This research investigated gender and work experience differences in the importance of job characteristics. Ratings of eight job facets, representing 48 characteristics, were provided by 102 seniors and 504 alumni from a mid-sized, Midwestern public university. Women gave significantly higher ratings to family life accommodations, pleasant working conditions, travel, interpersonal relations, benefits, and societal contribution and significantly lower ratings to the pay and promotion facet. Significant work experience differences were found on seven facets. Graduating seniors rated the facets as more important than did alumni. Our results suggest seniors may need assistance with deciding among competing job offers, as they seem to think all job characteristics are important. ********** Predictions have been made, based on census data, that the adult work force will shrink in the future (Goldstein, 1989), suggesting increased competition among employers for graduating seniors. As students compare job offers, they are likely to consider various job characteristics offered by prospective positions (Heckert & Wallis, 1998). Companies need to be aware of which job characteristics warrant the most attention to attract and retain these future workers. In addition, college career counselors need to be aware of any differences between male and female students in what they deem most desirable in a potential job. In working with their clients, counselors may assume erroneously that the goal is to maximize salary. In fact, recent research (Browne, 1997) has shown that both men and women are willing to accept lower salaries if certain desirable features are present. That said, women, on average, do receive less pay than men (Gasser, Oliver, & Tan, 1998). For example, in 1990, women's average weekly pay was equal to approximately 77% of men's earnings (Davidson & Cooper, 1992). Even within the same occupation, women have been found to receive less pay (Firestone, Harris, & Lambert, 1999). Furthermore, numerous studies (c.f., Heckert & Wallis, 1998) have found gender differences in the pay expectations of male and female college students. However, researchers have failed to discover the reason for this pervasive pay inequality. Many theories have been created in an attempt to explain the gender differences in salary and salary expectations. One of the more widely used theories is the Human Capital Approach (Firestone et al., 1999) in which differences in pay are attributed to differences in job inputs (e.g., years of work experience, effort, knowledge, highest degree earned) and concern with various job attributes. In general, researchers (c.f., Heckert et al., 2001; Jackson et al., 1992) have failed to find gender differences in the job inputs most likely to affect salary. On the other hand, the premise that pay differences may stem from differences in job characteristic importance remains a possibility. Proponents of the Human Capital Approach have argued that women trade off higher salaries for other desirable job attributes (Firestone et al., 1999). For example, Mitchell (1984) suggested female physicians earn less because of their unwillingness, once they have reached a certain salary, to work extra for additional remuneration. In other words, to females, salary is less important than having sufficient time off. Obviously, for the Human Capital explanation to be correct, gender differences must exist on job characteristics' importance. Gender Differences in the Importance of Various Job Characteristics Much of the research on gender differences in job characteristic importance has been done on samples of business students (Beutell & Brenner, 1986; Browne, 1997; Honeycutt & Rosen, 1997; Major & Konar, 1984; Martin, 1989). In addition, two studies (Redman et al., 1994; Todisco et al., 1995) focused on medical students. …
Transdisciplinary (TD) research is a collaboration in which investigators from diverse backgrounds co-generate ideas. Few successful examples of TD research outcomes have been reported, possibly due to a training barrier. Here, TD trainees present a case study methodology that augmented classic training exercises by removing hierarchical barriers and allowing the practice of TD methodologies. A 30-minute development period was critical for the team to enter the conceptualization phase of TD research, making 90-minute sessions preferable for these exercises. Six sessions over an academic year were necessary for optimum idea formation. Generating buy-in was a challenge, as pressuring potential team members to participate would alter viewpoint equitability. Internal and external enthusiasm grew over the time period. Participation led to sustained collaborations and provided a marketable skillset. This method was low-cost and, likely, generalizable to other institutions. Thus, case study approaches may be effective tools to train researchers in TD interactions.
Health behaviors and self-reported health are important for understanding cancer survivor health. However, there is a paucity of published research about how cancer survivors' health behaviors and self-rated health vary by sexual orientation. This study examined cancer survivors' health behaviors and self-reported health by sexual orientation.This study used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2001-2010. Self-reported health and cancer-related health behaviors were compared by sexual orientation. Propensity score adjustment was used to account for differences in age, race, education, gender and health insurance status.Of the 602 survivors eligible for the study, 4.3% identified as sexual minorities. Sexual minorities were 2.6 times more likely to report a history of illicit drug use (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04, 5.35), and 60% less likely to report their current health status as good (aOR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.89), compared to heterosexual cancer survivors. These disparities persisted even after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics.Our findings suggest that sexual minority cancer survivors may be at greater risk for poorer outcomes after cancer than other survivors. A possible explanation for the observed differences involves minority stress. Future research should test stress as an explanation for these differences. However, using population-methods to achieve this goal requires larger samples of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) cancer survivors.
Transdisciplinary (TD) research is a collaboration in which investigators from diverse backgrounds co-generate ideas. Few successful examples of TD research outcomes have been reported, possibly due to a training barrier. Here, TD trainees present a case study methodology that augmented classic training exercises by removing hierarchical barriers and allowing the practice of TD methodologies. A 30-minute development period was critical for the team to enter the conceptualization phase of TD research, making 90-minute sessions preferable for these exercises. Six sessions over an academic year were necessary for optimum idea formation. Generating buy-in was a challenge, as pressuring potential team members to participate would alter viewpoint equitability. Internal and external enthusiasm grew over the time period. Participation led to sustained collaborations and provided a marketable skillset. This method was low-cost and, likely, generalizable to other institutions. Thus, case study approaches may be effective tools to train researchers in TD interactions.
Background Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at higher risk for deficits in cognition compared to the general population, even at young ages. Disease severity has been co-assessed in earlier studies, but the home environment has not. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the development of young children with SCD and secondarily, the impact of environmental and family factors. Methods The current study is a baseline cross-sectional evaluation of a prospective, single-center cohort. Children with SCD between the ages of 1 and 42 months and their primary caregiver were included. Participants lived within 30 miles of the site and spoke English. Children underwent developmental evaluation using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III). Home visits were completed and screened using the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Results Over 3 years, 43 caregiver–child dyads consented and participated. Over 50% of children scored significantly below average on cognition and expressive language subscales. SCD severity was not associated with BSID-III scores. Socioeconomic status (SES) determined by the Diez-Roux method positively correlated (r = 0.401, P < 0.01) with the home environment. The HOME correlated (r = 0.360, P < 0.05) with the cognitive subscale on the BSID-III. Conclusions Given the high prevalence of developmental delay in this population, identifying modifiable factors to maximize developmental progress is essential. The home environment would be a targeted method for intervention. Future research is needed to identify the benefits of home-based intervention for this population.
We sought to determine if sexual-minority women were at greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than their heterosexual counterparts.We aggregated data from the 2001-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to examine differences in CVD risk between heterosexual and sexual-minority women by using the Framingham General CVD Risk Score to calculate a ratio of vascular and chronological age. We also examined differences in the prevalence of various CVD risk factors.Sexual-minority women were more likely to be current or former smokers, to report a history of drug use, to report risky drinking, and to report a family history of CVD. On average, sexual-minority women were 13.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 8.5%, 19.3%) older in vascular terms than their chronological age, which was 5.7% (95% CI = 1.5%, 9.8%) greater than that of their heterosexual counterparts. Family history of CVD and history of drug use were unrelated to increased CVD risk, and this risk was not fully explained by either risky drinking or smoking.Sexual-minority women are at increased risk for CVD compared with heterosexual women.
