‘An opportunity for other men and a threat to other women’: workplace harassment at the intersection of marital status and gender in Sri Lanka

The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the ways divorced women experience workplace harassment at the intersection of marital status and gender in an Asian context, using the theory of intersectionality. Employing qualitative research approach, in-depth interviews with 12 divorced women were carried out. Results indicated the ways in which the participants get caught between ideological norms and beliefs about marriage and women that trigger distinct forms of harassment such as sexual harassment (sexual propositions and unpleasant flirtation), mistreatment (rumour-mongering, unsolicited/derogatory remarks, and ostracization/social exclusion), and discriminatory treatment (denial of promotions and positions as well as dismissal of achievements). Mostly subtle and at times blatant, the interplay of power dynamics, female misogyny, and intra-gender competition arising out of societal structures and deeply entrenched beliefs about women and marriage are seen as the basis for the manifestation of these forms of harassment. These findings advance the understanding of harassment, divorced women, and intersectionality, while also highlighting important implications for Human Resource Development professionals in addressing this grave issue at work.     

Eye of the Beholder? Sociocultural Factors in the Body Image and Sexual Well-Being of Heterosexual Women

ABSTRACT. Participants (124 heterosexual women) completed measures of thin-ideal internalization, discrepancy between perceptions of actual and ideal figure (DISC_SELF), perceptions of the discrepancy between estimates of partner's view of actual and ideal female figure (DISC_PART), body image, and sexual well-being. We found support for the proposed perception-of-partner pathway in that greater DISC_PART was associated with poorer body image, which in turn was associated with poorer sexual well-being. However, we found little support for a link between thin-ideal internalization or DISC_SELF and sexual well-being. The results suggest that heterosexual women's beliefs about how their partners view them are important to their sexual well-being.     

Children's Anger Attribution Bias: Relations to Family Environment and Social Adjustment

We examined the relations of caregiver depression and family instability to preschool children's anger attribution bias and emotion attribution accuracy on a test of emotion situation knowledge. After controlling for age, gender, and verbal ability, caregiver depression and family instability predicted children's anger attribution bias but not the overall accuracy of their emotion attributions. We also divided children into groups low and high on teacher reports of aggression and groups low and high on teacher reports of peer rejection and examined the anger attribution bias of these groups. For boys but not girls, greater anger attribution bias predicted higher levels of aggression. For all children, greater anger attribution bias predicted higher levels of peer rejection. Results suggest that the misattribution of anger to others may be an important component of some children's early emotional and social difficulties.     

英汉语用规则差异的社会文化分析

英汉跨文化语用研究的焦点问题涉及表层的语言形式的选择，以及深层的社会文化价值取向。英汉社会文化价值的差异主导人们选择不同的语言规则，这些规则制约着语言形式，以至于在对待冲突或矛盾、提出请求、表示拒绝和异议的具体言语行为和事件中，这些语用规则既有对应，更有差异。深化对英汉语用规则差再的认识，有助于我们克服跨文化交际失误。     

Plea in favor of ‘trivial mathematics’ in a multimathemacy educational perspective

Sketching three different approaches to mathematics education, I choose for a pluralistic view, called multimathemacy. The focus is on cultural diversity and particular and local skills and insights in the out-of-school knowledge of the children. ‘Trivial mathematics’ as Hardy called it can be used as a bridge between these skills and insights and the abstract thinking in so-called pure mathematics. The sociocultural learning theory of the Vygotsky school and its contemporary elaborations should be adopted in teaching procedures and curricula to that end.     

Sociocultural Factors Influencing Girl-Child Education in the Context of Marriage in Ilorin Environs,Nigeria

This study examined the influence of sociocultural factors on girl-child education in the context of marriage. Two hundred female adolescents from Queen School in Ilorin environs constituted the sample for the study. Their ages ranged from 13 years to 17 years with a mean age of 14.2 years and standard deviation of 2.0. The data obtained were analyzed using chi-square statistics. The results revealed that the social and cultural factors contributed significantly to influence girl-child education in the context of marriage. Based on the results of the findings, it was recommended that those in the helping professions should recognize those variables that have been found to influence girl-child education in the context of marriage.     

Renaissance beauty = Today’s ugly: What appearance factors determine attractiveness judgments?

ABSTRACT

By comparing photos of portraits of the faces of Renaissance courtesans to photos of attractive contemporary women’s faces this study estimates the importance of sociocultural factors in the personal perception of faces. Physical attractiveness is an important causal factor in choosing a sex partner, so the difference between averaged attractiveness judgments, a focus of attractiveness research, and individual attractiveness judgment, most relevant to choosing a sex partner, is important. Except for modesty and faithfulness, 13 normally attractive contemporary models were rated much more positively by college student participants (N = 189) than were eight celebrated Renaissance courtesans, both in attractiveness (contemporary stimuli 63%; Renaissance courtesans 31%) and in personality traits. All of the Renaissance courtesan trait ratings showed more variability than the contemporary stimuli. This study supports the view that once a relatively low baseline level of biological attractiveness is surpassed, latent and explicit sociocultural factors, culturally relative gender role appearance expectations, culturally relative aesthetic judgment factors, individual differences, and interpersonal dynamics are major determining factors of judgments of pretty and/or beautiful showing large subcultural and cultural individual differences. Pretty and beautiful may be discrete concepts, with beautiful strongly culturally determined. These data suggest that sociocultural and subcultural factors are important determiners of attractiveness.     

Faith and Religious Delusions in First-Episode Schizophrenia

ABSTRACT

Empirical research has not adequately examined whether social workers and clients discuss sociocultural issues when addressing mental health problems, nor the quality of the interaction when such discussion occurs. This exploratory mixed-method study examined the interactional process associated with discussion of sociocultural issues in the first three counseling sessions with four white social worker/client of color dyads. Findings showed that productive cross-cultural interactions were associated neither with specific sociocultural content nor client-worker composition, but rather with the social worker's perception and skill. Analysis differentiated one worker/client dialogue from the others, highlighting the importance of training practitioners to apply social work knowledge and skills in a synthesized manner.     

基于社会文化理论的二语课堂互动话语建构及实证研究

[摘 要]在社会文化理论框架之下,对国内外二语课堂互动话语研究现状进行归纳和总结,目的是将社会文化理论教学观和课堂互动话语策略有机结合起来,并通过社会文化理论中调节论、内化论、最近发展区理论和活动理论等核心理论在二语课堂中应用的论述,有力地佐证社会文化理论对二语课堂的互动话语研究的积极推动作用。理论研究最终在二语课堂中教师提问和学生反馈实证研究中得到进一步深化。     

社会文化视域下的教师自主研究——以中国大学英语教师为例

在与外部的社会文化环境进行交互作用的过程中教师才能得以实现教师自主,故文章从社会文化论角度探讨教师自主的构念,指出教师自主有广义狭义之分,显性与隐形两类;据此分析了影响教师自主的制约因素,并提出了实现中国外语教师自主的路线图.