Gender disparities in colloquium speakers at top universities

Colloquium talks at prestigious universities both create and reflect academic researchers' reputations. Gender disparities in colloquium talks can arise through a variety of mechanisms. The current study examines gender differences in colloquium speakers at 50 prestigious US colleges and universities in 2013-2014. Using archival data, we analyzed 3,652 talks in six academic disciplines. Men were more likely than women to be colloquium speakers even after controlling for the gender and rank of the available speakers. Eliminating alternative explanations (e.g., women declining invitations more often than men), our follow-up data revealed that female and male faculty at top universities reported no differences in the extent to which they (i) valued and (ii) turned down speaking engagements. Additional data revealed that the presence of women as colloquium chairs (and potentially on colloquium committees) increased the likelihood of women appearing as colloquium speakers. Our data suggest that those who invite and schedule speakers serve as gender gatekeepers with the power to create or reduce gender differences in academic reputations

The Initial Phase of the Argumentative Discussions Between Parents and Children

This chapter examines the initial phase of parent\u2013child argumentative discussions during mealtime. The conceptual tool adopted for the analysis is based on the pragma-dialectical ideal model of a critical discussion (van Eemeren & Grootendorst\u201a 2004). The types of issues leading parents and children to engage in argumentative discussions during mealtime as well as the contribution that parents and children provide to the inception of argumentation are described and discussed. The analysis of the initial phase of parent\u2013child argumentative discussions also considers the role played by the specificity of the parent\u2013child relationship and the distinctive features of the activity of family mealtime for the beginning of an argumentative discussion. Exemplary argumentative sequences that bring to light the results obtained through the qualitative analysis of a larger corpus of argumentative discussions between parents and children are presented and discussed

Swiss residents' speciality choices – impact of gender, personality traits, career motivation and life goals

BACKGROUND: The medical specialities chosen by doctors for their careers play an important part in the development of health-care services. This study aimed to investigate the influence of gender, personality traits, career motivation and life goal aspirations on the choice of medical speciality. METHODS: As part of a prospective cohort study of Swiss medical school graduates on career development, 522 fourth-year residents were asked in what speciality they wanted to qualify. They also assessed their career motivation and life goal aspirations. Data concerning personality traits such as sense of coherence, self-esteem, and gender role orientation were collected at the first assessment, four years earlier, in their final year of medical school. Data analyses were conducted by univariate and multivariate analyses of variance and covariance. RESULTS: In their fourth year of residency 439 (84.1%) participants had made their speciality choice. Of these, 45 (8.6%) subjects aspired to primary care, 126 (24.1%) to internal medicine, 68 (13.0%) to surgical specialities, 31 (5.9%) to gynaecology & obstetrics (G&O), 40 (7.7%) to anaesthesiology/intensive care, 44 (8.4%) to paediatrics, 25 (4.8%) to psychiatry and 60 (11.5%) to other specialities. Female residents tended to choose G&O, paediatrics, and anaesthesiology, males more often surgical specialities; the other specialities did not show gender-relevant differences of frequency distribution. Gender had the strongest significant influence on speciality choice, followed by career motivation, personality traits, and life goals. Multivariate analyses of covariance indicated that career motivation and life goals mediated the influence of personality on career choice. Personality traits were no longer significant after controlling for career motivation and life goals as covariates. The effect of gender remained significant after controlling for personality traits, career motivation and life goals. CONCLUSION: Gender had the greatest impact on speciality and career choice, but there were also two other relevant influencing factors, namely career motivation and life goals. Senior physicians mentoring junior physicians should pay special attention to these aspects. Motivational guidance throughout medical training should not only focus on the professional career but also consider the personal life goals of those being mentored

Bilingualism, social cognition and executive functions:A tale of chickens and eggs

AbstractThe influence of bilingualism on cognitive functioning is currently a topic of intense scientific debate. The strongest evidence for a cognitive benefit of bilingualism has been demonstrated in executive functions. However, the causal direction of the relationship remains unclear: does learning other languages improve executive functions or are people with better executive abilities more likely to become bilingual?To address this, we examined 90 male participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936; 26 were bilingual, 64 monolingual. All participants underwent an intelligence test at age 11 years and were assessed on a wide range of executive and social cognition tasks at age 74. The only notable differences between both groups were found for the Simon Effect (which indexes stimulus-response conflict resolution; β=−.518, p=0.025) and a trend effect for the Faux Pas task (a measure of complex theory of mind; ToM, β=0.432, p=0.060). Controlling for the influence of childhood intelligence, parental and own social class significantly attenuated the bilingual advantage on the Faux Pas test (β=0.058, p=0.816), whereas the Simon task advantage remained (β=−.589, p=0.049).We find some weak evidence that the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive functions may be selective and bi-directional. Pre-existing cognitive and social class differences from childhood may influence both ToM ability in older age and the likelihood of learning another language; yet, bilingualism does not appear to independently contribute to Faux Pas score. Conversely, learning a second language is related to better conflict processing, irrespective of initial childhood ability or social class

Diagnostic Value of Spectral Doppler Ultrasound in Detecting Breast Malignancies: An Original Article

Background: The present study was conducted to investigate the diagnostic value of spectral Doppler ultrasound in determining malignant potential of breast masses. Methods: The dedicate dB-mode and Doppler (including color and spectral) breast ultrasound examinations were performed on 100 consecutive women with breast mass (mean age = 45.02 years). The findings were compared between benign (n = 65) and malignant (n = 35) groups, regarding the histopathologic results. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal cut-off point for each spectral Doppler index. Results: On B-mode ultrasound, malignant breast masses tended to have bigger size, irregular and ill-defined border, cystic components, and mixed echogenicity (P < 0.001 for all characteristics). On color Doppler study, detectable flow was more common in malignant tumors compared to benign lesions (74.1 vs. 21.9, P < 0.0001). All spectral Doppler indices, including mean peak systolic velocity (PSV), resistive index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI) were significantly higher in malignant tumors. All of these indices had high diagnostic accuracy for differentiating malignant tumors from benign lesions with area under the curve (AUC) equals to 0.79, 0.78, and 0.90 for PSV, RI, and PI, respectively. The optimal cut-off points were PSV = 12.5 cm/s (sensitivity: 75, specificity: 71.4), RI = 0.68 (sensitivity = 85, specificity = 74), and PI = 0.93 (sensitivity = 90, specificity = 85.7). Conclusions: Doppler examination has a significant role in the evaluation of breast masses and adds value to the B-mode ultrasound for distinguishing malignant tumors from benign lesions

ANALYSIS OF FREQUENCY OF PHENYLKETONURIA AMONG INSTITUTIONALIZED

Introduction: Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disease, which is caused by deficiency in phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) enzyme. Untreated patients will develop a severe mental retardation, which is irreversible. In this study, the incidence of the PKU disease among isolated mentally retarded residents in institutions in Isfahan, was investigated.&#13; Methods: A total number of 1541 patients were involved in the study. Of the patients studied, 611 with no known reason for their mental retardation were chosen for blood sampling. Blood samples were collected on filter papers and examined by Gutheri bacterial inhibition assay (GBIA), which is specific for PKU In patients with positive test, the serum phenylalanine was quatitavely analyzed using high pressure liquid chromatography, HPLC.&#13; Results: Among the patients examined, 33 were found positive. Quantitative analysis of phenylalanine allowed classification of the patients, indicating 600 with classical, 36% with moderate, and 3% with mild type of PKU Furthermore; it was found that in 68% of the cases, parents are third grade relative.&#13; Discussion: The results obtained in this screening study indicated that 2.1% of the patients in the institutions for mentally related in Isfahan suffered from PKU The incidence of the disease is relatively high compare to the reports from other countries. Since, a large number of patients (68%) are the results of consanguineous marriages, this kind of marriage could be considered as one of the important factors involved in the prevalence of PKU in Isfahan