Identity and stammering: negotiating hesitation,side‐stepping repetition,and sometimes avoiding deviation

Individuals who experience speech dysfluency are often stigmatised because their speech acts differ from the communicative norm. This article is located in and seeks to further the identity debates in exploring how individuals who are subject to the intermittent emergence of a stigmatised characteristic manage this randomised personal discrediting in their identity work. Through a series of focus groups and semi‐structured interviews participants grudgingly report their management approaches which include concealing, drafting in unwitting others, role‐playing and segregating self from their stammer. In describing how they manage their stammer they detail their use of the social space in a number of ways, including as a hiding place; a site for ‘it’ (the stammer); a gap in which to switch words; and a different area in which to perform. This study offers important insights, increasing our understanding of the often hidden negotiations of identity work and the sometime ingenious use of space in the management of a social stigma.     

‘Ballroom itself can either make you or break you’ – Black GBT Youths’ psychosocial development in the House Ball Community

Social context plays a significant role in adolescent identity development, particularly for youth lacking traditional systems of support. Using ecological and symbolic interactionism perspectives, this study qualitatively explored the psychosocial identity development of Black gay, bisexual, or transgendered youth participating in the House Ball Community (HBC). The HBC is a diverse network of family-like structures called ‘houses’, as well as a glamorous social outlet via pageant-like ‘balls’ in which participants compete. A series of focus groups were conducted with youth and leaders from the HBC (n?=?37; age range?=?17–24). Via cross-case and comparative analyses, specific motivating factors related to entry into and continued involvement in the community were identified. Factors related to entry into the community included lack of safe spaces, opportunities for acceptance, means of subsistence, and allure of the scene. Factors related to continued involvement included resilience and coping skills development, sexual identity acceptance and pride, prevalence of risky behaviour, and risk of exploitation. Discussion of these factors provides insight on how self-constructed, supplementary social contexts may provide both unique supports and risks to members, allowing for more focused and well-informed interventions and policies to enhance healthy development in such communities while mitigating risk.     

Allelic variants in the zinc transporter-3 gene,SLC30A3, a candidate gene identified from gene expression studies,show gender-specific association with schizophrenia

Previous microarray analysis of gene expression in frontal cortex showed differential expression of genes associated with synaptic function in schizophrenia compared to matched-controls in two independent cohorts. One of these genes validated in both cohorts, SLC30A3, which encodes the Zinc Transporter 3 (ZNT3), is localised to synaptic vesicles in glutamate synapses and known to be involved in cognitive function. In view of the robust depletion of SLC30A3 mRNA in two independent studies and the importance of this gene in cognitive function, we investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations with schizophrenia could be detected in a UK case controlled schizophrenia cohort. Four SNPs were selected across this gene and genotyped in a cohort of cases and controls from East UK. We found significant associations with schizophrenia at the allelic (ORs: 1.51 to 1.57), genotype (ORs: 1.46 to 1.53) and haplotype level (P = 2.15 × 10⁻⁴). These associations proved to be gender-specific with significant effects of allele (ORs: 1.74 to 2.11), genotype (ORs: 1.78 to 2.14) and haplotype (P = 3.51 × 10⁻⁵) observed in female schizophrenia cases but not males, when split by gender. In conclusion, SNPs in SLC30A3 showed a gender-specific association with schizophrenia in this East UK cohort, which merits further investigation in other population samples.     

大学生性别角色与职业性别刻板印象的关系

目的探讨大学生性别角色与职业性别刻板印象的关系。方法采用贝姆性别角色量表与职业性别刻板印象问卷对某高校大学生进行了测量。结果在大学生4种性别角色类型中,双性化占33.1%、未分化占29.0%、女性化占20.4%、男性化占17.5%。大学生的男性职业性别刻板印象和女性职业性别刻板印象在性别上均存在显著差异(F=13.647,26.957;P<0.05),在不同性别角色类型上差异均不显著。结论大学生的职业性别刻板印象处于中等水平,应该弱化其职业性别刻板印象,以促使其更好地就业。     

High job demands and lack of time: A future challenge in occupational therapy

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify work-related stress factors that contributed to work-related stress among Swedish occupational therapists and to investigate the association between work-related stress, demographic factors, and perceived overall stress. Methods: A postal questionnaire and a letter of invitation were sent to 807 Swedish occupational therapists, selected at random and representing 10% of occupational therapists working in Sweden. The response rate was 59%. A stress index presenting 49 stress factors graded on a scale from 1 (indicating no source of stress) to 6 (definitely a source of stress) was included. In addition, the level of perceived overall stress during the last two weeks was scored on a rating scale with the end points 0 (no stress) and 10 (extreme stress). Results: The main findings indicated that lack of resources and lack of time were the main stressors. “Working at a superficial level due to lack of time” was the only variable associated with high overall stress when both work-related and personal factors were included. Professional identity and clarity concerning the role were graded low with regard to stress. Conclusions: Work-related stress is just one aspect of the overall stress experienced but knowledge about its consequences highlights the importance of further studies.     

The examination of Turkish early childhood education teachers’ professional identity

The purpose of the study is to examine professional identity of Turkish early childhood education teachers working in public and private preschools serving children from three to six years. The participants of the study, 1021 early childhood education teachers, were gathered through simple random sampling. The data for the study were gathered through A Professional Identity Scale (PRIS) (Kremer, L., & Hofman, J. E. (1985). Teachers’ professional identity and burn-out. Research in Education, 34, 89–95.), which is adapted into Turkish through preliminary psychometric investigation of its validity and reliability. Based on correlation analysis, independent samples t-test and analysis of variance gender, age, years of experience in occupation, age group of children, monthly income, educational level and background, job position and marital status of teachers were examined. Findings suggest that teachers’ professional identity was affected by such factors as gender, monthly income, educational level and background, job position, current work experience and marital status of teachers.     

Landscape assessment for gender neutral human papillomavirus vaccination recommendations including head and neck cancer burden data

IntroductionHead and neck cancers (HNC) accounted for over 450,000 deaths and 900,000 cases in 2018 worldwide. Of those, 38,000 cases were attributable to human papillomavirus (HPV). HNC is two to four times more prevalent in men than in women. The incidence of oropharyngeal cancers (OPC) and oral cavity cancers caused by HPV has increased in recent decades. Given the substantial burden of HPV-related HNC in males, this study aimed to assess whether and how national agencies included HPV-related HNC when evaluating HPV genderneutral vaccination (GNV) programs.MethodsA systematic literature review was conducted in MEDLINE® and EMBASE®, and on the websites of selected national agencies.ResultsSearches identified a potential 205 records; seventeen were eligible for the review. Seventy percent of assessments were published by European countries and most were recent (2014–2019). Eleven (65%) reports considered OPC when discussing HNC, and a few included other anatomic sites. All reports that considered incidence data were in consensus that incidence of OPC was higher in men and showed that the mortality rates for HPV-related HNC were also higher in men. When looking at the economic impact, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios in the assessments varied widely, as the inputs into the analyses were heterogeneous. However, several reports concluded GNV programs were likely to be cost-effective versus not vaccinating males.ConclusionThe burden of HPV-related HNC in the general male population has been recognized by several Heatlth Technology Assessment (HTA) agencies and National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) when evaluating HPV GNV programs. The assessments identified on GNV programs strongly indicate a cost-effective clinical benefit. Nevertheless, the epidemiological burden of HNC may have been underestimated in some countries due to limited data. Further research is crucial to obtain more robust data that will help address the information gap in epidemiological and economic burden of HPV-associated HNC in men.