Search results for: gender diverse board

Authors: Dipanwita Chakravortty

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Officially, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) follows a policy of 'gender equality and partnership' which institutionalises norms regarding equal duty towards the nation. It reiterates the equality in unbiased opportunities and resources for Jewish men and women to participate in the military as equal citizens. At the same time, as a military institution, the IDF supports gender biases and crystallises the same through various interactions among women soldiers, male soldiers and the institution. These biases are expressed through various stages and processes in the military institution like biased training, discriminatory postings of women soldiers, lack of combat training and acceptance of sexual harassment. The gender-military debates in Israel is largely devoted to female emancipation and converting the militarised women’s experiences into mainstream debates. This critical scholarship, largely female-based and located in Israel, has been consistently critical of the structural policies of the IDF that have led to continued discriminatory practices against women soldiers. This has compelled the military to increase its intake of women soldiers and make its structural policies more gender-friendly. Nonetheless, the continued thriving of gender discrimination in the IDF resulted in scholars looking deep into the failure of these policies in bringing about a change. This article looks into two research objectives, firstly to analyse existing gender relations in the IDF which impact the practices and prejudices in the institution and secondly to look beyond the structural discrimination as part of the gender debates in the IDF. The proposed research uses the structural-functional model as a framework to study the discourses and norms emerging out of the interaction between gender and military as two distinct social institutions. Changing gender-military debates will be discussed in great detail to understanding the in-depth relation between the Israeli society and the military due to the conscription model. The main arguments of the paper deal with the functional aspect of the military service rather than the structural component of the institution. Traditional stereotypes of military institutions along with cultural notions of a female body restrict the complete integration of women soldiers despite favourable legislations and policies. These result in functional discriminations like uneven promotion, sexual violence, restructuring gender identities and creating militarised bodies. The existing prejudices encourage younger women recruits to choose from within the accepted pink-collared jobs in the military rather than ‘breaking the barriers.’ Some women recruits do try to explore new avenues and make a mark for themselves. Most of them face stiff discrimination but they accept it as part of military life. The cyclical logic behind structural norms leading to functional discrimination which then emphasises traditional stereotypes and hampers change in the institutional norms compels the IDF to continue to strive towards gender equality within the institution without practical realisation.

Keywords: women soldiers, Israel Defence Forces, gender-military debates, security studies

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Authors: Avigail Moor

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Rape by an acquaintance is a prevalent type of sexual assault that is often misperceived and downplayed. To date, there has been no empirical investigation of the prevailing social attitudes towards this type of rape as compared to stranger rape. The present study seeks to address this issue by evaluating widely held attitudes towards these different types of rape. The mediating role of gender and rape myths acceptance is assessed as well. Three hundred and twenty participants, equally divided by gender, completed self-report questionnaires. The results indicate that sexual coercion by strangers is perceived as rape to a significantly greater degree than forced sex by an acquaintance, which in turn is believed to be more harmful than coercion within a steady relationship, particularly by men who view rape in accordance with prevailing rape-supportive attitudes. The same pattern of differentiation emerged in the participants' attitudes toward the psychological harm expected following each, as well as the advisability of reporting the incidents to the police. Implications for preventive efforts are discussed.

Keywords: rape supportive attitudes, acquaintance rape, sexual assault, gender differences

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Authors: Anurag Sharma, Rahul Malhotra, Love Kumar, Harjit Pal Singh

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This paper demonstrates OCDM-ROF based hybrid architecture where data/voice communication is enabled via a permutation of Optical Code Division Multiplexing (OCDM) and Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) techniques under various diverse conditions. OCDM-RoF hybrid network of 16 users with DPSK modulation format has been designed and performance of proposed network is analyzed for 100, 150, and 200 km fiber span length under the influence of linear and nonlinear effect. It has been reported that Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) has the least effect while other nonlinearity affects the performance of proposed network.

Keywords: OCDM, RoF, DPSK, PMD, eye diagram, BER, Q factor

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Authors: Jason Ting Jing Cheng, Lee Foo Wei, Yew Ming Kun, Mo Kim Hung, Yip Chun Chieh

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This research delves into the structural characteristics of distinct construction material, rubberized lightweight foam concrete (RLFC) wall panels, which have been developed as a sustainable alternative for the construction industry. These panels are engineered with a RLFC core, possessing a density of 1150 kg/m3, which is specifically formulated to bear structural loads. The core is enveloped with high-strength fiber cement boards, selected for their superior load-bearing capabilities, and enhanced flexural strength when compared to conventional concrete. A thin bed adhesive, known as TPS, is employed to create a robust bond between the RLFC core and the fiber cement cladding. This study underscores the potential of RLFC wall panels as a viable and eco-friendly option for modern building construction, offering a combination of structural efficiency and environmental benefits.

Keywords: structural performance, rubberized concrete wall panel, fiber cement board, insulation performance

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Authors: Antonio Casero Martínez, María de Lluch Rayo Llinas

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This work is part of an investigation into the relationship between romantic love and self-esteem in college students, performed by the students of matter "methods and techniques of social research", of the Master Gender at the University of Balearic Islands, during 2014-2015. In particular, we have investigated the relationships that may exist between self-esteem, gender and field of study. They are known as gender differences in self-esteem, and the relationship between gender and branch of study observed annually by the distribution of enrolment in universities. Therefore, in this part of the study, we focused the spotlight on the differences in self-esteem between the sexes through the various branches of study. The study sample consists of 726 individuals (304 men and 422 women) from 30 undergraduate degrees that the University of the Balearic Islands offers on its campus in 2014-2015, academic year. The average age of men was 21.9 years and 21.7 years for women. The sampling procedure used was random sampling stratified by degree, simple affixation, giving a sampling error of 3.6% for the whole sample, with a confidence level of 95% under the most unfavorable situation (p = q). The Spanish translation of the Rosenberg Self-Esteen Scale (RSE), by Atienza, Moreno and Balaguer was applied. The psychometric properties of translation reach a test-retest reliability of 0.80 and an internal consistency between 0.76 and 0.87. In this paper we have obtained an internal consistency of 0.82. The results confirm the expected differences in self-esteem by gender, although not in all branches of study. Mean levels of self-esteem in women are lower in all branches of study, reaching statistical significance in the field of Science, Social Sciences and Law, and Engineering and Architecture. However, analysed the variability of self-esteem by the branch of study within each gender, the results show independence in the case of men, whereas in the case of women find statistically significant differences, arising from lower self-esteem of Arts and Humanities students vs. the Social and legal Sciences students. These findings confirm the results of numerous investigations in which the levels of female self-esteem appears always below the male, suggesting that perhaps we should consider separately the two populations rather than continually emphasize the difference. The branch of study, for its part has not appeared as an explanatory factor of relevance, beyond detected the largest absolute difference between gender in the technical branch, one in which women are historically a minority, ergo, are no disciplinary or academic characteristics which would explain the differences, but the differentiated social context that occurs within it.

Keywords: study branch, gender, self-esteem, applied psychology

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Authors: Nazeema Ahmed

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Mental health in higher education has received increasing attention over the past few decades. The high academic demands of the engineering degree, coupled with students’ mental health challenges, have led to higher education institutions offering psychotherapeutic services to students. This paper discusses an evaluation of the psychotherapy service at the University of Cape Town. The aim was to determine (i) the efficacy of the service; and (ii) the impact of race, gender, and language of the therapist on the students’ therapeutic process. An online survey was sent to 109 students who attended psychotherapy. The majority expressed favorable experiences of psychotherapy, with reports of increased capacity to engage with their academic work. Most students did not experience the gender, race, or language of the psychologists to be barriers to their therapy. The findings point to a need for ongoing psychological support for students.

Keywords: psychotherapy, efficacy, engineering, education

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Authors: Damla Tas, Robert Rudolf

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Fast economic development and women empowerment in Korea have contributed to an unprecedented family and gender crisis, with Korean fertility rates at a global record low. This study explores the predictors and time trends of Korean women’s attitudes toward family formation and the household division of labor by using the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families from 2007 to 2018. Results indicate that education, age, marital status, and motherhood are significantly associated with women’s attitudes toward family formation and gender attitudes toward the intrahousehold division of labor. In addition, more educated women and those aged 26 to 45 are less likely to support traditional marriage and traditional household division of labor statements. Unmarried and divorced women are more likely to support progressive values and roles. Also, retrospective factors such as mothers’ schooling and parents’ relationship are significantly associated with gender role ideology. Our findings also indicate a downward trend in the number of Korean women stating one must have children. The study suggests that Korean families and society need to adjust to women’s changing preferences concerning their societal roles toward less traditional. Hence, a new agreement between men and women is needed on how work can be divided more equally.

Keywords: marriage, family formation, intrahousehold division of labor, gender role attitudes, Korea

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Authors: Jessica Neri, Elena Faccio

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In Europe, except for Denmark and Malta, the legal gender change and the stages of the possible process of gender transition are bound to the diagnosis of a gender identity disorder. The requirement of the evaluation of a mental disorder might have many implications on trans people’s self-representations, interpersonal relations in different social contexts and the therapeutic relations with clinicians during the transition. Psychopathological language may contribute to define the individual’s reality from normative presuppositions with value implications related to the dominant cultural principles. In an effort to mark the boundaries between sanity and pathology, it concurs to the definition of the management procedures of the constructed diversities and deviances, legitimizing the operational practices of particular professional figures. The aim of this research concerns the analysis of the diagnostic category of gender dysphoria contained in the last edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In particular, this study focuses on the relationship between the implicit and explicit assumptions related to the expressions of gender non-conformity, that sustain the language and the criteria characterizing the Manual, and the possible implications on people’s narratives of transition. In order to achieve this objective two main research methods were used: historical reconstruction of the diagnostic category in the different versions of the Manual and content analysis of that category in the present version. From the historical analysis, in the medical and psychiatric field gender non-conformity has been predominantly explicated by naturalistic perspectives, naming it ‘transsexualism’ and collocating it in the category of gender identity disorder. Currently, pathological judged experiences are represented by gender dysphoria, described in the DSM-5 as the distress that may accompany the incongruence between one's experienced or expressed gender and one's assigned gender, specifying that there must be ‘evidence’ of this. Implicit theories about gender binary, parallelism between gender identity, sex and sexuality and the understanding of the mental health and the subject’s agency as subordinated to the expert knowledge, can be found in the process of designation of the category. A lack of awareness of the historical, social and political aspects connected to the cultural and normative dimensions at the basis of these implicit theories, can be noticed and data given by culture and data given by supposed -biological or psychological- nature, are often confused. This reductionist interpretation of gender and its presumed diversities legitimize the clinician to assume the role of searching and orienting, in a correctional perspective, the biographical elements that correspond to him specific expectations, with no space for other possibilities and identity configurations for people in transition. This research may contribute to the current critical debate about the epistemological foundation of the psychodiagnosis, emphasizing the pragmatic effects on the individuals and on the psychological practice in its wider social context. This work also permits to underline the risks due to the lack of awareness of the processes of social construction of the diagnostic system and its essential role of defence of the values that hold up the symbolic universe of reference.

Keywords: diagnosis, gender dysphoria, narratives, social constructionism

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Authors: Johan Sohaili, Siti Suhaila Mohamad, Shantha Kumari Muniyandi

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The strength development, durability and leachability aspects of mortar added with nonmetallic printed circuit board (NMPCBs) were investigated. This study aims to propose methods for treatment and reuse of NMPCBs waste. The leachability of raw NMPCBs was tested for toxicity by performing the Crushed Block Leachability (CBL) test. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated by performing compressive, flexural strength, durability and whole block leachability (WBL) tests on the mortar. The results indicated that the concentration of metals leach from the raw NMPCBs are within the standard limits and higher than the concentration of metals from WBL test. The compressive and flexural strength of the NMPCBs mortar was generally lower than the standard mortar. From durability tests, weight and compressive strength both of mortars was decrease after soaking in acid solution. As a conclusion, the treated NMPCBs can be reused in profitable and environmentally friendly ways and has broad application prospects.

Keywords: nonmetallic, printed circuit board, treatment, reuse

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Authors: Marlene Rosa, Susana Lopes

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Board games have been used for different purposes in geriatric care, demonstrating good results for health in general. However, there is not a conceptual framework that can help professionals and researchers in this area to design intervention programs or to think about future studies in this area. The aim of this study was to provide a pilot collection of board games’ serious purposes in geriatric care, using a WHO framework for health and disability. Study cases were developed in seven geriatric residential institutions from the center region in Portugal that are included in AGILAB program. The AGILAB program is a serious game-based method to train and spread out the implementation of board games in geriatric care. Each institution provides 2-hours/week of experiences using TATI Hand Game for serious purposes and then fulfill questions about a study-case (player characteristics; explain changes in players health according to this game experience). Two independent researchers read the information and classified it according to the International Classification for Functioning and Disability (ICF) categories. Any discrepancy was solved in a consensus meeting. Results indicate an important variability in body functions and structures: specific mental functions (e.g., b140 Attention functions, b144 Memory functions), b156 Perceptual functions, b2 sensory functions and pain (e.g., b230 Hearing functions; b265 Touch function; b280 Sensation of pain), b7 neuromusculoskeletal and movement-related functions (e.g., b730 Muscle power functions; b760 Control of voluntary movement functions; b710 Mobility of joint functions). Less variability was found in activities and participation domains, such as purposeful sensory experiences (d110-d129) (e.g., d115 Listening), communication (d3), d710 basic interpersonal interactions, d920 recreation and leisure (d9200 Play; d9205 Socializing). Concluding, this framework designed from a brief gamed-based experience includes mental, perceptual, sensory, neuromusculoskeletal, and movement-related functions and participation in sensory, communication, and leisure domains. More studies, including different experiences and a high number of users, should be developed to provide a more comprehensive ICF framework for game-based experiences in geriatric care.

Keywords: board game, aging, framework, experience

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Authors: Stefano Federici, Alessandro Lepri, Antonella Carrera

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Kessler and McKenna in the seventies, and recently Federici and Lepri investigated how an individual attributes gender to a person. By administering nudes of human figures, the scholars have found that the penis more than the vagina and the male sexual characteristics more than the female ones are significantly more salient in the gender attribution process. Federici and Lepri suggested that the asymmetrical salience of sexual characteristics is attributable to evolved decision-making processes for the solution of gender attribution problems to avoid the greatest danger of an (angry) adult male. The present study has observed the behaviour of 60 children, aged between 3 and 6 years, and their parents verifying whether the child gender attribution mechanisms are permeable to cultural stereotypes. The participating children were asked to make a male or a female on a tablet by combining 12 human physical characteristics (long hair, short hair, wide hips, narrow hips, breasts, flat chest, body hair, hairless body, penis, vagina, male face, and female face) and four cloths (male t-shirt, female t-shirt, pants, and skirt) by superimposing one or more of them on a sexually neutral manikin. On the tablet was installed an App, created by authors, to replicate the Kessler and McKenna and Federici and Lepri previous studies. One of the parents of each of the participating children was asked to make a male or a female using the same apparatus used by children. In addition, the participating parents were asked to complete a test, as proposed by Federici and Lepri in their previous study, to compare adult and child processes of gender attribution. The results suggested that children are affected both by evolved mechanisms as adults were (e.g., taking less time to make a male than a female, using the penis more often than the vagina), and by cultural modeling of parental and environmental gender stereotypes (e.g., the genitals were often covered with pants in case the delivery was to make a male and a skirt in the case was to make a female).

Keywords: biological sex, cognitive biases, cultural modeling, gender attribution, evolved decision-making processes

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Authors: Amit Kumar, Rajdeep Chakrabarty, Ganesh Gupta

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This paper illustrates the detailed accreditation process of Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) for accrediting engineering and Technology programs. ABET is a non-governmental agency that accredits engineering and technology, applied and natural sciences, and computing sciences programs. ABET was founded on 10th May 1932 and was founded by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. International industries accept ABET accredited institutes having the highest standards in their academic programs. In this accreditation, there are eight criteria in general; criterion 1 describes the student outcome evaluations, criteria 2 measures the program's educational objectives, criteria 3 is the student outcome calculated from the marks obtained by students, criteria 4 establishes continuous improvement, criteria 5 focus on curriculum of the institute, criteria 6 is about faculties of this institute, criteria 7 measures the facilities provided by the institute and finally, criteria 8 focus on institutional support towards staff of the institute. In this paper, we focused on the calculative part of each criterion with equations and suitable examples, the files and documentation required for each criterion, and the total workflow of the process. The references and the values used to illustrate the calculations are all taken from the samples provided at ABET's official website. In the final section, we also discuss the criterion-wise score weightage followed by evaluation with timeframe and deadlines.

Keywords: Engineering Accreditation Committee, Computing Accreditation Committee, performance indicator, Program Educational Objective, ABET Criterion 1 to 7, IEEE, National Board of Accreditation, MOOCS, Board of Studies, stakeholders, course objective, program outcome, articulation, attainment, CO-PO mapping, CO-PO-SO mapping, PDCA cycle, degree certificates, course files, course catalogue

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Authors: Wern Lin Yeo, Choo Kim Tan, Sook Ling Lew

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Mathematics anxiety refers to the feeling of anxious when one having difficulties in solving mathematical problem. Mathematics anxiety is the most common type of anxiety among other types of anxiety which occurs among the students. However, level of anxiety among males and females are different. There were few past study were conducted to determine the relationship of anxiety and gender but there were still did not have an exact results. Hence, the purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of anxiety level between male and female undergraduates at a private university in Malaysia. Convenient sampling method used in this study in which the students were selected based on the grouping assigned by the faculty. There were 214 undergraduates who registered the probability courses had participated in this study. Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) was the instrument used in study which used to determine students’ anxiety level towards probability. Reliability and validity of instrument was done before the major study was conducted. In the major study, students were given briefing about the study conducted. Participation of this study were voluntary. Students were given consent form to determine whether they agree to participate in the study. Duration of two weeks were given for students to complete the given online questionnaire. The data collected will be analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to determine the level of anxiety. There were three anxiety level, i.e., low, average and high. Students’ anxiety level were determined based on their scores obtained compared with the mean and standard deviation. If the scores obtained were below mean and standard deviation, the anxiety level was low. If the scores were at below and above the mean and between one standard deviation, the anxiety level was average. If the scores were above the mean and greater than one standard deviation, the anxiety level was high. Results showed that both of the gender were having average anxiety level. Males having high frequency of three anxiety level which were low, average and high anxiety level as compared to females. Hence, the mean values obtained for males (M = 3.62) was higher than females (M = 3.42). In order to be significant of anxiety level among the gender, the p-value should be less than .05. The p-value obtained in this study was .117. However, this value was greater than .05. Thus, there was no significant difference of anxiety level among the gender. In other words, there was no relationship of anxiety level with the gender.

Keywords: anxiety level, gender, mathematics anxiety, probability and statistics

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Authors: R. Simões, M. Silveirinha

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Driven by the need to understand the results of previous research that clearly shows deep unbalances of the media discourses about women and men in spite of the growing numbers of female journalists, our paper aims to progress from the 'what' to the 'why' of these unbalanced representations. Furthermore, it does so at a time when journalism is undergoing a dramatic change in terms of professional practices and in how media organizations are organized and run, affecting women in particular. While some feminist research points to the fact that female and male journalists evaluate the role of the news and production methods in similar ways feminist theorizing also suggests that thought and knowledge are highly influenced by social identity, which is also inherently affected by the experiences of gender. This is particularly important at a time of deep societal and professional changes. While there are persuasive discussions of gender identities at work in newsrooms in various countries studies on the issue will benefit from cases that focus on the particularities of local contexts. In our paper, we present one such case: the case of Portugal, a country hit hard by austerity measures that have affected all cultural industries including journalism organizations, already feeling the broader impacts of the larger societal changes of the media landscape. Can we gender these changes? How are they felt and understood by female and male journalists? And how are these discourses framed by androcentric, feminist and post-feminist sensibilities? Foregrounding questions of gender, our paper seeks to explore some of the interactions of societal and professional forces, identifying their gendered character and outlining how they shape journalism work in general and the production of unbalanced gender representations in particular. We do so grounded in feminist studies of journalism as well as feminist organizational and work studies, looking at a corpus of 20 in-depth interviews of female and male Portuguese journalists. The research findings illustrate how gender in journalism practices interacts with broader experiences of the cultural and economic contexts and show the ambivalences of these interactions in news organizations.

Keywords: gender, journalism, newsroom culture, Portuguese journalists

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Authors: Yasir Ramadhan

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This study aims to investigate tax avoidance practices when a financial crisis occurs due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also finds out how the influence of independent commissioners and external auditors on tax avoidance practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tax avoidance practices are measured by the current ETR. The role of the independent board of commissioners is measured by the proportion of independent commissioners in the composition of the board of commissioners, while the external auditor is measured by audit quality. In this study, there were 342 observations of companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2019 to 2020. This study used the difference-in-differences (DiD) method in data analysis. The results of this study indicate that companies do tax avoidance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, independent commissioners and qualified audits are not proven to be able to negate tax avoidance practices during the COVID-19 Pandemic. These results also show that a higher proportion of independent commissioners and audit quality are not sufficient for countries with low levels of auditor litigation and investor protection and weak regulatory frameworks.

Keywords: audit, commissioner, tax avoidance, COVID-19 pandemic

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Authors: Norhan Anwar Elshikh

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The study aimed to identify the extent of rural women’s awareness of gender issues and discrimination against women. The study also investigated the relationship between the extent of that awareness and the social and economic characteristics of the surveyed women. The study aimed to find both the related factors and the affecting factors of the surveyed women's awareness of gender issues and the discrimination against them. The study then proposed some recommendations that can raise rural women's ability to understand gender issues and discrimination against women. To achieve the study goals, a field study was conducted in the Al-Buhaira governorate. Abu Homs township was chosen as one of the traditional rural areas closest in its characteristics to most rural areas in Egypt, and the Abu Homs township consists of one town and seven rural local units. The local unit of Baraka Ghattas was chosen, as it is considered on average level in human development. Baraka Ghattas local unit includes five villages. Alherfah village and Barakat Ghatas village were chosen to conduct the study as they represent the high and the low levels of human development, respectively. The study included households of women who were in their fertile period in the sample’s villages. The volume of the sample was divided among the two villages according to the number of families in each village, so that each village is represented in the sample space by the same percentage of its presence in the original community. The size of the sample was determined, which is 385 women, According to the Crijsey and Morgen equation. To execute the study, a questionnaire was designed and collected through personal interviews. The results showed that the independent variables most influencing the dependent variable are, from high to low, the economic level of the respondent's family, the number of children of the respondent, the level of formal education of the husband, then leadership ability and the level of ambition, respectively. These variables are responsible for explaining 52% of the change in the extent of rural women's awareness of gender issues and discrimination against women. The study was concluded by providing suggestions and recommendations to improve rural women's awareness of gender issues and discrimination against women.

Keywords: gender, rural women, discrimination, discrimination against women

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Authors: Shagufta Jahangir, Raisa Jahangir, Nadeemullah

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In many societies sports is considered inappropriate for women. It traditionally associated with mascunity. The proposed study aims at undertaking a critical situation analysis of sports women in Pakistan from a gender perspective by examining various aspects of sports women by gender including wrong social values, unstable economical position, wrong religious perspective and the role of media towards women in sports, while sports can provide a channel for informing women about their social and legal rights as well as their health issues, productive health and others. A major concern of the study is to identify the basic causes which depriving Pakistani women from sports. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and the Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights organized a symbolic mini marathon on 21 May 2005 in Pakistan to challenge arbitrary curbs on women’s public participation in sport and to highlight rising violence against women. Historically, sport has engaged the perception of gender-hierarchy in order to reproduce the ideology of male superiority, a notion which is often translated into ‘usual superiority’ within the superior communal order. However, it is argued here that we are presently in a state of communal instability with esteem to women's participation in sport.

Keywords: mascunity, gender, productive health, inappropriate, rights

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Authors: Vilani Sachitra, Udari Bandara

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Self-efficacy beliefs provide the foundation for human motivation, well-being, and personal accomplishment. This study measured the levels of academic self-efficacy of undergraduates and also examined whether there any differences in academic self-efficacy with respect to gender and academic year. A structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from undergraduates who enrolled the Bachelor of Commerce degree programme at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The outcome of the study revealed that undergraduates lacked the confidence to ask and answer questions, seek help from lecturers, have a study plan and engage in academic discussion and note-taking. However, the findings also demonstrated that undergraduates were not hesitant about seeking help from friends, had confidence on meeting the deadlines and completing the degree within four years. Interestingly, females displayed higher academic self-efficacy than males. Specifically, the data were supported to conclude that there were significant differences in academic self-efficacy with respect to academic years.

Keywords: academic year, bachelor of commerce undergraduates, gender, self-efficacy

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Authors: Qurat Ul Ain Saleem, Kanwal Ameen

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The library and information science discipline is universally known as a feminist profession. It is considered a suitable field for females in Pakistan like a few other fields such as teaching and healthcare. It is also reflected through the uneven enrollment at graduate levels in library schools across the country as there are more females as compared to males. However, that uneven ratio does not really translate in the profession after passing out. There are more males in the professional as compared to females, as well as males can be seen on managerial and administrative posts majorly. A few females who joined the perception remain underrated and are hardly seen at managerial or administrative positions in the academic libraries. Therefore, this study was designed to highlight the perceptions of those females who have joined the profession to identify the issues related to equality faced by them as a professional. A qualitative research design based on a semi-structured interview was selected as an appropriate method to achieve the objectives of this study. Female librarians working in the higher education commission’s recognized public and private sector universities of Punjab, Pakistan, were selected as the population for this study. Female librarians shared that inequalities and discrimination based on face value, experience, communication, and relationship with the manager are common at their workplaces. They added that managers prefer male professionals to deal with delegation or presentations though we both can do that. Female professionals from the private sector believed that library managers make final hiring and selection decisions based on job duties and gender. However, the one with strong references will be preferred for the job. Also, private-sector employees suffered more prejudice due to the non-availability of proper patterns of promotions and increments. The government personnel said there is always a proper board/procedure for hiring and promotions; therefore, it is difficult for them to identify any inequality. Participants were dissatisfied with their managers for not allowing them to attend training and conferences. The majority of participants from the private sector said they wouldn't speak up to prejudice because they are afraid of losing their jobs and their voice is lost in a male-dominated society where males hold numerous authoritative positions and females are considered less competent. Nonetheless, the discrimination and inequalities affected the work motivation and enthusiasm of employees. Therefore, organizations should not discriminate against the staff in terms of facilities and benefits. The sample may not represent the true picture of gender equality in university libraries of Pakistan due to less number of participants and limited geographical boundaries. It is also assumed that some females may refrain from disclosing factual information or some may exaggerate the facts as a large number of participants requested to become part of the study. Equal opportunities should be offered to female library professionals to uplift and involve them to mitigate the perception of gender dominance. The organizations or immediate authorities should allow their staff to participate in training opportunities to learn modern practices to better serve the community.

Keywords: equality-workplace, libraries as workplace, female professionals, librarians-Pakistan

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Authors: Ingrid van der Heijden, Kristen Dunkle, Rachel Jewkes

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Background: Emerging literature on prevalence shows that men with disabilities are four more times likely than men without disabilities to experience sexual violence during their lifetime. However, compared to women with disabilities, men with disabilities still have lesser experiences of violence. While empirical evidence on the prevalence of victimization of men with disabilities is emerging, there is scarcer evidence highlighting disabled men’s perpetration of different forms of violence, particularly intimate partner violence. We can assume that men are likely to be both perpetrators and victims of violence, making more complex the causes and risks of violence. Gender norms and disability stigma play important roles in men’s experiences of violence. Men may be stigmatized because of their inability to attain hegemonic masculine ideals of strength, control over women and sexual conquest, which makes them more susceptible to emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Little to no evidence exists of men with disabilities’ experiences of perpetration of intimate partner violence, family violence or community violence. So far studies on male victimization do not succeed to offer contextual evidence that would highlight why and how men with disabilities perpetrate and/or are victims of sexual or other forms of violence. Objective: The overall aim to highlight men with disabilities’ experiences of both victimization and perpetration, and how living up to normative and hegemonic ideals of masculinity and ‘ability’ shape their experiences. It will include: identifying how gender and impairments intersect and shape their experiences of violence; identifying the contexts of and risks for violence; identifying the impacts and consequences of violence on their lives (including mental health impacts), and identifying obstacles and enablers to support and interventions to prevent violence. Methodology: In-depth qualitative interviews with 20 men with disabilities participating in interventions conducted by the What Works Global Programme for violence prevention (DIFD) in Africa and Asia. Men with a range of disabilities will be invited to share their lifetime experiences of violence. Implications for Practice: The data from this study will be used to start thinking about strategies to include men with disabilities in violence prevention strategies for both men and women. Limitations: Because men will be participating in interventions, it is assumed that they will not have severe impairments that hamper their cognitive or physical ability to participate in the intervention activities - and therefore will be able to participate in the in-depth interviews. Of course, this is a limitation of the study as it does not include those men with severe disabilities – measured by the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning - who may be more vulnerable and at higher risk of experiencing violence, and who are less likely to be able to access services and interventions.

Keywords: gender, men with disabilities, perpetration of violence, victimization

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Authors: Noemi Schneider, Richard Blaese, Pietro Morandi, Brigitte Liebig

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While women are increasingly frequent among the founders of innovative companies and advanced researchers in many university research institutes today, they are still an exception among initiators of research-based spin-offs. This also applies to countries such as Switzerland, which does have a leading position in international innovation rankings. Starting from a gender-sensitive neo-institutionalist perspective, this paper examines formal and non-formal institutional framework conditions for academic spin-offs at Swiss universities of applied sciences. This field, which stresses vocational education and practice-oriented research, seems to conserve the gender gap in the area of establishing research-based spin-offs spin-off rates strongly. The analysis starts from a survey conducted in 2017 and 2018 at all seven public universities of applied sciences in Switzerland as well as on an evaluation of expert interviews performed with heads of start-up centers, where also spin-offs from universities of applied sciences get support. The results show the mechanisms, which contribute to gender gaps in academic entrepreneurship in higher education. University's female employees have hardly been discovered as target groups. Thus, only 10.5% of universities of applied sciences offer specific support measures for women in academia. And only 1 out of 7 universities of applied sciences offer mentoring programs for female entrepreneurs while in addition there are no financial resources available to support female founders in academia. Moreover, the awareness of the gender gap in academic entrepreneurship is low among founding commissioners. A consistent transfer strategy might be key for bringing in line the formal and non-formal preconditions relevant for the formation of research-based spin-offs and for providing an effective incentive structure to promote women.

Keywords: gender, science-based spin-off, universities of applied sciences, knowledge transfer strategy

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Authors: Nour Daoud

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Patriarchy continues to thrive in Jordan where male-controlled values are still entrenched in a society that is suffering from upsetting percentages of Gender-based Violence (GBV). This paper is a systematic review of the literature with an attempt to evaluate and interpret all available research evidence relevant to determining the extent to which patriarchy contributes to the occurrence, re-occurrence, and continuation of GBV in Jordan. Twenty-one (21) full-text articles were selected for the in-depth review due to meeting the established criteria for inclusion. 81 percent of articles included primary data while 19 percent included secondary data. Analysis of data was based on a specific extraction form that was developed using the ‘Excel’ to respond to the main goal of the paper. Interpretation of data was in light of the theorization of different feminism schools on the relationship between patriarchy and gender-based violence. Findings show that 33 percent of the selected articles affirm that the patriarchal standpoint best explains the role of patriarchy in the incidence of gender-based violence in Jordan under its three main themes (Honor-based Violence, Intimate Partner Violence and Street Harassment). Apart from the limited number of articles that were found debating this argument and the low percentage of articles that acknowledged the role of patriarchy in the incidence of gender-based violence in Jordan, this paper breaks the ice to implement future empirical studies on this subject. Also, it is an invitation for all Jordanian women to unite their efforts in order to eradicate all forms of victimization against them.

Keywords: honor-based violence, intimate partner violence, middle-east, street harassment

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Authors: Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, Oluwatoyosi Abikoye

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Gender-Based Violence has persistently been an enduring epidemic rooted in various homes and cultures worldwide throughout history. Despite numerous multifaceted approaches aiming to eliminate gender disparity by empowering girls with independent, survival, or entrepreneurial skills, positive transformation efforts for boys are often neglected. This gap, particularly in West Africa, hinders the reshaping of generational perceptions of men's roles in eradicating all forms of violence against women, creating an imbalance in providing holistic, sustainable solutions in our society. In response to this, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency established the Kings Club initiative in 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria, aligning with UN SDG 5 on 'gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.' This initiative aims to debunk sociocultural misconceptions, educate on sexual and Gender Violence issues, and promote positive masculinity among schoolboys. The objective is to foster a balance in the behavioral and attitudinal mindsets of young boys, contributing to the success of an equitable society for all in the eradication of gender disparity. The ongoing project demonstrates an annual 89% success rate in behavioral and attitudinal mindset shifts among schoolboys by employing qualitative assessments of participants aged 10–17. The paper uses data from 161 secondary school students drawn from 15 schools in Lagos State Education District 6, exposed to modules on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and Health, Masculinity, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Anger Management, and transitioning from boy to man in a 6-week program, with observations and feedback analyses. The paper evaluates changes in attitudes, behaviors, and gender role perceptions among the boys who are now pioneers of the Kings' Club in their respective schools, serving as positive influencers among their peers in schools and at home. The paper's findings provide a nuanced understanding of cultural dynamics shaping male masculinity in West Africa and offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of innovative interventions to end all forms of violence against women. In conclusion, by intentionally reshaping young boys alongside girls, who represent the future, we stand a chance to create culturally sensitive societal norms that bridge the gap of gender inequity and end all forms of violence against women. The paper posits that its outcomes hold research significance, providing targeted interventions in male masculinity in patriarchal societies.

Keywords: cultural dynamics, gender equality, gender-based violence, positive masculinity

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Authors: Yarhands Dissou Arthur, Samuel Asiedu Addo, Jonathan Annan

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Interest in subject specific is very essential in the quest to ensure effective teaching and learning. In building interest in subject specific areas requires certain factors and strategies well-spelled out.The factors such as the gender of the student, the type of basic school attended, the parent interest as well as the scare of the basic school mathematics teacher is very important to consider. The relational effect and the contribution these above mentioned variables on student have not been fully investigated and this paper address the effect of these factors on the student interest. In the attainment of this goal, the current paper addresses the effect of parent interest, the type of basic school attended, the scare by basic school mathematics teacher and its effect on student’s interest in mathematics. A cross sectional data collected from two hundred and sixty post-secondary school student were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods by aid of SPSS version 16. The study found that parent interest and value for mathematics significantly influenced students interest and joy in solving mathematical problems. Moreover, we also observed that the fear imposed by basic school mathematics teachers was found to significantly influence students’ interest. The study further found that the type of basic school attended and gender are factors that do not influence students’ interest in mathematics. In addition to concluding that a student’s interest is influenced by both parent interest and the fear of basic school mathematics teacher, the study also showed that the type of basic school attended and gender does not affect the students’ interest in mathematics.

Keywords: gender, mathematics interest, teacher interest, teacher interest, student interest

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Authors: Lewis Mehl-Madrona, Barbara Mainguy, Patrick McFarlane

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Introduction: There are many risk factors for attempting suicide, including young age, “minority stress,” which would include Transgender and Gender Diverse orientations (TGD). The rate of TGD youths for suicide attempts is 3 times higher than heterosexual cis-gender youth. Half of TGD youth have seriously contemplated taking their own lives; of those, about half attempted suicide; and 18% of the TGD teenagers reported suicidal thoughts linked to their gender identity. Native American TGD have a six times higher suicide attempt rate. Conventional mental health has not generally helped these individuals. Stigma and discrimination contribute to healthcare disparities. Storytelling plays a crucial role in the development of human culture and individual identities. Sharing narrative artwork, creative writing, and personal stories allow people to build trust and to share their vulnerabilities. This helps people become aware of themselves in relation to others and gain a sense of comfort that their stories are similar; they may also be transformed in the process. Art provides a means to reach people who are otherwise difficult to engage in services. Methods: TGD individuals are recruited through a snowballing procedure. Following a life story interview, participants complete a scale of gender dysphoria, identification with conventional masculinity, patient-reported anxiety, and depression measure, and a quality-of-life scale. The interview completes the Columbia Suicide Scale. Following this, an artist and a therapist works with the participant to create a story related to their gender identity using the six-part story method. This story is then rendered to an artists’ book, which combines narrative with art (drawings, collage, computer images, etc.) and can take the form of a graphic novella, a zine, or a comic book. The pages can range from plain to ornate, as can the covers. Participants describe their process of making the books as the work unfolds and then participate in an exit interview at the completion of their book, remarking on what has changed for them and how the process affected them. Results: Preliminary results show high levels of suicidal thoughts among this population, as expected. Participants participate enthusiastically in the life story interview process and in the construction of a story related to gender identity. They enthusiastically participate in the studio process of putting their story into the form of a graphic novel, zine, or comic book. Participants reported feeling more comfortable with their TGD identity after the process and more able to resist negative judgments of family members and society. Suicidal thoughts diminish, and participants reported improved emotional wellbeing. Quantitative analysis of questionnaire data is underway Conclusions: A process in which narrative therapy is combined with art therapy shows promise for attracting and helping TGD individuals to reduce their risk for suicide without the stigma of going for mental health treatment. This process can be done outside of conventional mental health settings, on college and University campuses. This can provide an exciting alternative pathway for minority stressed and stigmatized individuals to engage in reflective, psychotherapeutic work without the trappings of psychotherapy or mental health treatment.

Keywords: minority stress, narrative process, artists' books, life story interview

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Authors: Raneem O. Salem, Najwa Al-Mously, Nihal Mohamed Nabil, Abdulmohsen H. Al-Zalabani, Abeer F. Al-Dhawi, Nasser Al-Hamdan

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Objective: There are various demographic and educational factors that affect the academic performance of undergraduate medical students. The objective of this study is to identify these factors and correlate them to the GPA of the students. Methods: A cross-sectional study design utilizing grade point averages (GPAs) of two cohorts of students in both levels of the pre-clinical phase. In addition, self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate the effect of these factors on students with poor and good cumulative GPA. Results: Among the various factors studied, gender, marital status, and the transportation used to reach the faculty significantly affected academic performance of students. Students with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater significantly differed than those with a GPA of less than 3.0 being higher in female students, in married students, and type of transportation used to reach the college. Factors including age, educational factors, and type of transportation used have shown to create a significant difference in GPA between male and females. Conclusion: Factors such as age, gender, marital status, learning resources, study time, and the transportation used have been shown to significantly affect medical student GPA as a whole batch as well as when they are tested for gender.

Keywords: academic performance, educational factors, learning resources, study time, gender, socio-demographic factors

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Authors: David Maina Muthegethi

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The Victoria Basin is associated with gateway for migration to Southern part of Africa. Different communities migrated through the region including the Bantus and Nilotic communities that occupy present day Kenya and Tanzania. A distinct culture of dry-stone technology emerged around 15th century current era, a period associated with peopling of the western Kenya region. One of the biggest dry-stone walls enclosure is Thimlich Ohinga archaeological site. The site was constructed around fourteenth century current era. Architectural design was oval shaped stone structures that were around 4 meters and 2 meters in length and width respectively. The main subsistence strategies of the community that was crop faming, pastoralism, fishing, hunting and gathering. This paper attempts to examine gender dynamics of Thimlich Ohinga society. At that end, attempts are made to infer gender roles as manifested in archaeological record. Therefore, the study entails examination of material evidence excavated from the site. Also, ethnoarchaeological study of contemporary Luo community was undertaken in order to make inferences and analogies concerning gender roles of Thimlich Ohinga society. Overall, the study involved examination of cultural materials excavated from Thimlich Ohinga, extensive survey of the site and ethnography of Luo community. In total, an extensive survey and interviews of 20 households was undertaken in South Kanyamkango ward, Migori County in Western Kenya. The key findings point out that Thimlich Ohinga gender identities were expressed in material forms through architecture, usage of spaces, subsistence strategies, dietary patterns and household organization. Also, gender as social identity was dynamic and responsive to diversification of subsistence strategies and intensification of regional trade as documented in contemporary Luo community. The paper reiterates importance of ethnoarchaeological methods in reconstruction of past social organization as manifested in material record.

Keywords: ethnoarchaeological, gender, subsistence patterns, Thimlich Ohinga

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Authors: Rodrique Watong Tchounkeu

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This paper investigated the implementation and impact of inclusive education practices in early childhood settings (ages 3-6) with the overarching aim of fostering a diverse learning environment. The primary objectives were to assess the then-current state of inclusive practices, identify effective methodologies for accommodating diverse learning needs, and evaluate the outcomes of implementing inclusive education in early childhood settings. To achieve these objectives, a mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative interviews with early childhood educators and parents, along with quantitative surveys distributed to a diverse sample of participants. The qualitative phase involved semi-structured interviews with 30 educators and 50 parents, selected through purposive sampling. The interviews aimed to gather insights into the challenges faced in implementing inclusive education, the strategies employed, and the perceived benefits and drawbacks. The quantitative phase included surveys administered to 300 early childhood educators across various settings, measuring their familiarity with inclusive practices, their perceived efficacy, and their willingness to adapt teaching methods. The results revealed a significant gap between the theoretical understanding and practical implementation of inclusive education in early childhood settings. While educators demonstrated a high level of theoretical knowledge, they faced challenges in effectively translating these concepts into practice. Parental perspectives highlighted the importance of collaboration between educators and parents in supporting inclusive education. The surveys indicated a positive correlation between educators' familiarity with inclusive practices and their willingness to adapt teaching methods, emphasizing the need for targeted professional development. The implications of this study suggested the necessity for comprehensive training programs for early childhood educators focused on the practical implementation of inclusive education strategies. Additionally, fostering stronger partnerships between educators and parents was crucial for creating a supportive learning environment for all children. By addressing these findings, this research contributed to the advancement of inclusive education practices in early childhood settings, ultimately leading to more inclusive and effective learning environments for diverse groups of young learners.

Keywords: inclusive education, early childhood settings, diverse learning, young learners, practical implementation, parental collaboration

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Authors: Bărbuță Alina

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The inter-causal relationship between social inequalities and the digital divide raises the relation issue of gender and information and communication technologies (ICT) - a key element in achieving sustainable development. In preparing generations as future digital citizens and for active socio-economic participation, ICT plays a key role in respecting gender equality. Although several studies over the years have shown that gender plays an important role in digital exclusion, in recent years, many studies with a focus on economically developed or developing countries identify an improvement in these aspects and a gap narrowing. By measuring students' digital competencies level, this paper aims to identify and analyse the existing gender digital inequalities among students. Our analyses are based on a sample of 1526 middle school students residing in rural areas from Republic of Moldova (54.2% girls, mean age 14,00, SD = 1.02). During the online survey they filled in a questionnaire adapted from the (yDSI) ”The Youth Digital Skills Indicator”. The instrument measures the level of five digital competence areas indicated in The European Digital Competence Framework (DigiCom 2.3.). Our results, based on t-test, indicate that depending on gender, there are no statistically significant differences regarding the levels of digital skills in 3 areas: Information navigation and processing; Communication and interaction; Problem solving. However, were identified significant differences in the level of digital skills in the area of ”Digital content creation” [t(1425) = 4.20, p = .000] and ”Safety” [t(1421) = 2.49, p = .000], with higher scores recorded by girls. Our results contradicts the general stereotype regarding the low level of digital competence among girls, in our sample girls scores being on pear with boys and even bigger in knowledge related to digital content creation and online safety skills. Additional investigations related to boys competence on digital safety are necessary as the implication of their low scores on this dimension may suggest boys exposure to digital threats.

Keywords: digital divide, education, gender digital divide, digital literacy, remote learning

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Authors: Baris Sezer

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A great number of projects have been implemented by Turkey in order to integrate technologies into education. The FATİH Project is intended to integrate technology into all levels of education in Turkey. As part of the FATİH Project that is aimed to complete in 2016, it is intended to initially deliver a tablet PC to every student and teacher. We aimed to detect grade 9 students’ acceptance perception level of tablet PCs during the 2014 – 2015 school year in this study where quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used in combination. The study group consisted of 228 grade 9 students of high schools in Istanbul, Ankara, Zonguldak and Bursa in Turkey. Study data was obtained through the “Tablet PC Acceptance Scale” and structured interview forms. Given the results obtained from the study, the mean overall score was 70.08 (3.72 out of 5), which was derived from all the dimensions of the acceptance perception level of tablet PCs in the students’ view. Findings of the study indicate that mean scores for students’ acceptance perception level of tablet PCs did not differ by their gender and their level of use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Focus group interviews with students suggest that students did not effectively and actively use the tablet PCs; instead they used the interactive board during classes.

Keywords: acceptance of technology, student’s view, FATIH project, tablet PCs

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