Strong Gender Effect Research Articles

Unequal gender‐based attraction toward public sector employment in China: The role of perceived discrimination and public service motivation

AbstractPromoting demographic diversity and representation in the public sector workforce is a critical prerequisite for achieving social equity. This study investigates gender differences in public sectoral preference in China, subsequently exploring the underlying mechanisms that cause such a gender gap. Based on social psychological theories, this study develops and tests a moderated mediation model that examines public service motivation (PSM) as the mediating mechanism and perceived discrimination as the moderator. Utilizing the nationally representative China Education Panel Survey, our findings suggest a strong gender effect regarding the attractiveness of public sector employment in China. In terms of the specific mechanism whereby gender helps predict public sectoral preference, PSM indeed plays a mediating role. Specifically, the gender gap in public sector employment will be further widened by PSM when perceived discrimination is high. Overall, this study contributes to the extant literature by exploring the effects of gender on public sector preferences and to the practice by helping policymakers ideate solutions to enhance diversity effectively.

Jordanian EFL Supervisors' Perspectives towards EFL Teachers' Using Authentic Assessment Strategies and Tools

Objectives: The current study aimed to explore the perspectives of English language supervisors in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan regarding the extent to which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in government schools practice authentic assessment strategies and tools. Additionally, the researcher attempted to uncover the challenges faced by EFL teachers in using authentic assessment strategies and tools.. Methods: For this study, the researcher followed a hybrid approach, constructing a questionnaire distributed to English language supervisors, totaling 102, supplemented by interviews with 10 selected supervisors based on accessibility. Results: Statistical results revealed that pen-and-paper and observation-based assessment strategies were the most commonly used and applied by English language teachers, while self-assessment strategy was the least used according to supervisors' perspectives. The study also showed that checklist and rubric were the most commonly used authentic assessment tools. Moreover, the study indicated a strong gender effect on the use of authentic assessment strategies and tools in favor of females. The study identified several challenges hindering the use of authentic assessment strategies and tools, revolving around three main axes: students' proficiency level, infrastructure, and teachers' readiness in terms of attitude, skills, and knowledge. Conclusions: The researcher recommends designing an educational program on authentic assessment strategies and tools with a focus on practical aspects and implementing it through a series of face-to-face workshops at the school network level to refine the skills of English language teachers in the field of authentic assessment, especially in boys' schools.

Remittances and political participation in the Middle East and North Africa

ABSTRACT How does the receipt of remittances affect the likelihood of engaging in civic and political activities in the Middle East and North Africa? Research in Latin America and Africa has found two contradictory effects. Remittances can increase recipients’ capacity for political participation by providing them with greater economic resources. But remittances may also reduce the incentive for political participation by lessening the importance of the domestic economy to the livelihood of recipients. Using survey data from Arab Barometer, I show that remittances are associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in non-electoral political activities, including protests, strikes and contacting elected officials, and (to a smaller extent) with electoral participation. To explore the relationship between remittances and political participation in greater depth, I report the results of interviews with 54 remittance-receiving families in Jordan and Tunisia. This qualitative evidence suggests that the greater relative economic security offered by remittances allows recipients to devote more resources, particularly time, to civic and political participation. The interviews also revealed a strong conditioning effect of gender: women are more likely to use remittances to donate time and money to non-political civil society organisations, while men are more likely to use remittances to conduct explicitly political activities.

Shame on me: Emotions and gender differences in taking with earned endowments

We study gender differences in a taking-framed dictator game. We expand on past studies documenting gender differences in the taking-framed dictator game by asking whether gender differences persist when endowments are earned. We find a strong and robust gender effect. Women take less than men both in terms of overall amounts and share taken. We further elicit emotions following the taking game. Shame is positively correlated with taking behavior; this could be a contributing factor to taking aversion documented in the literature. Interestingly we do not observe gender differences in reported emotions or emotional intensity by either dictators or receivers.

“Tis Early Practice only Makes the Master”: Nature and Nurture in Economic Thinking During School Time – A Research Note on Economics Education

AbstractIn this article, we contribute to the longstanding debate among economists regarding the question of “nature or nurture” with respect to economics students’ attitudes toward various allocation mechanisms for a scarce resource. While previous research starts the debate by beginning with first-year economics students, we aim to evaluate pre-first-year individuals, i.e., school pupils. Drawing on the seminal works of Haucap, J., & Just, T. (2010). Not guilty? Another look at the nature and nurture of economics students.European Journal of Law and Economics,29(2), 239–254 and Frey, B. S., Pommerehne, W. W., & Gygi, B. (1993). Economics indoctrination or selection? Some empirical results.The Journal of Economic Education,24(3), 271–281, we investigate a sample of 697 pupils ranging from the 5th to the 13th grades to determine whether pupils are “born economists” (nature), develop economic thinking (nurture), or both. We find that young individuals start to think differently in early grades and that their thinking and attitudes are shaped differently throughout their school careers, thereby providing support for the effects of both nature and nurture. Our findings show that school time impacts fairness judgments, particularly regarding price mechanisms. Regarding learning or indoctrination, we find that economics-inclined pupils are positively affected by lessons in economics in school, while pupils who are economics-averse draw completely diametric conclusions from economics lessons, thereby exhibiting increased disapproval of price allocation over the course of these classes and increased approval of the first come, first served and governmental action mechanisms. Moreover, we find strong effects of gender and migration background in this context. This study is the first to elucidate the development of economic thinking in 5th–13th grade pupils. Our results are important for economists, educators, and researchers because they can serve as a starting point for subsequent investigations in this under-researched field.

Wellbeing Consequences of Unemployment and Working with a Job Dissatisfaction in Turkey

This study aims to answer the following two questions. First, are the unemployed unhappy compared to the employed? Second, are unemployed individuals even unhappier compared to people who are unsatisfied with their job? We utilize the the Life Satisfaction Survey’s individual level data between 2004-2020 period. The LSS survey is a nationally representative survey with more than 324,000 observations in 17 years. Firstly, after controlling for household income, the unemployed have a considerably lower wellbeing than the employed. However, compared to employed people who are dissatisfied with their job, the unemployed’s wellbeing is statistically significantly higher. Thus, it appears that unemployment is a negative life event in Turkey as in elsewhere, but so is working in a toxic job. Moreover, we find strong gender effects as males and particularly married males suffer more from unemployment. Also, a quarter of the unemployed report that they feel social pressure due to unemployment. These findings suggest that social approval plays some role in the impact of unemployment. Our findings imply that societies similar to Turkey in terms of labor market would be better off with some unemployment insurance program as it signals to potential quitters that some unemployment is tolerated by society.

Gender and Anthropometric Effects on Seat-to-Head Transmissibility Responses to Vertical Whole-Body Vibration of Humans Seated on an Elastic Seat

This study investigated the effects of gender and ten different anthropometric parameters on the vertical vibration transmission from seat to the head of the body seated on an elastic seat. The seat-to-head transmissibility (STHT) responses in the vertical and fore-aft directions of 58 participants (31 males and 27 females) were measured under three levels of vertical vibration (root mean square acceleration: 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 m/s2) in the 0.50–20 Hz range, when sitting on a viscoelastic seat with and without a vertical back support, and with hands on a steering wheel. Apart from the important effects of elastic coupling between the body and seat, the results show distinctly different vertical and fore-aft STHT responses from the two genders. Moreover, the gender effect was strongly coupled with back support and excitation conditions. The primary resonance frequencies of male subjects were higher than those of female subjects, while the peak vertical STHT magnitudes were comparable. Owing to the strong coupled effects of gender and anthropometric dimensions, the study is designed to reduce the coupling by considering datasets for subjects with comparable chosen dimensions. Among the various anthropometric dimensions considered, the body mass and fat mass revealed strong influences on the primary resonance frequency, which was similar for male and female subjects with comparable body mass index and body fat mass. The vertical STHT magnitude of the two genders with the same lean body mass was also nearly identical. The peak fore-aft STHT magnitudes of the male subjects were notably higher than those of the female subjects with comparable anthropometric dimensions with the exception of the body mass.

How Americans Assess Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

Most Americans view intimate partner violence as wrong. Less is known, however, about how the general population evaluates threats from romantic partners. When do third parties support interventions such as police involvement, restraining orders, or prohibiting the abuser from owning a gun? Through a survey-based experiment, participants reacted to a separated dating relationship scenario in which three elements were manipulated: the race of the couple, the medium of communication between the perpetrator and the victim, and whether the male character referenced a gun. Using a structural equation model, the authors find that the inclusion of a gun dramatically increases concern, which in turn fosters support for interventions. However, participants’ race and gender and the race of the couple shape these effects. When the victims in the separated dating scenario are Black, participants were less likely to call for the abuser to be prohibited from owning a gun, even when they have expressed concern about the situation. This suggests that although a gun has a clear and strong effect, racial and gender effects are more complex.

Effects of Attending Extracurricular Lessons and Cram School on Independent Mobility in Japanese Children.

Independent mobility and its related factors were examined among Japanese elementary school children. Based on the responses of 1,824 mothers with elementary school-aged children, the effects of demographic variables such as children’s grade, gender, and birth order as well as regional characteristics, neighborhood environment, distance to and means of getting to school, children’s use of bicycles, keys and cell phones, and the number of weekdays spent attending lessons or cram schools were explored. Factor analysis revealed that independent mobility comprised activities in public places, including outings to supermarkets, and traveling by bus and train as well as activities in the school district such as visiting friends’ homes and parks. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses that comprised five steps were conducted in which the number of days of attending lessons and cram school was entered in the final step. There was a strong gender effect and grade effect for outings to public places and activities in the school district. Concerns about traffic accidents and security were associated with lower independent mobility. With regard to activities in the school district, proximity to school, use of bicycles, and possession of house keys had a positive effect. It is noteworthy that the effect of the number of days spent attending lessons or cram school was observed even after the other variables were entered, thus resulting in a negative effect. It is recommended that further comparative studies involving other Asian countries be conducted to evaluate the effects of extracurricular activities.

The Social Capital Effects of Refugee Resettlement on Host Communities*

We examine the effects of refugee resettlement on the trust and attitudes of individuals in host populations. We exploit an exogenous resettlement shock in rural Australia and combine data from a lab‐in‐the‐field experiment with repeated cross‐sectional survey data to test the predictions of three prominent theories about inter‐group contact: contact theory, conflict theory and constrict theory. Surprisingly, our aggregate results reject all of the theories. A split‐sample analysis reveals strong gender effects: females who have experienced contact with resettled refugees are more trusting of refugees generally and also hold significantly more favourable attitudes towards refugee resettlement than males.

Fear and cultural background drive sexual prejudice in France – a sentiment analysis approach

Abstract Sexual prejudice and its negative consequences remain major issues in Western societies, and numerous studies have tried to pinpoint its sociocultural underpinnings. However, most research has operationalized sexual prejudice via self-report measures or via implicit association tests (IATs), although it surfaces in language use and can be traced in spontaneous speech. Here, we report results from an experimental study investigating sexual prejudice in a corpus of spontaneous speech samples. Specifically, we tested in a context-sensitive sentiment analysis approach which attitudes (negative vs. positive) and emotions (joy, sadness, anger, fear, disgust) were voiced by the participants in response to picture prompts displaying homosexual couples. We also considered the sociocultural basis of prejudicial attitudes, in particular the effects of the participants’ cultural background (France vs. Maghreb), age and gender. We find strong effects of cultural background and gender both on the frequency of negative vs. positive attitudes expressed, and on discrete emotion categories, namely that male Maghrebian participants were more negative and conveyed more fear. The results are discussed in the context of current diversity approaches in France and their implications for potential prejudice regulation strategies. We further discuss in how far our context-sensitive sentiment analysis approach advances research on sexual prejudice.

New Insights on the Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence and Social Support on University Students' Mental Health during COVID-19 Pandemic: Gender Matters.

Due to the demanding changes caused in the population by the COVID-19 pandemic, including a persisting experience of fear and social isolation, multiple studies have focused on the protective role of several psychological characteristics on mental health. Emotional intelligence and social support are commonly linked to mental health and well-being. The present study aims to analyze the mediator role of emotional intelligence and social support on university students’ mental health, taking into consideration the role of gender differences. An online questionnaire was administered to a sample of 923 university students during the COVID-19 lockdown in Portugal. Significant gender differences were found on mental health symptoms, emotional intelligence, and social support. A double mediation model was computed to verify if gender influences on mental health were mediated by emotional intelligence and social support. The results show indirect effects of gender on mental health. However, as both mediators mediate in the opposite direction, the total indirect effects become null. Thus, a strong direct effect of gender on mental health remains. The results of the present study have theoretical implications on protective factors of mental health by gender and practical implications for psychological intervention in university counselling services.

Predictors of narrative text quality in students with hearing loss

Aim Students with hearing loss (HL) often fall behind hearing peers in complex language tasks such as narrative writing. This study explored the effects of school grade, gender, cognitive and linguistic predisposition and audiological factors on narrative text quality in this target group. Method Eleven students with HL in Grades 5–6 and 7–8 (age 12–15) who took part in a writing intervention wrote four narrative texts over six months. A trained panel rated text quality. The effects of the students’ working memory capacity, language comprehension, reading comprehension, school grade and gender and the intervention were analyzed as a mixed-effects regression model. Audiological factors were considered separately. Results The analysis showed that throughout the period, texts written by female students in Grade 7–8 received the highest text quality ratings, while those written by male students in Grade 7–8 received the lowest ratings. There was no effect of the intervention, or of the linguistic and cognitive measures. The students with the lowest text quality ratings received amplification later than those with high ratings, but HL severity was not associated with text quality. Conclusion Hearing loss severity was not a decisive factor in narrative text quality. The intervention which the students took part in is potentially effective, with some adaptation to the special needs of students with HL. The strong gender effects are discussed.

Ethnic and gender variation in the use of Colloquial Singapore English discourse particles

Discourse particles are among the most commented-upon features of Colloquial Singapore English (CSE). Their use has been shown to vary depending on formality, context, gender and ethnicity, although results differ from one study to another. This study uses theCorpus of Singapore English Messages(CoSEM), a large-scale corpus of texts composed by Singaporeans and sent using electronic messaging services, to investigate gender and ethnic factors as predictors of particle use. The results suggest a strong gender effect as well as several particle-specific ethnic effects. More generally, our study underlines the special nature of the grammatical class of discourse particles in CSE, which is open to new additions as the sociolinguistic and pragmatic need for them develops.

Whistleblowing Motivation and Gender: Vignette-Based Study in a Local Government

Public administration literature has been building more evidence about whistleblowing and gender, and whistleblowing and public service motivation. Yet, despite the well-developed theoretical argument of the socialization effect on public service motivation and gender, little effort has been undertaken to study their simultaneous relationships with whistleblowing. This study fills this gap suggesting that whistleblowing mechanisms for the public sector should allow no room for gender differences and should guarantee equal access to the procedure. A constant-variable-value vignette study conducted with 799 respondents from a large local government in Poland reveals strong gender effects, that overshadow previously supported positive association between public service motivation and corruption reporting. Namely, despite the confirmed positive association between PSM levels and whistleblowing intentions, highly public service motivated women are less inclined to report a misconduct of their supervisors than men. The socialization context relevant to the study location is discussed in the conclusion.

The development of a speech sound screening test for European French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children

Purpose This study presents normative data on a screening test, referred to as the Dépistage Rapide Articulation et Phonologie (DRAP), designed to detect European French-speaking children who are at risk for having speech sound disorders. Method The test consists of 20 words which contain late-acquired phonological features such as medial and final /r/, consonant clusters, /s/C sequences, and alveolar and post-alveolar fricatives. The test was given to 196 children, monolingual and bilingual, living in Geneva and San Francisco, and ranging in age from 2.11 through to 6.11. Our analyses examined the influence of bilingualism, context (Geneva or San Francisco), gender and age on the test scores and also looked at the influence of these factors on phonological features in the test. Result There were no strong effects of bilingualism, context, and gender on the test results but strong effects of age. Validity and internal consistency of the test were in the acceptable range. A focus on phonological features indicated that children had difficulty with final clusters and post-alveolar fricatives. Conclusion The study provides encouraging results for the use of this test as a screening measure with French-speaking children.

Gambling in Young Adults Aged 17\u201324\xa0Years: A Population-Based Study

A large contemporary UK cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, was used to investigate gambling behavior and to explore the antecedents of regular gambling in the 17–24-year age group. Participants completed computer-administered gambling surveys in research clinics, on paper, and online. The sample sizes were 3566 at age 17 years, 3940 at 20 years, and 3841 at 24 years; only 1672 completed all three surveys. Participation in gambling in the last year was reported by 54% of 17-year-olds, rising to 68% at 20 years, and 66% at 24 years, with little overall variance. Regular (weekly) gambling showed a strong gender effect, increasing among young men from 13% at 17 years to 18% at 20 years, and 17% at 24 years. Although gambling frequency increased between the ages of 17 and 20 years, gambling behaviors showed little variance between 20 and 24 years, except online gambling and betting on horseraces. The commonest forms of gambling were playing scratchcards, playing the lottery, and private betting with friends. Gambling on activities via the internet increased markedly between 17 and 24 years, especially among males. In the fully adjusted model, individual antecedents of regular gambling were being male, and having a low IQ, an external locus of control, and high sensation seeking scores. Parental gambling behavior and maternal educational background were associated with regular gambling in both sexes. Regular gambling was associated with smoking cigarettes and frequent and harmful use of alcohol, but no associations with depression were found.

Predictors of bilinguals’ speaking rates

Second-language acquisition has been shown to be influenced by age of learning (AOL), years of second-language experience and degree of second-language use. This study examined native and second-language speaking rates in a speeded sentence production task; speaking rate was expected to reflect the speed with which processes underlying speech production can be executed. Sixty Spanish-English bilingual adults participated. They differed according to AOL (2–38), years of English Experience (1–45), and percent English Use (10–100). The purpose was to determine the influence of the three just-mentioned factors and their interactions using linear mixed-effects modeling. The primary findings were: (1) a linear AOL effect such that higher AOL predicted lower English relative to Spanish speaking rate (i.e., an AOL effect in both pre- and post-pubescent AOL ranges); (2) opposite effect of English Experience on Spanish and English speaking rates; (3) interaction between Language, AOL and Experience, such that the Experience effect on English speaking rate declined linearly with AOL; (4) a non-significant effect of percent English Use. In addition, strong gender effects and weak education effects were found. The results are discussed in the context of different accounts of AOL-related difficulties with second-language acquisition.

High body mass index, brain metabolism and connectivity: an unfavorable effect in elderly females.

There are reported gender differences in brain connectivity associated with obesity. In the elderlies, the neural endophenotypes of obesity are yet to be elucidated. We aim at exploring the brain metabolic and connectivity correlates to different BMI levels in elderly individuals, taking into account gender as variable of interest.We evaluated the association between BMI, brain metabolism and connectivity, in elderly females and males, by retrospectively collecting a large cohort of healthy elderly subjects (N=222; age=74.03±5.88 [61.2-85.9] years; M/F=115/107; BMI=27.00±4.02 [19.21-38.79] kg/m2). Subjects underwent positron emission tomography with [18F]FDG. We found that, in females, high BMI was associated with increased brain metabolism in the orbitofrontal cortex (R=0.44; p<0.001). A significant BMI-by-gender interaction was present (F=7.024, p=0.009). We also revealed an altered connectivity seeding from these orbitofrontal regions, namely expressing as a decreased connectivity in crucial control/decision making circuits, and as an abnormally elevated connectivity in reward circuits, only in females. Our findings support a link between high BMI and altered brain metabolism and neural connectivity, only in elderly females. These findings indicate a strong gender effect of high BMI and obesity that brings to considerations for medical practice and health policy.

Economic and non-economic returns to communist party membership in Vietnam

Abstract Single-party political systems exist in a number of countries, such as China and Vietnam. In these countries, party membership is potentially an important source of economic and social status. This paper investigates these effects and the mechanisms behind them. In particular, we use household- and individual level panel data to analyze the causes and consequences of Communist Party membership in rural areas of Vietnam. Fixed effects models are employed to control for unobserved differences between party members and others. Results suggest that party membership has a moderate, positive effect on income, on the order of 7 percent, and a large, positive effect on subjective well-being, even after controlling for income. Party membership is closely associated with working for the government but also appears to increase the propensity to use credit and to boost income from farm- and non-farm enterprises. There are strong gender effects: Men are several times more likely to be party members than women are, and the effects of membership on income and subjective well-being are only present among men. Overall, results confirm that in spite of pro-market, economic reforms, Communist Party membership continues to be of high value in rural Vietnam.