‘Allowed into a Man's World’ Meanings of Work–Life Balance: Perspectives of Women Civil Engineers as ‘Minority’ Workers in Construction

This article discusses how women working as civil engineers within the UK construction industry perceive work–life balance and considers strategies they use to achieve this. The findings are presented of a qualitative research project that explored the experiences of women in this role, focusing on the subcultural context of a profession that is dominated by the values of presenteeism and infinite availability. A feminist post‐structuralist framework is used to analyse how women negotiate their personal and professional time and the extent to which their other roles as carers and nurturers unsettle male work practices in this highly gendered profession. There are gradually increasing numbers of women in professional construction roles and their success appears to depend on being able to fit in to the dominant masculine culture of long working hours and the male pub gathering. Despite an increased presence, women's minority status in construction continues to challenge their professional identity and this is central to the conflict many face between the dual roles of corporate worker and private non‐work person.     

How Women Engineers Do and Undo Gender: Consequences for Gender Equality

The image of engineering as a masculine profession has reproduced the perception that engineering is unsuitable for women. While various strategies have been used to try to increase the number of women entering engineering education and employment, their success has been limited. At the same time it has been argued that the way gender is ‘done’ in work can help diminish or increase inequality between the sexes. Using empirical research exploring women engineering students’ workplace experiences, this article considers how gender performance explains their behaviour and attitudes. Butler implied that doing gender can result in our being ‘undone’. This was specifically found to be the case for the women students in this study, who performed their gender in a particular way in order to gain male acceptance. In doing this they utilized certain coping strategies: acting like one of the boys, accepting gender discrimination, achieving a reputation, seeing the advantages over the disadvantages and adopting an ‘anti‐woman’ approach. These strategies are part of women's enculturation and professionalization in engineering, yet they also fail to value femaleness. In ‘doing’ engineering, women often ‘undo’ their gender. Such gender performance does nothing to challenge the gendered culture of engineering, and in many ways contributes to maintaining an environment that is hostile to women.     

浅析政治因素在美语词汇中的反映

随着社会的发展和人类思维的更新,语言不断被输入新鲜血液。美式英语,作为英语这门古老而优秀的语言的分支,也经历了无数次变革大潮的冲击。其中政治因素对美语词汇的影响很大,总统竞选、种族歧视、女权运动都对美语词汇产生影响。美语词汇中出现了大量的新词与新义。通过对政治因素和美语词汇最新发展的了解,有助于美语学习者更好地掌握美语这门语言。     

神道教与日本民族性

日本民族是个奇特的民族,他们一方面兼容并包,善于学习,另一方面又固守传统、冥顽不灵;既有谦恭有理的一面又有倨傲蛮横的时候;同时还有举世闻名的团队精神和敬业精神.这些复杂的甚至是相互矛盾的民族性是怎样形成的,又是怎样统一起来的呢?神道教是日本的传统民族宗教,是日本的"本土文化".在古代的几乎全封闭的日本,神道教的产生和自我发展几乎没有受到外界的影响,因此完全能够反映当时的日本人的世界现、价值观和社会思想.并且在漫长的发展演变过程中对日本民族性的形成产生了重要影响.就神道教对日本民族性的形成究竟起了什么作用而进行探讨,提出了"神道教是日本民族性的核心"的观点.     

英语原版电影赏析与英语文化教学

本文通过论述英语原版电影赏析教学的意义、原则和方法,探讨提高自身的文化素养和跨文化交际能力。     

Hugh George Brennan: Glasgow University’s First Lecturer in Russian

To date little has been known, and less written, about the life of Hugh George Brennan, Glasgow University's first lecturer in Russian. The uncovering of previously unused Russian and British sources throwing fresh light on his life, intellectual development and occupations has made possible a fuller assessment of a significant figure in Glasgow's contribution to Slavonic Studies. Brennan lived and taught in Russia for 20 years. The resulting intense and unusually intimate experience of Russian life probably explains unconventional aspects of his Glasgow appointment. Brennan was an undoubted educational and social success in Russia. Events in the shape of the February Revolution of 1917 forced him to return to Britain. Glasgow's timely offer of a new position was the start of a very different life. This aspect of Brennan's career is reviewed mainly through his commitment to extensive public activities.     

A generalised Box–Cox transformation for the parametric estimation of clinical reference intervals

Parametric methods for the calculation of reference intervals in clinical studies often rely on the identification of a suitable transformation so that the transformed data can be assumed to be drawn from a Gaussian distribution. In this paper, the two-stage transformation recommended by the International Federation for Clinical Chemistry is compared with a novel generalised Box–Cox family of transformations. Investigation is also made of sample sizes needed to achieve certain criteria of reliability in the calculated reference interval. Simulations are used to show that the generalised Box–Cox family achieves a lower bias than the two-stage transformation. It was found that there is a possibility that the two-stage transformation will result in percentile estimates that cannot be back-transformed to obtain the required reference intervals, a difficulty not observed when using the generalised Box–Cox family introduced in this paper.     

Caregivers' perspectives on the SafeCare® programme: Implementing an evidence‐based intervention for child neglect

This qualitative study examined caregivers' experiences with SafeCare®, an evidence‐based programme that focuses on child neglect through modules on health, safety, and parenting. Shortly after completing SafeCare, 30 caregivers participated in a semi‐structured interview about their experiences with the programme. Overall, caregivers indicated that the programme helped with improvements in their parenting skills. Among the factors that contributed to a positive experience were the simplicity of language, the skills‐based approach, and the quality of the relationship with the SafeCare provider. Caregivers also noted several factors that made it difficult to fully benefit from the programme, including financial constraints, removal of their child from the home, and general distrust towards the child welfare system. Findings provide relevant information for SafeCare providers in terms of identifying areas that work well for caregivers completing the programme, as well as areas that might serve as impediments. Implications for contemporary child welfare practice are also considered.     

Women's Work in the Home

No abstract available for this article.