Men's Underrepresentation in Communal Occupations: A Social-Developmental Approach

This dissertation addresses psychological factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of men in communal occupations (i.e., occupations associated with communal traits, e.g., nurse), based on the theoretical perspectives from the developmental theory of occupational aspirations (Gottfredson, 1981) and the model of achievement-related choices (Eccles et al., 1983). The underrepresentation of men in communal occupations is an important but underexamined aspect of gender inequality in the workforce, as there is an increasing need for workers in communal fields, and there are important individual and societal benefits of communal engagement for men. As the gender gap in the workforce is reflected in the gendered occupational aspirations of young children, we investigated this issue by using a social developmental approach. We conducted four empirical studies and report the results in three papers. In Paper I of this dissertation, we investigated the factors influencing communal occupational aspirations in early-to middle childhood and found that children’s communal occupational aspirations were associated with their occupational gender stereotypes, their gendered self-perceptions and perceived status of communal occupations. In Paper II, as a follow up to the results regarding occupational status in Paper I, we conducted an experimental study and found evidence for a causal link between occupational status and occupational aspirations among both male and female elementary school children. However, additional correlational analyses showed that boys reported more agentic self-perceptions, which were related to a stronger valuation of occupational status. Lastly, in Paper III, we investigated the influence of the gendered self-concept and perceived fit on the sense of belonging and dropout intentions of students in communal degree programs and found that male students have more agentic self-perceptions than female students, which was associated with less perceived fit and less sense of belonging, as well as higher dropout intentions from their communal degree program. The consistent effects of gendered self-perceptions as well as the causal effects of occupational status on occupational aspirations indicate that future interventions that aim to increase men’s communal occupational aspirations should emphasize how communal occupations can afford agentic values, as well as promoting the status of communal occupations

Norwegian electricity companies: differentiation in a homogenous power market

Masteroppgave i Energy management - Nord universitet, 201

Effects of instagram sports posts on the athletic motivation of female elite athletes: Do they inspire or backfire?

The social networking site Instagram provides users with an abundance of photos and information in many domains including sports. The posts are often intended to inspire and motivate users. We argue that the display of success and failure of professional athletes may influence elite athletes’ own sports ambitions. Research has shown that exposure to positive ingroup stereotypes and exposure to negative outgroup stereotypes can increase performance (i.e., the stereotype boost effect and the stereotype lift effect, respectively). Based on this research, we conducted three experiments in two different cultural contexts. In all three experiments, we examined whether Instagram posts that showed either ingroup members’ success or outgroup members’ failure influenced athletic motivation, self-efficacy, and sports-related behavioral intentions of female elite athletes. Experiment 1 (n = 117) was conducted in Germany, whereas Experiments 2 (n = 137) and 3 (n = 143) were conducted in Norway. Results showed that in Germany, participants’ athletic motivation and self-efficacy was highest when they were exposed to failing outgroup members (Exp. 1); however, this was not the case in Norway (Exp. 2). In contrast, only Norwegian participants who were exposed to successful ingroup members reported a significant increase in their athletic motivation, but there were no effects regarding self-efficacy and sports-related behavioral intentions (Exp. 3). Boundary conditions for Instagram’s role in motivating users and reasons for the differences between the two cultural contexts are discussed

Digitalisering av tilsyn

I takt med digitaliseringen av samfunnet har også tilsynsmyndighetenes metoder for å utføre tilsyn blitt digitalisert. Tilsynsmetodikken digitale tilsyn har tatt form de to siste årene, og har blant annet gjort det mulig å opprettholde tilsynsaktiviteten under Covid-19 pandemien. For å undersøke hvordan denne digitaliseringen påvirker fremtidens tilsynspraksis, er problemstillingen som skal undersøkes: På hvilken måte kan digitale tilsyn erstatte fysiske tilsyn i arbeidet hos tilsynsmyndighetene? For å besvare problemsstillingen bygges oppgaven rundt fire forskingsspørsmål. Disse tar for seg identifiserte utfordringer og fordeler med metodikken, forutsetninger som kreves ved digitale tilsyn, samt hvordan kvaliteten blir påvirket av den økte digitaliseringen. Det er blitt utført tre dybdeintervjuer, i tre ulike norske tilsynsmyndigheter, for å belyse ledernes og inspektørenes erfaringer rundt den nye metodikken. De tre tilsynsmyndighetene praktiserer tilsyn ulikt, og har hver sine ansvarsområder. Dette sørger for en større variasjon blant utvalget, slik at oppgavens gyldighet øker. Funnene fra intervjuene blir satt i sammenheng med teori om begreper og prinsipper for tilsyn og regulering, hvilke utfordringer, fordeler og forutsetninger som allerede eksisterer ved tilsynsarbeid, samt teori om digitalisering. Funnene viser at den nye metodikkens største utfordring er at den ikke egner seg for uanmeldte tilsyn, samt at den er mindre optimal for tilsyn hvor en fysisk inspeksjon står sentralt. Ved digitale tilsyn vil ikke inspektørene kunne ta i bruk de sensoriske evnene sine på samme måte, hvilket kan føre til færre observasjoner. Digitale tilsyn krever i større grad flere forutsetninger for å kunne fungere ideelt. Fordelene med metodikken er at den er svært ressurseffektiv, som blant annet gjør inspektørene mer fleksible i planleggingen og gjennomføringen av tilsynene. Ressurser kan dermed omprioriteres og benyttes der behovet er størst. Metodikken vil kunne bidra i å øke kvaliteten i hvert enkelt tilsyn og i det totale tilsynsarbeidet ved å benyttes på tilsyn av typen dokumentkontroll, revisjon og oppfølging. Dette vil kunne resultere i at tilsynene blir mer effektive og vil gi et bedre utbytte hos både tilsynsmyndighet og tilsynsobjekt, uten at fysisk tilstedeværelse kreves

Opplevelsesdesignprosessen : har kundens inngangsposisjon påvirkning på denne og hva kreves det av bedriften?

Studentarbeid i økonomi og ledelse (bachelorgrad) - Universitetet i Nordland, 201

«Det var ingen som spurte; er det noe som plager deg?» En kvalitativ undersøkelse av arbeid i skolen med seksuelle overgrep mot barn, og livshistoriesamtaler med to personer som har opplevd å bli seksuelt misbrukt som barn

Masteroppgave i tilpassa opplæring - Nord universitet 201

Does the Stereotypicality of Mothers’ Occupation Influence Children’s Communal Occupational Aspirations and Communal Orientation?

Career development is a lifelong process that starts in infancy and is shaped by a number of different factors during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Even though career development is shaped through life, relatively little is known about the predictors of occupational aspirations in childhood. Therefore, in the present work we investigate how the stereotypicality of a mother’s occupation (female-dominated/communal vs. non-femaledominated/agentic) influences her young child’s communal occupational aspirations and communal orientation. We conducted two studies with young children. Study 1 included 72 mother–child dyads recruited from childcare centers in Northern Norway (children’s age range: 4½–6years). Study 2 included 106 mother–child dyads recruited from Norwegian elementary schools (children’s age range: 6 to 13years). Results from Study 1 showed that the stereotypicality of mothers’ occupation was related to their children’s communal occupational aspirations and children’s communal orientation. In contrast to our predictions and results from Study 1, the stereotypicality of mothers’ occupation was not significantly related to children’s communal occupational aspirations nor their communal orientation in Study 2. In both studies, we found no relationship between mothers’ gender attitudes or share of child care and children’s communal occupational aspirations. The results are discussed in terms of parents’ influence on children’s development of occupational aspirations

Større regioner – bedre sikkerhet? Samfunnssikkerhet og beredskap etter sammenslåingen av Vestfold og Telemark

Masteroppgave med fordypning i samfunnssikkerhet og terrorismestudier - Nord universitet 202

Mothers’ Domestic Responsibilities and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Moderating Role of Gender Essentialist Beliefs About Parenthood

The present work investigates how the increased domestic responsibilities created by the Spring 2020 lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway and gender ideologies relate to the well-being of mothers with elementary school children. In June 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online study including current and retrospective measures with 180 mothers (Mage = 39.96 years, SD = 6.11) of elementary school children across Norway. First, in line with earlier research on the strain of the pandemic on parents, and especially mothers, we found that Norwegian mothers’ well-being during the lockdown significantly declined compared to before the lockdown (both measured retrospectively). Furthermore, mothers’ well-being after the Spring 2020 lockdown did not immediately return to pre-lockdown levels. Finally, we predicted that gender ideologies (i.e., essentialist beliefs about parenthood) would exacerbate the negative impact of increased domestic responsibilities (i.e., childcare and housework) on mothers’ well-being (i.e., higher standard-higher stress hypothesis). As predicted, for mothers who more strongly endorsed the belief that mothers are instinctively and innately better caretakers than fathers, perceptions of increased domestic responsibilities were associated with lower well-being post-lockdown. These findings point to the specific challenges mothers face in times of crisis, and the importance of addressing and confronting seemingly benevolent ideologies about motherhood that place additional burdens on women