Gender-specific Preferences Research Articles

Learning Strategies in Mathematics for Related Study Programs Focusing on Cooperative Education in Germany – Viewed from the Perspectives of the Academic Disciplines, Economics and Engineering, as well as Gender

AbstractCognitive learning strategies are seen as a central element for successful learning. Acquiring knowledge about its worth, can support persons in sophisticated groups in attaining academic success. Consequently, the authors are interested in domain-specific learning strategies for mathematics in the academic disciplines of economics and engineering in cooperative tertiary education, in addition to determining gender-specific preferences for particular learning strategies. Data from a cross-sectional design with N = 565 cooperative students from Germany are used. A 2 × 2 analysis of variance, with one repeated measure, show the impact of academic disciplines and gender on seven specific cognitive learning strategies in mathematics. Taken together, these results show the complexity of cognitive learning strategies in higher education learning.

Impact of Sensory Marketing on Consumer Behaviour: Gender Differences in Aroma, Music, and Visual Aesthetic Preferences in Coffee Shops

The study investigates the impact of sensory marketing on consumer behaviour in coffee shops, with a focus on gender differences. Utilizing sensory stimuli such as aroma, music, and visual aesthetics, the research examines how these elements shape the customer experience. A mixed-methods approach was employed, integrating quantitative survey data and qualitative interview insights. ANOVA results revealed statistically significant gender differences in responses to aroma and music stimuli (p < 0.05), with females exhibiting stronger preferences for ambient scents and males showing a higher tolerance for louder music. Effect sizes indicated moderate-to-large differences in sensory preferences between genders. These findings offer valuable guidance for coffee shop marketers, particularly for brands like Starbucks, to craft targeted sensory strategies that enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty by aligning marketing efforts with gender-specific preferences.

Gender perceptions of generative AI in higher education

PurposeThis study explored the themes and sentiments of online learners regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or “generative AI” technology in higher education.Design/methodology/approachEnglish-language tweets were subjected to topic modelling and sentiment analysis. Three prevalent themes were identified and discussed: curriculum development opportunities, lifelong learning prospects and challenges associated with generative AI use.FindingsThe results also indicated a range of topics and emotions towards generative AI in education, which were predominantly positive but also varied across male and female users.Originality/valueThe findings provide insights for educators, policymakers and researchers on the opportunities and challenges associated with the integration of generative AI in educational settings. This includes the importance of identifying AI-supported learning and teaching practices that align with gender-specific preferences to offer a more inclusive and tailored approach to learning.

The Role of TikTok in Mental Health Support: Analyzing the Efficacy and Risks of Mental Health Content

This study investigated the effectiveness of mental health content on TikTok, focusing on engagement, algorithm-driven recommendations, and gender-based differences in content effectiveness. Utilizing a quantitative research design, the study analyzed data from 350 university students in Punjab, Pakistan. The research aimed to evaluate how engagement with TikTok's mental health content correlates with user satisfaction and perceived mental health improvements. Statistical analyses, including t-tests, correlation, and regression, revealed significant findings: higher engagement with mental health content was positively associated with self-reported mental health benefits (Pearson r = 0.65, p < 0.001), and TikTok’s algorithm-driven recommendations significantly enhanced user satisfaction (B = 0.55, β = 0.62, p < 0.001). Gender differences were notably observed, with females finding emotional support content more effective (M = 4.35, SD = 0.85) compared to males, who preferred practical solutions (M = 3.90, SD = 0.92), supported by a t-value of 4.45 (p < 0.001). These results underscore the importance of tailoring mental health content to gender-specific preferences and optimizing algorithm-driven recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of digital mental health resources on platforms like TikTok.

Gender preferences for multiple attributes of soil and water conservation in Northern Rwanda

Despite the dominance of female labor in agricultural production, female-controlled farm plots have lower efficiency compared to plot managed by male-headed households, which indicates a huge gender disparity in agricultural productivity. Overlooking gender preferences when designing interventions that promote the conservation of soil and water resources might face challenges in adoption and could result in ineffective policies to close the gender gap. This study seeks to analyze gender-specific preferences regarding attributes of soil and water conservation (SWC) in northern Rwanda. A best-worst survey was conducted among 653 respondents, comprising 253 males and 400 females, representing 422 households surveyed between September and December 2019. The analysis of BWS data involved assessing attribute-level relative importance, Pearson correlation, and maximum difference scaling using multinomial logit (MNL). Findings from attribute-level importance analysis revealed significant gender-based disparities in preferences across three important SWC attribute scenarios: the high scenario (between 65 % and 100 %), the moderate scenario (between 50 % and 65 %), and the basic scenario (with <50 % relative importance). The study identified heterogeneity in preferences regarding the relative importance of SWC attribute levels. Pearson correlation analysis revealed substantial synergies among attribute levels linked to land consolidation, improved land tenure, and joint SWC decision-making between genders. Additionally, the study identified trade-offs among multiple levels of SWC attributes, including households' SWC decision-making and physical and structural measures. The results from MNL regression show that both males and females exhibit positive preferences for multiple levels of SWC attributes, but show negative preferences when it comes to household decisions involving multiple SWC strategies. The study highlights the importance of equal opportunities for males and females’ participation in agricultural transformation through the adoption of SWC technologies as a fundamental step towards sustainable agricultural intensification. It advocates for gender transformational approaches to incentivize the scaling up of SWC practices and promote packages with lower uptake rates. Additionally, the study suggests enhancing knowledge and extension education in SWC to better understand diverse needs and preferences of female farmers.

Echoes of Creativity: Investigating the Impact of Music Type on Pre-writing Idea Generation

Music has been found to be an effective aid in foreign language learning, but its potential use has yet to be explored. This study utilised a quantitative research method to examine the effect of music type on generating English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students’ pre-writing ideas, which were moderated by gender. Fifty-three students from three classes without academic writing experiences were assigned to three different music types, including no music, instrumental music, and pop music. The results showed that female students outperformed male students, regardless of music types, in pre-writing idea generation tasks. In particular, female students significantly performed the best in instrumental music, followed by no music and pop music. On the contrary, male students obtained the greatest achievement in task when listening to pop music and the lowest performance when listening to instrumental music. The findings of the study imply the recognition of gender-specific preferences in using different types of music to enhance the processes of pre-writing idea generation, prompting tailored writing environments for EFL students’ needs.

A gender-responsive breeding approach to the intensification of sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) production in the Maradi region of Niger.

Climatic variability and a decrease in soil fertility have had a detrimental effect on the productivity of the main rainfed crops in Niger (millet, sorghum, and cowpea) and led to a deterioration of the nutritional status and income of the country's farmers. The spatio-temporal variability in rainfall has led rural populations to diversify their farms by integrating sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) into their cropping systems because of its low water and fertilizer requirements. Sesame is increasingly becoming a significant source of income for farmers, and it contributes to their food and nutritional security. To boost the production of sesame and facilitate its rapid adoption, our breeding program focused on participatory breeding and varietal selection with the inclusion of gender-specific preferences, from the variety design to the evaluation of new lines on farms. This case study shows that, although women have more experience in sesame cultivation than men, they have less access to production factors such as land. This limited access is especially problematic, as recent trends in land tenure mean that the poorest are no longer able to exploit large areas of cultivable land. It also evidenced that the varietal preferences of sesame growers as well as the mastery of production techniques are a function of the livelihoods and the investment capacity of actors in the value chain. Our study found that men mainly prefer production traits, whereas women have fewer trait preferences, and their preferences tend to be related to marketing and processing. This finding highlights the contrasting roles and responsibilities between men and women in the sesame value chain. Therefore, the inclusion of complementary traits preferred by women and men, provided that they are not negatively correlated with a variety profile, will help meet the full range of needs across the value chain. We recommend the inclusion of gender research in setting breeding goals prior to variety design.

Cinematic Patterns: Deciphering the Cultural Dynamics and Movie Preferences of the Filipino People

This research paper delves into the intricate tapestry of Filipinos' movie-watching behavior, exploring its cultural nuances and evolution over decades. From the golden age of Philippine cinema to the contemporary era of digital platforms, the study investigates the factors influencing film preferences, focusing on the pivotal role of local films, or "Pinoy" films, in the hearts of Filipino audiences. Examining the impact of digital technology on traditional movie-going habits, the research addresses a notable gap by quantifying the movie formula, emphasizing narrative structures, genre preferences, emotional engagement, and cultural resonances. The study identifies critical influencers through discrete choice modeling, highlighting the importance of directors and gender-specific preferences. The findings offer strategic recommendations for stakeholders in the Filipino film industry, emphasizing the need for tailored marketing, informed casting decisions, and flexible runtime considerations to engage diverse audience segments effectively.

Why Gender Matters in Breeding: Lessons from Cooking Bananas in Uganda

This study examined the gender-differentiated trait preferences of cooking banana (matooke) for farmers and consumers in Central Uganda to inform banana-breeding strategies. Women and men banana farmers might have differing production objectives, norms, and values which drive decisions on which varieties to adopt and grow. However, breeders rarely consider this in their variety development programs, leading to lost opportunities for equitable breeding. An exploratory sequential mixed-method approach was used to obtain a richer understanding of the trait preferences of women and men, which explains the acceptability of cooking bananas. Consumer preference tests for the candidate banana varieties and released hybrids were also conducted. The results showed that the universal attributes for variety selection were bunch size, taste, resistance to pests and diseases, drought tolerance, food texture/softness, maturity period, and finger size. Men appreciated agronomic and market-related traits, such as tolerance to drought and poor soils, bunch size and compactness, maturity period, and shelf life, while women valued processing and cooking traits such as flavour, food colour, ease of peeling, finger size, and agronomic traits such as plant height. These are plausible attributes for the gender-responsive breeding of bananas. The findings highlight the need to redesign the banana-breeding pipeline and process in Uganda to deliver varieties with attributes desired by women and men along this commodity value chain. A participatory demand-driven and gender-responsive process involving stepwise selection criteria that commences with quality traits followed by production traits while integrating gender-specific preferences should be employed to ensure the acceptability of cooking banana hybrids by women and men end users. This requires integrating different disciplines, including social scientists and gender experts, along the entire breeding process for more inclusive products and equitable outcomes.

Salary, flexibility or career opportunity? A choice experiment on gender specific job preferences.

Using the evaluation of hypothetical job offers in a discrete choice experiment, we analyse which characteristics of employment positions are relevant to men and women when deciding between job offers. Thereby, we investigate whether preferences for work arrangements are gender specific. The analysis shows that on average, women have a stronger preference for part-time work than men, and that the career prospect of a job is more important to men than to women. Furthermore, we use heterogeneity within genders to study whether gender specific preference patterns result from gendered considerations of family formation. We find that certain men and women, especially those who plan to have children and have traditional intentions about the division of labor in the household, evaluate work relationships more strongly according to gender roles than others. This analysis of hypothetical employment choices provides valuable insight into the preference structure of men and women, which proves to be heterogeneous within and between genders.

Large-scale rollout of extension training in Bangladesh: Challenges and opportunities for gender-inclusive participation.

Despite the recognized importance of women's participation in agricultural extension services, research continues to show inequalities in women's participation. Emerging capacities for conducting large-scale extension training using information and communication technologies (ICTs) now afford opportunities for generating the rich datasets needed to analyze situational factors that affect women's participation. Data was recorded from 1,070 video-based agricultural extension training events (131,073 farmers) in four Administrative Divisions of Bangladesh (Rangpur, Dhaka, Khulna, and Rajshahi). The study analyzed the effect of gender of the trainer, time of the day, day of the week, month of the year, Bangladesh Administrative Division, and venue type on (1) the expected number of extension event attendees and (2) the odds of females attending the event conditioned on the total number of attendees. The study revealed strong gender specific training preferences. Several factors that increased total participation, decreased female attendance (e.g., male-led training event held after 3:30 pm in Rangpur). These findings highlight the dilemma faced by extension trainers seeking to maximize attendance at training events while avoiding exacerbating gender inequalities. The study concludes with a discussion of ways to mitigate gender exclusion in extension training by extending data collection processes, incorporating machine learning to understand gender preferences, and applying optimization theory to increase total participation while concurrently improving gender inclusivity.

The change in perceived ‘importance’ and ‘usefulness’ of veterinary public health during final-year rotations of veterinary students at the University of Liverpool

The global community is facing a challenging twenty-first century, with many disciplines not meeting society’s needs with regards to employment and retention of staff; veterinarians are no exception. Worryingly, the shortage of veterinarians within public health roles is predicted to increase within the near future. This pilot study aimed to gain a better understanding of how final-year veterinary students perceive Veterinary Public Health (VPH) at the University of Liverpool during their final-year VPH rotation. To do this, students were categorized into groups based on their stated career destinations and gender, to determine if there is a correlation between the two. We hoped to discover if the perception of VPH in terms of ‘usefulness’ and ‘importance’ changed during their final-year rotation week. A paper-based questionnaire was designed and given to students at the beginning of their rotation week to complete - Part 1 - whilst Part 2 was completed at the end of the week. In total, 172 students were surveyed across the study period, none of whom expressed a planned career pathway in public health. Overall, 83% of students’ scores for two analysed questions regarding ‘importance of VPH to the veterinary profession’ and ‘usefulness of VPH to that student’s individual career’ improved by at least one point between Monday and Friday. The largest group of students to see an increase were small-animal focused students; where 86% gave a higher score on Friday for both questions compared to Monday. No gender-specific preference was seen between participants expressing an interest in VPH-based careers, and stated gender had no statistical impact on whether a student score increased or decreased between Monday and Friday for both analysed questions.

Towards a More Socially Sustainable Advanced Pilot Training by Integrating Wearable Augmented Reality Devices

For flying all types of turbine-engine airplanes, a pilot must undergo an intense type rating (TR) course. This study investigated the learning conditions and TR course content, and specifies the most difficult course elements that could be tackled by augmented reality (AR) applications. Because women are underrepresented in the worldwide pilot population, it is important to address gender-specific preferences and needs in the development of AR-based wearable technologies for advanced pilot training. A gender-sensitive survey of the learning conditions and course contents was conducted with 31 pilots and 22 instructors. Despite many similarities, the results confirm that there are gender-specific needs and preferences for the development of future AR-based applications for TR training. In addition, the views of both pilots’ and instructors’ are required to obtain a comprehensive assessment of the learning contents and conditions related to TR. The results also show that time pressure increased the perceived difficulty of the course for some trainees. These results are important because they indicate the directions to be taken in developing future AR-based training applications for a more learner-centered and inclusive TR training. Future directions to foster a socially sustainable development of AR-based training means for TR with special focus on gender diversity are presented.

Breeding for impact: perspectives on gender-responsive cassava breeding in Nigeria

Crop breeding for improved varieties, able to withstand climatic variability, pests and diseases, as well as to meet food and market demands, has the potential to greatly improve the livelihoods of rural smallholders. However, the development of new varieties alone is not enough; they must also be demanded and cultivated by smallholder farmers. Increasingly participatory methods have allowed farmers to play a greater role in the decision-making process shaping the crop breeding agenda. Nevertheless, gender-specific preferences for traits, including cooking and processing characteristics, are often not determined until the final stages of variety evaluation or release, and even then, seldom prioritized – impacting adoption rates. Using the case study of cassava in Nigeria, this research aimed to analyze researchers’ perspectives on gender-responsive breeding, as well as the extent to which integrating women’s needs into the dissemination and marketing process can have a positive impact on empowerment pathways. The literature review and key informant interviews suggest that engaging both women and men regarding new cassava variety traits, and accounting for their differentiated needs and preferences in “product profiles”, has the potential to better meet farmers’ demands and thus, increase adoption rates of released varieties. Further research and collaboration are required to systematically develop product profiles that are gender-specific to enable inclusive agricultural transformation.

Gender differences within the barriers to smoking cessation and the preferences for interventions in primary care a qualitative study using focus groups in The Hague, The Netherlands

ObjectivesThis research aimed to provide a deeper insight into the gender-specific barriers to smoking cessation and gender-specific preferences for interventions in primary care, in order to contribute to better aligned...

Telearbeit in Deutschland: Männer und Frauen im Vergleich

Teleworking in Germany: a comparison of men and women Objectives: The increasing dissemination of information and communication technologies had already contributed to an increase in working from home before the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, only a comparatively small proportion of employees in Germany have a teleworking agreement. This article examines how the extent and scope of contractually agreed teleworking differs among men and women in Germany. We further consider the importance of different life situation in this context and whether there are any gender-specific preferences. Methods: The gender-specific prevalence of teleworking as well as the wish to do so and any possible obstacles are examined in more detail using data from the BAuA Working Time Survey. The BAuA Working Time Survey has been carried out every two years since 2015 and is a panel survey that initially comprised more than 20,000 employees. For the descriptive analyses, dependent employees up to the age of 65 were taken into account (2015: n = 18,119; 2017: n = 8767; 2019: n = 8622). Results: The share of employees with contractually agreed teleworking has increased since 2015. Whilst a larger share of men had a teleworking agreement in 2015, the proportions of men and women have equalized in 2019 (17 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women). The proportion of employees with a teleworking agreement has increased across all life situations. The largest increase can be found among women with children under six years of age. The preference for teleworking has also increased among both men and women. Conclusions: Teleworking agreements are found increasingly equally distributed between men and women. Younger cohorts and mothers with young children benefit particularly from the expansion of teleworking arrangements. Thus, teleworking appears to be popular for reconciling family and work. Keywords: home office – teleworking – gender differences – development over time – BAuA Working Time Survey

Reading for entertainment or information reception? Gender differences in reading preferences and their impact on text-type-specific reading competences in adult readers

This study aims at exploring gender differences in text-type-specific reading competences via readers’ gender-specific reading preferences. Women were expected to read more often for the sake of entertainment (entertainment preference), whereas men were expected to read more often to gain information (information preference). We further assumed that individuals who read for entertainment would have higher reading competence in fictional literary texts compared with non-fictional informational texts, and vice versa for individuals who read to gain information. The analysis was based on a sample of 830 adults between 19 and 71 years (M = 31.04; SD = 12.53) from a pilot study of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). A structural equation model confirmed that women and men show different reading preferences during leisure time. The preference to read for entertainment was predictive for reading competence in literary texts; however, the preference to read for information had positive effects on reading competence in both informational and literary texts.

Gender Gap in Earnings in Vietnam Why Do Vietnamese Women Work in Lower Paid Occupations?

Differences in earnings between male and female workers persist in developed and developing countries despite a narrowing of gender gaps in educational attainment over the past half-century. This paper examines the gender wage gap in Vietnam and shows that a nontrivial part of the gap is associated with occupational sorting. The paper considers three explanations for why occupational sorting emerges. First, it explores whether women sort into occupations with better nonmonetary characteristics, such as paid leave and shorter hours. The data from Labor Force Surveys support this hypothesis. Second, it checks if occupational sorting among the adult labor force is driven by social norms about gender roles learned and internalized at an early age. To do so, the paper checks for evidence of sorting in the aspirations of 12-year-old children. Specifically, the analysis simulates what the gender wage gap would be if boys and girls pursued the occupations they aspired to at age 12, and the distribution of salaries remained unchanged. The paper does not find support for the hypothesis that gender norms drive occupational sorting by inducing aspirational sorting at an early age. Finally, for individuals with higher education, the paper checks if occupational sorting occurs during the school-to-work transition, when women face higher barriers in finding a job in their field of study. The analysis does not find evidence to support this last hypothesis. Overall, the findings suggest that in Vietnam gender-specific preferences for nonmonetary job characteristics play a key role in the emergence of occupational sorting.

Pensions for the Poor: the Effects of Non-contributory Pensions in El Salvador

Most Salvadorans reach retirement age without a formal pension, resulting in increased financial vulnerability and poverty in old age. Moreover, fewer women qualify for a formal pension and the average amounts for women are smaller. In this paper, we study gender-disaggregated effects of the Universal Basic Pension (UBP), a non-contributory pension of $50 per month for individuals aged 70 years and over in extreme poverty. We analyze a purpose-specific sample of 2256 households with adults between 66 and 74 years of age in the 32 poorest municipalities in the country using an instrumental variables approach. We contribute to the literature on non-contributory pensions by exploring new outcomes and analyzing gender differentiated effects. Independent of the recipient’s gender, we find that the pension increases non-labor income by 53% on average, lowering the probability that a beneficiary household lives below the extreme poverty line by 17 percentage points for males and 8.1 percentage points for females. Increases in food consumption and medical attention, and reductions in remittances are qualitatively larger for male pensioners. Pensioners appear to have gender-specific preferences with regard to investments in children, with increases in school enrollment and attendance for boys aged 11 to 18 years in households with a male pensioner and of girls of the same age in households with a female pensioner.

Gender-specific preference in online dating

In this paper, to reveal the differences of gender-specific preference and the factors affecting potential mate choice in online dating, we analyze the users’ behavioral data of a large online dating site in China. We find that for women, network measures of popularity and activity of the men they contact are significantly positively associated with their messaging behaviors, while for men only the network measures of popularity of the women they contact are significantly positively associated with their messaging behaviors. Secondly, when women send messages to men, they pay attention to not only whether men’s attributes meet their own requirements for mate choice, but also whether their own attributes meet men’s requirements, while when men send messages to women, they only pay attention to whether women’s attributes meet their own requirements. Thirdly, compared with men, women attach great importance to the socio-economic status of potential partners and their own socio-economic status will affect their enthusiasm for interaction with potential mates. Further, we use the ensemble learning classification methods to rank the importance of factors predicting messaging behaviors, and find that the centrality indices of users are the most important factors. Finally, by correlation analysis we find that men and women show different strategic behaviors when sending messages. Compared with men, for women sending messages, there is a stronger positive correlation between the centrality indices of women and men, and more women tend to send messages to people more popular than themselves. These results have implications for understanding gender-specific preference in online dating further and designing better recommendation engines for potential dates. The research also suggests new avenues for data-driven research on stable matching and strategic behavior combined with game theory.