University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa - New MOOC to launch: Gender, violence and post-conflict states

Title:

New MOOC to launch: Gender, violence and post-conflict states

 

Published:

University of Cape Town, 26 August 2022

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2022-08-26-new-mooc-to-launch-gender-violence-and-post-conflict-states

 

From the news article:

A team of researchers, including the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Dr Robert Morrell, recently produced a massive open online course (MOOC) on gender, violence and post-conflict states. The project leaders were Dr Thomas Brorsen Smidt and Dr Giti Chandra of the University of Iceland.

Religious Leaders Reduce Intimate Partner Violence in Uganda [Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, July 2022]

Title:

Religious Leaders Reduce Intimate Partner Violence in Uganda

 

Published:

Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, 25 July 2022

Click here to read

From the article:

"In Uganda, a primarily Christian country in East Africa, 56% of women who’ve been married report being sexually violated by a current partner, according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics. Strong patriarchal beliefs often influence this behavior, but those in positions of power, like religious leaders, can shift traditional gender roles.  

 

A team of psychologists, public health and political scientists, human-centered design experts, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) researchers, including Betsy Levy Paluck of Princeton University, wanted to determine whether religious leaders could reduce intimate partner violence by incorporating more progressive interpretations of Bible teachings on romantic partnerships into their couples counseling."

 

Career aspirations and influencing factors among male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in Ghana [Scholarly Article - Ghana Journal of Geography, 2022]

Title:

Career aspirations and influencing factors among male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects in Ghana

 

Authors:

Charlotte Wrigley-Asante, Department of Geography and Resource Development/ Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 

 

Charles Godfred Ackah, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 

 

Louis Kusi Frimpong, Department of Geography and Earth Science, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, Somanya, Ghana

 

Published:

Ghana Journal of Geography, Volume 14, Number 1,19 April 2022

https://www.ajol.info/index.php/gjg/article/view/224146 

 

Abstract:

This paper examines the career aspirations of male and female students studying Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects at the tertiary level in Ghana and the motivating factors for these aspirations. The study objectives were addressed using data gathered from a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Chi-square test and binary logistic regression were used in analysing the quantitative data, while the qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The results show that there is no significant difference in the career aspirations of male and female students. However, we established that there are differences in the factors that influence career choices of male and female students. While economic consideration was a significant factor for males’ interest in pursuing a career in STEM, females were influenced by external motivation factors such as encouragement and motivation from role models. The authors recommend both formal and informal science-related mentorship programmes and internships as measures that could encourage females to actualise their career aspirations in STEM since it is an essential way of empowering them and building their capacities for national development.

Minimum wage and employment: a gender perspective for Mauritius [Scholarly Article - Journal of Business and Socio-economic Development, 2022]

Title:

Minimum wage and employment: a gender perspective for Mauritius 

 

Authors:

Varuna Dreepaul-Dabee

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius

& 

Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius

 

Published:

Journal of Business and Socio-economic Development, 15 February 2022

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JBSED-10-2021-0134/full/html

 

Abstract:

Purpose 

This paper aims to examine the employment effect of the minimum wage in Mauritius, a country that has recently introduced an economy-wide national minimum wage. As women have low labor force participation rate and higher unemployment rate compared to men, this study sheds light on the impact of the national minimum wage on male and female employment.

 

A temperature reading of COVID-19 pandemic employee agility and resilience in South Africa [Scholarly Article - SAJIP, 2021]

Title:

A temperature reading of COVID-19 pandemic employee agility and resilience in South Africa 

 

Authors:

Cristy Leask

Graduate School of Business, College of Law and Management, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

&

Shaun Ruggunan

School of Management, IT and Governance, College of Law and Management, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

 

Published:

SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, Volume 47 (27 July 2021)

https://sajip.co.za/index.php/sajip/article/view/1853

 

Abstract:

Orientation: Employee agility and resilience are central to the flourishing of employee and organisational life. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic amplified stressors and added new challenges for employees in South Africa. The study reported here provides a temperature reading of the agility and resilience of South African employees in the context of the pandemic.  

 

Research purpose: The aim of this study was to engage in a temperature reading of South African employees’ agility and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

 

Motivation for the study: The study was motivated by the need to understand how South African employees fare in terms of their agility and resilience levels in the context of profound social and economic disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.  

 

Research approach/design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used employing quantitative methodologies. A total of 185 permanently employed respondents from South Africa were conveniently sampled. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data.  

 

Main findings: Whilst respondents reported high resilience and agility capacity, the findings also suggest that respondents’ gender, age, upskilling intentions, size of employer, organisational communication and individual renewal strategies influence their resilience and agility behaviours.  

 

Practical/managerial implications: The study prompts a discussion on how practitioners can better serve the wellness agenda of organisational life during sustained periods of organisational stress.  

 

Contribution/value-add: This study extends the theoretical and practical debate on employee agility and resilience in South African context.

Special Issue: Women and Gender Relations during the Pandemic in Morocco by Moha Ennaji [Scholarly Article - Rivera, February 2021]

Title:

Special Issue: Women and Gender Relations during the Pandemic in Morocco

 

Author:

Moha Ennaji Professor, Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah

 

Published:

Rivera, 14 February 2021

http://riverapublications.com/article/women-and-gender-relations-during-the-pandemic-in-morocco

 

Abstract:

Covid-19 has totally disrupted all activities and social affairs, including gender relations and men’s and women’s living conditions. This article focuses on the negative repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on women and gender roles in Morocco. It reveals that the pandemic has burdened women with more housework and duties at home, and that violence against them has risen, especially among working class women and housemaids who are particularly socio-economically vulnerable. Many of them have lost their income and feel isolated and lonely, with hardly any opportunity to recuperate their activity, to visit their relatives, or meet new people, and consequently no one to turn to for support. Domestic violence is the most common type of violence against women in Morocco during this pandemic. The fieldwork I conducted in Fès city and its region reveals that some women and girls are often beaten up by their husbands, fathers, or brothers and many cases of such incidents have reached courts and the media. However, these battered women rarely approach the police for assistance because they are often unaware of their legal rights, on the one hand, and because they believe that the police may be biased against them, on the other. Nevertheless, there is a silver lining in this crisis: in a few households, many men show willingness to help with the housework and to provide more care to their children’s education and distance learning. The article ends with recommendations for reform of practices and laws with the purpose of eliminating violence against women in both the private and the public spaces, and proposes education, legislation, and law enforcement as valuable tools to combat such violence. 

Also see

Chômage, violence et travail domestique : comment le Covid-19 a bouleversé la vie des femmes au Maroc [The Conversation, 6 June 2021]

University of Bath (Press Release, April 2021) - Virtual Reality could help improve balance in older people

Title:

Virtual Reality could help improve balance in older people

 

Published:

University of Bath (Press Release), 28 April 2021

https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/virtual-reality-could-help-improve-balance-in-older-people/

 

From the press release:

Researchers at the University of Bath investigating how virtual reality (VR) can help improve balance believe this technology could be a valuable tool in the prevention of falls.

Also see

Soltani P and Andrade R (2021) The Influence of Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays on Balance Outcomes and Training Paradigms: A Systematic Review. Front. Sports Act. Living 2:531535. 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2020.531535/full 

 

UNESCO Online Event (22 April 2020) - Gender, Education, and Climate Change: Reconfiguring the human-planet relationship through gender transformative education (Webinar)

Title of webinar:
Gender, Education, and Climate Change: Reconfiguring the human-planet relationship through gender transformative education

Organised by:
The Brookings Institution

Date:
Wednesday, 22 April 2020 - 09:00 am in Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Description:
"In this webinar, panelists will attempt to unpack the challenges preventing gender-equitable relations by exploring the empirical relationships between gender, education, and climate change from a high level to implementation level. It is premised on the notion that we can reconfigure the human-planet relationship through the achievement not just of gender equality in education, but through a gender-transformative education."

To register for this webinar:
https://brookings.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vrBmHj7xRM-aPe6tvYGhoA

Scholarly Article (March 2020) - The Impact of Science Capital on Self-Concept in Science: A Study of University Students in New Zealand

Title:
The Impact of Science Capital on Self-Concept in Science: A Study of University Students in New Zealand

Authors:
Turnbull, S.M., Meissel, K., Locke, K. & O'Neale, D.R.O.

Published:
Frontiers in Education, 5(27), 2 April 2020.
Available: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.00027/full

From the article:
Understanding factors that contribute to students' self-concept in science is an important task in boosting the number of students studying science and retaining students in science fields. A questionnaire was administered to science students at the University of Auckland in New Zealand (N = 693) to test a theoretical model of science self-concept tied to the work of Pierre Bourdieu.