Masculinity at work: The experiences of men in female dominated occupations

This paper presents the findings of a research project on the implications of men's non-traditional career choices for their experiences within the organization and for gender identity. The research is based on 40 in-depth interviews with male workers from four occupational groups: librarian-ship, cabin crew, nurses and primary school teachers. Results suggest a typology of male workers in female dominated occupations: seekers (who actively seek the career), finders (who find the occupation in the process of making general career decisions) and settlers (who settle into the career after periods of time in mainly male dominated occupations). Men benefit from their minority status through assumptions of enhanced leadership (the assumed authority effect), by being given differential treatment (the special consideration effect) and being associated with a more careerist attitude to work (the career effect). At the same time, they feel comfortable working with women (the zone of comfort effect). Despite this comfort, men adopt a variety of strategies to re-establish a masculinity that has been undermined by the 'feminine' nature of their work. These include re-labeling, status enhancement and distancing from the feminine. The dynamics of maintaining and reproducing masculinities within the non-traditional work setting are discussed in the light of recent theorising around gender, masculinity and work

Composition, structure, light attenuation and nutrient content of the understory vegetation in Eucalyptus sieberi regrowth stand 6 years after thinning and fertilisation

In this study, we investigated the effects of commercial thinning and fertiliser application 6 years after treatment on the structure, composition, and nutrient concentrations of understorey vegetation in a Eucalyptus sieberi regrowth forest in East Gippsland. The stand was thinned at age 26 years, reducing the basal area by ca. 50% and lowering the stocking from ca. 1350 to ca. 250 stems ha-1. Whereas the species diversity and richness of the understorey were not significantly affected by the treatments, thinning promoted the abundance of herbaceous species, and fertilisation increased the proportion of ground ferns such as Pteridium esculentum. Fertilisation with 100 kg N ha-1 and 100 kg P ha-1 decreased the foliage N concentration in Tetrarrhena juncea and Gonocarpus teucrioides, and increased the foliage P concentrations in four of the five most frequent species. This suggested that the understorey was more limited by P than by N. The photosynthetically active radiation above the understorey was 41% of that in the open in thinned stands and 32-34% in unthinned stands, showing that 6 years after thinning the canopy density had not yet returned to pre-treatment levels. However, light attenuation within the understorey did not differ among treatments, confirming that the understorey cover had not increased in response to increased light and nutrient availability. The small changes in the understorey may be attributed to the fact that light and nutrients are not the major factors limiting its development, and that most species are well adapted to disturbance

Positioning the Destination Product-Can Regional Tourist Boards Learn from Private Sector Practice?

This article examines the role of positioning in the marketing of a tourism destination. The study focuses on the current positioning strategies pursued by the Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs) in England. A recent nationwide consumer research study into short holiday destination choice in the UK revealed that consumers were confused by the regional product message. The evidence suggests that current RTB positioning strategies are failing to keep pace with the constantly evolving needs of the consumer. This article explores the reasons for clearly positioning the destination product and suggests that, although RTBs could learn from marketing strategies employed in other sectors of the tourism industry, there are likely to be organisational and cultural barriers inhibiting this learning curve

Laser Surface Preparation and Bonding of Aerospace Structural Composites

Adhesive bonds are critical to the integrity of built-up structures. Disbonds can often be detected but the strength of adhesion between surfaces in contact is not obtainable without destructive testing. Typically the number one problem in a bonded structure is surface contamination, and by extension, surface preparation. Standard surface preparation techniques, including grit blasting, manual abrasion, and peel ply, are not ideal because of variations in their application. Etching of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) panels using a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser appears to be a highly precise and promising way to both clean a composite surface prior to bonding and provide a bond-promoting patterned surface akin to peel ply without the inherent drawbacks from the same (i.e., debris and curvature). CFRP surfaces prepared using laser patterns conducive to adhesive bonding were compared to typical prebonding surface treatments through optical microscopy, contact angle goniometry, and post-bonding mechanical testing

'Mine's a Pint of Bitter': Performativity, gender, class and representations of authenticity in real-ale tourism

Leisure choices are expressive of individual agency around the maintenance of taste, boundaries, identity and community. This research paper is part of a wider project designed to assess the social and cultural value of real ale to tourism in the north of England. This paper explores the performativity of real-ale tourism and debates about belonging in northern English real-ale communities. The research combines an ethnographic case study of a real-ale festival with semi-structured interviews with organisers and volunteers, northern English real-ale brewers and real-ale tourists visiting the festival. It is argued that real-ale tourism, despite its origins in the logic of capitalism, becomes a space where people can perform Habermasian, communicative leisure, and despite the contradictions of preferring some capitalist industries over others on the basis of their perceived smaller size and older age, real-ale fans demonstrate agency in their performativity

'It's a Form of Freedom': The experiences of people with disabilities within equestrian sport

This paper explores the embodied, gendered experiences of disabled horse‐riders. Drawing on data from five in‐depth interviews with paradressage riders, the ways in which their involvement in elite disability sport impacts upon their sense of identity and confidence are explored, as well as the considerable health and social benefits that this involvement brings. Social models of disability are employed and the shortcomings of such models, when applied to disability sport, are highlighted. The data presented here demonstrates the necessity of seeing disability sport as an embodied experience and acknowledging the importance of impairment to the experiences of disabled athletes. Living within an impaired body is also a gendered experience and the implications of this when applied to elite disability sport are considered

Jockeying for position: the construction of masculine identities

In this paper we examine the construction of masculine identities within a real-life social situation. Using data from an extensive series of interviews with small groups of sixth-form (17-18-year-old) students attending a UK-based, single-sex independent school, the analysis looks at the action orientation of different constructions of identity. More specifically, it focuses upon how the identity talk of one particular group of students were oriented towards managing their subordinate status within the school. In a number of instances the identity of the `new man' was adopted as a strategy of resistance. However, it was found that the more common strategy involved buying back into values embodied within a more traditional definition of masculinity

Flammability of Epoxy Resins Containing Phosphorus

As part of a program to develop fire-resistant exterior composite structures for future subsonic commercial and general aviation aircraft, flame-retardant epoxy resins are under investigation. Epoxies and their curing agents (aromatic diamines) containing phosphorus were synthesized and used to prepare epoxy formulations. Phosphorus was incorporated within the backbone of the epoxy resin and not used as an additive. The resulting cured neat epoxy formulations were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, propane torch test, elemental analysis, microscale combustion calorimetry, and fire calorimetry. Several formulations showed excellent flame retardation with phosphorous contents as low as 1.5% by weight. The fracture toughness and compressive strength of several cured formulations showed no detrimental effect due to phosphorus content. The chemistry and properties of these new epoxy formulations are discussed

The impact of different liaison psychiatry models on the emergency department: A systematic review of the international evidence

Objective This review aimed to evaluate the current evidence for what impact different Liaison Psychiatry (LP) services are having on Emergency Departments (ED). Mental Health (MH) problems contribute to 12 million annual US ED attendances and 5% in the UK. Methods Databases were searched for articles describing LP services for adult MH patients attending EDs which reported ED care-related outcomes, published since 2000. Articles were screened and relevant articles quality assessed and narratively synthesized. Results 3653 articles were identified and 17 included in the review. Study designs were overall of poor-moderate quality, using retrospective before-and-after study designs. LP services were categorized into four models. Models with MH personnel integrated into the ED team or triage reduced patient waiting time to be seen, may reduce patients leaving without being seen and have high staff satisfaction. Co-located MH space or personnel reduced patient waiting times. Care agreements with existing psychiatry teams don't affect waiting times or ED length of stay. Transferring patients to external services reduces patients' time in the ED. There is insufficient evidence about patient satisfaction, costs, and onward care. Conclusions Waiting times are shortened by MH personnel integrated into the ED and are more satisfactory to staff than other LP models. The involvement of a psychiatrist in the LP team improves the care quality. All models may improve safety for patients but most evaluations are of poor quality and therefore there is still insufficient evidence to recommend one service model over another and further robust research is required

Concealed concern: Fathers' experience of having a child with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Despite increased research into families of chronically ill children, more needs to be known about the father’s experience. We address this issue through asking: ‘What is it like to be the father of a child with juvenile idiopathic arthritis?’ (JIA). Four members of eight families with an adolescent diagnosed with JIA, including seven fathers, were interviewed and transcripts analyzed using grounded theory. This study suggests that fathers of children with JIA experience several severe losses which are exacerbated through comparisons they make between their own situation and that of fathers of healthy children. In addition, the fathers faced several constraints which reduced their opportunities to communicate with their ill child through shared activities. Fathers appeared to conceal their distress by adopting strategies of denial and distraction however their adjustment was facilitated, to some extent, by social support. They could also develop greater acceptance of their situation over time as the care of their ill child became assimilated into family life and constraints upon their life gradually reduced through the increased maturity of their son or daughter with JIA. These findings have implications for healthcare professionals and voluntary organizations