Through the prisms of gender and power: Agency in international courtship between Colombian women and American men

Since 1999 Colombia has experienced dramatic increases in emigration, particularly the emigration of women towards the U.S. as fiancées of U.S. citizens or residents. Parallel to this trend is the increased number of websites facilitating these Colombian-American matches. This dissertation investigates the agency of Colombian women and American men who pursue romantic courtship through the services of International Marriage Brokers (IMBs) from the “Gendered Geographies of Power” (GGP) framework of analysis. It examines how both groups’ social locations, their positioning in multiple axes of differentiation including gender, nationality and social class, affects how and why they exert their agency across and within different geographic scales. Most importantly, it investigates the role the imagination plays (imagination work) in both men and women’s agency, an aspect of the GGP framework that has been under-researched and theorized to date. The research also finds that this imagination work is promoted and cultivated in deeply gendered ways by IMBs seeking to profit off this transnational courtship. ^ Employing data collected via interviews and content analysis of IMBs’ websites, the dissertation analyzes comparatively the expectations each group (women, men and IMBs) bring to their imagination work and experiences of the courtship marketplace. A central question posed and answered in the dissertation is “What do women and men courting each other in cyberspace seek and do they find it?” The dissertation finds that the men seek “traditional” women and the women seek “liberated” less “macho” men. Ironically, the men find Colombian women who are among the most “liberated” women in their homeland but who downplay this aspect of themselves in order to strategically find a more modern man and migrate abroad where they expect to find greater personal and professional opportunities.^

Through the Prisms of Gender and Power: Agency in International Courtship between Colombian Women and American Men

Since 1999 Colombia has experienced dramatic increases in emigration, particularly the emigration of women towards the U.S. as fiancées of U.S. citizens or residents. Parallel to this trend is the increased number of websites facilitating these Colombian-American matches. This dissertation investigates the agency of Colombian women and American men who pursue romantic courtship through the services of International Marriage Brokers (IMBs) from the “Gendered Geographies of Power” (GGP) framework of analysis. It examines how both groups’ social locations, their positioning in multiple axes of differentiation including gender, nationality and social class, affects how and why they exert their agency across and within different geographic scales. Most importantly, it investigates the role the imagination plays (imagination work) in both men and women’s agency, an aspect of the GGP framework that has been under-researched and theorized to date. The research also finds that this imagination work is promoted and cultivated in deeply gendered ways by IMBs seeking to profit off this transnational courtship. Employing data collected via interviews and content analysis of IMBs’ websites, the dissertation analyzes comparatively the expectations each group (women, men and IMBs) bring to their imagination work and experiences of the courtship marketplace. A central question posed and answered in the dissertation is “What do women and men courting each other in cyberspace seek and do they find it?” The dissertation finds that the men seek “traditional” women and the women seek “liberated” less “macho” men. Ironically, the men find Colombian women who are among the most “liberated” women in their homeland but who downplay this aspect of themselves in order to strategically find a more modern man and migrate abroad where they expect to find greater personal and professional opportunities.

The experiences of Cuban American women attending a Hispanic serving institution and the influences on identity development

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding and gather insight into the experiences of Cuban American women attending a 4-year, public, Hispanic Serving Institution and how those experiences influenced their identity development. This was accomplished by conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with 12 self-identified Cuban American women who were classified as sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate students. All of the participants had attended Florida International University for at least 1 year. The women had varying degrees of on and off campus academic and campus involvement activities. Participants were asked about six topics: (a) family, (b) cultural influences, (c) gender, (d) ethical and moral development, (e) education, and (f) ethnic identity. Based on the coding of the data provided by the participants, several interconnected themes emerged including the importance of family, familial support, cultural pride, expected gender roles, core values, decision making, biculturalism, and the value of attending a Hispanic Serving Institution. These themes were found to be all related to the identity development of the participants. It was found that looking at identity through a multidimensional lens is essential. Looking at personal growth and development through anthropological, sociological, and psychosocial lenses gave greater insight to a population of students who have been largely underrepresented in the literature. The findings of this case study are that culture is contextual and identity development is complex for first and second generation Cuban American women attending a Hispanic Serving Institution in a majority minority city. It was found that several factors, including the importance of family and gender roles, were not found to be more important than one another; rather they supported each other in regards to the participants' identity development. The notion of biculturalism as it has been presented in the literature was challenged in this study as it was found that the participants' experiences living and attending a school in a majority minority city presented a new way of understanding what it might mean to be bicultural. For professionals in the field, the findings of this study may lead to a broader understanding of nuances within the Hispanic community and a better understanding of the distinctiveness of what it means to be a Cuban American woman.

A study of the differences among African -American, Hispanic, and Anglo women on the perceived barriers and strategies to career advancement in public school administration

Women have been traditionally excluded from the ranks of principals and district administrators in public school systems throughout the country. Traditionally, Anglo women have been more successful than African American and Hispanic women in breaking down the barriers that impede their ascension to the top. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how African American, Hispanic, and Anglo higher-level female administrators perceive the barriers that hinder their progress, the effects of the barriers, and the strategies to overcome the barriers. ^ Two hundred, sixty female administrators employed with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and serving in the role of principal or higher were mailed a questionnaire consisting of 49 questions centering on personal and professional characteristics, perceptions of barriers, perceived effects of barriers, and strategies to overcome the barriers. One hundred, seventy-five questionnaires were returned. To analyze the respondents' personal and professional characteristics, cross tabulations were conducted on the demographic information and on the strategies. ANOVA was conducted on the barriers and the effects of the barriers by ethnic groups. Tukey's test for post-hoc comparisons was utilized to identify groups with means significantly divergent from those of other ethnicities. ^ The data revealed that Hispanic female higher-level administrators who returned the questionnaire were more likely to be married and have children as compared to Anglo and African American female administrators. When addressing the barriers to career success, African American females had a higher mean score on 14 of the 17 barriers to career success as compared to the other ethnic groups. Hispanic female administrators proved to be more successful in utilizing the strategies to overcome career barriers. The strategy, forming a “New Girl Network,” was the least utilized with 79 of the respondents reporting that they had never used it. ^ It is concluded that there is strong need for female administrators to network, mentor, and support one another. Also, it is imperative that the success of particular groups in certain areas is shared with others. ^

A study of the perceived effectiveness of existing recruitment and general institution -wide practices used to enhance women and minority full -time faculty representation at Florida's public universities

As a federal contractor, the State University System of Florida (SUSF) has instituted a wide range of affirmative action practices to hire and promote women and minorities. Should affirmative action be abolished, universities valuing a diverse faculty will have to rely on voluntary practices to attract members of these groups. I explored the present use and perceived effectiveness of recruitment and institution-wide practices used to promote a diverse workforce and identified those practices considered very effective by informed respondents at the nine participating universities. ^ Two questionnaires were used for data collection. Selected recruitment and general institution-wide best practices found in previous studies were used as benchmarks for comparison with existing practices. The questionnaires also included an open-ended question to identify indigenous practices. A follow-up semi-structured interview was conducted to gather information regarding the background of identified practices. ^ Two overall themes emerged from the study. The first was the perception among respondents that women have made substantial gains in faculty representation. This perception is substantiated by actual percentage of women tenure-earning faculty. The second theme was that many of the practices considered very effective are affirmative action-driven, providing women and minorities considerations not afforded White males. These practices, because they single out members of one group over another based on gender and race/ethnicity may become illegal should affirmative action mandates be abolished. ^ Analysis of the data revealed that universities with the highest percentage of practices considered effective and universities located in the most urban areas of the state were the universities with the highest percentage of minority tenure-earning faculty. There appears to be no similar relationship between universities in urban areas and those with the highest percentage of practices considered effective and women tenure-earning faculty representation. The most frequently identified recruitment practice was the development of a receptive institutional image for women and minorities. The most frequently identified practice in promoting a receptive institutional climate was the use of conflict resolution processes and grievance procedures. Five themes also emerged from the 22 barriers in recruiting women and minority full-time faculty identified by the respondents. The most commonly identified barriers were related to a lack of financial resources to support effective practices. ^

The relationship of spirituality and the health promoting behaviors of diet and exercise of African -American women

Public health data show that African-Americans have not adopted health-promoting behaviors of diet and exercise. Spirituality, important in the lives of many African-American women, may be associated with health-promoting behaviors. This study was designed to determine how spirituality relates to health-promoting behaviors in African-American women. Burkhardt's theoretical framework for spirituality was adopted and measures were selected for the three elements of the framework: connectedness with self, others, and environment. ^ The study used a descriptive cross sectional correlational design to investigate the relationships of the independent variables of spirituality, sociodemographics, and BMI, to the dependent variables of diet and exercise, to answer the two primary questions: What is the role of spirituality in impacting the health-promoting behaviors of African-American women? Of the independent variables of spirituality, sociodemographics, and BMI, which are the best predictors of diet and exercise? ^ Central and South Floridian African-American women (n = 260) between 18 and 82 years of age completed several questionnaires: Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, Spiritual Perspective Scale, Brief Block Food Frequency, and socio-demographic information. ^ Hierarchical regression identified 40% of the variability of diet to be explained by socio-demographic (education) and spirituality variables (stress management and health responsibility) (p < .001). Twenty-nine percent of the variability of exercise was explained by socio-demographic (education) and spirituality variables (stress management) (p < .001). Canonical correlation analysis identified a significant pair of canonical variates which indicated individuals with good nutrition (.95), increased physical activity (.79), and healthy eating (.42) also had better stress management (.88), better health responsibility (.67), higher spiritual growth (.66), better interpersonal relations (.50), more education (.49), and higher self-esteem (.33). The set explained 57% of the variability (p < .001). ^ An understanding of the factors that influence these women's decision to utilize health-promoting strategies could provide health professionals with additional information to enable them to design culturally and spiritually related health messages for African-American women. The findings of this present study speak of the importance of focusing on stress management, health responsibility, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations and self-esteem along with diet and exercise; this will likely provide improvement in the health-promoting behaviors of African-American women. ^

New testament evidence for ordaining women in the catholic church: evaluating claims in inter insigniores and ordinatio sacerdotalis

This Master's Thesis will re-evaluate the conclusions of the Vatican on the issue of women's ordination, as presented in the documents Inter Insigniores and Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, by researching the discoveries of scriptural scholarship on the significance of women in the New Testament ministries. The essential question is, are the two previously mentioned documents authoritative when they exclude women from priesthood on the basis of Scripture? Special emphasis is on the unprejudiced rereading of the status of women in the ministry of Jesus and the early church communities. The research proved that there is no significant evidence in the New Testament to reserve ordained ministries in the Church to men only.