Girls’ Jobs for the Boys? Men,Masculinity and Non‐Traditional Occupations

Occupational segregation by sex remains the most pervasive aspect of the labour market. In the past, most research on this topic has concentrated on explanations of women’s segregation into low paid and low status occupations, or investigations of women who have crossed gender boundaries into men’s jobs, and the potential impact on them and the occupations. In contrast, this article reports on a small‐scale, qualitative study of ten men who have crossed into what are generally defined as ‘women’s jobs’. In doing so, one of the impacts on them has been that they have experienced challenges to their masculine identity from various sources and in a variety of ways. The men’s reactions to these challenges, and their strategies for developing and accommodating their masculinity in light of these challenges, are illuminating. They either attempted to maintain a traditional masculinity by distancing themselves from female colleagues, and/or partially (re)constructed a different masculinity by identifying with their non‐traditional occupations. This they did as often as they deemed necessary as a response to different forms of challenge to their gender identities from both men and women. Finally, the article argues that these responses work to maintain the men as the dominant gender, even in these traditionally defined ‘women’s jobs’.     

Inside stories: Maternal representations of first time mothers from pre-pregnancy to early pregnancy

BackgroundAccording to the psychoanalytical literature, it is during pregnancy that maternal representations of the mother–infant relationship become activated. Midwives who are engaged with the mother and the baby have not drawn upon this concept in their practice. In order for this to happen, it is important to understand better the nature of maternal representations and when they are activated from empirical studies.QuestionThe research question is: what are the maternal representations of a group of first time mothers from pre-pregnancy, early pregnancy and to the first ultrasound.MethodA narrative approach was used to gain insight into the maternal representations of first time pregnant womens’ account of their representations. The analysis method was based on thematic approach.ParticipantsFifteen women aged between 23 and 38 years.SettingA midwives clinic attached to a tertiary hospital in Melbourne, Australia.FindingsFirst-time pregnant women's maternal representations were activated when a woman begins to plan her pregnancy (‘the time is right’), again at the onset of physical changes to her body as a result of conception (‘my body is changing’), and at the first early ultrasound at around twelve weeks (‘it’ is a real baby).ConclusionMaternal representations are important for the midwife and pregnant women because this concept provides another understanding in relation to the psychological dimension of pregnancy.     

Preliminary evaluation of contingent meals and telephone use to improve evidence-supported family therapy session attendance in mothers referred by Child Protective Services for substance abuse

Persons referred by Child Protective Services (CPS) for substance abuse evidence high rates of nonattendance to therapy sessions, taxing systems of care and exacerbating outcomes. This study examined the influence of two telephone-based incentive programs on therapy session attendance in mothers who were referred by CPS for substance abuse. After baseline therapy session attendance was established in an evidence-based clinic that incorporated a telephone engagement intervention (Phase I), participants were provided free cellular telephones with limited minutes and permitted to order free meals delivered by the therapist during upcoming sessions (Phase II). The third phase was similar to Phase II, but participants were provided unlimited minutes. Results indicated that participants’ attendance was significantly improved when meals and cellular telephone minutes were contingent on attendance. Although the percentage of sessions attended by participants during Phase III was higher than Phase II, unlimited minutes and meals did not significantly enhance attendance relative to limited minutes and meals. Session attendance for significant others of these participants was significantly higher during Phase III as compared with Phase I. Session attendance of significant others was statistically similar between Phase I and II and between Phase II and Phase III. Study implications and recommendations for future research and practice are discussed in light of the findings.     

The Flexibility of Scientific Rhetoric: A Case Study of UFO Researchers

The case of ufology demonstrates that cultural packaging—a sort of once-removed indication of scientific authority—can be key in creating knowledge accepted as scientific. This adds a new dimension to the argument that scientific legitimacy is constructed, not just from scientific methodologies and institutional location, but also of language, culture, rhetoric, and symbols. Fringe researchers can make their cases for legitimacy using a variety of strategies—few of which involve actual research. Outside of the scientific community, scientific-sounding explanations and proclamations of expert statuses hold sway. Ambiguities about what constitutes science can be capitalized upon by groups like the UFO research community that assembles shards of legitimacy using science as a cultural template.     

‘Bad Therapy’ as a Training Technique: An Empirical Analysis

The purpose of the present study was to gather empirical data to examine the usefulness of an intriguing training technique called “bad therapy”. The technique, developed by Lang (1980, 1982), is utilized in a role-play setting for experienced therapists who are having difficulty with specific clients showing little improvement. The therapist is instructed to disregard his or her usual style of treatment, and instead, within a role-play format with a colleague who plays the part of a client, to try an alternative style of treatment. This new treatment, termed “bad therapy”, instructs the therapist to try to make the client worse rather than better. Interestingly, reports from both the role-play therapist and client indicate that the “bad therapy” session was considered more beneficial than the therapist's usual mode of treatment. As well as empirically investigating Lang's assertion, the present study also attempted to look at different perspectives of bad therapy. Is “bad therapy” a directive to be harmful and destructive, or is it a suggestion to be more daring and to take more risks? Subjects were 56 therapists who formed twenty eight pairs of therapist-client dyads. First, each pair conducted a “session” where the therapist performed his or her typical therapy. Then, therapists in one group (N= 11) were given directives to try to make their clients worse rather than better (“destructive” set), while therapists in another group (N=11) were told to say and do things that they wished to, but never dared (“daring” set). Finally, six therapists were told to simply repeat their usual type of therapy (“control” set). Results indicated that clients perceived the destructive and daring groups differently with the daring group being perceived more favourably, yet more authoritarian. Similarly, therapists perceived the daring and control groups more positively than the destructive group. The results are discussed in terms of training techniques and current trends in psychotherapy.     

Three Models of Conflict Resolution: Effects on Intergroup Expectancies and Attitudes

Gordon Allport (1960) once noted that there are many different approaches to conflict resolution, but that few empirical studies have been conducted to examine their effectiveness. This experiment was designed to evaluate the distributive bargaining, integrative bargaining, and interactive problem solving models of conflict resolution, using intergroup expectancies and attitudes as dependent measures. Jewish and Arab students were paired into mixed-ethnicity dyads to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian dispute about Jerusalem according to one of the three models. It was hypothesized that dyad members using the interactive problem solving model would become the least pessimistic about the conflict, and would show the greatest positive change in their attitudes toward members of the other ethnic group. The results support these predictions, and help to make up for the paucity of research on the assessment of conflict resolution strategies.     

More than just nickels and dimes: a cross-national analysis of working poverty in affluent democracies

Despite its centrality to contemporary inequality, working poverty is often popularly discussed but rarely studied by sociologists. Using the Luxembourg Income Study (2009), we analyze whether an individual is working poor across 18 affluent democracies circa 2000. We demonstrate that working poverty does not simply mirror overall poverty and that there is greater cross-national variation in working than overall poverty. We then examine four explanations for working poverty: demographic characteristics, economic performance, unified theory, and welfare generosity. We utilize Heckman probit models to jointly model the likelihood of employment and poverty among the employed. Our analyses provide the least support for the economic performance explanation. There is modest support for unified theory as unionization reduces working poverty in some models. However, most of these effects appear to be mediated by welfare generosity. More substantial evidence exists for the demographic characteristics and welfare generosity explanations. An individual's likelihood of being working poor can be explained by (a) a lack of multiple earners or other adults in one's household, low education, single motherhood, having children and youth; and (b) the generosity of the welfare state in which he or she resides. Also, welfare generosity does not undermine employment and reduces working poverty even among demographically vulnerable groups. Ultimately, we encourage a greater role for the welfare state in debates about working poverty.