Why fewer women become physicians: Explaining the premed persistence gap

Previous research indicates that the answer to the question of why fewer women become physicians lies in the premed persistence gap. Women are no less likely than men to enter undergraduate premed programs, but they are less likely to complete the program and apply to medical school. This article presents data from a study designed to test four plausible explanations of the persistence gap that are consistent with the structural barriers, normative barriers, and cognitive differences theories of gender inequality. The findings do not support the perception of discrimination hypothesis, the discouragement hypothesis, the self-derogation hypothesis, and the anticipated role conflict hypothesis. Rather, the evidence suggests another explanation — the normative alternatives approach. This approach holds that contemporary gender norms offer women fewer disincentives to changing or lowering their high-status career goals when encountering hardship, self-doubt, and the possibility of failure.An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta, August 1988.     

Middle School Children's Career Aspirations: Relationship to Adult Occupations and Gender

The authors explored the relationship between the career aspirations of 89 preadolescents from low socioeconomic backgrounds and the actual occupations of the working adults in their homes with regard to status, job gender identification, and interest ( Holland, 1997 ). There was a significant relationship between boys’ career aspirations and the occupations of the working male adults in their homes, specifically job gender identification and interest. More adult males had stereotypically male jobs—classified as Realistic by Holland (1997) —that was mirrored in the preadolescent boys’ career aspirations. There were no significant matches between the boys and working women or with the girls and the working adults of either gender.     

The effects of religious contextual norms, structural constraints, and personal religiosity on abortion decisions

Researchers have established that individual religiosity influences abortion attitudes, and that abortion attitudes, in turn, shape abortion restrictions and access. Less clear is whether religion and abortion structural constraints influence abortion decisions. This study examines the several individual, contextual, and structural factors that could shape the abortion decisions of women who conceive before marriage. Special attention is given to the importance of academic aspirations and structural constraints, in contrast to religious beliefs and county religious context, for making an abortion decision. Hierarchical modeling techniques and two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) are employed. Neither generic religiosity nor conservative Protestant religious context appear to influence women’s abortion decisions. Conversely, young women’s abortion decisions are shaped by academic ambition, identification with a conservative Protestant denomination, proximity to an abortion clinic and the level of public abortion funding in their county of residence.     

Profiles of High School Students’ STEM Career Aspirations

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields have a need for recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. Understanding students’ aspiration to STEM careers is important for supporting underrepresented populations. Data from a nationally representative sample (N = 20,010) of high school students who reported career aspirations were analyzed. Analyses revealed significant relations between students’ aspirations and demographic variables, and differences in aspirations based on students’ race and gender. Findings highlight a need for counselors to implement career interventions that address students’ cultural contexts.     

Traditional versus experimental pathways to university: Educational aspirations among young Swedes with and without an immigrant background

In this paper, we investigate the different ways in which young people with and without an immigrant background, who have in common that they aspire for a higher education, picture their nearest future. We distinguish between two major pathways to a university education: a traditional pathway (direct transition from upper secondary school to university) and an experimental pathway (where university plans are mixed with other plans, such as work and travel). Data come from a school survey of 685 final-year students in 10 upper secondary schools in Malmö, the third biggest metropolitan area in Sweden. We find that it is much more common among youth with an immigrant background to plan for a traditional pathway, compared to youth of Swedish background who instead are more inclined to plan for experimentation. This difference remains when controlling for factors related to school performance and parental socioeconomic background.     

论和谐社会语境中的个人价值诉求

和谐社会有两种形态：自然的和谐及建构的和谐。和谐社会的构成要素有三个层面：个人自身的和谐,个人、集体与社会的和谐以及个人、集体、社会与自然的和谐。个人价值的诉求关涉到“知本”价值、创新价值、财富价值和幸福价值四个方面。个人价值的诉求的结果如何直接关系到整个社会的和谐与不和谐,反过来,社会和谐的目的也是为了保证个人价值的实现最终达到个人和社会的至善。     

The new ‘twice migrants’: motivations,experiences and disillusionments of Italian-Bangladeshis relocating to London

Taking our cue from an earlier study of East African Asians who ‘onward-migrated’ to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, this paper looks at the more recent phenomenon of Bangladeshi immigrants in Italy who are onward-migrating to London. We seek to answer three questions. First, why does this migration occur? Second, how does the ethnic group we call ‘Italian-Bangladeshis’ narrate their working lives in London and to what extent do they feel ‘at home’ there? Third, what are the gaps between their expectations held before the move and the actual social and economic conditions they encounter in London? Empirical evidence comes from 40 in-depth interviews with Italian-Bangladeshis who have already onward-migrated or plan to. Most Italian-Bangladeshis move to London to escape socially limiting factory work in Italy, to invest in the educational future of their children, and to join the largest Bangladeshi community outside of their home country. In London, they describe feeling more ‘at home’ than in Italy, due to the size and multiple facilities of the Bangladeshi community, their lack of ‘visibility’ and of racialisation, and the greater sense of religious freedom. But their onward-migration experience has its more negative sides: the inability to access more than low-paid casual work in London’s service economy, the cost of housing, and the difficulty of making social contacts beyond their ethnic community, especially with those they regard as ‘natives’, i.e. ‘white’ British.     

从“以舞表情”到“借诗言志”——论舞蹈与先秦歌诗的发展

远古时期歌乐舞三者密不可分,混合为一。在这种混合艺术中,舞蹈是其核心,歌诗依附于舞蹈而存在,是舞蹈的伴奏和节拍。在舞蹈的影响下,歌诗的功用在声而不在意,且在内容和艺术上呈现出"浅薄而粗野"的特点。歌诗的这种存在状态及特点,使其不具有独立传播的价值,因此在后代的典籍中,很难发现远古歌诗的踪影。至周,礼乐文化兴盛,歌诗成为时人表情达意的重要方式,此时歌诗方摆脱舞蹈的束缚,得以进入自身的发展轨道,并快速地走向繁荣。     

Social aspirations and choice of fertility: why can status motive reduce per-capita growth?

To examine the relationship between social aspirations, fertility choices and growth performances, we develop a R&D-based model in which individuals care about the number of children they bring up and their social status. In such an economy, we find that stronger status motives have a negative effect on growth. The reason is that individuals bring up fewer children, as children are an obstacle to the achievement of their social status. Introducing an endogenous choice of quality for children, we show that stronger status motives lead individuals to bring up fewer but higher quality children. In this case, social aspirations heighten the desire of parents to substitute the quantity for the quality of children because education of children fosters society’s productive ability, indirectly improving parents’ social status. I would like to thank Michael Bleaney, Juntip Boonprakaikawe, Trudy Owens, Kaipichit Ruengsrichaiya, two anonymous referees, and one editor of the review for their helpful comments and suggestions. I am grateful to the University of Nottingham (UK) for its support during the redaction of this paper.     

Occupational aspirations and ethnic school segregation: social contagion effects among native German and immigrant youths

In this study, I broaden the perspective on young immigrants’ aspirations by looking at their social embeddedness in the host society in terms of their institutionally predefined ties to school peers. In particular, I investigate the relationship between the aspirations of immigrant and native youths with special regard to the social mechanisms that may underlie peer influences. My analyses are based on multilevel data on ninth graders from the German National Educational Panel Study. The results show that a high ratio of immigrants in schools positively influences the aspirations of both immigrant and native German youths by way of school climate. However, the same context has different effects on different groups of origin. For those of Turkish descent, ‘ethnic schools’ are of twofold significance: first, the aspiration gap between Turks and native Germans decreases with increasing segregation, an effect that may be attributable to less perceived discriminatory experiences in school. Second, Turkish young people's stronger adaptation to the climate in ethnically segregated schools reinforces the protective effect of ethnic segregation and, additionally, lowers the aspirations of these youths. That is, immigrants’ stronger orientation towards their in-group seems to contribute to a buffer against discrimination.