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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the experience and challenges faced by female in multi-tasking, combing full-time academic work with being an entrepreneur; the impact on professional practice and personal development. Becoming an entrepreneur can be a challenging and daunting task, but it can also come with good experience in managing own small businesses and putting theory into practice in teaching students. The work draws on experiences of how entrepreneurs were able to combine academic work with managing their own small businesses and challenges confronted in realities. Drawing from experience, moving back and forth between the academic and business spheres, this paper considers the impact of being an entrepreneur and lecturer, and what it meant for the students, institutions and own professional development. The work uses qualitative and quantitative research paradigms to seek the perceptions of some professionals who were able to combine academic work and being an entrepreneur, challenges faced in the combined roles on their students, institution and professional development. The analysis of findings from few concludes that there are many benefits, as well as challenges, confronting professionals in multi-tasking of being a business owner and academic Lecturer, of which, most of them became very successful through hard work and determination and some failed to cope due to combination of two ultimately complementary roles. This presents further areas for research to investigate why some professionals who try to combine job roles of academic and being a business owner fail and if this may be the case for the male teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of female participation among Croatian entrepreneurs has been growing steadily. The highest percentage of female-owned companies is evident in the retailing and service industry. Although there are many support systems available for Croatian women to start businesses today, they are still lagging behind their male colleagues. This paper focuses on social media as the fastest-growing global cultural phenomenon in strengthening the participation of women in business as entrepreneurs. Within the context of entrepreneurship among women, this article addresses the main characteristics of female entrepreneurship, such as motivations, personal characteristics, problems, expectations, etc. Moreover, social media as an innovative way of how entrepreneurs carry out their day-to-day activities is discussed. As the main goal of this paper is to answer the research question (RQ): How social media supports female entrepreneurship activities in Croatia, a two-phase research study was conducted. The research methodology consists of a qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitative approach consists of four face-to-face interviews, where successful Croatian female entrepreneurs explain the positive aspects of their business, obstacles that they were faced with, as well as the benefits they have had using innovations in retailing (especially social networks, innovations, etc.). The quantitative approach includes a study of a sample of 62 female entrepreneurs - owners of companies operating in retailing. The results point out that social media has been recognized by female entrepreneurs as the best channel to market their products/services as well as to interact and network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of women seeking higher education from Muslim countries in the United States is increasing. The pursuit of higher education at American universities also introduces a new sociocultural context wherein cultivation and embrace of newer forms of identity becomes inevitable. This often requires negotiations of previous identities that were cultivated in the course of their earlier lives in their home countries. This paper critically probes the complex entanglements between older and newer forms of identity among international women students. In particular, it will investigate the impact of new pressures of fitting in into the U.S society, while maintaining their identity as Muslims in their everyday lives. This study uses a qualitative approach that includes intensive interviews of twenty Muslim women international students. However, in this working paper, the researcher included data from nine female international Muslim students and intends to add more while also making more clear theoretical grounds for the topic. The research subjects for the study are enrolled in different programs at a university in the US. The results are coded and analysed through a thematic analysis of the data and respondents' responses are presented in quotations. The findings show that students negotiate their identities at the religious/ethnic as well as gendered levels. They prioritize the values without losing their ties with either culture. On the one hand, international female students carry social and cultural expectations within a gendered gaze; they are surveilled by the Muslim and ethnic community members. On the other hand, they negotiate common stereotypes of racial and religious profiling of female Muslim students. Finally, the study provides important recommendation for the support of international female students in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers an initial perspective on the realities of female entrepreneurship in developing countries, focusing on Zimbabwe, based on research in progress. The research attempts to understand female entrepreneurship from the perspective of the female entrepreneurs themselves. Methodology - Qualitative analysis used in this paper is based on empirical findings from field-work undertaken in Harare (capital city of Zimbabwe) and Bulawayo (second largest city of Zimbabwe). In-depth face to face interviews were conducted by the researcher with forty-three female entrepreneurs running their own businesses. The sample consists of female entrepreneurs who started their entrepreneurial activities in the formal sector and have since formalised their businesses or are in the process of formalising their businesses. Further interviews, and re-interviews, are continuing. Results obtained - Preliminary findings indicate that context, in terms of culture and socioeconomic factors, shapes female entrepreneurial activities. All married women ran their businesses in partnership with spouses; this turned out to be a paper partnership, with little support, and often a lot of interference, coming from the husband. The paper offers some explanation as to why context and historical variables impact on the realities of female entrepreneurial activities. Conclusion - At a minimum, apparent or face-value collaboration with men is a necessity of culture and custom. The women interviewed construe entrepreneurship as self-fulfilling, allowing them the flexibility and freedom to balance work with family obligations whilst earning income to better their families and that of the community. Implications - To understand (female) entrepreneurship, researchers need to factor in culture, context, history and custom. This has implications for policy-making, training programmes and business support. Originality/ value- There are very few studies from a developing country perspective such as that of Zimbabwe, which take a positive stance towards culture. This paper therefore adopts an open-minded view of the role of culture as enabling, rather than disabling, in female entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Worldwide, the issue of women in school principal positions is being discussed. Discussions on this matter include, among other things, the underrepresentation and promotion opportunities of female principals, stereotyping, culture and education and competencies of women. Several studies have shown that women do not have to stand back for their male counterparts. This paper deals with the perspectives of female school principals in Canada and South Africa. The study was employed in the interpretivist paradigm, and as it aimed to explore different aspects of the leadership of female school principals, a qualitative approach was used as a vehicle to come to understand the central phenomenon shared by the 12 participating female school principals in the two countries. They were interviewed by means of semi-structured interviews through which aspects with regard to their position as school principals were revealed. The case studies showed that female principals can be regarded as effective principals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades while women have made inroads into many nontraditional occupations, they still represent a small portion of the engineering and science workforce. In addition, research demonstrates that women tend to leave engineering occupations at faster rates than do men. Yet, occupations in engineering and engineering related fields have grown throughout the recent decades and are expected to continue to grow throughout the upcoming decade, creating millions of new jobs to fill by 2008. Indeed the jobs that are growing the fastest are precisely the jobs in which women are not represented. The question researchers and policy makers must grapple with is how do we recruit and retain women in engineering in order to not only address equity issues, but meet labor force demands. This paper presents qualitative data from an ongoing study of female engineers. In this paper we draw on original survey data to explore the reasons women choose to enter (and stay in) engineering occupations, and more specifically, what factors serve to encourage (and conversely, discourage) women from entering this nontraditional field. In doing so, we undertake a comprehensive investigation of women in engineering in which we focus on both their educational and workplace experiences. We provide the stories of women who have chosen to engineering careers, and we provide them in their own voices. After first presenting our findings we demonstrate how they are useful in creating strategies to address barriers at both the educational and workplace levels that prevent women from entering and staying in engineering occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general objective of this paper is to analyze the contradictory cultural repercussions of the feminization of the labor force in the racialized and gendered socio-economic dynamics that take place in Cd. Juárez . This paper explores the ways in which sexist violence, social structures, and gendered patterns of domination are constructed, disguised, reinforced and disseminated in the official discourse of the neo-liberal state, particularly in regard to the killing of working class, brown young women. We are specifically interested in understanding the struggles of identity politics and representational tensions that occur in the construction of brown working-class young women by the state and different sectors of the border city of Cd. Juárez. This paper focuses on a specific kind violence against working class women in Cd. Juárez and some of the ways in which the State and other social forces have responded to the femicide that is taking place in the border. Using qualitative research methods, this paper explores questions of gender representation and resistance. Theoretical frameworks from cultural studies and feminist theory in addition to foundations provided by communication studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine why the hypersexualization of gender is so eminent in Second Life and why women, knowing of the emotional and physical consequences for desiring such unattainable appearance in the physical world, would purposely construct an avatar to embody this when the construction options for virtual representations are nearly limitless. Through virtual ethnography, participant observation and in-depth interviews within Second Life, this study will attempt to shed some light into this cyberculture conforming phenomenon. While this study is still a work in progress, the emphasis of this paper is to examine bodies of literature that touch on issues present in cyberculture, visual communication and gender studies. The methods of the study will explore these issues at greater length, however for the purpose of this paper the focus will be on one in-depth interview that reveals some interesting findings regarding the nature, practice and purpose of hypersexualized gender in a digital context. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 1990 U.S. Census data, and employing a multi-level analysis, this paper examines the effects of the immigrant population in metropolitan areas on the employment outcomes of unskilled female natives and unskilled female immigrants. The results show that unskilled female natives living in metropolitan areas that have higher percentages of immigrants are slightly less likely to be employed compared to unskilled female natives living in metropolitan areas with lower levels of immigrants. On the other hand, unskilled female immigrants are slightly more likely to be employed in metropolitan areas with higher percentages of immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature concerning sport empowerment and female athletes has known to solely focus on sport as either an empowering or oppressing institution. Literature that concentrates on sport as an empowering experience for women has emphasized sports ability to empower women on a personal, group, and institutional level. However, little research has been dedicated to how such empowerment impacts or transpires within the lives of female athletes. This paper explores the ways that sport empowerment has impacted the lives of female athlete as well as how female athletes define empowerment. Such as analysis assists in the understanding of how a male dominated institution such as sport can be beneficial to both young girls and women. In depth-interviews were conducted with seven retired female athletes all of whom participated in at least two years of intercollegiate athletics. Results and analysis of results were explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A widely cited study in 1999, concluded that 43 percent of women have experienced female sexual dysfunction. There is debate in social and medical circles as to what constitutes normal and abnormal female sexuality. A clearer understanding is needed in the ways that women formulate and give meaning to their sexuality and perceived ?sexual problems?. Language is a vital contributor to how humans identify themselves. Before labeling sexual difficulties as ?dysfunctions?, we must properly conceptualize and operationalize these terms against a backdrop of meanings and explanations given by women describing their sexuality. In addition, male dominated bio-tech firms, medical and social institutions such as the media, may be quick to direct and shape the discourse on female sexuality and female sexual dysfunction because they stand to profit from this framework. This paper examines a review of scientific literature and sociological theory in the context of female sexual dysfunction and female sexuality. It is research in progress that proposes a qualitative method for exploring female sexuality and dysfunction from the viewpoints of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates Black feminist thought as a site of coalition building between Black females and Black males. Few other approaches have been as articulate and aggressive as Black feminism in constructing a holistic social movement that examines motivations that draw minority women to the men in their community. This paper pushes beyond the shortcomings of mainstream feminisms and of those liberationists whose non-dialogical approaches and resistance to looking at Black men's roles in sexism limit Black liberation. Drawing from perspectives of three popular texts and themes from a 1979 Black sexism forum/debate, this article looks at Black feminism as a useful model for forging collective movement. Conclusions are that women's struggles with self worth and men's embrace of masculinities that are not selfdefine hinder contemporary Black America from forging a successful collective movement in which this is possible, and that Black feminism is meaningful for addressing both these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence all over the world suggests female-headed households are poor relative to those headed by males. The reasons for this relative poverty comprise both compositional characteristics such as a higher dependency ratio and gender specific factors like low educational levels of women. This paper uses the 1993-94 National Sample Survey data to explore the reasons for greater risks of poverty that female-headed households encounter in the Indian situation. The analysis finds that with no adjustments made for household size and composition, female-headed households are not poorer than those headed by men. However, factors such as widowhood, illiteracy, relatively high landlessness, and engagement in agricultural wage employment have a greater impact on the economic position of households with female heads than with those with male heads. Also, there is quite a bit of heterogeneity within the group of female-headed households. Female-headed households belonging to the scheduled caste experience higher rates of illiteracy and employment in low paid temporary wage labor jobs, making their situation more vulnerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many African societies, female genital cutting along with marriage and reproduction are highly valued institutions that are central to the maintenance of patriarchal family systems. In many practicing societies, the belief that female genital cutting enhances a woman's reproductive potential is also common, and trends toward increasing medicalization of the practice are widely observed. Despite the social significance of this practice for women in many African societies, social demographers have only recently begun to examine the effects of female genital cutting on women's fertility, and available findings are mixed. In this paper, we examine the effects of severity of female genital cutting and type of circumcision provider on selected indicators of women's reproductive experience in Minya, Egypt. Findings provide important empirical evidence to inform debates over the health-effects of female genital practices and its medicalization in practicing societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how several students in the undergraduate Civil Engineering program at Lawrence Technological University, interested in focusing on diversity and a creating a meaningful experience in their senior year, formed the first all-female capstone team. The project the team selected was the conceptual design of a performance and visual art center for an existing nonprofit "village" that houses physically and emotionally abused girls. Each team member was responsible for the design of a component of the project based on her civil engineering subdiscipline. An all-female group of industry practitioners agreed to serve as mentors to the capstone team throughout the project cycle. With significant input from the practitioner-mentors, the students designed the project and not only presented to faculty and advisory board members, they also presented to the local chapter of a female-based construction industry association. Most importantly, the students evolved from mentees to mentors. They shared their knowledge of civil engineering, their work on the capstone project, and their college experiences through presentations and STEM activities with groups of middle school-aged, at-risk girls at the village. Thus, the girls were provided with two rare experiences: they learned about civil engineering concepts and how they apply to their everyday lives, and the girls were also able to interact with confident and caring female mentors who demonstrated that opportunities are unlimited for women in college and in industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary world caused the gender issue in leadership to surface in an entirely new angle which in turn impacted the occurrence of female leadership as a recent phenomenon and its separation from male leadership. The goal of the paper is to determine the elements of the male and female leadership competence on the individual level. According to empirical research, it is possible to find matching assessments of leadership competencies by men and women, certain significant differences exist as well. For women leadership is rapidly becoming an important and pivotal factor on an individual level while men find the significance of this competence declining. This in turn allows confirming the insights on the increasing limitations of the traditional leadership in the contemporary environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a scholarship and student mentoring program created to increase female enrollment and graduates in our Schools of Engineering and Science. This program was developed and administered jointly by both of the schools, and the admissions, financial aid, student life, career development, and learning resource departments. Scholarship recipients were required to participate in a mentoring program in which they met regularly with an upper-division peer mentor. Student participants also engaged in academic preparation activities to help develop study, organization, and test-taking skills for academic success. Further, social activities, such as field trips and dinners, were included to build camaraderie. A team of faculty was highly involved as academic advisors to all students in the program and as an advisory board for the grant overall. The program has been effective in increasing female enrollments and improving retention in both schools, particularly in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The health and safety of women in construction in the form of the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitary facilities to female workers in South Africa was explored in this study. This specific focus is largely overlooked in the South African context. The study explored, through a qualitative approach, the perspectives and experiences of female construction workers (end-user) on the provisions of sanitary and personal protective equipment. The main source of data collection was through semi-structured interviews and further supported with site observations to triangulate the interview responses. The key findings of the study revealed that the availability of PPE for females in the certain parts of the construction industry in South Africa has improved as women are provided with female size PPE. However, quality and advanced gender sensitive PPE still needs attention. Sanitary facilities at established sites are generally up to standard. However, female workers still share these facilities with their male counter parts. Sanitary facilities at unestablished sites still need attention. Participation of women in construction will struggle to increase, as long as these issues persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a qualitative study which seeks to understand a Process of identity negotiation by female public relations practitioners at the workplace. Using a framework of multiple identity construction, the study reveals that female public relations practitioners engage in a constant process of disciplining and controlling their female and professional identities, specifically disciplining their physical bodies and controlling their professional communications. Three reasons for such negotiation were identified through additional literature research and data analysis. Theoretical and practical implications as well as recommendations for future studies are offered. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the turn of the 20th century, sociology was in a very fluid state. Many sociologists vied simultaneously to define the field, establish their professional lives and promote social justice. Women were especially marginalized in this endeavor. In this paper, I examine the experiences of community-based sociologists Caroline Bartlett Crane and Jane Addams as they debated the meaning of peace and patriotism in the run up to World War I. Their individual paths to peace reflect the social tensions of the period and illuminate current concerns regarding the proper balance between peace and patriotism in the pursuit of justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the influence of textual images of vulnerable women characters in soap operas on women consumers, an audience vulnerable to the negative images of women that soaps project. The soap opera is analyzed in terms of the genre attributes of plot, character, and consumption that coalesce in images of damaged women, who, nonetheless, have appealed to women audiences for half a century. Qualitative data collected from long-time viewers of four soap operas show that exposure to negative role models is detrimental to viewersÂ’ personal life satisfaction, realistic assessment of life situations, and achievement of rational goals. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life history interviewing of current and former heroin users in the low income Chicago Puerto Rican community continues to indicate substantially more support for theory associating addiction with escape than theory associating addiction with the quest for status. Gang involvement rather than heroin addictioin appears to be strongly associated with status attainment in the community. During the past decade there were notable changes in the community's drug subculture as crack cocaine use became widespread and crack was the most profitable drug dealt in the community. Snorting became the principal form of heroin use and HIV/AIDS among those with histories of injection was a far more significant problem than in the past. However similarities to earlier periods of addiction are more striking than differences. The heroin problem continued to be substantial. Dealing drugs for income, particularly by community gangs, continued to be widespread. As in the past female respondents experienced greater stigma than male addicts. Their failed relations with street oriented men influenced their use of drugs to escape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the notions of professional and practitioner identities in the field of public relations (PR). It demonstrates a problematic complexity of a newly emerging profession of public relations that comes from viewing public relations as a real job and as a woman's job. The results of the qualitative study provide some evidence for the existence of the glass ceiling in Russian PR and socially constructed notions of public relations as a profession.

Using a detailed period analysis the study examines the changing impact of son preference on the pace of fertility among women of different educational levels in 14 Indian states with reference to the findings of the NFHS 2 survey (1998-99). The 14 states are grouped into two with the eight northern/western states of Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh with strong son preference placed into one group and the six southern/eastern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal with relatively weak son preference placed in another group. The parity level analysis using Cox proportional hazard models indicates that the birth hazards based on the gender composition of surviving children are highest both among educated and less educated women at parity 3. The declining gender composition hazards over time for educated women at parity 1 and 2 in northern/western states with strong son preference and declining fertility such as Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra could indicate greater recourse to sex selective abortion. Educated women in most southern/eastern states, particularly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, demonstrate less of an inclination to continue childbearing on the basis of gender composition. In general son preference continues to affect fertility at lower parities and it is possible that a floor well above replacement level is forming, especially in the populous northern/central sates. However, with the increasing incidence of sex-selective abortions it is possible that lower fertility with dramatically skewed sex ratios at birth could be attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although female-headed households are argued to be the poorest of the poor in Latin America, little is known about the impact of age on this disadvantaged group. Mexico provides a timely testing ground to examine the potential deprivation that accompanies being an elderly female-head of household. Not only does Mexico have a rapidly aging population, but its citizenry are doing so in a country weakened by economic crisis, government debt, and an unstable labor market. Thus, women who already face resource deprivation in their working years, stand to carry this burden into old age. This project uses a nationally representative data set from the Mexican Migration Project to evaluate the relative poverty of elderly female-heads of households 60 and older compared to those female-heads 18-59 years of age. The analysis examines deprivation through the lens of relative poverty by directly assessing capital holdings across different types of resources. Arguing that it takes more than just money for a household to survive, relative evaluations of monetary, physical, social, and human capital are analyzed. This project seeks to make two main contributions to what we know about poverty and female-headed households. First, it seeks to untangle the discourse of deprivation surrounding female-headed households by disaggregating this population by age. Second, this work advances poverty analyses by providing a comprehensive assessment of differences across types of capital for this demographic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the professionalization of medicine in the nineteenth century, legitimate knowledge of abortion was transferred to a new breed of physicians. Establishing pathology as the basis for medical intervention, these doctors constructed a medical discourse surrounding intentional abortion which pathologizes both the criminal method of abortion and the abortive woman herself. An historical analysis of obstetric/gynecological textbooks reveals this process and exposes its role in perpetuating medical control over abortion knowledge. In a contemporary context, the resulting disembodied womb of medical teaching reflects the split subjectivity required of women as gynecological patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a critical analysis of the moral panic around the "Pro-Ana" Internet community, focusing on popular media constructions of the Pro-ana community, eating disordered women, and female adolescence more generally. Argues that representations and narratives of Pro-Ana community rely on commonsense, misogynistic assumptions about female adolescence and that, culturally, the line between ?normal? female adolescent and pathologized Pro-Ana is indistinct. As a construct, Pro-Ana offers a scapegoat for reaffirming the collapsing boundary between order and disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COMMUNICATION ACROSS BORDERS: EXPERIENCES OF RURAL INDIAN WOMEN IN USING CYBER CAFES ABSTRACT Rural Indian women have found the newly located cyber cafes (internet booths) in their villages a good medium for crossing the border of geographic isolation in the villages of India. Providing 651f employment to the rural population, agriculture is the main occupation and women are mainly secondary workers. They are able to cross this economic border through information on weather seeds, pesticides and fertilizers obtained from the Internet booths. Female foeticide, less access to food, education and other resources, early arranged marriage and child bearing, are cultural borders that restrict the village woman and yet she is becoming empowered through the Internet. Highly patriarchal, the village power structure is a political border, which has to be crossed by the rural Indian women. Now many are standing for election in the local Panchayat. Case studies of the Internet booth usage by women facilitate the crossing of all these borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to define different models of vertical swimming abilities (VSA) in elite female senior water polo (WP) players with regard to all three energetic systems of swim effort. The study included 30 female WP players, members of the Serbian senior national team. On the basis of raw data obtained through testing (four different test loads: 10, 12, 13.5 and 16 kg) the function of Power-Time equation was calculated for each subject applying the general equation y=a.bx. All data are presented in absolute terms as Absolute Vertical Swim Abilities Model (ABSvswim), in relative terms as Relative Vertical Swim Abilities Model (RELvswim), and in terms of reached biological capacity as Capacity Vertical Swim Abilities Model (CAPvswim). The raw data were used to define the following models of VSA in female WP players: ABSvswim, y = 30.4868x-0.2087, RELvswim, y = 47.8754x-0.2127, CAPvswim, y= 91.9195x-0.1846, respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study interviewed 1,878 Singaporean women about their mobile phone usage, health information-seeking behavior, and perceptions of using mobile phones to seek health information. The survey results showed that mobile phone ownership rates were high across age groups. However, age differences in the use of advanced mobile applications were also found. Demographics had small effects on women's search for information from health professionals, family or friends, and the Internet. When thinking of mobile information-seeking innovation, women of different ages made significantly different assessments of self-efficacy; outcome expectations; anxiety; attitude; perceived behavioral control; and intention. Self-efficacy and nonphysical outcome expectations were the most salient factors accounting for women's willingness to be mobile health seekers. Contrarily, anxiety had limited contribution to the regression equation. The effect of age on intention was fully mediated by socio-psychological factors. Data reported in this study provided useful insights into future development of mobile health technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about the purported advantages and disadvantages of ?ethnic economies?, firms where members of a particular ethnic minority are over-represented both as owners and as workers. However, very little empirical research has focused on the job creating effects of ethnic economies. The present study aims to identify relationship between ethnic economies and women?s labor force participation. Specifically, we want to test the hypothesis of whether or not ethnic economies encourage women to go into the labor force. We use data from 2000 Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) to answer the question: given her human capital, will ethnic immigrant women have better job opportunities if they have access to strong ethnic economies? What are the individual-level and city-level characteristics that influence ethnic economies? effect on women?s labor force participation, if any? Our data include 100 thousand ethnic immigrant women from four Asian groups and three Hispanics groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a marked history of feminist theoretical work that seeks to problematize the concept/category of "woman/women." Much of this work focuses on issues of intersectionality and multi-vocal identity, in which "woman" is revealed to vary across sociopolitical divisions such as class, race, and sexuality and furthermore how women's identities are constructed in part through opposition to other women. While that line of theoretical development hopefully informs this project, it is not the focus. Instead, here I problematize the notion of woman .as a normative category. and suggest how it may operate as a transgression. Insofar as this is an attempt to question normative notions of gender "as such," this might be seen as close to the work of Butler, and indeed this project finds its bases in her work along with that of Irigaray and Rubin. To be clear, the project here is not to posit the ontological or discursive status of women and that of transgender as identical. Inevitably, perhaps, the project does lead towards examination of the continuities between transgender and women. The core of the project, however, is to examine the notion of women's gender transgression within the context of "female bodies" and "femininity." An analysis of the independent film .FtF: Female to Femme. illustrates how the proliferation of women's gender performativities within a context of femininities can be an "exemplary signifier of queerness." ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study takes a unique approach to examine socially constructed identities of women who work in PR in Russia. After providing a critical overview of the existent literature, the author proposes the use of social construction as a framework to analyze construction and management of multiple identities in discourses. Analysis of 13 in-depth interviews and 5 discussion groups with Russian female PR practitioners provided the basis for the argument that multiple identities are constructed and managed through discourses. The author also argues that through discourses female PR practitioners demonstrate hidden aspects of PR practices in Russia in general and proposes a number of implications for future studies of socially constructed identities in the field of PR ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]