bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electrochemical Performance of LiMn2O4 Cathodes in Zn-Containing Aqueous Electrolytes
Authors: Kamenskii Mikhail A. , Eliseeva Svetlana N. , Volkov Alexey I. , Kondratiev Veniamin V.
Published: April 2022

Electrochemical properties of LiMn2O4 cathode were investigated in three types of Zn-containing electrolytes: lithium-zinc sulfate electrolyte (1M ZnSO4/2M Li2SO4), zinc sulfate electrolyte (2MZnSO4) and lithium-zinc-manganese sulfate electrolyte (1MZnSO4/2MLi2SO4/0.1MMnSO4). Cyclic voltammetry measurements demonstrated that LiMn2O4 is electrochemically inactive in pure ZnSO4 electrolyte after initial oxidation. The effect of manganese (II) additive in the zinc-manganese sulfate electrolyte on the electrochemical performance was analyzed. The initial capacity of LiMn2O4 is higher in presence of MnSO4 (140 mAh g−1 in 1 M ZnSO4/2 M Li2SO4/0.1 M MnSO4 and 120 mAh g−1 in 1 M ZnSO4/2MLi2SO4). The capacity increase can be explained by the electrodeposition of MnOx layer on the electrode surface. Structural characterization of postmortem electrodes with use of XRD and EDX analysis confirmed that partially formed in pure ZnSO4 electrolyte Zn-containing phase leads to fast capacity fading which is probably related to blocked electroactive sites.
The effects of combined training and activity in an enriched environment on the brain BDNF and VEGF protein levels in the pre-pubertal male rats
Authors: Rostami Samira , Esmailyanmaleki Milad , Kargarfard Parham , Fayazmilani Rana
Published: April 2022

Background. Neurotrophic factors play an important role in the brain plasticity. The brain developmental processes remarkably occur in the pre-pubertal period, and training interventions during this sensitive period may lead to specific effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of combined training and activity in an enriched environment on the brain BDNF and VEGF protein levels in the pre-pubertal male rats. Methods. The pre-pubertal male Wistar rats (n=18) were randomly divided into three groups of combined training (CT), enriched environment (EE), and control (C) at postnatal day 22. The combined training included endurance and resistance physical exercises, which performed six days a week. A large cage with various rich stimuli (wheel running, ladder, toys, tunnels) was provided for voluntary physical activity in an enriched environment. The interventions lasted for three weeks, and the brain tissue (right hemisphere) was removed for biochemical evaluations. The BDNF and VEGF protein levels of the brain were measured by the western blotting method. Results. Significant differences found in the BDNF and VEGF levels in this study (P<0.01). The neurotrophic factors were significantly increased in the CT and EE groups. Although VEGF protein level increased in both groups, only enriched rats showed a significant difference. Conclusion. It can be concluded that combined training and voluntary physical activity in an enriched environment in the pre-pubertal period can effective in brain plasticity by increasing the neurotrophic factors.
Emotions as a lasting leadership learning in high-potential female students
Authors: Segovia Mónica , Laguna-Sánchez Pilar , Vargas-Pérez Ana M. , De la Fuente-Cabrero Concepción
Published: April 2022

Women's underrepresentation in leadership positions is a well-known problem. The lack of self-confidence and training in leadership is highlighted in the literature as the two main barriers to women seeking managerial positions. Educational organizations have to provide leadership skills development and gain-oriented personal resources through women's leadership programs. Research demonstrates that emotions improve the learning process in educational activities. Nevertheless, to our knowledge, there has been little feminist research focused on how emotions modulate the learning process in educational leadership programs and how they promote students’ personal change, which needs to last in time. To fill this gap, the objective of this study is to present an evaluation of the impact of emotions on a leadership program for female undergraduates, using a multi-source program assessment based on triangulation. The study analyzes the students' emotions during and after the university Women's Leadership Program (WLP), exploring their learning processes in the acquisition of formal leadership skills, personal resources, and personal inner transformation as a fusion of their emotions. The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) scale was applied including 9 items (α= 0.72). Bivariate analyses were conducted using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and exploratory factor analysis. Additionally, focus groups were carried out at the end of the course, two weeks after, to allow time for reflection by the participants. The analysis was carried out as a conventional content analysis (inductive). The results of an online survey and focus groups with the students and the perceptions of the lecturers suggest that emotions contributed to fostering the learning of leadership skills and triggering deep inner personal development. The findings indicate that i) positive and negative valence contributes to the appraisal process, helping them to be self-reflective about their personal leadership qualities, ii) reinforcing their own shortcomings and improving self-skills such as confidence, building leadership fluidly. In addition, the emotional state of the trainers who accompanied the students during the sessions of the program was highly significant, becoming emotional triggers. Furthermore, trainers also become role models. Practical implications for the future are provided for the educational institutions and business managers to improve women leadership programs
A partnership approach: supporting and empowering vulnerable women within one UK city
Authors: Warwick-Booth Louise , Coan Susan
Published: April 2022

This paper draws upon a three-year longitudinal qualitative evaluation of a voluntary sector strategic partnership and delivery project involving eleven women-centred organisations. The consortium, funded by the Big Lottery (charity), worked together to support the most vulnerable women and girls across a city in the north of England 2017-2021. The partnership of eleven female led organisations delivered front-line services which aimed to enable women and girls to lead safer and healthier lives.  Partners combined their expertise to support women with multiple needs including: mental health, domestic abuse, sexual violence and exploitation, experience of the criminal justice system, sex work, and substance misuse. The project aimed to achieve 3 outcomes: Outcome 1: Improved and extended access for vulnerable women and girls in Leeds to the services and support they want when they choose; Outcome 2: A holistic response to ensure that the needs of women and girls with multiple and complex issues are better supported; Outcome 3: Women and girls will be empowered to support their peers and influence service delivery, development and design across the city. Our evaluation placed the project staff, partners, stakeholders and service users at the centre of qualitative data collection, using a co-produced Theory of Change approach to data collection.    Our sample of 34 service users, 35 professionals (19 interviewed twice) and monitoring data shows that the project successfully met its objectives and developed a model of practice that could be used in other contexts to support and empower vulnerable women.
How does the institutional context affect the risk of substitution faced by women and men?
Authors: Bannò Mariasole , FILIPPI EMILIA , Trento Sandro
Published: April 2022

This paper aims to investigate how the institutional context considered in light of the level of gender equality explains the difference in the risk of substitution faced by men and women. To this end, the probability of automation of European occupation is estimated and it is analysed how it is influenced by the gender of the worker. We found that in contexts where gender equality is higher, female workers face a lower risk compared to contexts with a lower gender equality. However, the protection enjoyed by female workers is reduced in less egalitarian contexts because, due to barriers regarding the participation in formal and non-formal education and training, women are not able to acquire the necessary skills to protect themselves from the risk of substitution.
Project_Gender Action Plans in Academia
Authors: Bencivenga Rita , Siri Anna , Leone Cinzia
Published: April 2022

Abstract: Research on the implementation of positive actions and gender mainstreaming in academia reveals a fragmented patchwork in adopting strategies and policies. Even when national policies guarantee uniformity in adopting Gender Equality Plans (GEPs), this does not always lead to substantial changes in research and innovation teams and management structures.

Our study was inspired by the EU's requirement that research and innovation projects submitted to calls for proposal in the Sixth Framework Program (2002-2006) include a Gender Action Plan (GAP), covering all measures and activities promoting gender equality within each project and explaining gender issues associated with the project's subject matter. Although the requirement has been discontinued in the following Framework Programmes, the idea of a GAP at the project level raised interest in the scientific community.

Our article reports on the roadmap and the construction phases to implement a Gender Action Plan at the project level (P-GAP). A new European project funded under the Erasmus+ European Universities initiative has been identified as a case study for its characteristic of involving different institutional areas: teaching, research and third mission. The P-GAP addresses all project activities, thus escaping the boundaries set by the siloed work package structure.

By focusing on micro-actions at the project level, the P-GAP mirrors macro-actions at the organisational level. The purpose of the initiative was to understand whether activities inspired by GEPs but implemented at the project level encounter obstacles and resistance similar to those challenging the implementation of GEPs at the institutional level. By stimulating faculty, research, management, and administrative staff to promote gender equality and diversity, it can test challenges and difficulties, leading those involved in the micro-actions to become more assertive and proactive in transferring equality, diversity, and inclusion methods and strategies to institutional GEPs and academia at large.

Partners' attitudes toward building the P-GAP were positive: they showed interest in the idea, contributed actively to plan several micro-actions and saw the potential to influence existing or new institutional GEPs indirectly.
Increasing gender sensitivity with codesign
Authors: Woodcock Andree , Bridgman Jacquie , Gut Kat , Magee Paul , Ouillon Sinead , Saunders Janet , York Nicola
Published: April 2022

The Horizon Europe 2020 TInnGO (Transport Innovation Gender Observatory) project1 aimed to facilitate and empower the inclusion of underrepresented and diverse groups in smart mobility. Women are still considered to be an underrepresented group across the transport sector, forming less than 30% of all employees in the sector. Significantly women’s travel needs are not met by current transport provision, despite widespread evidence that they make different types of journeys and have different mobility concerns. It may hypothesised that even less is known about other minority groups (such as those from the BAME (Black, Asian, Minority and Ethnic community and those with disabilities). The design of future transport services and products is further skewed by the predominance of male undergraduate transport designers and engineers. While there are many noteworthy attempts to attract young women into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers and provide support for them in the male dominated sector, the work conducted by TInnGO’s Coventry team focussed on developing gender and diversity sensitive smart mobility solutions to highlight everyday mobility issues for women. These have been termed ‘Design provocations,’ 50 such designs were produced over 18 months in conjunction with 4 undergraduate design interns and are available for comment on our Open Innovation Platform2. From this experience, the team have produced a series of design tools to facilitate undergraduate student’s empathy and awareness when designing gender and diversity sensitive smart mobility products.
 
[1] https://www.tinngo.eu/
[2] https://oip.transportgenderobservatory.eu/home
Formation of human capital in the digital era: gender specifics
Authors: Kohnová Lucia , Papula Ján
Published: April 2022

Under the influence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the skills need of current and future employees are also changing. In an environment where people work with machines and digital technologies, it is essential to develop the organization's new skills and competencies in order to remain competitive. Terms such as eskills, digital skills, or technological skills are often used in the context of human capital formation, and become an important part of it for organizations in the digital technology environment. The European Commission, which evaluates the DESI index every year, includes a human capital dimension, where according to the digital skills ranking, many European countries do not even reach 50 points out of 100. From the perspective of companies, jobs require a certain type of technical and digital skills. Gender research points to a significant gap between men and women in the field of IT, as well as in the current level of skills. However, the theory lacks more insight into gender specifics in a generation that will only come to the labour market in the coming period. In our original research, we decided to examine a selected generation Z, young people who are in their final years of high school and are considering the future direction of their education and potential career. This generation, unlike the previous ones, is specific in that it has grown up in many new technologies and encountered them in recent years. The aim of the research was therefore to examine gender differences in generation Z in terms of the perception of different types of skills as an important part of the human capital formation for future. And further take a deeper look at their behaviour in terms of education and career decision-making impulses. The research was conducted on 755 students in Slovakia and Czech Republic and pointed to a significant difference in the perception of the importance of technological and ICT skills between men and women, as well as their external influence on decision-making. The results of the unique research provide basis for the possibilities of setting up education and development of young women in the topic of digital skills, through which it would be possible to reduce this significant gap between men and women in the researched area.
Reflections on Racism Against Women of Color Faculty in Academia
Authors: Azhar Sameena , DeLoach McCutcheon Kendra P.
Published: April 2022

In this article, we utilize autoethnographic methods and a literature review to report on themes regarding female social work faculty members who identify as women of Color (WOC) and their experiences with racism and White supremacy within predominantly White institutions in the United States. These experiences are not unique to any particular institution or university, but rather reflect systemic racism and the upholding of White supremacy in higher education throughout the United States. We highlight the differential vulnerability faced by WOC women in academia, which are often unaddressed in the pursuit of what is seen to be an egalitarian or colorblind merit review. Utilizing autoethnographic techniques and bearing in mind our own positionalities, we share personal narratives regarding our own marginalization within White spaces and the emotional labor that we are often asked to carry for the institutions within which we work. Themes include experiences of tokenization or assumed intellectual inferiority. Given the current sociopolitical moment and the heightened awareness of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within universities, institutions of higher education must move beyond simply hiring more people of color or conducting diversity trainings to ensuring that WOC are more fully included in their roles within universities as faculty, administrators, staff and students.
Understanding the Factors Influencing Women’s Career Trajectories in STEM Education in Kazakhstan.
Authors: Tsakalerou Mariza
Published: April 2022

Although female researchers in Kazakhstan account for 53% of the total, those engaged in science, engineering, and technology fields (STEM) account for less than 45% of the STEM total. A similar pattern is experienced with respect to tertiary education students in Kazakhstan with the percentage of undergraduate women being 58% of the total, but only 32% of the undergraduate students in STEM. Thus, the phenomenon of "leakage" from the STEM educational pipeline starts early and persists, albeit ameliorated with advanced degrees. This study seeks to identify the barriers that deter Kazakhstani women from entering STEM disciplines, from persisting through their studies, and from pursuing successful academic careers. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to identify the extent to which various socioeconomic and institutional factors shape the perception of women towards STEM fields. The major methodological instrument employed is a set of qualitative interviews of female faculty in STEM, designed and calibrated for the local context. The interviewees were randomly selected from one of the largest local universities with a broad spectrum of STEM disciplines. The proportion of indigenous female faculty members in STEM disciplines in this university is less than 25%. The preliminary results reveal that the key barriers are disrupted work-life balance, cultural stereotypes, poor self-assessment, and gender-based discrimination on an institutional level. In addition, factors such as availability of research facilities, job autonomy, involvement in decision-making procedures, and encouragement from the institution emerge as critical facilitators for effective female careers in STEM. The conclusions of this study are expected to inform the development of appropriate questionnaire instruments towards a larger study across a section of tertiary education institutions in Kazakhstan.
Resisting, accepting and supporting gender equality in Portuguese Higher Education Institutions: Leadership Profiles
Authors: Torres Anália , Campos Pinto Paula , Assunção Fátima , Merlini Sara , Maciel Diana , Coelho Bernardo , Godinho Filipa
Published: April 2022

In the European context, Portugal is the country with the lowest number of women (1.9% in 2016) at the top of the academic career and just 30% of women in the leadership of HEIs (She Figures 2018; Elsevier, 2021; Cabrera, 2019; Carvalho and Diogo, 2018). Paradoxically, it is also one of the European countries where female academics have the highest publishing productivity (Elsevier, 2021) and make up most of the doctorates (55% in 2016). Only very recently, however, these inequalities began to receive attention. In 2019, for example, women's participation in academic decision-making and leadership became required by law (National Law 26/2019) in all Portuguese public higher education institutions. And levelling effects of this law are soon expected since human resources management in the public HE institutions in Portugal is a centralised system (OECD, 2021). In this context it also becomes interesting to understand what academic leaders think about the promotion of gender equality in HEIs. This paper seeks to address this question. As part of a larger research project exploring gender equality issues in HEIs in Portugal we dethatched qualitative interviews conducted with HEIs leaders throughout the country. The project also involved secondary analyses of national and international data on gender equality and four case studies in HEIs with an action research approach. The outcome of the analysis was an exploratory typology identifying three specific profiles among interviewees – Resisting, Accepting, and Supporting – conveying different ways of understanding and dealing with gender equality issues in HEIs. Overall, this qualitative analysis found a greater awareness about Gender Equality than what has been reported in previous research (e.g. Carvalho, White and Machado-Taylor 2013; Carvalho, Özkanli and Machado-Taylor, 2012; Carvalho and Machado-Taylor, 2010). The paper describes and illustrates each of these profiles and discusses implications of these findings for promoting gender equality in HEIs in Portugal and beyond.
Womxn as agents of change to transform the post-apartheid city
Authors: Van Tonder Francine , Thomas Luthando
Published: April 2022

The built form of South Africa’s post-apartheid city perpetuates the perception that a heteronormative, protestant, white, masculine, binary norm is the societally preferred perspective. This perpetuation means that queerness, spirituality, womxnness – and all those included within this community, are pushed down by this perceived preferred type of person. This paper presents secondary data on the current social and cultural milieu that restricts womxn from being agents of change in transforming the post-apartheid city. Architecture is complicit in what drives the masculinity that manifests itself in built form. Consequently, existing and future architectural interventions within the post-apartheid city fall short in their attempts to transform the city. Anecdotally, this failure is due to the reluctance to include womxn in the architectural programme of these interventions. This lack of transformation results in the phenomenon that the subdued group at the bottom of the social hierarchy remains silent, as they are left without adequate room to act, be seen, or establish their voice. This paper theorises how this zeitgeist[1] perpetuates post-colonial capitalist industrial linear economy thinking or the masculine approach. The approach vested in profiteering from natural resources and an oppressed labour force. As a result, there may be a connection between the successful implementation of this masculine thinking approach and the global ecological breakdown, proven to be due to the human-caused climate emergency. Finally, this paper argues for a newly established agenda that will inform architectural interventions for programmes that encourage a balanced (feminine and masculine) approach as a contributing solution.

 

[1] Zeitgeist, or spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation.
When Gender Equality in Academia Takes a Toll on Agency and Well-being
Authors: Arena Giulia
Published: April 2022

The present paper aims to investigate the limits surrounding the implementation of gender equality in academia and the correlation between gender measures and the consequences on personal well-being. Despite the efforts to build more inclusive and equal environments, fatigue seems to affect all the university’s components, especially regarding the uncertainties of an academic career, seen as stressful, delusional, impossible to conciliate with motherhood. Even appropriate measures cannot deal with the fatigue of what is considered a “double presence”: they only allow complying with those standards. Moreover, emotional issues are deriving from choices seen as gender deviant, like not being the major caregiver in the family, and the personal agency is often diminished. The purpose of this study is to show how gender measures in universities are not as neutral and unambiguous as they may seem, but rather fall into one of four approaches to gender inequality itself. These four approaches can be identified as neoliberalism, gender mainstreaming, work-life balance, and the capabilities approach. Agency and well-being could be seen as pivotal aspects and the mix of those elements in each approach results in a different level of fatigue, which, along with stress and mental charge, could play a major role in diminishing the effectiveness of gender equality measures. The significance of this four-sided framework lies in the possibility to reclassify every single gender equality measure and the data collected to support it into one of the four approaches, alongside the opportunity to acknowledge fatigue and evaluate university politics like gender-responsive budgets and gender equality plans.
Advanced Strategic Platform for Inclusive Research Environments (ASPIRE): a tool for change
Authors: Pinho Mariana , Colston Belinda , Mitchell Alison , Bayley Julie , Salmon Udeni
Published: April 2022

In recent years, organisations have been striving to adopt a proactive approach towards reducing discrimination and enhancing inclusion. Research performing organisations, in particular, have made substantial investments and adopted a number of policies, programmes and interventions to combat gender inequality. Despite the progress achieved, gender equality in research and higher education institutions deems to be particularly difficult to attain, with the same challenges remaining prevalent for decades.
Among the contributors to the perpetuation of gender inequality in academia, is the inability of gender equality initiatives to challenge gendered norms. Partly because the focus of such initiatives remains on normative constructions of gender, and their implementation is based on the assumption of culture change through instrumental drivers. Consequently, as long as success and impact of equality initiatives remains solely associated with the introduction of new policies, rather than the transformation of entrenched behavioural and culturally-prescribed norms, significant, continuous and integrated change is unlikely to occur. To address these issues, the Advanced Strategic Platform for Inclusive Research Environments (ASPIRE) offers an innovative and evidence-based framework aimed at accelerating meaningful change in attitude and behaviour towards diversity and facilitating inclusive research environments. ASPIRE encourages the focus of enquiry to expand from the (re)production of inequalities and adoption of solutions that centre on improving staff statistics and performance metrics, to long-term interactive processes of change that can generate structural and embedded impact on organisational culture. ASPIRE provides a dynamic web-based platform for implementation, adoption and sustained Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practice. It goes beyond the current EDI approaches by taking a holistic and intersectional perspective, that does not only address issues of gender, but accounts for other personal characteristics that contribute to unique experiences of discrimination. It appropriately guides and measures the implementation of EDI initiatives across institutions, linking such measurement with indicators of change in attitudes and culture, and providing recommendations for future and further action.
Social Network Dynamics in Transmission of HIV by Sexual Contact
Authors: Öze Nuran , Sayan Murat
Published: April 2022

According to statistics published by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), by the end of 2019, 38 million people were living with HIV. Hornet is the most frequently-used gay-oriented social network worldwide, especially in France, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and Taiwan. In this study, we focused on the correlation between the route of transmission for the HIV-1 virus and social media application usage in terms of sexual contact according to the generation category in Turkey. The study included 280 heterosexual, bisexual, and men who have sex with men (MSM) who were newly diagnosed and antiretroviral treatment-naive HIV-1 patients from cities located in the Marmara region in Turkey. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with each patient between 2015 and 2020. As key populations of the study, bisexuals and MSMs were counted together in the MSMs category because in both sexual preferences, MSM. HIV-1 subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) were identified by phylogenetic analysis. Subtype B (80%, 224/280), non-subtype B (7.5%, 21/280), and CRFs (12.5%, 35/280) were identified as the most commonly occurring HIV-1 subtypes. HIV-1 acquisition route was found to be largely through MSM contact (67.9%, 190/280) compared to heterosexual contact (32.1%, 90/280). We have analysed the role of sex-oriented social media applications in HIV transmission among different sexual contacts. The study results showed that sex-oriented social media applications play a facilitator role in HIV transmission between key populations. This study may be useful for developing policies to prevent HIV transmission.
Performativity in Politics: Understanding the Role of Affect in Political News Coverage
Authors: Krakoff Isabel
Published: April 2022

The United States Democratic primaries for the 2020 election kicked off with an incredibly diverse pool of candidates with regards to gender, race, age, and socioeconomic status. However, as the primaries progressed and the pool of candidates narrowed, voters elected to nominate Joe Biden—a white man in his late seventies—to take on Donald Trump in November, 2020. Given the similarity between Elizabeth Warren’s platform and Bernie Sanders’, the purpose of this paper is to explore how news-media coverage contributes to the role of gender in campaigns for president in the United States. Grounded in a theoretical understanding of gender performativity in politics, this study uses a quantitative sentiment analysis of newspaper articles about both candidates to understand whether reporters expressed underlying sentiments differing based on the candidates’ gender. Articles were selected from The New York Times (NYT), The Washington Post (WaPo), National Public Radio (NPR), The Associated Press (AP), and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) to represent the diversity of reputable, mainstream news outlets considered to have minimal partisan bias available to the American public. Though the sentiment analysis revealed no significant difference in reporting across the different sources by candidate, factors such as rules for news publications and the nuances in political orientation of the two candidates may have limited the role of sentiment in contributing to political gender bias in this case study. This research is of broad interest as it sheds light on the current gendered political landscape in the United States, where a female president has yet to be elected. Furthermore, this study explores the within-party gender dynamics in reporting, in contrast to the myriad studies published in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election in which Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump.
Gender quota legislation has no spillover effect on hiring of female CEOs
Authors: Oladottir Asta Dis , Christiansen Thora H.
Published: April 2022

Iceland is a global leader in gender equality. Nevertheless, women face apparent exclusion from senior executive positions, and men hold 19 out of 20 CEO positions at listed companies. This study sheds light on the hiring process for CEOs of listed companies and on why the increased number of female board members has not led to an increased number of female CEOs. The research question is as follows: How do women on boards of listed companies experience the CEO hiring process with regard to equality of opportunity for male and female candidates? The study reports findings from interviews with 22 women who collectively sit on the boards of all of the listed companies in Iceland. Findings reveal a deep dissatisfaction with the prevailing CEO hiring practices, which they experience as a fast-paced and closed process, heavily reliant on board members’ networks and headhunters’ lists. The interviewees find that the outcomes exclude women, and they are conflicted about their own participation in the process. They voice the need for inclusion and call for disruptive tactics, more courage and gender quotas at the executive level. The main contribution of this research is that for the first time, female board members of all listed companies in one country have been interviewed to shed light on their experiences of the hiring process for senior management positions.
Gender Differences in Burnout Syndrome and Perceptions of Gender Equality in Research Organisations
Authors: Marcassa Stefania
Published: April 2022

We present the results of a survey which was distributed to six research performing organisations in Albania, France, Germany, Italy, Serbia, and Spain. We found that both academic and non-academic women perceive 1) a greater degree of work pressure than men; and, 2) a greater degree of gender inequality than men. These results are consistent across countries. The fact that women occupy a lower percentage of senior positions than men and do not share the same perception of inequality, may be critical to the resolution of the leaky pipeline phenomenon. These results have provided incentives to the six organisations to implement measures that address gender biases to ensure a balanced gender representation at decision-making levels, and that improve work-life balance to reduce burnout syndrome and positively affect career satisfaction.
Is it a WoMan’s World? Gender Stereotypes and Social Role Inequalities in Commercials
Authors: Szabó Kincső
Published: April 2022

Gender representation is a very complex system, which, according to a wide body of research, is never static, but rather ever-changing, due to the mediated visual artefacts channelled through advertisements. Research has shown that marketers most often prefer to show females as desirable creatures in decorative roles, while men are typically featured as authoritarian and independent (Reichert & Carpenter, 2004). A growing interest in ‘non-stereotypical gender role representation’ placed gender under a different light (Chu et al., 2016). The intention of the present paper is to contribute to the enrichment of the identified gap by identifying the expected gender inequalities, the illusional visual portrayals, and the possible negative effects that can come into existence in society.

Therefore, the present research aims to explore the changing frequency of male and female presence and the gender role representation with a special focus on the various trait descriptors, physical characteristics, and clothing styles, all of which either strengthen or break stereotypes. Focusing on the interval between 2015 and 2019, the aim is to contrast two main pillars: the first pillar represents six randomly selected commercial advertisements of different international product brands (Audi car, Ariel detergent, Johnson and Johnson’s Baby products, Activia yoghurt, Nike sports accessories and Advil painkiller medicine), while the second pillar is based on the five latest Epica Award-winning Grand Prix Films, juried by two hundred international journalists. 

The research hypothesis suggests that mass-targeted commercial advertisements are more likely to be stereotype-consistent, while jury-targeted commercials, which compete for a professional creative prize, are rather stereotype-inconsistent. The proper operationalization of the collected data required a descriptive method, which offered enough room for the characterization of actions, stylistic features and body language featured in the commercials. Therefore, the qualitative research is built on Charteris-Black’s (2019) visual rhetorical content analysis. Results indicate that while the award-winning commercials are more likely to be stereotype-inconsistent, those commercials that are presented for the mass are rather stereotype-consistent.
Holistic and Integrated Framework to Examine Formal Women Business Networks (FWBNs)
Authors: Ajumobi Deborah , Kyobe Michael
Published: April 2022

Research about women entrepreneurs is not new. In addition to the body of work on women entrepreneurship, networks and businesses, several resources, assistance, and support have been provided through various channels to assist women in their business and entrepreneurial pursuits. Although, research in these areas is popular, there is an aspect that has not gained as much attention – formal women business networks (FWBNs). FWBNs are networks that run like organisations and provide a way for women to network and pursue shared interests while gaining business benefits. These networks provide benefits such as funding, trainings, access to business resource, and are funded by various organisations as well as patronized by several women seeking the benefits they provide. Hence, there is a high expectation on these networks to not only deliver on the very much needed support for women entrepreneurs, but also, to deliver on the ROI to groups, organizations, bodies, and women that give to these networks. Furthermore, recent environmental/external influences like a pandemic have impacted the way entrepreneurs do business and increased the need for support and networks. Thus, it is important that FWBNs that serve to help women businesses be examined more closely and holistically. While literature provides some evidence of the importance of FWBNs, there is limited research about these FWBNs. This could be due to the limited number of frameworks, models or theories that holistically examines all the various possible elements in these networks, as well as the relationships between them. Therefore, a holistic and integrated framework that draws from existing frameworks and provides a lens to measure and explore all possible elements that impact a FWBN, can help provide better insights and understanding in several aspects. This paper is an attempt to provide a holistic and integrated framework that draws from different theories and literature concepts to examine the nature of FWBNs and how they contribute to the success of women entrepreneurs
Examining the Effect of Gender Leadership and Workforce Equality on Thematic Mutual Funds Financial Performance
Authors: Martí-Ballester Carmen-Pilar
Published: April 2022

This study examines the relationship between gender equality scores for leadership and workforce dimension and financial performance of 554 US thematic mutual funds and 2,140 US conventional mutual funds investing globally or in the United States stock markets from January 2015 to May 2021. To this end, we implement the new Fama and French six-factor model and the Student’s t-parametric tests for the independent samples. Our results indicate that, in general, gender equality for leadership and workforce does not affect the financial performance of mutual funds focused on one sector related to sustainable development goals that invest in the United States market. However, we find that infrastructure mutual funds with higher levels of gender leadership and workforce equality that invest in the global market perform better than their counterparts with lower levels of gender equality. On the contrary, healthcare, water, information technology and gold and precious metals mutual funds with higher levels of gender equality for leadership and workforce dimension that invest in the global market underperform their counterparts with lower levels of gender leadership and workforce equality. Similarly, we find a negative relationship between gender equality level for leadership and workforce dimension and the financial performance of mutual funds diversified across sectors such as conventional and ethical mutual funds investing globally or in the United States market.
Parental and Grandparental Labour in Russia: Gender Perspective
Authors: Blednova Natalia , Bagirova Anna
Published: April 2022

Similar to most of the advanced economies, Russia has seen a rapid change of social values, proactive engagement of women in the labour activity, the transition from the authoritarian to egalitarian model of family relationships. In a number of Russian regions, men and women increasingly believe that they have to take an equal part in housekeeping and childcare. We study parental responsibilities associated with raising, developing children and taking care of them as a particular type of labour—parental labour. Parents may delegate these functions to other actors—for example, to family members; therefore, we can look into not only parental, but also grandparental labour. The paper aims to analyse gender aspects of the parental and grandparental labour in Russia. We used a series of qualitative and quantitative research methods. To examine gender aspects of parental labour, we conducted in-depth interviews with 7 mothers employed (residents of the Sverdlovsk Region). To examine the nature of grandparental labour in 2021, we surveyed 500 parents – the residents of the Sverdlovsk Region; filter questions were to control that the respondents have both under-age children and their currently living parents and/or those of the spouse (i.e., grandparents). For the analysis, we selected questions aimed to study the content, forms, and the scope of grandparental labour. We processed and analysed data using IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0. For the analysis, we also used descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, and non-parametric statistics (Mann–Whitney U-test). According to the in-depth interviews, women are overstressed about their burden of parental responsibilities. With that, they still stereotypically believe that raising children is predominantly a woman’s job. Parents argued that grandparental labour is also highly gendered; most often, it is exercised by grandmothers. In particular, maternal grandparents fulfil parental labour functions more frequently than paternal ones. Evaluations of help differ most prominently in those cases when parents estimated paternal grandparents’ help. Our results may be of use when designing new mechanisms for the family and demographic policies in Russia, which aim to ensure gender equality and the proactive involvement of men in parental and grandparental labour.
The functioning of gender, with special reference to the global south
Authors: Harris Colette
Published: April 2022

This paper proposes theorising gender through complementary sets of behavioural prescriptions or norms rather than by a focus on women (and men). It posits the idea that gender is integral to a disciplinary regime aimed at producing social order, with masculinity at its centre. What appear as advantages to men simultaneously pressure them into conforming to their cultural and socio-economic group’s notions of masculinity including exerting control over wives and offspring. Four complementary foundational norms for both sexes are identified. They evolved during the nineteenth-century in industrialised Europe and were spread to the global south first through Christianisation and colonialism and later through gender and development programmes and mass/social media. These norms are first economic support for sustaining material life versus social reproduction and caring; secondly, male disciplining of (submissive) wives and children; thirdly heterosexuality, marriage and the biological production of children; and fourthly men’s protection of vulnerable women and their ascriptive (ethnic/religious) group for the context, as also the state. These do not determine behaviour but oblige everyone to consider them in negotiating their own conduct, with the most insecure interpreting them most narrowly. The ideology of masculinism supports the regime at the macro level, while also influencing individual behaviour at grassroots. Drawing on cases from my work in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, I show how this functions in practice in relation to how men treat each other and how it impinges on familial gender relations, with particular emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa, and especially Kaduna, Nigeria. I also discuss how supporting men to delink their behaviour from the norms of masculinity (thus defying masculinism) can make a positive contribution to family life and I posit the importance of further research on the effects of the norms for both sexes to improve our understanding of the functioning of gender.
MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI IN THE FORMATION OF BIOGEOCENOSES: ANALYTICAL REVIEW
Authors: Bryndina Larisa , Arnaut Yuliya , Alykova Olesya
Published: April 2022

This review examines the results of scientific experiments of foreign and domestic researchers in the field of studying mycorrhizal associations, the mechanisms of their symbiosis with plants. The information about the current state of the issue is given: different points of view on the interaction of mycorrhizal plants with mycobionts. A comparative analysis of the development of mycorrhiza in individual plant species was carried out. It was found that the maximum degree of mycorrhiza development corresponds to the beech and linden families. The factors influencing the development of balanced and exploitive mycorrhizal associations are considered. The evolutionary and functional characteristics of the types of mycorrhizae are given. The benefits of mycorrhizal associations are considered, both for tree species and for species of fungi involved in the formation of mycorrhizae. The role of symbionts in mycorrhiza is considered, as well as the form and degree of development of mycorrhiza for mycotrophic plants. An analytical review of the studies of foreign and domestic scientists allowed us to determine the preferred mycorrhizal communities for reforestation. It was noted that unfavorable, extreme environmental conditions in most cases intensified the growth and development of mycorrhizal communities. All these factors should be taken into account when selecting tree species and types of fungi in forestry during reforestation
CURRENT PRESERVATION, GROWTH INTENSITY AND SANITARY THE CONDITION OF THE TREES OF THE COMMON PINE IN NEED GEOGRAPHICAL FOREST CULTURES OF THE VORONEZH REGION
Authors: Mihaylova Mariya , Chernyshov Mikhail
Published: April 2022

The tension of growth, safety and sanitary condition of trees in maturing geographical cultures of Scots pine are analyzed. Initially overburdened forest cultures were formed during life under the influence of external environmental factors, as well as under the influence of internal processes of tree competition and intraspecific variability. Only dead trees were periodically removed from the stands. All this predetermined the current state and safety of the trees. At the age of 60, trees of forest-steppe and steppe ecotypes are characterized by different preservation and growth rates. In forest-steppe ecotypes, their current preservation is higher (7.01%), and in steppe ecotypes it is lower (4.75%). In the former, the average score for the sanitary condition is 1.58 (the score is healthy) with fluctuations from 1.2 to 1.8, for the second - 1.71 (the score is weakened) with the variation from 1.2 to 2.6. The average index of the tension of tree growth (PNR) according to H.: Dav in stands of forest-steppe ecotypes is 0.981, and according to H.: Gav - 5.043. In steppe ecotypes, the NDP is 0.836 and 4.971, respectively. The variability of the radial growth of tree trunks at a height of 1.3 m indicates the termination of the period of accelerated growth in forest-steppe ecotypes at 15 years old and the onset of its stabilization period from 25 years of age, and in steppe ecotypes - at 10 years and from 30 years of age