Popular self-help pregnancy literature suggests a “generational disconnect” between pregnant women and their mothers, emphasizing the incommensurate experiences of the two…
Abstract
Popular self-help pregnancy literature suggests a “generational disconnect” between pregnant women and their mothers, emphasizing the incommensurate experiences of the two generations. Based on longitudinal, in-depth interviews with a diverse group of 64 pregnant women and 23 grandmothers-to-be, this chapter explores how different generations of women negotiate the idea of a disconnect and its implications for the medicalization of pregnancy. My findings showed limited support for the generational disconnect. Nearly all of the pregnant women I interviewed who were in contact with their mothers consulted them to assess issues related to pregnancy embodiment. Black and Latina women and white women with less than a college degree disregarded or even rejected the disconnect; they tended to frame their mothers’ advice as relevant. Their mothers attended prenatal care appointments and frequently expressed skepticism about medical directives. By contrast, I found that highly educated white women tended to endorse the generational disconnect when it came to matters related to pregnancy health behaviors – what to eat, how much to exercise – and their obstetric care. The mothers of these women not only largely supported the generational disconnect, but also bonded with their daughter over a shared appreciation for scientific understandings of pregnancy. Foregrounding women’s perspectives provides insights into meaning-making in pregnancy and the ways that mothers of pregnant women can both stymie and deepen medicalization of childbearing.
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Jaclyn M. White Hughto, Kirsty A. Clark, Frederick L. Altice, Sari L. Reisner, Trace S. Kershaw and John E. Pachankis
Incarcerated transgender women often require healthcare to meet their physical-, mental-, and gender transition-related health needs; however, their healthcare experiences in…
Abstract
Purpose
Incarcerated transgender women often require healthcare to meet their physical-, mental-, and gender transition-related health needs; however, their healthcare experiences in prisons and jails and interactions with correctional healthcare providers are understudied. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
In 2015, 20 transgender women who had been incarcerated in the USA within the past five years participated in semi-structured interviews about their healthcare experiences while incarcerated.
Findings
Participants described an institutional culture in which their feminine identity was not recognized and the ways in which institutional policies acted as a form of structural stigma that created and reinforced the gender binary and restricted access to healthcare. While some participants attributed healthcare barriers to providers’ transgender bias, others attributed barriers to providers’ limited knowledge or inexperience caring for transgender patients. Whether due to institutional (e.g. sex-segregated prisons, biased culture) or interpersonal factors (e.g. biased or inexperienced providers), insufficient access to physical-, mental-, and gender transition-related healthcare negatively impacted participants’ health while incarcerated.
Research limitations/implications
Findings highlight the need for interventions that target multi-level barriers to care in order to improve incarcerated transgender women’s access to quality, gender-affirmative healthcare.
Originality/value
This study provides first-hand accounts of how multi-level forces serve to reinforce the gender binary and negatively impact the health of incarcerated transgender women. Findings also describe incarcerated transgender women’s acts of resistance against institutional and interpersonal efforts to maintain the gender binary and present participant-derived recommendations to improve access to gender affirmative healthcare for incarcerated transgender women.
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Janet R. McColl‐Kennedy and Tina White
Service providers are recognizing the importance of customer service and are investing considerable amounts of effort, time and other resources into training programs to improve…
Abstract
Service providers are recognizing the importance of customer service and are investing considerable amounts of effort, time and other resources into training programs to improve customer service. Customers, on the other hand, are demanding greater levels of service. The importance of customer expectations of service quality has been acknowledged. However, there are relatively few studies which address the extent to which customer expectations of service quality and their subsequent assessment of the service compares with that of the service providers and even fewer which try to redress the issue through training programs. Builds on the existing literature and reports the results of a three‐phased study which investigates the mismatch between customers’ and employees’ assessments of service in five‐star hotels. Concludes with practical implications and recommendations for service provider training programs.
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Pamela H. Wescott, Ellen J. Reifler, Karen Sepucha and Elyse R. Park
Disparities in health care for underserved populations have raised questions about the quality of decisions made by these patients. We explored the decision-making experiences and…
Abstract
Disparities in health care for underserved populations have raised questions about the quality of decisions made by these patients. We explored the decision-making experiences and reactions to a decision aid in focus groups of African American, Hispanic, and Rural breast cancer survivors. All groups were taped, transcribed, and thematic analysis was performed. Individual differences were more common than differences among demographic groups. Decision aids appear to be acceptable without extensive targeting to specific groups. However, translating the decision aid would increase its usefulness for Hispanic populations.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of the pursuit of academic capital – a form of cultural capital – on the working lives of mature students. The paper highlights…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of the pursuit of academic capital – a form of cultural capital – on the working lives of mature students. The paper highlights the uneven educational conversion experience across class and gender for a group of mature students and argues that the higher education environment needs to be and do more for students in terms of support.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 42 in-depth individual interviews were conducted over an 18 month period with 13 mature students located at a South African university. The students in the study – all in full-time employment – were enroled on a part-time management programme.
Findings
Through focusing on the narratives of mature students attending a South African university, the findings show that class trajectory and gender work differently for mature students, shaping both reasons for entry into higher education and influencing the relationships between mature individuals and significant others in their working lives.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the need for awareness regarding the role educational institutions can and should play in addressing the challenges faced by these non-traditional students. The world of work should also create an enabling environment where support and encouragement are provided.
Originality/value
Although several articles discuss the experiences of mature students, few delve into the issue of mature students’ ability to convert or exchange their academic capital to something of value within the world of work. The reasons for returning to study as mature individuals are also explored in the paper.
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The purpose of this current research study is to provide a comprehensive description of an ongoing effort to provide quality experiential professional development through field…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this current research study is to provide a comprehensive description of an ongoing effort to provide quality experiential professional development through field experiences for educators at the pre-service level, referred to hereafter as teacher candidates (TCs). This practitioner inquiry aimed to determine what the teacher candidates’ reflections revealed about their learning experiences completing the 10-h checklist.
Design/methodology/approach
About30 individual reports from four consecutive terms were collected. I employed qualitative coding, first using open codes, then grouping similar sentiments into axial codes and through an iterative process categorizing them into themes, grouping and re-generating terms as needed and keeping records in a codebook (Creswell, 2014). The research questions guiding the inquiry included, (1) What do teacher candidates’ reflections reveal about their experience completing the field experience for English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement? And (2) What conclusions do TCs demonstrate about their role as future teachers of multilingual learners (MLLs)?
Findings
Findings are summarized under three main recurring themes: emotionality of field experience, perceived misunderstandings and emerging responsiveness to MLLs. Candidates conveyed strong emotional responses to the instructional context. Some were forward in acknowledging stereotypes and trepidation to participate in the experience. Others reflected on their understanding of the experience, their interpretations of teacher relationships and noted attitude shifts toward MLLs. Findings reported emergent responsiveness to MLLs imply that candidates in this beginning experience progressed at various rates, suggesting that assessing competence of skills at the onset may be beneficial for further understanding best approaches to teacher education.
Originality/value
There is certainly a gap in current knowledge when it comes to understanding the rates at which teacher candidates develop abilities, skills and orientations toward working with MLLs. These preliminary findings support established notions such as the importance of exposing students to authentic environments that foster appreciation for the complexities of the process of second language acquisition and acculturation. Findings reported around emergent responsiveness to MLLs imply that candidates in this beginning experience progressed at various rates, suggesting that assessing competence of skills at the onset may be beneficial for further understanding best approaches to teacher education.
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Sylvia L. Mendez, Sarah E. Cooksey, Kathryn E. Starkey and Valerie Martin Conley
This study aims to explore the perceptions of a diverse set of 16 engineering postdoctoral scholars regarding their fit for the professoriate. The professoriate speaks to the body…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the perceptions of a diverse set of 16 engineering postdoctoral scholars regarding their fit for the professoriate. The professoriate speaks to the body of tenured/tenure-track faculty within higher education institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
An intrinsic case study design was conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing engineering postdoctoral scholars’ perceived professorial fit using person–job fit theory.
Findings
As a result of inductive and deductive data analyses techniques, four themes emerged: the professoriate is perceived as a calling for those who desire to teach and mentor the upcoming generation of engineers; research autonomy in the professoriate is highly attractive; the work demands of the professoriate are contrary to the work–life balance sought; and the professoriate appears daunting due to the competitive nature of the job market and the academic environment.
Originality/value
This study is critical for those invested in possessing a deeper understanding of the postdoctoral career stage, its relationship to the professoriate as a career choice and broadening participation in engineering academia.
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This study is a radical interactionist analysis of family conflict. Drawing on both a negotiated order perspective and Athen's theory of complex dominative encounters, this study…
Abstract
This study is a radical interactionist analysis of family conflict. Drawing on both a negotiated order perspective and Athen's theory of complex dominative encounters, this study analyzes the role that domination plays in conflicts among intimates. As the family engages in repeated conflicts over roles, the family also engages in negotiations over the family order, what role each party should play, interpretations of past events, and plans for the future. These conflicts take place against a backdrop of patriarchy that asymmetrically distributes power in the family to determine the family order. The data from this study come from a content analysis of mothers with substance use problems as depicted in the reality television show Intervention. The conflicts in these families reveal that these families develop a grinding family order in which families engaged in repeated conflict but also continued to operate as and identify as a family. These conflicts are shaped by and reinforce patriarchal expectations that mothers are central to family operation. The intervention at the end of each episode offered an opportunity for the family to engage in a concerted campaign to try to force the mother into treatment and reestablish the family order.
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Golshan Javadian, Tina R. Opie and Salvatore Parise
One key determinant of entrepreneurial success is entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), defined as an individual’s confidence in his or her ability to perform entrepreneurial…
Abstract
Purpose
One key determinant of entrepreneurial success is entrepreneurial self-efficacy (ESE), defined as an individual’s confidence in his or her ability to perform entrepreneurial tasks. Whereas previous research has examined how individual and business factors influence ESE, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of entrepreneurs’ social networks upon ESE. The paper examines such relationships for black and white entrepreneurs.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 110 black and white entrepreneurs responded to a survey measuring ESE and critical constructs representing elements of the quality of entrepreneurs’ networks: emotional carrying capacity (ECC) and network ethnic diversity.
Findings
The authors found significant, positive relationships between both ECC and network ethnic diversity on ESE for white entrepreneurs but only found a significant positive relationship between ECC and ESE for black entrepreneurs.
Originality/value
While research is clear about the role that ESE plays in entrepreneurial activities, few studies have focused on the factors that improve ESE. In the present work, the authors study the role of context by examining how entrepreneurs’ social networks influence ESE. The authors examine such influences for both white and black entrepreneurs to better understand the implications of ethnicity.
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Tina M. Ellsworth and Karen Burgard
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate for teachers how the suffrage movement is centered in whiteness. The authors posit that this historical erasure is intentional, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate for teachers how the suffrage movement is centered in whiteness. The authors posit that this historical erasure is intentional, and teachers should actively find ways to counter that erasure. This paper positions teachers to ask critical questions of dominant narratives, and have students do the same.
Design/methodology/approach
Given the existence of historical erasure and the absence of Black suffrage stories, the authors sought to build teachers' content base by conducting a historiography of the dominant narrative of the women's suffrage movement. They examined how state standards and popular online archival collections perpetuate the dominant narrative. They provide teachers with a rich content base and include primary sources they could use to teach this content to their students.
Findings
Unsurprising, the Texas and Missouri state standards do little to advance the voices of underrepresented people, especially when it comes to the suffrage movement. Likewise, archival collections are limited by the choice of those who curated the collections. The article presents teachers with lesser known stories of the movement and accompanying primary sources.
Practical implications
Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. So the authors sought to build a teacher's content base so they could tell a more inclusive history. They want to help teachers identify dominant narratives and where historical erasure is happening, and commit to asking critical questions of those narratives and seek to diversity their histories.
Originality/value
This piece is original because much of this content is missing from current history classrooms. In addition, the primary sources and additional resources provided can strengthen a teacher's ability to teach about it.