2 research outputs found
Solving the Problem with Problem Solving: Increasing Leadership Selfefficacy in Female Professionals through Problem Solving
poster abstractIn today’s world women are earning more degrees and asserting themselves in the
professional world more than ever before. Despite their advancements, a disparity still
exists between the number of men in leadership positions and the number of women in
leadership positions in the United States workforce. Women have proven themselves to
be qualified for high power positions, but there is still a barrier which prevents women
from attaining equality in the positions of greatest power in a variety of organizations
and fields. One such barrier is gender stereotypes, which lead to gender bias and low
self-efficacy. Women are perceived to be better at stereotypically “feminine” behaviors
such as caretaking, and are not seen as effective problem solvers. This perception leads
to problems for aspiring female professionals, as problem solving is a gauge for
assessing leadership acumen and ability. If women are perceived as lacking in the area
that establishes leadership ability, this may be a contributing factor to explain gender
inequality in leadership positions.
This study seeks to explore how female leaders can utilize a problem solving process
that integrates co-design in order to increase leadership self-efficacy and be more
collaborative and visible problem solvers. To do this, the areas of problem solving, codesign
and self-efficacy will be explored through a variety of collaborative and
generative research methods such as contextual analysis of secondary research,
interviews, surveys, focus groups and interactive research sessions. Problem solving will
be explored to gain a better understanding of why it is an indicator of leadership ability
and how problem-solving skills can be made more visible. Co-design is a creative
approach to problem solving that utilizes collaboration, creativity, visual elements,
generative tools and is appropriate for a variety of contexts. By including this element
into the problem solving process, women may become more confident and visible
problem solvers with a variety of tools to utilize in their everyday practice. An
examination of self-efficacy will determine if having a process with specific tools and
methods to utilize will empower women and increase their confidence.
Providing female leaders with a set of tools in the form of a problem solving process
workbook to help them become more comfortable and confident with problem solving
may lead them to take on more responsibility and roles that showcase their problem
solving skills. By positioning themselves to demonstrate their skills, exposure to
effective female problem solvers may help to evolve this gender stereotype
Gestchat (A Tool to Support Emotional Communication in Text Messaging)
poster abstractWe introduce a new mobile instant messaging application, which specifically support users’ emotional communication. The invention relates to a novel method in instant messaging to input interactive emoticons through multi-touch gestures. We add additional mode of gesture to instant messaging keyboard and also send text in different colors to present the emotion