iran's national cinema. This work will cover the films of three different women directors—each with their own cinematic signature—who have been consistently active in Iran in recent years(from 2002 until the present). However, if we consider these directors as a group, do they offer a single perspective? Or is that impossible to assume? Although they are influential filmmakers in Iran, the Western world does not possess a concrete understanding of their works. I believe it is essential to present these faces of Iranian cinema—Manijeh Hekmat, Narges Abyar, and Ida Panahandeh—to the world of film scholars, as each of them has added a new layer to Iranian cinema. After the era of women directors Tahmineh Milani, Pouran Derakhshandeh, and Rakhshan Banietemad, these directors have decided to narrate a different story of women in Iran. Does their work reflect the women living in modern Iranian society? Can we analyze all three directors using the same lens? This thesis argues that there are many factors involved in forming their cinema, including but not limited to government support, personal wealth, and individual tenacity. However, the central factor determining these directors' disparate approaches to filmmaking lies in their relationship to the national cinema of Iran.

Committee: Erin S. Schlumpf (Advisor); Kamran Rastegar (Committee Member); Ofer Eliaz (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Fine Arts; Womens Studies

BA/MA, Walsh University, 2021, Education

Professionally, female artists are underrepresented in museums. This disproportionate representation stems from the lack of historical female artists presented in visual arts classrooms. Since adolescents are directly impacted by same-gender role models, it is essential for young women to be exposed to works by professional female artists while their brains are still developing. If female students are presented with successful role models who share their identity, they are more likely to choose careers in professional art. Thus, my research focuses specifically on the inclusion of three historical female artists within visual arts classrooms in Ohio public schools. I selected three diverse artists to represent sequential periods of time: Sofonisba Anguissola of the 16th-17th century, Mary Cassatt of the 19th century, and Frida Kahlo of the 20th century. My research seeks to answer the following questions: Who are these significant female artists? What are their major contributions? How did they develop their skills? Why have female artists traditionally used the genre of self-portraiture to assert their place in society? Why is it important to study these female artists? I will then propose why the inclusion of female artists should be mandated at the state level for Visual Arts classrooms in grades 9-12.

Committee: Katherine Brown (Advisor); Jennifer Green (Other) Subjects: Art Criticism; Art Education; Art History

PHD, Kent State University, 2021, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies

Over the last two decades, researchers have shown an increased interest in studying gender-related issues in the translations of the Quran (Hassen, 2012; Maliki, 2015; Hassen, 2018). Existing research recognizes the influence of translators' ideologies on their translation of gender in the Quran. However, this research has relied on subjective approaches and small-scale qualitative analysis. The existing studies (Habibeh Khosravi & Majid Pourmohammadi, 2016; Maliki, 2015; Hassen, 2012; Herrag, 2012) tend to focus on a limited number of verses known to be problematic with regard to our understanding of gender and provide an in-depth textual analysis of excerpts from different translations. These micro-level methodologies fail to account for all the instances of reference to women in the texts and subsequently cannot provide a comprehensive picture of the representation of women in the translations of the Quran. Quantitative methods are needed to provide a systematic, more objective, large-scale analysis to account for all the instances of reference to women and to take into consideration the whole discourse defining and describing women in these translations. Thus, the present study employs, for the first time, a combination of qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (henceforth CDA), (an analytical approach for critically investigating the ways in which discourses construct, maintain and legitimize social inequalities) and quantitative corpus-based methods to investigate how women are translated in five different English translations of the Quran. The use of mixed methods analysis offers a balanced way to study gender in translation. While corpus methods provide a point of entry to the data through frequencies, collocates and concordances, CDA uncovers the connection between the text and the ideology of the translator. The findings make an important contribution to the theory and praxis of feminist translation by extending its boundaries to include nonwestern percep (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Françoise Massardier-Kenney (Advisor) Subjects: Gender Studies; Language; Middle Eastern Studies; Religion; Womens Studies

Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2020, Communication

Women in the political sector struggle to find their place. Though the number of female representatives has increased in recent years, it has been a slow climb often complicated by the socially prescribed importance of their image to the public eye as represented through media. In the impeachment of President Donald Trump, two female senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, were prominently featured on news coverage outlets. As it is not historically common for female politicians to be at the center of major debates, this case allowed for valuable analysis of how the media portrays women in politics. Through this work, three questions are explored: 1) How did cable news media frame Senators Susan Collins' and Lisa Murkowski's roles in the impeachment process of President Donald Trump? 2) How did Senators Collins and Murkowski frame themselves in their self-representations through the impeachment process? 3) How have Collins and Murkowski engaged in self-representation for their overall identities as senators?

Committee: Sheryl Cunningham (Advisor); Kelly Dillon (Committee Member); Edward Hasecke (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Gender Studies; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Political Science; Womens Studies

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2019, French, Italian, and Classical Studies

Women are still invisible in most canons, whether these concern the arts or history. In order to understand the difference of treatment concerning men and women in European societies, Luce Irigaray, a Belgian philosopher and a feminist, developed the concept of sexual difference. This concept asserts that men's and women's experiences are neither equal nor reducible to a hierarchical homogeneity: they are diverse. Sexual difference is a limit that allows to construct a feminine point of view that questions the traditional male-oriented philosophy. The question of limits is therefore central to Irigaray's thought, aiming at establishing women as female subjects. On the one hand, limits were imposed onto female subjects to reduce them to a passive role; on the other hand, from the female point of view, limits might be hard to draw. Irigaray challenges patriarchalism as she suggests to subjects of both sexes to symbolize their own limits. One such case of new sexed symbolization is the writing of the contemporary French poetess Sophie Loizeau, who explores the limits of female subjects but also of literary genres and of language in general. Loizeau exemplifies many of Irigaray's propositions for change in our social symbolizations.

Committee: Andrea Righi (Advisor); Audrey Wasser (Committee Member); Anna Klosowska (Committee Member) Subjects: European Studies; Gender Studies; Literature; Philosophy; Romance Literature; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Sociology

Researchers, organizations, and activists advocate increased political representation for both women and minority groups. But looking around the world, we know little about how politics at the intersection of these identities impacts the legislative representation of minority women. In this dissertation I collect data on the political representation of men and women from 461 racial, ethnic, and religious groups in 81 democratic and semi-democratic countries around the world. For each of the countries in my sample, I researched majority/minority dynamics and selected social groups that reflect the most salient divisions or social cleavages in each context. The data I collect indicate that minority women are underrepresented in politics to a greater degree than both their male minority and majority female counterparts. I also move beyond descriptive analysis to conduct the first large-scale, cross-national investigation of the factors that explain minority women's political representation across different cultural, structural, and political contexts. Using hierarchical linear modeling, I predict variation in absolute and relative measures of minority women's representation. I test the effects of traditional variables employed in women in politics models as well as new measures expected to influence the legislative success of racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups across countries. I consider how gender and minority quotas, both as single policies and in combination, affect the composition of national legislatures. And, in the final empirical analyses, I investigate the political representation of Muslim women both in the West and around the World. Throughout the dissertation, I supplement quantitative models with brief illustrative case studies of Lebanon, Romania, Burundi, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Overall, I find that minority women face substantial barriers to political representation. In many countries in the world, both majority women and minority men (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Pamela Paxton PhD (Advisor); Vincent Roscigno PhD (Committee Member); J. Craig Jenkins PhD (Committee Member); Wendy Smooth PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Political Science; Social Research; Social Structure; Sociology; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, Slavic and East European Studies

The goal of the present dissertation is to trace the dynamics present in film representations of women characters during the Thaw, Perestroika, and the ealy 1990s by identifying and analyzing female types appearing on screen as a result of political, economic, and social changes during the two periods. The given periods were purportedly the two with the most potential for change in women's status, one inferior in both family and society despite the October revolution's ostensible claims of gender equality. The present study also revisits the deeply-rooted belief that traditional gender roles are biologically-predetermined based on allegedly innate traits distinctive to both sexes, a belief that ultimately led to the rigid distribution of gender responsibilities: the domestic realm as the primary domain of women, while social and political spheres are designed mainly by and for men. In the analysis of female images, feminist film Reflection theory and psychoanalysis are employed. Reflection theory, a sociological role-focused approach, analyzes gender stereotypes, the extent to which women are shown as active or passive, and the manner in which political, social, and economic contexts influence representations of women on screen. The second approach is situated in psychoanalytic studies including the theory of “the three orders” pioneered by Jacques Lacan, Laura Mulvey's theory of the “three related looks” which explores the woman's passive role as a sexual object on screen for the male gaze, and Yana Hashamova's analysis of the psychological dynamics of the gender paradigm in the transitional period during and after Perestroika. Building on and diverging from existing scholarship that discusses films relating to the gender matter, the present study combines plot analysis with analysis of the cinematic language the director employs: the cinematic narrative, photography, editing, and acting. In the examination of women characters appearing on the scree (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Yana Hashamova Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: East European Studies; Film Studies; Gender Studies; Slavic Studies; Womens Studies

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2024, Arts and Sciences: Communication

This study is a qualitative investigation that uses representation theory and exemplification theory to compare and contrast how Black romance is portrayed on screen and how Black female respondents perceive Black romance in everyday contemporary society. Using thematic analysis, a method used for identifying, analyzing, and interpreting the meaning and patterns of important themes, the study includes ten Black women film viewers between the ages of 23-36. The researcher will generate recurring themes after engaging in open discussion about whether participants feel the representations of Black romance in Black films are real to them, whether they identify with the depictions, and whether the depiction portrays Black romance positively or negatively to them

Committee: Ronald Jackson II Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Kelly Merrill Ph.D. (Committee Member); Nancy Jennings Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Media and Communication

This study utilizes an experimental design to explore how different frames impact individuals' perceptions of Muslim women when portrayed in news coverage of protests from the Middle East and North Africa region. Specifically, this research investigates the influence of news media frames on U.S. public perceptions of Muslim women activists, focusing on the impact of the hijab to test various perspectives related to minorities, gender, and stereotypical representations. In addition to examining the effect of text (positive and negative frames) and visuals (no visuals, visuals featuring veiled Muslim women, and visuals of unveiled Muslim women) on perceptions, this study also analyzes the influence of the interaction effect of the text and visual frames. This dissertation employed a factorial design, utilizing Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to conduct an online experiment. Participants were exposed to different news frames describing protests to assess their perceptions of Muslim women activists. One of the key findings of this study highlights the influence of Western-centric notions on perceptions of Muslims. Results demonstrated that positive text frames accompanied by visuals featuring unveiled women facilitated more positive implicit perceptions compared to negative frames. However, exposure to visuals featuring veiled women fostered more support toward Muslim women's protests compared to those exposed to unveiled visuals, regardless of whether the text frame is positive or negative. Additionally, results exhibited that preexisting stereotypes of oppression and victimization, along with interactions with Muslims, emerged as the most influential predictors in shaping perceptions. iv Based on the results, the author urges editors and journalists to carefully consider the goal of their coverage of protest news from the Middle East to ensure accurate and balanced portrayals that contribute to greater social inclusion, diversity, and equity in media discourse. The (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Louisa Ha PhD (Committee Chair); Kefa Otiso PhD (Other); Lara Langel PhD (Committee Member); Yanqin Lu PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Mass Media; Middle Eastern Studies; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Womens Studies

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2022, Slavic and East European Languages and Cultures

This paper explores the collective memory of Guzel' Yakhina in her novel Zuleikha opens her eyes (2015). In 2020, the novel was transformed into a television series where it reached an even larger audience. The representation of Tatar Muslim culture in this work of contemporary Russian literature and television will be analyzed. Yakhina negotiates between historical memories and old stereotypes as she frames Zuleikha's story of acceptance into her Siberian labor camp and Soviet society. Although the Soviet Union does not exist as a physical space anymore, in recent years, Russia has developed historical memory projects that focus on the period of Stalinism (1927-1953) as a source of national pride. The positive depiction of exile seen in both the novel and television series is problematic because it promotes deculturalization and continues to erase the Muslim identity in Russia. First, analyzing the representation of a Tatar Muslim woman on television revealed a trope of unveiling held onto by the Russian contemporary audience. They linked Zuleikha to the negative stereotype of Muslim women as victims of their cultural and religious identity. The television audience saw the repeated motif “Zuleikha opens her eyes” as a call to take off Zuleikha's veil. Secondly, the scene in the tv show where the Hagia Sophia dome is removed and replaced with the new Stalinist-style dome monument reveals an erasure of ethnic and religious identity. Finally, Zuleikha's connection to her past ethnicity and religion is severed when the identity of Zuleikha's son, Yusuf is transformed. His name is changed to the Russian name: Iosif Ignatov. Using the historical context of the 1930s as a teleport, contemporary media establishes Russian nationalism as the only pathway to belonging for minorities in post-Soviet Russia. Ultimately, in both the television series and novel, one's Tatar Muslim identity is declared obsolete and must be removed. Such memories contribute to the growing influence (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Yana Hashamova (Committee Member); Angela Brintlinger (Advisor) Subjects: Slavic Literature; Slavic Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Mass Communication (Communication)

Aiming at understanding gender representation and its transition in different cultural contexts and providing insights into the underlying beliefs and values within each society, this study examined the images of women, especially working/professional women, portrayed in top-grossing feature films from China and the U.S. in the past two decades (from 2000 to 2019). A two-step dual-approach content analysis was designed and conducted to make up for the limitation of the single content analysis method, emphasizing both the descriptive function of quantitative content analysis and the interpretive function of qualitative content analysis. With a 12-question pretested codebook, the quantitative analysis generalized the characteristics of female images in top-grossing films. The following in-depth qualitative analysis delved into the details of specific gender discourses in selected films. Out of the 200 cataloged top-grossing films, 79 leading female characters (43 from Chinese films and 36 from U.S. films) in 78 films (42 Chinese films and 36 U.S. films) were examined in the quantitative analysis section, 9 female protagonists in 9 films (5 Chinese films and 4 U.S. films) were analyzed in the qualitative sections. The findings indicated the complexities of gender representation in this global era. On the one hand, the statistical results revealed homogeneous female images concerning the protagonists' age, physical attractiveness, relationships, socioeconomic status, sex-role behavior, and personality traits. On the other hand, the in-depth critical discourse analysis indicated the impact of dominant ideologies on gender representation in each society. The representation of female protagonists echoed the social transitions and feminist thought of the past two decades. From the perspective of gender representation, the globalized commercial media and culture industry, which brings conflict and integration between local and foreign cultures, complicates the mediated so (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Drew McDaniel (Advisor); Wolfgang Suetzl (Committee Member); Robert Stewart (Committee Member); Erin Schlumpf (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Gender Studies; Mass Communications; Mass Media

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2021, Journalism (Communication)

This study evaluates the popular Nigerian-based women's magazines, Today's Woman, Genevieve, and Exquisite, to uncover how the editorial content of these publications represent Nigerian femininity and womanhood, using social representations theory, originally coined by Serge Moscovici in 1961, as a theoretical framework. This study also evaluates how the representations of women featured in the editorial content of these magazines align with the theory of africana womanism. By conducting a qualitative textual analysis of 60 articles, this study found that Nigerian women are most frequently and significantly represented by their jobs/careers, the condition of their bodies, their self-esteem/self-sufficiency, the opinions of others, and their life challenges. This construction of Nigerian femininity and womanhood supported the following tenets of africana womanism: ambition, role flexibility, recognition, strength, black female sisterhood, respect, wholeness, adaptable, self-definition, and male compatibility.

Committee: Elizabeth Hendrickson (Committee Chair); Eddith Dashiell (Committee Member); Rosanna Planer (Committee Member) Subjects: African Studies; Black Studies; Gender Studies; Journalism; Mass Communications; Mass Media; Sub Saharan Africa Studies; Womens Studies

PHD, Kent State University, 2017, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies

The encounter of translation studies with feminism has resulted in a number of studies concerned with how social, sexual and historical differences are expressed in language and the ways in which they can be transferred across languages (Hall, Jacquemond, Maier, Massardier-Kenney, Said, Simon, and Salazar among others). While a number of these studies show that language and translation play a significant role in the way women are represented in literature, and argue that this representation cannot be separated from the society and culture which produces it, little work has been done on Arabic literature, a gap this study seeks to address. Using quantitative textual analysis focusing on 10 novels written by Arab women writers and corpus tools, the study demonstrates that Arab women are still represented in Arabic literature in terms of stereotypical images as oppressed and victimized, even in literature written by Arab women. In turn, these texts are selected for translation into English and the translations themselves emphasize the victimization of women characters represented in the source text, and thus translation participates in the construction of stereotypes about Arab women. The selected novels were written in Arabic by Arab women writers between 1980-2010 and translated into English by women translators in the period between 2000 and 2015. The study analyzes nouns, adjectives and verbs that collocate with women-associated terms to determine the patterns of women's representation in Arabic and English texts. The study also seeks to determine if the country of origin of the author, the time of publishing and the gender of the author/translator influence the way Arab women are portrayed. The findings of the study show three main patterns of Arab women's images: the victimized, the escapee and the pawn. It also shows that English translations reflect the same patterns of Arab women observed in the source texts. Furthermore, the findings show that neither time, n (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Françoise Massardier-Kenney professor (Advisor) Subjects: Gender

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2014, Political Science (Arts and Sciences)

One area that presents challenge for democracy is women representation, an important dimension for gender equality. However, there are major variations among countries. Papua New Guinea is one of the countries with the lowest number of female representatives in parliament. Two questions are asked in regard to the representation of women. First, why is it difficult for women to be elected in Papua New Guinea? And second, how do we explain where women were able to challenge others to be elected? Formal institution such as the electoral system is just one way to discuss gender equality. There are other areas of gender inequality that interact with the formal system relating to social, cultural, and economic factors. An analysis of these factors shows that even improving formal institutions to increase the number of women in political participation, gender inequality is still a challenge within and outside the legislative office. The findings are discussed within the theoretical framework of democratic principles of participation, representation, and feminist theory to better explain the phenomenon; particularly the theory of "politics of presence" is used as a model to argue that not only increasing the number of women, but also "substantially" representing the women do matter. Hence, gender representation does not necessarily mean gender equality.

Committee: Julie White (Committee Chair) Subjects: Political Science; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, American Culture Studies

Using Michel Foucault's notion of containment strategies, this dissertation argues that representations of the crazy cat lady, the reprehensible animal hoarder, the proud spinster, and the unproductive old maid negatively frame independent, single women as models of failed White womanhood. These characters must be contained because they intrinsically transgress social norms, query gender roles, and challenge the limitations of mediated womanhood. In order to explore the role of representation, this dissertation provides a suggestive history of the ways spinsters and old maids evolved into their current iteration, the cat lady. The research begins by tracing cultural representations of cats and women from 2000 BCE through the early modern period. After this retrospective, the research focuses on two particular points of cultural anxiety connected to changing gender roles: the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. During the former, the media characterized spinsters and old maids as selfish, proud, unnatural, unproductive, and childish in newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets. Rather than focusing exclusively on the negative coverage, this dissertation deeply analyzes three transgressive novels, Agnes Grey, An Old-Fashioned Girl, and Lolly Willowes: Or the Loving Huntsman, to contextualize the ways positive representations of spinsters and old maids could threaten patriarchal society. At the turn of the 21st century, spinster and old maid became outmoded terms, but the cat lady emerges as a postmodern version of the same cautionary tale. Fictional television characters like Eleanor Abernathy from The Simpsons and Angela Martin from The Office are deconstructed, revealing the ways the framing and editing contribute to narratives of failed femininity. Participants from reality TV shows like Hoarders and Confessions: Animal Hoarding and the documentary film Cat Ladies are analyzed to demonstrate the ways factual representations further pathologize the cat lady by associati (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ellen Berry (Advisor); Vikki Krane (Committee Member); Sarah Smith Rainey (Committee Member); Marilyn Motz (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Animals; Gender; Gender Studies; Mass Media

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, Comparative Studies

This dissertation uses an interdisciplinary approach to examine the sociopolitical impact and ideological work of stereotypes that stigmatize people with intersecting identities. Focusing on the Crack Mother icon, I first examine how misrepresentations in films, media and literature influence legislation and policies that target poor women of color for punishment. I contextualize the Crack Mother as part of a continuum of cultural icons that represent African American women as deviant. I then incorporate data from ethnographic research among African American Narcotics Anonymous groups to offer an alternative version of African American women's experience with drug addiction and use of twelve-step recovery approaches. Positing self-representation at the forefront prioritizes perspectives that challenge dominant narratives of addiction. The presentation of African American women as conscientious participants within a folk culture that values determined living turns on its head Western notions of expertise, organization, temporality, illness and so forth. The project is grounded in cultural studies, folklore, and African and African American studies. I incorporate critical race theory when conducting discourse analysis with films and literature from popular culture. I use alignment theory to flesh out participants' footing in racial, social, gender, religious and other identities using data gathered from ethnographic interviews with 10 African American women members of twelve-step programs with two and more years of continuous abstinence. I also conduct analyses of addiction surveys distributed to 23 African American women, more than 10 taped speeches from Narcotics Anonymous events, and observations at over 500 Narcotics Anonymous meetings in two mid-sized, U.S. cities over five years. Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous program literature was used to show connections between participants' narratives and program ideology.

Committee: Amy Shuman (Advisor); Nina Berman (Committee Member); Maurice Stevens (Committee Member); Valerie Lee (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; American History; American Studies; Black History; Criminology; Cultural Anthropology; Families and Family Life; Folklore; Gender; Linguistics; Literature; Mass Media; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Personal Relationships; Religion; Rhetoric; Social resea

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Nursing

Type 2 diabetes is a growing threat to the health and well-being of Americans. Mid-life women are especially vulnerable to the devastating complications associated with diabetes. Health care professionals must facilitate effective diabetes self-management to minimize the negative consequences of the disease. Self-regulation theory provided a framework for nursing research, “Illness Representation and Glycemic Control in Women with Type 2 Diabetes” (IRT2DM). Illness representation theory proposes that a health threat is processed on cognitive and emotional levels. Emerging from this is a schema termed “illness representation”. The content of illness representation then shapes the choice of coping procedures to the threat. Using a descriptive, exploratory, cross-sectional design, the following research questions were posed: 1. What are the illness representations of a group of women with Type 2 diabetes? 2. What psycho-social factors are associated with illness representation? 3. What is the relationship between illness representation and diabetes self-management? 4. What diabetes self-management practices are associated with glycemic control? Illness representation was measured using the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R). Diabetes knowledge was tested using the University of Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test (DKT). Demographic and medical history data were gathered. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) was chosen to represent effective coping procedures. Level of glycemic control was measured using HgbA1C. The average age was 57 years. The majority was White (65%) and well educated. The majority of the women (75%) reported having 2 or more co-morbidities. Only 40% reported performing SMBG daily. The average HgbA1C was 8.2% at baseline. Diabetes knowledge was high, although there was lack of knowledge about goals for blood glucose testing. Higher scores on two of the constructs in illness representation, cure/control and emotional representation, were (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Nancy Reynolds (Advisor) Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing

BA, Oberlin College, 2011, African American Studies

Through a methodological framework consisting of historical analysis, pop culture analysis, and hip-hop feminist theory, this paper will explore the complex intersections of race, gender, and agency in contemporary hip-hop and adult entertainment. The first section, "Look Back at Me: Jezebel, the Black Lady and Constructions of Black Female Sexuality Identity", will consist of a historical overview of images of Black women constructed since enslavement into the late 20th century and highlight the links between these stereotypes and the sexualized images that exist of Black female identity in contemporary hip-hop. The politics of respectability will also be discussed and how the concept aided in the construction of the dominant Black female sexual scripts. The second section, "Mic Check: The Rise of Women in Hip-hop", will examine the evolution of women in hip-hop from the mid-1980's to the present, analyzing how the rise in popularity of hip-hop music has affected the portrayal of Black women's bodies in the sexual marketplace. The third section, "Hip-Hop Pornography" will speak to the influence of visual culture in rap music and how it has created intersections between hip-hop and the adult entertainment industry. It will examine ways Black women who participate in these industries view their images and how they exercise and conceptualize agency while dealing with the hyper-masculinity inherent in their fields. The fourth and final section of my paper will present my conclusions and plans for further research. In sum, Black women are challenging stereotypes through the mediums of hip-hop and adult entertainment that have been subjugating their sexuality for decades. To a certain extent, this freedom is liberating because they are embracing a pro-sex framework and breaking deeply engrained silences that have been present surrounding Black female sexuality. Conversely, there are ways that these 'erotic revolutionaries', to borrow a term from Shayne Lee, re-entren (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Caroline Jackson-Smith (Advisor); Pamela Brooks (Committee Member); Renee Romano (Committee Member) Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; Black History; Black Studies; Ethnic Studies; Film Studies; Gender; Gender Studies; History; Mass Media; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2008, Educational Leadership

This dissertation answers the overarching research question: “How do African American female school board members understand their role as board members?” The subsidiary questions are: Why do African American female school board members choose to run? Who do African American female school board members believe they represent? To what extent does race affect their understanding of their role as a school board member? To what extent does gender affect their understanding of their role as a school board member? An interpretive qualitative case study methodology was utilized. The research design used was an embedded, multiple-case design. Fifty-two African American school board members in the state of Ohio were sent surveys. Twenty-one African American females completed the survey. Recorded interviews were conducted with eleven volunteer participants. The findings indicated that women run because they have a passion to help children and their school district. Some women were asked to run because others saw talent in them and because there was a desire to have African American representation on the school board. The school board members in this study believed that they represented all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, and saw their constituencies as the community at large, the tax payers, and the people who voted them into office. The women in this study seemed not to see race as a major factor in how they perceived their role, yet they were well aware that race was an issue as to how they were perceived. They were ever mindful of the ethnicity of their students, and felt compelled to represent the poor, the minority, and the socially disenfranchised. The African American female board members in this study acknowledged that women were different than men in how they interacted on the school board, but did not think they were handicapped by their gender. In fact, they thought that being female enabled them to be more nurturing to students, more organized, and to f (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. Frances Fowler PhD (Committee Chair); Dr. Ellen Bueschel PhD (Committee Member); Dr. Michael Dantley EdD (Committee Member); Dr. Raymond Terrell EdD (Committee Member); Dr. Susan Mosley-Howard PhD (Other) Subjects: African Americans; Education; Gender; Minority and Ethnic Groups; School Administration; Social Structure; Teacher Education; Womens Studies