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Gender and framing
(2019)
Framing literature has so far failed to construct gender as an analytical category that shapes the ways in which we perceive, identify and act upon grievances. This article builds on the insights of feminist theory and employs the conceptual vocabulary of the social movement framing perspective in maintaining gender as a main parameter of framing processes. Drawing on ethnographic research on local community struggles against hydropower plants in the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey, this article maintains the centrality of gender to framing processes. It analyzes the gendered difference between men’s macro-framings and women’s cultural and socio-ecological framings, which is rooted in their differing relationships with their immediate environment, as well as with the state and its institutions. The article maintains that the framings of women, which represent the immediacy of the environment, are more effective in gaining public support and shaping movement outcomes. In this sense, constructing gender as an important determinant of “frame variation” is essential not only to reveal women’s frames that are largely silenced through and within the mechanisms of social movement organization, but also to stress their centrality in shaping repertoires of contention, public reception and movement outcomes.
Gender-inclusive language has evolved into a much-debated topic during the past years, discussed interdisciplinarily from theoretical to psycholinguistics, sociology, and economy – and by anyone who uses language.
Studies on German that primarily relied on questionnaires (reviewed in Braun et al. 2005), cloze tests (Klein 1988), and categorisation tasks with picture matching (Irmen & Köhncke 1996) disqualify the generically used masculine forms as pseudo-generic – failing their grammatically prescribed function to include referents of any Gender. Gender-balanced expressions (pair and split forms like Lehrer und Lehrerinnen) make explicit reference to female presence and participation, and thus elevate a more equitable interpretation.
Online methods to investigate the processing of Gender-sensitive language are surprisingly rare among research on the phenomenon, except for reaction time measures (Irmen & Köhncke 1996, Irmen & Kaczmarek 2000) and eye-tracking in reading (Irmen & Schumann 2011).
In addition, Gender-neutral language (GNL) has not been focused on in the majority of experiments, and when it was among the stimuli, results were inconclusive (De Backer & De Cuypere 2012) or found such alternatives to be ineffective (resembling masculine generics, Braun et al. 2005), despite the fact that guidelines on non-discriminatory language use commonly recommend these.
Gender-neutral (GN) expressions for personal reference in German include
• nominalised participles; nominalisations in general: Interessierte, Lehrende
• collective singulars: Publikum, Kollegium
• compounds (e.g., with a notion of “-person”): Ansprechpersonen, Lehrkräfte
• paraphrases that background a (gendered) subject: e.g., passives, relatives
In a visual world eye-tracking study, the comprehension of plural generics using masculine nouns and GN forms was tested for roles and occupations.
In complex stimulus scenarios, reference had to be established to referent images presented on a screen. At the end of each item, a question was asked in order to (re)identify the image that matched the referents of the respective setting best. Images depicted 1) a single person (protagonist), 2) an all-female group, 3) an all-male group, 4) a mixed Gender group of female and male members. The group referents were introduced with either a) masculine nouns (die Lehrer), b) female-specific feminine nouns (die Lehrerinnen), or c) one of the upper three nominal GN variants (die Lehrkräfte).
Results confirm the frequent male bias in masculine forms that are used as generics, that is, their male-specific interpretation. Furthermore, stereotypicality of nouns had an impact on responses. The GN alternatives, which are generally known to aim for indefinite reference (“marked” for Gender-fair language) were found to be most qualified to elicit mixed Gender group interpretations. When reference was established with GN terms, an inclusive response was consistently elicited. This was both indicated by eye movements and response proportions, but to a different extent depending on the particular GN noun type. Concepts that abstract from Gender in their linguistic forms (“neutralising” it) appear to be more inclusive, and thus better candidates for generic reference than masculines.
This dissertation examines the lack of clarity in the scientific literature regarding gender and negotiation performance. It is often claimed that men negotiate better than women, yet it is simultaneously emphasized that results strongly depend on context. Through the use of qualitative methods such as content analysis and critical mixed-methods review, the research question: "Are women truly inferior negotiators compared to men?" is addressed. The study comprises a descriptive and an interpretive part. The descriptive section illuminates various interpretations of gender-specific negotiation theory among citing authors, with 67% arguing for a general superiority of men. However, given the high variance in gender-specific differences, the focus should instead be on the context-dependency of negotiation performance. Generalized statements can be made within contexts, but not across them. In the interpretive section, several factors contributing to this misinterpretation are highlighted, including discrepancies in the definition of negotiation performance and distortions in research communication.. From a scientific perspective, this study underscores the need for a nuanced sociological analysis and warns against the one-sided acceptance of inaccurate scientific interpretations. From a practical standpoint, it amplifies the voices of women affected by biased research paradigms. Overall, the dissertation clarifies the theory of gender-specific negotiation performance and advocates for the elimination of biases in scientific discourse.
This longitudinal study examined relationships between student-perceived teaching for meaning, support for autonomy, and competence in mathematic classrooms (Time 1), and students’ achievement goal orientations and engagement in mathematics 6 months later (Time 2). We tested whether student-perceived instructional characteristics at Time 1 indirectly related to student engagement at Time 2, via their achievement goal orientations (Time 2), and, whether student gender moderated these relationships. Participants were ninth and tenth graders (55.2% girls) from 46 classrooms in ten secondary schools in Berlin, Germany. Only data from students who participated at both timepoints were included (N = 746 out of total at Time 1 1118; dropout 33.27%). Longitudinal structural equation modeling showed that student-perceived teaching for meaning and support for competence indirectly predicted intrinsic motivation and effort, via students’ mastery goal orientation. These paths were equivalent for girls and boys. The findings are significant for mathematics education, in identifying motivational processes that partly explain the relationships between student-perceived teaching for meaning and competence support and intrinsic motivation and effort in mathematics.
Organizations increasingly use social media and especially social networking sites (SNS) to support their marketing agenda, enhance collaboration, and develop new capabilities. However, the success of SNS initiatives is largely dependent on sustainable user participation. In this study, we argue that the continuance intentions of users may be gender sensitive. To theorize and investigate gender differences in the determinants of continuance intentions, this study draws on the expectation-confirmation model, the uses and gratification theory, as well as the self-construal theory and its extensions. Our survey of 488 users shows that while both men and women are motivated by the ability to self enhance, there are some gender differences. Specifically, while women are mainly driven by relational uses, such as maintaining close ties and getting access to social information on close and distant networks, men base their continuance intentions on their ability to gain information of a general nature. Our research makes several contributions to the discourse in strategic information systems literature concerning the use of social media by individuals and organizations. Theoretically, it expands the understanding of the phenomenon of continuance intentions and specifically the role of the gender differences in its determinants. On a practical level, it delivers insights for SNS providers and marketers into how satisfaction and continuance intentions of male and female SNS users can be differentially promoted. Furthermore, as organizations increasingly rely on corporate social networks to foster collaboration and innovation, our insights deliver initial recommendations on how organizational social media initiatives can be supported with regard to gender-based differences.
Writing an alternative Australia : women and national discourse in nineteenth-century literature
(2007)
In this thesis, I want to outline the emergence of the Australian national identity in colonial Australia. National identity is not a politically determined construct but culturally produced through discourse on literary works by female and male writers. The emergence of the dominant bushman myth exhibited enormous strength and influence on subsequent generations and infused the notion of “Australianness” with exclusively male characteristics. It provided a unique geographical space, the bush, on and against which the colonial subject could model his identity. Its dominance rendered non-male and non-bush experiences of Australia as “un-Australian.” I will present a variety of contemporary voices – postcolonial, Aboriginal, feminist, cultural critics – which see the Australian identity as a prominent topic, not only in the academia but also in everyday culture and politics. Although positioned in different disciplines and influenced by varying histories, these voices share a similar view on Australian society: Australia is a plural society, it is home to millions of different people – women, men, and children, Aboriginal Australians and immigrants, newly arrived and descendents of the first settlers – with millions of different identities which make up one nation. One version of national identity does not account for the multitude of experiences; one version, if applied strictly, renders some voices unheard and oppressed. After exemplifying how the literature of the 1890s and its subsequent criticism constructed the itinerant worker as “the” Australian, literary productions by women will be singled out to counteract the dominant version by presenting different opinions on the state of colonial Australia. The writers Louisa Lawson, Barbara Baynton, and Tasma are discussed with regard to their assessment of their mother country. These women did not only present a different picture, they were also gifted writers and lived the ideal of the “New Women:” they obtained divorces, remarried, were politically active, worked for their living and led independent lives. They paved the way for many Australian women to come. In their literary works they allowed for a dual approach to the bush and the Australian nation. Louisa Lawson credited the bushwoman with heroic traits and described the bush as both cruel and full of opportunities not known to women in England. She understood women’s position in Australian society as oppressed and tried to change politics and culture through the writings in her feminist magazine the Dawn and her courageous campaign for women suffrage. Barbara Baynton painted a gloomy picture of the Australian bush and its inhabitants and offered one of the fiercest critiques of bush society. Although the woman is presented as the able and resourceful bushperson, she does not manage to survive in an environment which functions on male rules and only values the economic potential of the individual. Finally, Tasma does not present as outright a critique as Barbara Baynton, however, she also attests the colonies a fascination with wealth which she renders questionable. She offers an informed judgement on colonial developments in the urban surrounds of the city of Melbourne through the comparison of colonial society with the mother country England. Tasma attests that the colonies had a fascination with wealth which she renders questionable. She offers an informed judgement on colonial developments in the urban surrounds of the city of Melbourne through the comparison of colonial society with the mother country England and demonstrates how uncertainties and irritations emerged in the course of Australia’s nation formation. These three women, as writers, commentators, and political activists, faced exclusion from the dominant literary discourses. Their assessment of colonial society remained unheard for a long time. Now, after much academic excavation, these voices speak to us from the past and remind us that people are diverse, thus nation is diverse. Dominant power structures, the institutions and individuals who decide who can contribute to the discourse on nation, have to be questioned and reassessed, for they mute voices which contribute to a wider, to the “full”, and maybe “real” picture of society.
Background Boredom during learning activities has the potential of impeding attention, motivation, learning and eventually achievement. Yet, research focusing on its possible antecedents seems to have received less attention especially within the physics domain. Based on assumptions of the Control Value Theory of Achievement Emotions (CVTAE), this study aimed at examining gender differences and structural relationships between students' reported perceived teacher autonomy support (PTAS), cognitive appraisals (self-efficacy and task value) and learning-related boredom in physics. A sample of 375 (56% females) randomly selected 9(th) grade students (mean age = 15.03 years; SD = 1.02) from five secondary schools in Masaka district of Uganda took part in the study. Results Data collected from students' self-reports using standardised instruments revealed that higher levels of PTAS, self-efficacy, and task value were significantly associated with lower levels of boredom during physics learning. Females reported significantly greater task value for learning physics than the males. Self-efficacy (beta = - .10, p < .05) and task value (beta = - .09, p < .01) partially mediated the relationship between PTAS and boredom. PTAS showed significant direct negative contributions to boredom (beta = - .34, p < .001). Conclusion These findings provide support for theory and practice about the importance of promoting autonomy among students by adjusting instructional behaviours among teachers of physics. Teacher autonomy supportive behaviours influence formation of students' beliefs about ability, subjective value and learning-related boredom in physics. Implications and suggestions for further research are also discussed in this paper.