The Experience of Minority Female Coaches within Intercollegiate Athletics

It has been suggested that the United States has shown an increase of acceptance and positive attitudes toward diverse cultures and populations. However, there continues to be a drought in research that examines the experience of minority women. In addition, few studies have focused on minority female coaches within athletic environments, which have been known to be both heterosexist and homonegative (Griffin, 1992; Griffin, 1998; Krane, 1996; Krane & Barber, 2003; Krane & Barber, 2005; Roper & Halloran, 2007; Schreibstein, 2010). A person who holds a minority identity has been defined by this paper as belonging to an underrepresented group, including: race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, religion, and/or sexual orientation. This study, in particular, focused on three specific minority groups: race, gender, and sexual orientation. The proposed study assessed the experiences, challenges, and strategies to overcome obstacles of female coaches who hold minority statuses within National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic departments.

What We Are Learning About the Diverse Backgrounds of Academic Library Users: An Overview of Research Designs and Methods in Information Behaviour Studies

Academic libraries increasingly serve a more diverse population of users not only in regard to race and ethnicity, but also to age, gender, language, sexual orientation, and national and cultural backgrounds. This papers reports the findings of the study that explored information behaviour research as a potential source of information about diversity of academic library users and examined the relationship between the use of different research designs and data collection methods and the information gathered about users’ diverse backgrounds. The study found that information behaviour research offers limited insight into the diversity of academic library users. The choice of a research design was not critical but the use of multiple data collection played a role in gathering information about culturally diverse users.

Teachers’ beliefs about diversity: an analysis from a personal and professional perspective

The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs that teachers have about diversity and their level of sensitivity towards some topics related to it. Moreover, beliefs were compared according to teachers’ personal and professional views and teaching experience. The Personal and Professional Beliefs about Diversity Scales (Pohan and Aguilar, 1999) were administered to a sample of 233 teachers. Results showed highly positive beliefs towards diversity in all its dimensions (cultural, linguistic and social diversity, ability, gender, sexual orientation and religion), especially regarding its personal implications compared to the professional ones. Likewise, it was observed a significant relationship between years of teaching experience and professional beliefs about diversity, so teachers with no school experience showed a higher tolerance than those with teaching experience, mainly in aspects related to cultural, linguistic and social differences, ability and gender. The implications that these results have for educational practice and the need for the development of multicultural education courses that favour an effective teaching are discussed.

A diversidade cultural e as suas implicações no processo de ensino e aprendizagem : como integrar a diversidade na educação de infância

Relatório de estágio apresentado para obtenção do grau de mestre na especialidade profissional de Educação pré-escolar

Choosing to have children or choosing to be childfree: Australian students' attitudes towards the decisions of heterosexual and lesbian women

Research has demonstrated that voluntarily childless heterosexual women, and lesbian women choosing to become mothers, are negatively stereotyped. However, there is little recent Australian research, and attitudes may have changed in line with changing family formation patterns. This study assessed young Australians' attitudes towards either a lesbian or a heterosexual woman who was planning, or not planning, to have children. One hundred and nineteen first year psychology students, and members of the general public, participated. The majority of participants were under 20, female, European Australian and single. Participants read a brief description of a woman who was variously described as having a male or a female partner, and as planning or not planning to have children. As expected, participants rated the heterosexual woman more favourably than the lesbian, and the woman wanting children more positively than the woman not wanting children. However, there was a trend for the lesbian woman planning to have children to be rated as happier, more mature and more individualistic than others. The legal and social implications associated with wanting to be a lesbian mother in Australia make motherhood a more difficult process for lesbian women than it does for heterosexual women, and may explain why lesbian women who have decided to take this difficult path are seen as happier and more mature, than women making more conventional life choices. While the predominantly young, female student sample limits the generality of the findings, they suggest that social attitudes towards female sexual orientation and women's childbirth decisions are changing.

Population differences in finger-length ratios: Ethnicity or latitude?

The relative length of the second and fourth fingers (the 2D:4D ratio) has been taken to be an indicator of prenatal exposure to testosterone, and hence possibly relevant to sexual orientation and other sex-differentiated behaviors. Studies have reported a difference in this ratio between Caucasian males in Britain and in the U.S.: higher average 2D:4D ratios were obtained in Britain. This raises the question of whether differences among different Caucasian gene pools were responsible or whether some environmental variable associated with latitude might be involved (e.g., exposure to sunlight or different day-length patterns). This question was explored by examining 2D:4D ratios for an Australian adolescent sample. The Australians were predominantly of British ancestry, but lived at distances from the equator more like those of the U.S. studies. The Australian 2D:4D ratios resembled those in Britain rather than those in the U.S., tending to exclude hypotheses related to latitude and making differences in gene pools a plausible explanation.

Not if but when: Out-group reactions to the timing of disclosure of an individual's same-sex attractions

One factor that research suggests impedes positive contact between outgroup members is the experience of anxiety that can occur when anticipating negative consequences of such interactions. Research examining attitudes and behaviour towards same-sex attracted individuals indicates that this intergroup anxiety is particularly evident when the anticipated interaction involves members of the same gender. The current studies investigate the effect of timing of disclosure of a person’s same-sex attractions in an effort to identify a means of reducing this anxiety. Study 1 uses a hypothetical scenario to gain insight into participants’ stated preferences for early or delayed knowledge of a person’s sexual orientation. Results reveal an association between experiencing close contact with gay individuals of the same gender in real life (but not opposite gender), and a preference for early disclosure. Results from an experimental study concur with these findings. After a face-to-face interaction task with a confederate of the same gender, participants sit further from the confederate for the late disclosure condition when compared with the early disclosure and no disclosure control. Future studies investigating the interaction between timing of disclosure of same-sex attractions and the intimacy of disclosure (casual vs. intimate), are discussed.

A CONSTRUÇÃO DISCURSIVA E A RECEPÇÃO DA HOMOAFETIVIDADE NA TELEDRAMATURGIA BRASILEIRA: consumo, representação e identidade homossexual

Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a representação e discurso dos personagens homossexuais da teledramaturgia brasileira e sua potencial relação com as demandas da comunidade homossexual na sua luta por maior tolerância e emancipação. A metodologia inclui dois enfoques analíticos: o primeiro centra-se no campo da produção, a partir dos pressupostos da Análise do Discurso e dos Estudos Queer, verificando os aspectos textuais do discurso e da representação dos personagens gays das telenovelas. O segundo enfoque centra-se no campo da circulação e consumo, mediante os pressupostos dos Estudos de Recepção, a fim de avaliar como os receptores realizam a apropriação do discurso e representação homossexual da telenovela. Esse segundo enfoque conta com um instrumento quantitativo e uma entrevista qualitativa semidirigida, aplicados a uma amostra de 402 participantes, hétero e homossexuais, a maioria jovens estudantes de graduação em Belo Horizonte, MG. Quanto às análises discursivas, os resultados demonstram uma mudança no padrão de representação dos personagens homossexuais, deslocando-se do padrão heteronormativo para uma representação mais humanizada, seguindo o momento histórico de maturidade política da sociedade e a aprovação de marcos legais favoráveis aos sujeitos homossexuais. Quanto aos estudos de recepção, os resultados confirmam o potencial pedagógico da telenovela em ampliar a discussão sobre a questão homoafetiva; auxiliar o sujeito homossexual em aceitar sua identidade sexual e encorajá-lo a assumir sua orientação sexual.

Employment law:an introduction for HR and business students

The Aston Centre for Human Resources (ACHR) was created at Aston Business School, Aston University, in February 2006. The mission of the Centre is both to inform and influence practice through conducting high quality, challenging research in order to extend the existing theoretical frameworks and to develop new and relevant conceptual models to represent and guide the changing realities facing businesses and the people they employ in the 21st century. * Students studying an Employment Law module on a HR or general business degree, whether undergraduate or postgraduate. * Students taking the Employment Law elective on the CIPD's Professional Development Scheme (PDS). * Students studying Employee Relations or Diversity. This new edition has been thoroughly updated, and includes expanded coverage of the impact of EU Law, and Discrimination Law including ageism, sexual orientation, religious belief, harassment and disability. The text is ideal text for those business students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses who are taking a first module in Employment Law. It covers a comprehensive range of topics enabling students to gain a solid understanding of the key principles of the subject. The engaging, authoritative writing style and range of learning features make this a refreshingly accessible and student-friendly read. Each chapter includes summaries of topical and relevant cases, direction to key sources of legal information and suggestions for further reading whilst covering the CIPD’s standards for the Employment Law elective on the Professional Development Scheme (PDS). This text includes a range of case studies, tasks and examples to consolidate learning and includes a brand new section on Employment Law study skills to help students get to grips with how to access and read law reports, understand the sources of the law, find and use up-to-date legal information (particularly websites) and how to prepare for exams and written assignments.

Occupational therapists' attitudes toward homosexuality

Two hundred and eighty-five occupational therapists were surveyed to determine their general attitudes toward homosexuality, and whether certain demographic variables and means of exposure affected these attitudes. Attitudes ranged from neutral to positive. Those demographic variables that did affect respondents' attitudes were: sexual orientation, gender, and educational level. Those respondents who identified themselves as homosexual or bisexual had more positive attitudes than those who were heterosexual. Female respondents had more positive attitudes than male respondents and those respondents who held a Master's degree had more positive attitudes than those who held a Bachelor's degree. It was determined that respondents who had a family member or friend who was gay had more positive attitudes than those who did not. An unexpected finding was that respondents who had received adequate information about homosexuality in their occupational therapy curriculum had more negative attitudes than those who did not receive adequate information. It was therefore concluded that those occupational therapists who had not been provided with adequate information on homosexuality in their occupational therapy curriculum but had more positive attitudes toward homosexuality, were older and had more years of experience in occupational therapy. ^

Aggression toward homosexuals: Prevalence, correlates, and motives for antigay behaviors among adolescents and young adults

This study examined the motivating factors for perpetrators of antigay harassment and violence among 752 college freshmen. Large numbers of lesbians, gay men and bisexuals (LGB) are victimized solely because of their sexual orientation. The physical and psychological harm suffered by many of these individuals is alarming. In particular, victimization at school is correlated with a variety of other health risks for LGB students. In order for prevention efforts to be effectively tailored, it may be helpful for researchers to first identify what motivates the assailants. This study tested variables capturing demographic, psychosocial, and attitudinal factors. This purposive sample was selected because these students represent the age group most likely to become perpetrators. The findings suggest that harassment of gay people is common and, in many cases, not motivated by particularly negative attitudes toward homosexuals. Instead, LGB individuals may be viewed as a socially acceptable target by others to harass out of boredom, anger at someone else, or in an attempt to assert their own threatened heterosexuality. Social norms, along with the variety and weakness of individual predictors for antigay harassment, further suggest that heterosexism is endemic and pervasive in our society. Physical attacks against homosexuals, although less common, represent a more serious problem for the victims. This study discovered that there were some leading predictors for these assaults, namely, being male, having been maltreated, being a heavy social drinker, and having defensive, antigay attitudes. The implications of these findings and imperatives for social workers are discussed.

“Who’s that Faggot at the Board?”: A School-based Intervention with a Gay Student

This article describes a successful intervention conducted in a public high school in Miami, Florida, to address an incident of harassment based on a student’s sexual orientation. The implications for educators and other school personnel to intervene in such instances are considered.

An evaluation of depression, self-efficacy, satisfaction with life and perceived access to medical care across stages of HIV infection

This survey was designed to identify the incidence and scope of depression, satisfaction with life, self-efficacy and perceived access to medical care for those who are infected with the HIV virus. It also determined whether or not factors such as sexual orientation, ethnicity and socioeconomic status are intervening variables with respect to mental health issues. Subjects were recruited through a purposive sample from South Florida. A total of 871 surveys were used in the analysis. The overall response rate was nearly 90%. The incidence of depression was found to be higher than 75% across all stages of HIV infection. Furthermore, the incidence of depression increased as HIV disease progressed. Satisfaction with life and for the most part, self efficacy were found to decrease slightly as HIV disease progressed. Significant variance in depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy were found across stages of HIV infection. No significant differences between groups that were HIV infected were found for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy. The severity of depression was found to vary significantly with self efficacy, life satisfaction and access to medical care but not with socioeconomic status. Life satisfaction was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and self efficacy but not with access to medical care. Self-efficacy was found to vary significantly with socioeconomic status, depression and life satisfaction but not with access to medical care. Gender and ethnicity were not found to be significant precedent variables in depression for HIV infected individuals. Sexual orientation was found to be a significant precedent variable for depression, life satisfaction and self efficacy.

Violência contra mulher: expressões da opressão às mulheres sob a égide do capitalismo e do patriarcado

This dissertation is the result of a research process that sought , from the speech of women in situations of violence , examine the difficulties these women to access the "network " of assistance to women victims of violence in the city of Natal/RN . Therefore , we made a critical analysis from the perspective of totality on the processual ontological " being a woman " and " be a man " , articulating the determinations of the subjective and objective dimensions in the lives of women at this juncture . Thus , also reflecting on the system of oppression of women through Capitalism / Patriarchate , articulated with other determinations of reality , as race / ethnicity , sexual orientation , generation and territoriality . Because of the oppression of women in all aspects of social life , the feminist movement led to the public domain claims against the oppressions of women and fight for Public Social Policies that aim to the particularities of women , among them, the social policies of coping violence against women . The speeches of the women interviewed show the contradictory aspect of work in women's lives . On the one hand , can become a means to financial independence ( with the possibility of exit from violent means). On the other , it can become "cause " of justification for the exercise of violence against women by their partners or former partners . Also show that despite legal advances , there is no effective implementation of policies aimed at women . This occurs as a result of capitalism / patriarchy and the context of neoliberal management of big capital . Thus , the feminist movement , as well as the social movement of the working class , must seek the empowerment of women through the struggle to end all forms of oppression , exploitation and domination among humans.

Sexualidade e saúde mental: construindo sentidos entre pessoas usuárias de um CAPS

When expressed by mental health services users, sexuality is typically denied by professionals, viewed as another symptom or as if these people are not capable of practicing it. Once Brazilian health professionals haven’t shown lots of investment in this theme, and few are the studies in this field, it is necessary the attention to be focused on researches involving this public. Therefore, the main goal of this study was understand the meanings of sexuality of the mental health services users, which were negotiated in sexuality workshops. The secondary goals were: a) understand the meanings of themes about sexuality brought by users through their experiences of everyday life; b) to evaluate the facilitating experience of the workshops on sexuality at CAPS. Thus, 10 workshops on sexuality were held, with an average of an hour and twenty minutes each, distributed from December 2014 and April 2015. There were 43 participants, 29 women and 14 men. The meetings had the following central themes: sexuality; sexuality and mental health; myths, beliefs and sexual taboos; gender identity; sexual orientation; sexual and reproductive rights; safe sex; and STD/AIDS. The data collection was through audio-recording of these meetings. Later, was made the transcript of the workshops, a careful reading of these transcripts and then its analysis. It was identified categories to analyze the interfaces that permeate the focus of the study. Initially, the categories relating to mental health and sexuality: meanings about sexuality; gender issues; gender and religion; sexual rights, STD/AIDS prevention and attention or denial of sexuality at CAPS. Later, those relating to the workshops facilitating process: challenges in facilitating the workshops; and the perception of the participants. A variety of meanings about sexuality could be noticed in the users’ statements, relating it more with affection and respect than with intercourse. The gender issues that emerged during the workshops were related to marital relationship, sexism, domestic violence, psychological violence and male and female roles in society. Moreover, were also revealed some situations that associated gender differences with religious issues, such as the submission of women and homosexuality. It was also noticed some experiences of the participants involving worrying situations of family violence, suicidal ideation and chemical castration, were often mismanaged or ignored by the service professionals. With regard to the facilitation of the workshops, it was possible to legitimize it as places where users were able to talk openly about the suggested themes and highlight its importance to the study site. Besides, it’s possible to list a few challenges of its facilitation in a mental health service, which was in general positively evaluated by the participants. Thus, the research highlights the need for sexuality theme discussion in mental health services, in order to understand, discuss and inform the users. Also, it’s important to problematize the stigma created in the theme relation with the users, the professionals and the society, working its specificities and avoiding a pathological bias.