Marines,medics, and machismo: Lack of fit with masculine occupational stereotypes discourages men's participation

Women have made substantial inroads into some traditionally masculine occupations (e.g., accounting, journalism) but not into others (e.g., military, surgery). Evidence suggests the latter group of occupations is characterized by hyper‐masculine ‘macho’ stereotypes that are especially disadvantageous to women. Here, we explore whether such macho occupational stereotypes may be especially tenacious, not just because of their impact on women, but also because of their impact on men. We examined whether macho stereotypes associated with marine commandos and surgeons discourage men who feel that they are ‘not man enough’. Study 1 demonstrates that male new recruits' (N = 218) perceived lack of fit with masculine commandos was associated with reduced occupational identification and motivation. Study 2 demonstrates that male surgical trainees' (N = 117) perceived lack of fit with masculine surgeons was associated with reduced identification and increased psychological exit a year later. Together, this suggests that macho occupational stereotypes may discourage the very men who may challenge them.     

The effect of gambling activities on happiness levels of nursing home residents

The current study evaluated the effect of participating in simulated gambling activities on happiness levels of 3 nursing home residents. A 4‐component analysis was used to measure objective responses associated with happiness during baseline, varying durations of engagement in simulated gambling activities, and 2 follow‐up periods. Results indicated that all residents exhibited a higher percentage of happiness levels while engaged in simulated gambling activities compared with baseline. Follow‐up assessment took place 10 min and 30 min following the intervention; no lasting effects were observed.     

Dis-inviting the Unruly Public

Abstract

Recently, Welsh and Wynne have argued that policy efforts to include ‘the public’ in dialogue about technoscience have been accompanied by a simultaneous rise in control over uninvited publics, particularly protestors. Research with a group of knowledge-based activists in the UK suggests a further category between invited and uninvited. The concept of an ‘unruly public’ functions within the sociotechnical imaginary to disinvite those whose response is unwanted or unpredictable, while still appearing to be engaging with ‘the public’ as a whole. Listening to the unexpected questions of the unruly public may in fact support, rather than hinder, efforts to incorporate social concerns into frameworks for responsible innovation at both national and European levels.     

Aesthetics and Affect: Engaging Energy Communities

ABSTRACT

Engaging publics in participatory events has become a central means to introducing lay people's voices into processes of technoscientific innovation and governance. However, little attention has been paid to the role of aesthetics, especially in terms of opening up potential ways of critically and creatively engaging with technoscientific matters of concern. The terms semblamatic and matters of potentially are proposed as addressing this dimension of aesthetics. Drawing on practice-based design research, a probe workshop with members of energy communities was implemented. Three probe exercises served to open up potential re-articulations of such core themes as energy, communities and futures. Our goals were to examine the whether such probes enabled semblamatic responses and the emergence of matters of potentiality. Findings were mixed. The continued retention of standard meanings of these core themes suggested that such events can be anaesthetic, blunting access to the semblamatic aspects of engagement. Conversely, there was some opening up in which the core themes were creatively re-articulated. The present perspective, with its three novel terms - semblamatic, matters of potentiality, and anaesthetic - might prove useful in alerting scholars to the complex role of aesthetics in the methodological and analytic practices entailed in engagement with publics.     

Lost in Translation? The Need for ‘Upstream Engagement’ with Nanotechnology on Trial

Nowadays, the criticism of the so-called ‘deficit model’ and the need for ‘upstream engagement’ in science and technology are becoming part of the master narratives of public policies in many countries, especially concerning nanotechnology. This may be considered as a major success for STS scholars, whose research results have largely contributed to this change, especially those concerning the GMO controversies. Some STS scholars thus move from a position of distant and critical observers to the role of experts in social engineering or advisers of policy-makers. However, in their enthusiasm concerning the expected benefits of upstream engagement, institutions, TA practitioners and social scientists seem to ignore some important limitations as well as the implicit framing assumptions of the concept. Based on an experience made by a group of social scientists in the Grenoble area—one of the major ‘nanodistricts’ in Europe—our paper shows that the ‘upstream engagement’ concept is still embedded in a linear model of innovation and is not very useful to anyone pursuing the co-production of innovations. It is especially true when socio-technical networks are already aligned by powerful actors and a worldwide agenda as in the case of nanotechnology. In order to give an opportunity for public engagement to have a larger impact on decision-making, we propose an alternative approach, which combines Actor–Network Theory (ANT), as an analytical tool, with the reflexive and ongoing implementation of public participation. Public engagement is probably one of the critical loci where STS scholars must reflect on the articulation between the knowledge they produce and public policies in action.     

Psychological Capital,Team Resources and Organizational Citizenship Behavior

The study aimed to examine the impact of team resources – learning values and team leader optimism – as moderating variables affecting the relationship between team psychological capital (PsyCap) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), measured as a team outcome. Eighty-two management teams involving 395 participants from educational organizations responded to a quantitative questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses confirmed interactive effects of both moderating variables, which serve as positive resources for the team by enhancing the impact of team PsyCap on the willingness of the team to engage in OCB. Team PsyCap functioned as a positive team resource that brings about an environment that induces exhibition of high levels of OCB. This relationship is strengthened when both team learning and team leader’s optimism are high. The findings provide support for the relevance of contingency theories by emphasizing the necessity of certain situational features existing in order to have an impact on organization outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Patterns of Daily Time Use of Young Adults With or Without First-Episode Psychosis

This study compared patterns of daily activities and satisfaction with time use of young adults with first-episode psychosis and healthy volunteers. Fifty young adults participated in retrospective structured interviews on time use. Young adults with first-episode psychosis spend more time in sleep, passive leisure, and personal care activities, and less in total productive activities and education. No difference appeared for leisure, paid work, and household work, or satisfaction with daily time use. Reasons underlying dissatisfaction with daily time use differed between the groups. Clinical and research implications are discussed.     

Understanding the Lived Experience of Formerly Homeless Adults as They Transition to Supportive Housing

The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with formerly homeless adults who had moved to supportive housing to understand their perceived occupational needs and the factors that affected their transition. A qualitative research design with four participants who had a history of substance abuse and mental illness was used. Participant interviews that addressed categories of daily living and personal satisfaction produced data that were coded for analysis using conventional content analysis. Mega themes emerged that related to factors shaping the housing transition and maintenance experience. Occupational therapists can use these findings to create informed interventions to enhance this population's occupational performance.     

BIS- and BAS-activation and study outcomes: A mediation study

Building on Gray’s original Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, we examined how individual differences in students’ activation of the behavioral inhibition (BIS) and the behavioral approach (BAS) systems relate to overcommitment to one’s studies and study engagement, and how these two forms of heavy study investment relate to three academically relevant outcomes. Using data from 565 Dutch university students, structural equation modeling showed that BIS-activation was positively associated with overcommitment to one’s studies, which in turn was positively related to exhaustion and the intention to quit one’s studies. BAS-activation was positively associated with study engagement, which in turn was negatively related to exhaustion and the intention to quit, and positively related to academic performance. Bootstrapping techniques revealed a mediating role of the two forms of heavy study investment. Apparently, BIS- and BAS-activation are associated with heavy study behavior, student well-being, and study outcomes.     

Understanding how children's engagement and teachers' interactions combine to predict school readiness

This study examined the quality of preschool classroom experiences through the combination of children's individual patterns of engagement and teachers' classroom-level interactions in predicting children's gains in school readiness. A sample of 605 children and 309 teachers participated. The quality of children's engagement and teacher interactions was directly observed in the classroom, and direct assessments of children's school readiness skills were obtained in the fall and again in the spring. Latent profile analysis was used to examine children's patterns of engagement with teachers, peers, and tasks. Children's engagement and the quality of teacher interactions were associated with gains in school readiness skills. The effect of children's individual classroom engagement on their expressive vocabulary was moderated by classroom-level teacher interactions. The results suggest that when teachers engage in highly responsive interactions across the children in their classrooms, children may develop more equitable school readiness skills regardless of their individual engagement patterns.