How many men work in the English early years sector? Why is the low figure so ‘stubbornly resistant to change’?

This study draws on data from the GenderEYE project, research conducted in England between 2018 and 2020, which aimed to examine the recruitment, support and retention of male teachers within early years education (EYE) with a view of developing a more gender diverse workforce in this sector. Data collection was by means of a survey, 9 case studies with early years settings and interviews with key stakeholders. In this study, we examine a key finding about the persistently low numbers of male EYE professionals, linking this to another finding concerning a lack of specific strategy to recruit and support men.     

The Contribution of Emotion Perceptions and Their Overgeneralizations to Trait Impressions

This study tested the hypothesis derived from ecological theory that adaptive social perceptions of emotion expressions fuel trait impressions. Moreover, it was predicted that these impressions would be overgeneralized and perceived in faces that were not intentionally posing expressions but nevertheless varied in emotional demeanor. To test these predictions, perceivers viewed 32 untrained targets posing happy, surprised, angry, sad, and fearful expressions and formed impressions of their dominance and affiliation. When targets posed happiness and surprise they were perceived as high in dominance and affiliation whereas when they posed anger they were perceived as high in dominance and low in affiliation. When targets posed sadness and fear they were perceived as low in dominance. As predicted, many of these impressions were overgeneralized and attributed to targets who were not posing expressions. The observed effects were generally independent of the impact of other facial cues (i.e., attractiveness and babyishness).     

Incorporating flow into practice and performance

In the music profession, individuals often work under stress filled conditions. This is especially true for individuals making their living as performing musicians. Musical performance anxiety has been well documented in both students and professionals. For some, the experience may lead to a termination of what might otherwise remain a successful performing career. Humans are susceptible to anxiety and so the phenomenon of musical performance anxiety is not likely to disappear. Learning how to effectively deal with musical performance anxiety is paramount for those in the performing arts. Entering a state of flow, in which there is total absorption in an activity, allows for the possiblity of any ensuing anxiety to become facilitative, rather than debilitative. This article will discuss several characteristics of flow, as defined by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, and provide practical applications for musical practice and performance in an attempt to counterbalance musical performance anxiety. Musicians will benefit from a closer examination of the elements of flow and means of incorporating these elements into practice and performance.     

A Bayesian examination of information and uncertainty in contingent valuation

A theoretical framework is presented to explain how agents respond to information under uncertainty in contingent valuation surveys. Agents are provided with information signals and referendum prices as part of the elicitation process. Agents use Bayesian updating to revise prior distributions. An information prompt is presented to reduce hypothetical bias. However, we show the interaction between anchoring and the information prompt creates a systematic bias in willingness to pay. We test our hypotheses in an experimental setting where agents are asked to make a hypothetical, voluntary contribution to a public good. Experimental results are consistent with the model.

Strengthening field education in aging through university-community agency partnership: the Practicum Partnership Program

The Practicum Partnership Program (PPP), an innovative field education model developed and implemented by six demonstration sites over four years (2000-2004), uses a structured university-community partnership, or consortium, as the foundation for designing, implementing, and evaluating internships for graduate social work students specializing in aging. This paper describes the site consortia and PPP programs, presents evaluation findings, and identifies future directions for the PPP. Student learning outcomes were positive and both students and consortia agencies reported positive PPP experiences. The PPP model underscores the value of the community agencies as equal partners in educating future geriatric social workers.