Women Underrepresentation in R&I: A Sector Program Assessment of the Contribution of Gender Equality Policies in Research and Innovation

Despite decades of efforts to achieve gender equality in research and innovation (R&I), all EU member states still face remarkable difficulties in driving forward the development of their innovation system while at the same time improving gender equality by using all the available research potential. In this paper we focus on the development of the share of women researchers in four national innovation systems, i.e. in Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Spain in the time period 2005-2015. The four selected cases represent countries with significant differences in their innovation capacity, gender regimes and progress of gender equality in R&I. A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is carried out to conduct a sector program evaluation based on statistical data and qualitative studies to understand the dynamic development of the proportion of women researchers. The study aims to provide insights into the aggregated gender equality interventions and policies implemented in the four countries studied and their contributions to the development of the proportion of women scientists at the structural level. The analysis reveals that the development of the share of women researchers during the studied period has been particularly influenced by contextual factors, namely the relative size of the business enterprise sector and the share of women among holders of tertiary education. While this is the case, it is found that gender equality interventions need to be more widespread and more effectively designed to be a strong contributing factor to an increasing representation of women in R&I.     

Who becomes an online activist and why: Understanding the publics in politicized consumer activism

This study draws attention to the emerging phenomenon of politicized consumer activism and uses public segmentation to identify the publics involved. The unique characteristics of politicized consumer activism (i.e., consumers acting for political rather than economic reasons and being driven by a political stance rather than morality or identity) render it distinct from other frameworks, such as self-interest-motivated consumer activism, political consumer activism, and consumer nationalism. To shed light on the participants involved in politicized consumer activism, the present study includes a public segmentation analysis of a case in a Chinese context. Building on the situational theory of publics (STP), this study incorporates three objective resources—economic, social, and cultural capital—as segmenting criteria. Data were collected by sending out self-administered questionnaires, resulting in 450 valid and complete questionnaires. A two-step cluster analysis identified three segments: the inactive unprivileged group (cluster 1), the moderate elites (cluster 2), and the active middle class (cluster 3). The degree of activism was lowest in cluster 1 and highest in cluster 3. The sociological significance of segmenting publics and the manifestation of the characteristics of politicized consumer activism through the segments are discussed.     

Narrative persuasion,identification, attitudes,and trustworthiness in crisis communication

The purpose of this study is to test the effects of narratives in crisis communication. This research assesses how organizations benefit from using stories in their media responses, relative to sharing nonnarrative information. The theory of crisis response narratives (Heath, 2004) holds that ethical narratives are effective because they enhance trustworthiness, attitudes toward the spokesperson, and identification with the spokesperson. Normative crisis communication theory exhorts disclosing truthful information rather than spinning. In an online experiment, participants (N = 365) watched a news interview in which a scandalized company’s spokesperson responded to a journalist’s questions with (a) ethical narratives, (b) unethical (spin) narratives, or (c) nonnarrative information. Multiple mediator modeling assessed identification with the spokesperson, attitudes toward the spokesperson, and perceived trustworthiness of the spokesperson. Results indicate ethical narratives are more effective than unethical narratives. However, nonnarrative information most effectively enhances trustworthiness and bolsters identification.     

The dimensions of gender in the last twenty years: an analysis of the International Review of Sociology

ABSTRACT

The Social Sciences and, specifically, the sociological research, have progressively assumed the gender factor as one of the strategic keys to understand contemporary phenomena. In fact, as a variable for socio-statistical analysis or as a characterizing trait of individual identity, it is a decisive factor in the interpretation of the deep social transformations, and it inspires the self-reflection of the sociologists about the analytical tools of their discipline. The contribution proposes, through a lexicometric approach, an analysis of the articles published in the last two decades by the oldest journal of Sociology, published by Routledge. The main aim is to highlight the different ways in which gender issues are declined in the international sociological researches presented in the repertoire of the International Review of Sociology and to outline, both on the lexical level and on the topic level, the changes occurred over time.     

Relationship of sleep quality and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms with quality of life in college students

Abstract

Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) negatively influences various aspects of life such as social relations, adaptive skills, and occupation. In addition, many university students experience sleep problems, academic failure, and low quality of life (QOL). We investigated the relationship among ADHD symptoms, sleep quality, and QOL of college students, and identified the factors related to their QOL. Participants and Methods: Using a survey questionnaire, data were collected from 195 students from March–May 2017. Results: QOL of students was related to ADHD symptoms and sleep quality. Factors significantly associated with better QOL were fewer ADHD symptoms, good sleep quality, male sex, high academic performance, and high economic status. The explanatory power of these variables on QOL was 32.0%. Conclusion: To improve the QOL of college students, a multifaceted approach that includes assessment of ADHD symptoms and sleep quality is needed.     

‘It's not acceptable for the husband to stay at home': Taking a discourse analytical approach to capture the gendering of work

This article illustrates some of the ways in which the notion of (paid) work is actively being gendered, and how these gendering processes take place not only through organizational practices but also in discourses that circulate outside an organization in the private domain. Drawing on 15 in‐depth interviews with women who opted out of their own professional career in order to accompany their husbands on their overseas work assignment to Hong Kong, we demonstrate some of the benefits of using a discourse analytical approach to capturing and identifying the processes through which these women actively (although not necessarily consciously) gender the notion of work, thereby reinforcing the gender order and its male bias. We argue that identifying and making visible these gendered and gendering practices is an important component of, and a potential trigger for, change both in organizations as well as private contexts.     

Note passing as gendered practices of public ambiguity in a hyper‐masculine organization

This article explores a surprising and seemingly mundane organizational practice: passing notes during professional meetings. Based on 34 in‐depth interviews with women in a hyper‐masculine organization — the Israeli military — this study focuses on what I term gendered practices of public ambiguity. It demonstrates how these practices shed light on three interrelated paths to power at work: (i) practices of public intimacy between men; (ii) practices of women's degradation by men; and (iii) practices of recognition claims by women. The tension between the publicity inherent in the routine passing of notes and the ambiguity of their contents calls for a more nuanced theorization of gendered power practices, which transcends the accepted dichotomy of doing and undoing gender, reproducing or challenging the symbolic gender order. The findings show that gendered micro‐practices can become polysemic symbolic spaces in which women redirect the flow of power, if only temporarily and locally, and turn it into a multidirectional and multi‐agentic resource. The conceptual contribution of these findings is discussed in terms of the positioning of women in hyper‐masculine environments as pragmatic subjects who (re‐)construct mechanisms of power out of the restricted repertoire available to them.