What was that Secret? Framing Forced Disclosures from Teen Mothers

Although previous research has examined the micropractices of therapeutic interaction, few studies have focused on the expression of power in group therapy. This ethnographic study examines a therapeutic program for teen mothers to explore how self‐disclosure occurs, focusing on the therapist's techniques for soliciting disclosure and subsequent responses. These techniques include the therapist's own disclosures, presentation of commands, and revelation of information, which then evoke the disclosure. Individuals respond with immediate compliance, delayed compliance, or sustained resistance. Although the therapist attempts to mask this imbalance, her strategies reinforce the power differences between herself and the teen mothers. The interactions observed here illustrate how clients may find therapeutic environments less about psychological unburdening and healing and more about the negotiation of power in an institutional setting. A more effective therapy might focus on disclosure of clients' successes rather than primarily on the revelation of discrediting information.     

FEMININE CAPITAL: The Forms of Capital in the Female Labor Market in Japan

There are many studies of the effect of human capital on individual labor market out-comes and on the contribution of educational institutions to an individual's human, social, and cultural capital. Logistic regression analyses, using data on women's job placement in Japan, showed that a feminine characteristics and support from school were important for being hired by large companies for clerical jobs. This paper argues that there are forms of capital that are specific to women's employment outcome in the Japanese labor market. This lays the basis for gender discrimination and a "glass ceiling" on women's advancement in corporate Japan.     

Women's & Gender Studies Journal Database

Abstract

The Women's & Gender Studies Journal Database (WGSJD) at Rutgers University is a user-oriented, discipline-based database that provides quick access to journal titles available online. It is also a union list of journal titles, print and online, in the area of women's and gender studies at Rutgers University Libraries. The author describes this database and its value-added service in the context of Rutgers University Libraries' information system. Discussion also includes its advantages and disadvantages, the changing roles and areas of responsibilities for subject selectors, and how the database fits into future developments of the library's information system. Serials Review 2002; 28:261–266.     

The Network Autocorrelation Model using Two-mode Data: Affiliation Exposure and Potential Bias in the Autocorrelation Parameter

The network autocorrelation model has been a workhorse for modeling network influences on individual behavior. The standard network approaches to mapping social influence using network measures, however, are limited to specifying an influence weight matrix (W) based on a single mode network. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that the estimate of the autocorrelation parameter ρ of the network effect tends to be negatively biased as the density in W matrix increases. The current study introduces a two-mode version of the network autocorrelation model. We then conduct simulations to examine conditions under which bias might exist. We show that the estimate for the affiliation autocorrelation parameter (ρ) tends to be negatively biased as density increases, as in the one-mode case. Inclusion of the diagonal of W, the count of the number of events participated in, as one of the variables in the regression model helps to attenuate such bias, however. We discuss the implications of these results.     

Division of Household Labor and Marital Satisfaction in China, Japan, and Korea

In this study, we compared the association of marital satisfaction with the division of household labor in China, Japan, and Korea. Results revealed that wives’ marital satisfaction was negatively associated with their burden of housework in the three Asian countries, as generally observed in Western countries. However, there were noticeable cross-country differences. Chinese couples were relatively in favor of an egalitarian division of household labor. Japanese couples were supportive of traditional specialization, with wives flexibly shifting their efforts between work outside the house and housework. Korean couples were under pressure from conflicts between the wife’s labor force participation and the traditional division of labor. These findings underscored the importance of the socio-institutional context in the study of marital satisfaction.     

Effectiveness of coaching for enhancing the health of menopausal Japanese women

We conducted and evaluated a coaching intervention aimed at encouraging menopausal women’s engagement in goal-oriented actions, self-efficacy enhancement, menopausal symptom alleviation, and quality of life improvement. The study was a randomized controlled trial comprising women aged 40–60 who were not receiving hormone therapy. The intervention group received leaflets and three monthly coaching sessions. Instruments included the Simplified Menopausal Index, Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and goal achievement scale. Participants were measured preintervention, immediately postintervention, and three months postintervention. A 3-month coaching intervention to enhance menopausal women’s health increased their self-efficacy. This effect was not maintained 3 months postintervention.     

Framing effects and gender differences in voluntary public goods provision experiments

We examine whether there are any systematic gender differences in voluntary public goods provision experiments under the two different framing conditions—the positive-frame and the negative-frame. We find that: (1) there are significant framing effects in their contribution rates for both men and women; (2) there is no significant gender difference in their contribution rates under the positive-frame and (3) there is a significant gender difference in their contribution rates under the negative-frame. In fact, women are more generous in their contribution than men under the negative-frame.     

Variations in network boundary and type: A study of adolescent peer influences

This study compares variation in network boundary and network type on network indicators such as degree and estimates of social influences on adolescent substance use. We compare associations between individual use and peer use of tobacco and alcohol when network boundary (e.g., classroom, entire grade in school, and community) and relational type (elicited by asking whom students: (a) are friends with, (b) admire, (c) think will succeed, (d) would like to have a romantic relationship with, and (e) think are popular) are varied. Additionally, we estimate Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) for 232 networks to obtain a homophily estimate for smoking and drinking. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 1707 adolescents in five high schools in one school district in Los Angeles, CA. Results of logistic regression models show that associations were strongest when the boundary condition was least constrained and that associations were stronger for friendship networks than for other ones. Additionally, ERGM estimations show that grade-level friendship networks returned significant homophily effects more frequently than the classroom networks. This study validates existing theoretical approaches to the network study of social influence as well as ways to estimate them. We recommend researchers use as broad a boundary as possible when collecting network data, but observe that for some research purposes more narrow boundaries may be preferred.     

The Organizational Practice of Gendered Employment: Disparate Impact and Gender Segregation in the Japanese Entry-Level Labor Market

Abstract

This article discusses the supposedly “gender-neutral” Japanese organizational hiring practice of using a track-based employment system. In this system, prospective employees are required to accept nationwide transfers in residence to obtain career-track positions. Women have difficulty fulfilling this requirement because of cultural expectations to settle down and tend to domestic affairs (day care is often hard to access). Using job placement data on graduates from a Japanese university, I found that women are more likely to be hired into firms without this track system, where they are mostly hired for non-career-track positions. Therefore, seemingly gender-neutral bureaucratic rules actually disparately affect women, maintaining gender inequality in the corporate-centered economy of Japan.     

Job Seekers with Musculoskeletal or Sensory Disabilities: Barriers and Facilitators of Job Search

Drawing on interviews with job seekers and expert informants, we outline a model of the job search experience of people with disabilities. This model specifies the sequence of events involved in the pursuit of paid work and the contextual features that inhibit or facilitate job search attitudes, behaviours, intermediate search outcomes and employment outcomes. By contrasting the experiences of job seekers with musculoskeletal and sensory disabilities, and outlining the influence of major stakeholders in the form of employment agencies and family members, our model provides the basis for a more nuanced understanding of the job search process. Finally, we recommend points of intervention that are grounded in data for improving job search outcomes for people with disabilities in general, and for job seekers with musculoskeletal or sensory disabilities specifically.