Dissertations / Theses: 'Gender Notion'

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Brain, Lesley C. "Homans' notion of investments as an explanation of gender based power inequities." Thesis, Brain, Lesley C. (1997) Homans' notion of investments as an explanation of gender based power inequities. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 1997. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/42393/.

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Originally this work was to be an examination of power relationships between man and women. While examining Social Exchange Theory and the idea that power resides in the ability to control rewards, it appeared that being one sex or the other was in itself rewarding. It was realised that this matched Homans' (1961) ideas of investments. Homans suggested that an individual's background characteristics such as age, gender, race, etc., which he termed investments, operate in such a way as to entitle the holder to a reward. Each individual has a number of investments, referred to in this work as an investment portfolio. Within the portfolio each investment has a socially ascribed value, which allows individuals to rank themselves in comparison to others. This in turn determines the expectation of reward. In spite of the age of Exchange Theory and its familiarity to social scientists, practically nothing has been done to investigate investments as Homans used the term. This research is a start in the direction of examining a potentially useful and important concept. Investments are held to affect exchange because of the expectations and ideas people have about their entitlements; examining this assumption forms the basis of this thesis. The first study looked at the interaction of two participants in a set of situations in which one yielded priority to the other; the second study looked at the situation Homans discussed most - help seeking. The third study examined the issue of the emotional reaction when expectations were not meet. Studies four and five looked at the impact of investments on actual behaviour. Throughout the research, agreement on the operation of investments was very strong: clearly investments work. However, contrary to Homans' assumptions, it was equally clear that these investments operated differently - often having different values - in different situations. This presents both difficulties and opportunities for Social Exchange Theory in the analysis of power. The final study looked at how an individual's investment portfolio modifies their behaviour when attempting to influence an authority figure. Results once again indicated consistency within, and differences across, situations and investments. It was particularly noticeable that the investment with most variability in its effects in all studies was gender; this has important ramifications for any discussion of power exchange between the sexes. The evidence presented here, while preliminary, suggests that Homans' notion of investments may be a necessary concept for an adequate understanding of inequality, power and gender.

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Grigorian, Hilda. "The Notion of Progress of an Afghan Woman in Society: Moving Beyond Foreign Aid." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2541.

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Since 2002, foreign aid has been invested to create social change in Afghanistan, but little is known about the impact on women in rural areas. This case study focused on a single Afghan woman in a rural province who received a foreign aid grant for building baking skills and broader economic development of 20 rural women. The theoretical framework was based on Haq and Sen's development theory. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with the key participant, her husband who was identified as the main source of support, and four female beneficiaries. These data were inductively coded and then subjected to thematic analysis. The primary findings of this study was that this foreign aid project succeeded in building skills for involved individuals; though wider spread of foreign aid benefits were limited by what is perceived as an inequitable distribution of assistance to rural areas, as well as Afghanistan's political, cultural, economic, and security environment. Findings from all participants in this case study (n=6) supported Haq and Sen's theoretical prediction that given the proper technical resources, an individual is capable of being self-reliant and avoiding poverty. The respondents concluded that short term change is attainable and beneficial, but will not be sustained without long-term cultural change regarding the roles of women and allocation of foreign aid. The social implications of this research may provide opportunities for Afghan community and women councils to conduct training for women with an objective to bring awareness of the importance of their participation in the economy. The findings will be compiled into a concept paper to be submitted to relevant ministries amid formulation of national capacity building policy for women in the rural area

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Barros, Marie-Jeanne de. "Représentations de la notion de performance par les entrepreneurs : une approche par le sexe et par le genre." Thesis, Paris Sciences et Lettres (ComUE), 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016PSLED007.

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La littérature suppose implicitement l'existence d'un déterminisme biologique pour expliquer les différences entre les hommes et les femmes entrepreneurs. Par l'analyse des représentations de la performance, nous questionnons les stéréotypes sexués en mobilisant les notions de sexe (homme/femme) et de genre (féminité/masculinité) : le sexe est-il une variable pertinente pour expliquer les différences hommes/femmes en matière de représentation de la performance d'entreprise ?Trois études quantitatives utilisant une ANOVA et des t-Test ont analysé les données issues de 244 entrepreneurs. Une étude qualitative auprès de 6 entrepreneurs a permis de modéliser les représentations de la performance. Nous montrons que les différences de représentations de la performance d'entreprise ne sont expliquées ni par les catégories de sexe (Homme et Femme), ni par celles du genre (Masculin, Féminin, Androgyne, Indifférencié) définies par le Bem Sex Role Inventory. Nous confirmons également que les représentations collectives de la performance ont évolué et vont bien au-delà de la simple quête de profit, et sont plus rattachées à des valeurs sociales actuelles
Literature tends to assume implicitly the existence of a biological determinism to explain the differences between men and women entrepreneurs. Our aim was to study the representations of business performance based on the notion of sex (biological sex: female & male), and gender (the social sex: feminity & masculinity). Could masculinity and/or femininity reveal differences in representing business performance between men and women entrepreneurs? Three quantitative studies, based on ANOVA and t-Test, were used to analyze data collected by questionnaire from 244 entrepreneurs. A qualitative study was used to model data collected during individual interview of six entrepreneurs.We found that differences in representing business performance cannot be revealed neither by the distinction of category of sex (male / female), nor by gender categories (Male, Female, Androgynous, Undifferentiated) as defined by the Bem Sex Role Inventory. Also, we confirm that collective representations of the performance by the entrepreneurs have evolved and go well beyond the simple pursuit of economic profit, and can be more closely related to current social values

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Andersson, Åsa. "Ett högt och ädelt kall : kalltankens betydelse för sjuksköterskeyrkets formering 1850-1933." Doctoral thesis, Umeå universitet, Historiska studier, 2002. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-48977.

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This thesis describes the impact of the notion of a calling on the development of the nursing profession during the period 1850–1933. The focus of the study is on how perceptions andnotions of a calling were altered over time, and in which way this historically shaped conceptinfluenced the professionalisation of the female health care work. Some contexts of relevancefor the notion of a calling and which are emphasised in the thesis are the women’s rights movement, the expansion of the civil servants’ movement, the professionalisation and modernisationof the health care system as well as the general secularisation of society. The study consists of three parts. The first part constitutes a conceptual background tothe notion of a calling and here the Christian heritage of ideas is examined. The second partof the thesis describes three leading institutions of nursing education: the Ersta Institution ofdeaconesses (1851), the Red Cross education (1867), and the Sophia Home (1884). The study shows how Lutheran features influenced these educational institutions, mainly the educationof the deaconesses. The meaning of the calling differed between the deaconesses and thenurses of the Sophia Home. The deaconnesses’ notion of a calling emphasised the value ofhumbly serving fellow beings, whereas the Sophia Home attached more importance to theelevated and noble aspect of the calling. The third part of the thesis is the most comprehensive one. It is here analysed how the circlearound the Swedish Nursing Association (SNA), used and related to the notion of a calling during the period 1910–1933. The description is structured under four themes. The first describes how the notion of a calling expresses a particular professional ideal and an ethical attitude characterised by a Lutheran work ethics with strong altruistic features. Under the second theme, the gendered perception of the vocation is discussed. It is claimed that the nursingprofession was not unambiguously permeated by feminine gendered perceptions. Instead the nurses’ professional ideal espoused a mixture of masculine and feminine gendered metaphors.Under the third theme, it becomes clear that the nurses’ proclamation of a calling strengthened and increased the status of the profession. Under the fourth theme, the nurses’notion of a calling is related to two male professional groups, doctors and clergymen, and thepessimistic and sombre spirit of time at the turn of the century, 1900. The general secularisation of society, and the gradual modernisation of the health care sector seemed to have contributedto a need for a professional corps, marked by strong tradition, apparently considereda guarantee for a health care system that would still comprise Christian love.
Diss. Umeå : Univ., 2002

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Zazueta, Suzette E. "Purifying the body| Contemporary notions of purity and pollution concerning intersex persons." Thesis, California State University, Long Beach, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10131634.

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There is little research into the effect religion may have on the gender assignment of intersex persons. This research addresses that issue, exploring the possible roots of contemporary gender assignment practices in ancient notions of purity and pollution, or purity rules, and argues that such customs or norms influence contemporary perspectives and attitudes surrounding gender identity. This work examines the practice of gender assignment of intersex persons in the “Western” world, along with any and all associated medical procedures and the teaching of gender performance and the adoption of gender performance by the subjects, and suggests that the practice of gender assignment is, in fact, a ritual practice stemming from western notions of purity and pollution surrounding the body, specifically, gender as it relates to the body. Finally, this work concludes that the “Western” notion of purity and pollution which frame the ritual practice of gender assignment, have failed to evolve despite advances in science, psychology and social ethics and thus, this ritual practice needs to be seriously reexamined.

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Young, Elise K. "A Skin-Deep Analysis on Deconstruction: How Transforming the Modern Surface Transformed Notions on Gender." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/850.

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While focusing on high fashion and architecture, this thesis explores an aesthetic transition between the early 20th century’s “modern” style and the later 20th century style of “deconstruction.” We believe the style of “deconstruction” revolutionized visual metaphors for modern gender identity through the manipulation and experimentation of surfaces. These metaphors were accomplished through transformation relationships between surface, structure, and ornament. This study exclusively uses examples from women’s fashion and building façades for its analysis

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Allori, Sonia. "Music, text, gender and notions/influences of an Italian cultural perspective as the source for original music compositions." Thesis, Edinburgh Napier University, 2011. http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/6691.

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The folio of musical works supported by this document, explores the relationship between text and music. Using a variety of textual sources, from a single line of text to an epic poem to political speeches, has produced six pieces in which the relationship of the text to the music is figured in different ways; these range from the literal setting of a text to music to the abstracting of a text into a musical piece. In each case the form of the original text has been an important factor in influencing the form of the musical works. Gender considerations impact on this folio in two ways: firstly, gender is a key issue in some of the texts used as inspiration for the pieces, particularly Guinevere (2007) and Hilary &Maggie (2009).' Secondly, the folio explores how the position as a female composer affects engagement with both music and text. Finally, the folio works are related to the importance of Italian nationality to the composer. This supporting contextual document sets out the framework within which the folio was composed. It draws out the three main research threads that are explored in the folio: music and text, gender, and the Italian cultural perspective. Each thread of research is discussed with some contextual information given first, followed by an analysis of how this category impacts on the folio works.

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Jacquot, Sophie. "L'action publique communautaire et ses instruments : la politique d'égalité entre les femmes et les hommes à l'épreuve du gender mainstreaming." Paris, Institut d'études politiques, 2006. https://spire.sciencespo.fr/notice/2441/5407.

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La politique communautaire d’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes, telle qu’elle se construit jusqu’aux années 1990, repose sur un « modèle de l’exception » : les femmes constituent une catégorie d’action publique à part ; l’action de la Communauté est principalement régulatrice et se limite à la sphère de l’emploi ; la communauté de politique publique de l’égalité est restreinte et très engagée ; les structures institutionnelles sont en nombre réduit et fortement articulées. Du fait d’un changement progressif dans ses mécanismes et profond dans ses résultats qui est rendu possible et précipité notamment par le gender mainstreaming (art. 3. 2. TCE), le régime de genre propre à l’Union européenne est largement bouleversé. Dans ce nouveau « modèle de l’anti-discrimination », les femmes ne bénéficient pas d’un statut spécifique par rapport aux autres groupes sociaux ; l’action publique est à dominante incitative et transversale à l’ensemble des domaines d’action de l’Union ; les acteurs et les structures concernés sont multiples et diversifiés. La tension spécifique entre norme d’égalité et norme de marché qui caractérise cette politique change de nature : d’une complémentarité caractérisée par l’inclusion de l’égalité dans les frontières du marché à une instrumentalisation de l’égalité qui travaille pour le marché. Le traçage de l’émergence, de l’institutionnalisation et de la mise en œuvre du gender mainstreaming ainsi que l’analyse de l’interaction entre instruments et acteurs permettent de révéler ce changement de politique. L’étude du gender mainstreaming en tant qu’instrument transectoriel et non contraignant permet également de mettre en lumière certaines transformations de l’action publique et de la gouvernance européenne (réflexivité, glissement de la contrainte, encadrement de la mobilisation et de la participation de la société civile)
Until the 1990s, the European gender equality policy has been characterized by an ‘exception model’: women are considered as a special group; Community action is mainly regulatory and limited to the employment sphere; the gender equality policy community is restricted and committed to its cause; there are few but strongly-connected institutional structures. Since the 1990s, the European gender equality policy has been undergoing a process of change: the mechanisms have been progressive but the results have been of major significance. The change has been systematized and precipitated by gender mainstreaming (art. 3. 2. TEC) and the European gender regime has been profoundly disrupted. A new ‘anti-discrimination model’ can be observed: the women category is treated along with other social groups; soft law prevails and concerns all the EU’s fields of action; actors and institutions are numerous and diverse. The tension between the equality norm and the market norm which is specific to this policy has also undergone a change of nature: the two were complementary within the limit of equality in a market order while equality is now made instrumental so as to serve the market. This change of policy is revealed by a systematic tracing of the emergence, institutionalisation and implementation of gender mainstreaming and by the analysis of the interaction between instruments and actors. As a trans-sector and soft instrument, the study of gender mainstreaming also helps to enlighten some of the transformations of the European public action and governance (reflexivity, shift of constraint, civil society mobilization and participation control)

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Watts, Chelsea Anne. "Nothin' But a Good Time: Hair Metal, Conservatism, and the End of the Cold War in the 1980s." Scholar Commons, 2016. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6601.

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This dissertation offers a cultural history of the 1980s through an examination of one of the decade’s most memorable cultural forms – hair metal. The notion that hair metal musicians, and subsequently their fans, wanted “nothin’ but a good time,” shaped popular perceptions of the genre as shallow, hedonistic, and apolitical. Set against the backdrop of Reagan’s election and the rise of conservatism throughout the decade, hair metal’s transgressive nature embodied in the performers’ apparent obsession with partying and their absolute refusal to adopt the traditional values and trappings of “yuppies” or middle-class Americans, certainly appeared to be a strong reaction against conservatism; however, a closer examination of hair metal as a cultural form reveals a conservative subtext looming beneath the genre’s transgressive façade. In its embrace of traditional gender roles, free market capitalism, and American exceptionalism, hair metal upheld and worked to re-inscribe the key tenants of conservative ideology. Historians have only recently turned an analytical eye toward the 1980s and by and large their analyses have focused on the political and economic changes wrought by the Reagan Revolution that competed America’s conservative turn over the course of the decade. This study adds to historical understandings of the decade’s political history by telling us how non-political actors – musicians, producers, critics, and fans – shaped and were shaped by the currents of formal politics. Though heavy metal music and the rise of conservatism seem to share little common ground, by putting these two seemingly disparate historiographies into conversation with one another, we gain a clearer picture of the breadth and depth of conservatism’s reach in the 1980s.

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Winzell, Cherie. "Performance of a lifetime : an exploration of notions of "performance" in lesbian and gay activist and academic rhetoric." Thesis, McGill University, 1994. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=22634.

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In this thesis, I will explore the different notions of performance as a political tool and gender/sexuality as a performative act that forms identity, within lesbian and gay academic and activist rhetoric. I posit that the extensive, and often contradictory, use of "performance" within lesbian and gay discourse serves as a useful entry point to explore existing theoretical precepts of identity formation, and the processes of representation and signification. Through this exploration, effective theoretical and practical techniques can be developed to subvert the dominant discourses of normative (hetero)sexuality that continue to create a "reality" which is physically and psychically harmful to those who do not adhere to these discourses.
Lesbian and gay activists have used various performance techniques as political tools to de-stabilize notions of identity and the fixity of the representational process. Some lesbian and gay academics have developed a "queer" theoretical perspective that concurrently binds and privileges fluid concepts of representation, identity formation, and gender/sexuality performativity. In this thesis, I argue that the convergence of performance and performativity within the work of Annie Sprinkle yields an especially clear potential for the disruption of a signification process that consistently demonizes the sexual "Other."

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Johansson, Åsa. "Natureculture Origined : An intersectional feminist study of notions of the natural, the healthy and the Palaeolithic past in the popular science imaginary of biomechanics." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Tema Genus, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-121249.

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Situated in a time of advanced technoscience and new materialist feminist humanities/social sciences, this thesis explores how popular science renditions of biomechanics contribute to transforming imaginaries about “the natural” and “healthy”. It does so by zooming in on biomechanical scientist Katy Bowman’s pervasive and life-style commitment-requiring teaching. Her books and online material conceptualise and connect a bodily dependency on adequate physical load environments to an imagined natural health of our Palaeolithic ancestors. Drawing on several postconventional fields gathered under the banner of feminist posthumanisms and posthumanities (Braidotti 2013; Åsberg 2014), this thesis demonstrates how gendered and otherwise intersectionally interpreted fantasies intra-act with Bowman’s specific bodily practices, constructing a natural with both limiting and liberating consequences. Notions of the natural in popularised biomechanics are here explored foremost with a focus on the formative categories of gender and class. More explicitly, the thesis shows how Bowman’s teaching, on the one hand, links well with theorisings of corporeal, environmental and material feminist scholars, such as Elizabeth Grosz’s (1994) and Stacy Alaimo’s (2010) notions of environed corporeality and trans-corporeality. On the other hand, though, Bowman’s popularised biomechanics simultaneously reinforces a troublesome nature-culture divide and neo-liberal discourses on health as choice. However, while downplaying sociocultural and economical factors, and underpinning essentialist notions of motherhood, Bowman’s popular science also destabilises masculine understandings of the natural as tough; acknowledges material, individual and collective agency; and, offers effective techniques for managing various health conditions – all in ways that may well be interpreted and practiced within feminist registers. Based on this example from Bowman’s popular science, the author argues that contemporary Western understandings of the natural are influenced by a longing for self-commitment, control and connectedness.

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Vackmyr, Jesper. "And they lived happily ever after ... : Notions of masculine and feminine gender in movies produced by Walt Disney Animations Studios through the ages." Thesis, Högskolan för lärande och kommunikation, Högskolan i Jönköping, HLK, Ämnesforskning, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-34810.

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Uppsatsen är en genushistorisk undersökning av tre filmer från olika decennier. Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda hur filmer från Walt Disney Animation Studios framställer manligt och kvinnlig genus, samt i vilken mån filmerna speglar den tid de producerades. Metoden är en textanalys av tre filmer. De filmer som analyseras, baserat på specifika urvalskriterier, är Snow White and the Seven Dwarfes (1937), The Rescuers (1977) och Aladdin (1992). Textanalysen uppmärksammar vilka egenskaper som ges till respektive karaktär. De uppmärksammade egenskaperna delas upp i två kategorier: inre och yttre attribut. Med inre attribut avses karaktärernas personlighet och dialog. Yttre attribut avser konkreta ageranden samt det som är möjligt att se med blotta ögat. Undersökningen finner att framställningen av manligt och kvinnligt genus har förändrats över tid. Det blir lättare för karaktärerna att tillskriva sig egenskaper som traditionellt sett tillhört det andra genusets. Analysen av filmerna visar att de i många avseenden är avspeglingar av den tid de producerades. Vidare är det tydligt att karaktärernas inre attribut är mer stabila över tid, medan karaktärernas yttre attribut varierar mer över tid. Detta uppfattas som att det i filmerna finns en orubblig kärna i de inre attributen. Denna kärna ges dock olika uttryck i de yttre attributen.

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Harris, Adenike A. "Restorative Notions: Regaining My Voice, Regaining My Father: A Creative Womanist Approach to Healing from Sexual Abuse." Digital Archive @ GSU, 2011. http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/wsi_theses/23.

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This creative thesis illustrates how the writer initiated a ‘call-and-response’ dialogue as a healing strategy to heal her relationship with her non-abusive biological father after revealing to him that her stepfather had sexually abused her from ages 14 to 22. This memoir both contributes to the field of Women’s Studies and provides an example that other sexual abuse survivors can follow to heal their intimate relationships.

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Sundbrant, Malin, and Ann-Sofie Orefjäll. "Genusperspektiv på missbruk : En kritisk diskursanalys av socialsekreterares föreställningar om kvinnligt och manligt missbruk." Thesis, Hälsohögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, HHJ, Avd. för beteendevetenskap och socialt arbete, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-27428.

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Inom det vetenskapliga fältet för kvinnligt och manligt missbruk beskrivs ofta att kvinnan har andra och mer komplexa behov än mannen. Mannen och hans sociala situation, problematik och behov har generellt beskrivits som norm. Socialsekreterare grundar sina bedömningar och beslut på föreställningar om vad kvinnor och män har för specifika behov. Dessa föreställningar produceras och reproduceras genom rådande diskurser som verkar inom denna specifika sociala domän. Denna studie undersöker vilka centrala diskurser som kan identifieras i socialsekreterares föreställningar om kvinnligt och manligt missbruk, samt hur dessa verkar och reproduceras samt vad det kan få för implikationer för den sociala praktiken. Detta har undersökts genom en kritisk diskursanalys av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med missbrukshandläggare. I resultatet framkommer tre centrala diskurser: 1) kvinnans utsatthet och komplexa vårdbehov, 2) männen i skuggan, samt 3) individen i fokus. Dessa tre utgör vad som i uppsatsen benämns den vetenskapliga diskursen om kvinnligt och manligt missbruk. Trots att de till viss del är motsägelsefulla visar studien hur socialsekreterare formar sina uttalanden i linje med alla tre och på så vis rättfärdigar sitt sätt att agera och organisera arbetet. Diskursen om individen i fokus framträder dock som dominant i förhållande till de andra två och förefaller vara en diskurs som skapar goda socialsekreterare och främjar klienters autonomi. Genom diskursens status förpassas de andra två, med fokus på genus, till bakgrunden och samhällets rådande könsordning riskerar vidmakthållas. Slutligen förefaller diskursen om individen i fokus verka oproblematiserat både inom det vetenskapliga och praktiska fältet för socialt arbete med missbruk, vilket kan få konsekvensen att socialsekreterare oreflekterat och omedvetet placerar klienter i kategorier som verkar förtyckande.
Within the scientific field of female and male substance abuse, women have often been described as if they have other and more complex needs than men. The man and his social situation, problems and needs are in general described as the norm. Social workers base their assessments and decisions on ideas of what specific needs men and women have. These ideas are produced and reproduced by the prevailing discourses that operate in this specific social domain. This study examines which central discourses that can be identified in the social workers notions about female and male abuse, further how these discourses operate and are reproduced and how that may implicate the social practise. This has been investigated through a critical discourse analysis of six semi-structured interviews with social workers active on the field of substance abuse. The results show three main discourses: 1) women’s vulnerability and complex care needs, 2) men in the shadow, and 3) the individual in focus. These three constitute what in this paper is called the scientific discourse on female and male abuse. Despite they are somewhat contradictory, the study shows how social workers form their statements in line with all three, thus justifying the way they act and organize their work. The discourse about the individual in focus emerges as dominate in relation to the other two and appears to be a discourse that creates good social workers and encourages clients' autonomy. Through this discourse status the other two, with a focus on gender, are relegated to the background and the prevailing gender order in society risks being maintained. Finally, it appears the discourse of the individual in focus seem un- problematized both in the scientific and practical field of social work with substance abuse, which may have the consequence that social workers unreflective and unknowingly puts clients into oppressive categories.

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Tordsson, Julius, and Julia Gustafsson. "Krig, mäktiga kungar samt en och annan "påsmetad" notis om kvinnor : En genusstudie av läromedel i historia." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för kulturvetenskaper (KV), 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-40797.

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This study revolves around calculating the extent of appearance of both anonymously and named men and women as well as determining whether or not Yvonne Hirdman’s gender theory is applicable on two versions of a Swedish educational history textbook called Epos: historia: för gymnasieskolans kurs A (2008) and Epos [historia] 1b (2012), published for two different curriculum. Our qualitative investigation of two parts of the book’s content proves that the two principles of gender system are present in both books, although to a lesser extent in the latter version. Calculating the material, results have shown that anonymous men and women are almost equally presented in Epos 2012, which is not the case in the 2008 version. However, studying the extent of named men and women, we can determine that male characters are overrepresented in both versions, with a total of 80 % of all persons named in the books being of the male gender. To further problematize our material, we discuss how the student’s identity, based on E.H. Erikson’s theory of identity, could be affected by the subject matter content. We believe that it can be malicious to student’s self-image, and that it is the teacher’s responsibility to debate with the students about how the gender system’s two principles are present in our society.

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Christie, Thomas A. "Notional identities : ideology, genre and national identity in popular Scottish fiction, 1975-2006." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/7149.

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One of the most striking features of contemporary Scottish fiction has been its shift from the predominantly realist novels of the 1960s and 1970s to an engagement with very different modes of writing, from the mixture of realism and visionary future satire in Alasdair Gray’s Lanark (1981) to the Rabelaisian absurdity and excess of Irvine Welsh’s Filth (1998). This development has received considerable critical attention, energising debates concerning how such writing relates to or challenges familiar tropes of identity and national culture. At the same time, however, there has been a very striking and commercially successful rise in the production of popular genre literature in Scotland, in categories which have included speculative fiction and crime fiction. Although Scottish literary fiction of recent decades has been studied in great depth, Scottish popular genre literature has received considerably less critical scrutiny in comparison. Therefore, the aim of my research is to examine popular Scottish writing of the stated period in order to reflect upon whether a significant relationship can be discerned between genre fiction and the mainstream of Scottish literary fiction, and to consider the characteristics of such a connection between these different modes of writing. To achieve this objective, the dissertation will investigate whether the features of any such shared literary concerns are inclined to vary between the mainstream of literary fiction in Scotland and two different, distinct forms of popular genre writing. My research will take up the challenge of engaging with the popular genres of speculative fiction and crime fiction during the years 1975 to 2006. I intend to discuss the extent to which the national political and cultural climate of the period under discussion informed the narrative form and social commentary of such works, and to investigate the manner in which, and the extent to which, a specific and identifiably Scottish response to these ideological matters can be identified in popular prose fiction during this period. This will be done by discussing and comparing eight novels in total; four for each chosen popular genre. From the field of speculative fiction, I will examine texts by the authors Iain M. Banks, Ken MacLeod, Margaret Elphinstone and Matthew Fitt. The discussion will then turn to crime fiction, with an analysis of novels by Ian Rankin, Christopher Brookmyre, Denise Mina and Louise Welsh. As well as evaluating the work of each author and its relevance to other texts in the field, consideration will be given to the significance of each novel under discussion to wider considerations of ideology, genre and national identity which were ongoing both at the time of their publication and in subsequent years. The dissertation’s conclusion will then consider the nature of the relationship between the popular genres which have been examined and the mainstream of Scottish literary fiction within the period indicated above.

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Jones, Stephanie E. "Realities on the ground: Human trafficking constructs in Thailand and the implications on NGO anti-trafficking prevention strategies." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2016. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94162/1/Stephanie_Jones_Thesis.pdf.

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This thesis is a qualitative study that examines how participating staff from Thai based non-governmental organisations interpret and construct the notion of human trafficking; and how this impacts prevention methods. The research examined the impact of different socio-cultural, political and religious ideologies on anti-trafficking prevention and programme implementation. Findings highlighted that while a 'raid and rescue' approach to human trafficking was widely recognised by donors and the media; it was not suitable or complementary to sustainable and community focused anti-trafficking models. Rather, a holistic approach that considers contextual factors and inter-agency collaboration is essential for effective anti-trafficking prevention strategies.

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Bluteau, Joshua Max. "Authenticity, performance and the construction of self : a journey through the terrestrial and digital landscapes of men's tailored dress." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/16576.

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This thesis explores high-end and bespoke menswear, tailoring and fashion, asking the question - why do some men choose to spend large sums of money to have clothes made for them? Using tailors and high-end menswear as a lens, this thesis unpacks how men construct their notion of self in the digital and terrestrial worlds through the clothes that they wear and the identities they perform. Based on twelve months' terrestrial fieldwork in London and twenty-four months' concurrent digital fieldwork with Instagram, this thesis examines notions of dress, performance and the individual across a multi-dimensional fieldsite set within a blended digital and terrestrial landscape. The fieldwork comprised visiting and interviewing tailors, and observing inside their workshops and at their fashion shows. In addition, the analyst-as-client built relationships with tailors, and constructed a digital self within Instagram through the publication of self-portraits and images of clothing. This thesis is presented in four chapters, flanked by an Introduction and Conclusion. These chapters move from an exploration of terrestrial research in the first two, to an analysis of digital research in the latter two. Five major motifs emerge in this thesis: the importance of the anthropology of clothing and adornment within western society; the nature of the individual in a digitised world; the difficulty in conducting western-centric fieldwork without an element of digital analysis; a methodological restructuring of digital anthropology; and the idea that a digital self can acquire agency. This thesis employs a pioneering blended methodology which brings together the fields of digital anthropology, visual anthropology and material culture to question how selves are constructed in a rapidly changing and increasingly digitised modernity. In conclusion, the thesis argues that individuals construct multiple digital selves and a sense of identity (around the notion of 'authentic individualism') that is illusory.

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Vincenti, James J. "The Japanese university club and the hierarchical notion of gender role reproduction." Thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8811.

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Although traditional depictions of gender in ancient Japanese mythology continue to help define gender in Japanese culture, such recent litigation as the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the Childcare Leave Act signal change in these roles. This study explores the relationship between the Japanese hierarchical social structure and the parameters of the gender territories of women and men in a university club. Employing a single case (embedded) design, this study utilized the networks of former members (students who began their studies from 1953 to 1989) of Oendan (the "Cheering Club") at a private university in central Japan. Oendan's two sections, Leader-bu for men and Cheerleader-bu for women, have utterly different atmospheres. Leader-bu stresses daily rigorous and physically punishing practices in a highly disciplined atmosphere, whereas Cheerleader-bu more closely resembles its North American counterpart. To fully examine the differences between the two sections, I divided the case into three stages: (a) an historical analysis, (b) a survey, and (c) personal interviews. The results reflect an attitude that a perceived difference in physical strength and a strong sense of "tradition" inhibit true equality between the genders. Although most men may acquiesce in gender equality in an abstract sense, they also understand that, in reality, this is impossible because of the physical differences between the sexes. Leader-bu members continue to reinforce the importance of tradition year after year because they believe that they are benefiting, both personally and socially, from traditional beliefs and customs. Although victims of this belief system, they feel compelled to reproduce it. In reproducing it, however, they also must suffer from the lack of freedom that accompanies it.

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Manicom, Desiree Pushpeganday. "Gender essentialism : a conceptual and empirical exploration of notions of maternal essence as a framework for explaining gender difference." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/7524.

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The study sought to explore gender essentialism conceptually and empirically, and to specifically examine the concept of maternal essence as a framework for explaining gender difference. Gender, gender difference, gender essentialism, mothering and motherhood are individual fields of study however this thesis provides a sociological exploration of the intersections between these different fields. A selection was made of gender theorists: Simone de Beauvoir (1972), Shulamith Firestone (1970), Nancy Chodorow (1978, 1989, 1994) and Sara Ruddick (1989). I characterise these theorists as essentialist and analysed their contributions to explore their notions of gender difference. All four theorists commonly located gender difference in a maternal essence residing in individual women and their experiences. This essence was characterised as being biological, social or psychological. I came to the conclusion that women’s maternity was seen to be determined and reduced to biological essence (reproductive functions) or psychological essence (emotional drives and cognitive attributes) or social essence (mothering activity). All four theorists also read off micro social structural formations (family) from either individual biology or individual practice or individual psyche. In the writings of these theorists individuals are conceived of as discrete objects separated from the macro social structural context in which they exist. The study took the view that conceptions of gender can only be held to be true based on their power to represent social reality. To this end the study explored the extent to which the selected theorists’ notions of gender essentialism illuminate the social reality of individual men and women. Their essentialist conceptions of gender difference were subjected to empirical and/ or discursive examination against the maternal realities of women in South Africa. The study used data from already existing studies and policy, legislation and programmes from South Africa which report on findings and reflect notions of gender differences which are located in mothering and defined in women’s reproduction, mothering capacity and maternal practice/thinking. The empirical and discursive evidence examined in this study showed that the four theorists’ essentialist characterisation of gender difference is useful as it draws our attention to the significance of maternity for women’s individual experiences and identity as well as for society in general. However, the empirical and discursive evidence also revealed that external macro social structures, institutions and state discourse and practices influence the significance of maternity for women and society in general. The study therefore points to both the limits and the possibilities of essentialist notions, specifically maternal essence as an individual attribute, in explaining gender difference. This leads me to the view that there is a need for an approach that takes into account the complex, dialectical interaction between individual mothers and their social context to explain mothers’ experiences, behaviour, actions, capacities, attitudes, thinking, desires and activities. This study provides examples of how secondary empirical studies and policy discourse can be used to explore the usefulness of essentialist notions of gender difference. It offers a way in which the power of essentialist accounts of gender difference can be tested conceptually and empirically. It also provides evidence which can be used to extend investigations on essentialist notions of gender difference.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

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Smith, Kirsty. ""Notions of gender within the ANC Youth League (ANCYL): a key to understanding present-day responses to gender controversies"." Thesis, 2014.

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Thesis (M.A.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, Political Studies, 2013
This work discusses the ANCYL constitution, the 2001 “ANCYL and its role in the struggle for Gender Equality” and the “ANCYL Perspective on Gender Relations and Women’s Emancipation” (of 2011) and unpacks the ways in which a particular conceptualisation of gender relations (within these documents) may provide insight into ANCYL responses to contemporary gender controversies. Drawing on a Foucauldian framework, this research considers the ways in which discourses work to construct a particular understanding of gender relations (within the Youth League). These discourses include gender as a social construct, the distinction between sex/gender, the fixity of the category of sex and heterosexual desire. This work extends these insights and suggests that there is a particular shape of hegemonic masculinity at play within the Youth League – a shape of masculinity that stands at odds with the provisions of ANCYL documents that commit to the pursuit of equal gender relations.

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Kilu, Rufai. "SHIFTING GENDER DYNAMICS IN MULTINATIONAL GHANAIAN MINE JOBS : Narratives on Organizational and Sociocultural Barriers." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-63356.

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Gender is one of the central organizing principles around which social and corporate innovation revolves. The multinational Ghanaian mining is dominated by men and masculinity cultures. To gain an adequate understanding of this phenomenon, it is prudent to explore its gendered nature. This thesis reflects consciously upon the pre-entry, organizational and sociocultural barriers affecting the effective participation of women in mine jobs. And beyond the barriers, it examines what changes have occurred, occasioning a shift in gender dynamics, leading to an increasing number of women participation in the industry? The current thesis adopts a case study method, deploying a mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches; administered questionnaires, conducted individual interviews, observations, archival documents, and focus group discussions with respondents in four mining companies and a mining and technology university in Ghana. The AMOS–based structural equation modeling approach was used to analyze the quantitative data, while thematic and discourse analysis was employed in analyzing the qualitative narratives of the respondents. Results of the thesis point to the social construction of gender in science, engineering and technology education as a pre-entry barrier. Also, a complex web of male-dominance, gender bias, role models and mentorship constraints, coupled with unfriendly family work policies were noted organizational barriers. In furtherance, common prejudices, perceptions and stereotyped notions of gender roles in the mines constituted noted sociocultural factors constraining effective participation of women in mine work. However beyond the pre-entry, organizational and sociocultural barriers, the current thesis intuits a phenomenon of a ‘women’s revolution’ in the mines, witnessing collective efforts from Women in Mining Ghana as well as the mine workers’ organizations and allied institutions adopting gender strategic measures, such as the ‘ore solidarity,’ gender mainstreaming in admission programmes as well as gender-driven mining initiatives aimed at re-engineering or striking a shift in gender dynamics in the mine jobs of Ghana. Consequently, the classic and continuous male-dominance in Ghanaian mines constitute a considerable concern for mine work organizational development, with practical implications for the mining industry, employment, and labor relation practices as well as public policy in Ghana. Therefore, affirmative action is recommended for gender deconstruction and promotion of gender democracy. Indeed this move for inclusivity will engender poverty eradication work towards achieving organizational modernization, their global competitiveness and an assurance for gender-driven social innovative mining.

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Marco, Jenna-Lee. "Hair representations among Black South African women : exploring identity and notions of beauty." Diss., 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/9204.

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South Africa is a country of diversity, culture and various identities; and beneath this diversity, lays the complexity of defining and owning a space for oneself. This study was motivated with the intention to understand Black women’s representations in South Africa as well as the social interactions evident in the relationship between a Black woman and her hair. Literature elucidates on the historical richness of representation for Black people as well as the contemporary relevance of representation for Black women in particular. Furthermore, beauty discourse extends beyond the merely corporeal and finds meaning in historical, political, and circumstantial frames of thought. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with Black women. These interviews generated three discursive themes – hair and politics, hair and media and finally, circumstantial self-representation. Exploring these themes revealed that hair, as a projection of the self, is constantly redefining itself and its meaning in a progressive social culture. Furthermore, women assume agency and a degree of importance and identity from the hairstyles they choose to wear on a daily basis.
Psychology
M.A. (Psychology-Research Consultation)

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Gender Notion'

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