Search results

This editorial aims to explore some of the reasons why women and men do not experience the revolutionary forces of new technologies in the same way.

The paper reviews a series of research and conceptual papers which were first presented at a seminar at the University of Cambridge organised by the Economic and Social Research Council's Gender Equality Network

Taken together, the papers show the dynamic interdependence of work undertaken in both the public and private spheres and the role of different forms of new technologies in influencing inequalities in the division of labour

The collection of papers is probably unique in that its focus is not just on paid work but also on the implications of technological change for gender equality in domestic labour.

This paper aims to explore the linked series of changes connecting unpaid and paid labour in the household economy and the market sector, which may be associated with the implementation of new technologies of production and the proliferation of new consumer products.

One historical and one contemporary example, mass production during the inter‐war period, and ready‐made meals today, are used as exemplary cases for probing changes in women's labour.

New technologies of home and work alter the relationships between work not only across the processes of production, distribution, exchange and consumption, but also across the boundaries between paid and unpaid labour and between market and non‐market work.

The conceptual schema of the “total social organisation of labour” is used to focus on dynamic interdependence and interaction across and between work undertaken in different socio‐economic modes.

This article seeks to address differential experiences of the “time squeeze”. It problematises current accounts which explain time pressure as resulting from substantive increases in the volume of activities performed in daily life and/or an acceleration of the tempo of daily practices.

The main data source is in‐depth household interviews, although analysis of data from the 1985 and 1992 Health and Lifestyle Survey and the 1937 “day in the life of diaries” are also examined.

It is argued that harriedness best captures contemporary temporal experiences. Three forms of harriedness are identified: substantive overload; temporal dis‐organisation; and, temporal density. The latter two forms are characterised by the challenge of coordinating practices within social networks and the difficulty of allocating practices in relation to temporally fixed institutional events.

It is suggested that these two forms of harriedness capture women's experiences more so than men's, and that technologies which facilitate time saving and shifting exacerbate rather than alleviate this temporal conditioning of daily life.

This paper aims to highlight the need to understand the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in the workplace which are often embedded in micro‐level work practices. It explores how social networks and the resources contained within them function differentially among workers to reinforce existing patterns of preferential access to the most desirable positions in the labour market.

Using in‐depth interviews of electrical engineers in a case study firm in the IT industry in Cambridge, England, the paper outlines the strong gendered and ethnic patterns of segmentation within the engineering occupation.

The paper finds significant inequalities in access to, and awareness of, the resources contained within some social networks in the workplace.

The study critiques the extension of social capital theory into the workplace due to its conceptual and methodological focus on positive outcomes.

Understanding the factors and processes facilitating entry into science related occupations is a first step in developing effective interventions aiming to increase a skilled science base. This paper intends to address individual as well as family and school related influences on uptake of science, engineering, technology and health related careers.

Drawing on data collected for two British birth cohorts: the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study, a developmental‐contextual model of career development is tested, comparing the experiences of over 17,000 men and women during the transition from school to work.

The findings suggest that there is a persisting gender imbalance both in terms of aspirations and occupational attainment. Interest and attachment to a science related career are formed early in life, often by the end of primary education. School experiences, in particular, are crucial in attracting young people to a career in science.

Much remains to be done to improve intake in science related occupations, especially regarding recognition and access to science related courses at school, and rendering school experiences more relevant and engaging for young people.

Comparing career transitions in two longitudinal cohorts allows the study of careers over time, linking early influences to later outcomes, and enables the identification of stable and changing patterns in antecedents and outcomes.

The paper aims to critically review four recently published books, each of which aims to explain the disproportionate representation of men and women in science careers, and to understand gender differences in achievements and productivity.

This is a thematic book review and conceptual analysis and development.

The review shows that in order to reduce and eliminate gender inequality in science careers, it is naïve to assume that changing women's attitudes alone will solve the problem. This position in‐itself indicates the unspoken presumption that the male model of work is the norm to which women must adapt.

The review shows there is a need for policy actions and initiatives that eliminate the structural barriers in SET career trajectories which currently favour the working preferences of male scientists.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief summary of a series of papers presented at the gender, class, employment and family conference, held at City University, London, in March 2008.

The conference involved 25 papers presented by invited speakers, and the report is based on summary notes, observations and conference abstracts.

This report summarises a range of contributions, theoretical and empirical, to the continuing debates on gender and class inequality in Britain, Europe and the USA. The evidence presented not only demonstrated the persistence of gender and class inequalities, but also provided a critique of the “individualisation” thesis. The contribution of both normative and material factors to gender inequality was extensively explored. The discussions focused upon a series of tensions and contradictions – between “sameness” and “difference” feminism; choice and constraint; capitalist markets and the human requirement for caring work.

Many of the papers drew on original empirical research, both quantitative and qualitative, using sophisticated methodologies. Longitudinal findings (cohort studies) were well represented, as were cutting‐edge theoretical contributions.

The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the eighteenth to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1991. A few are not annotated because the compiler could not obtain copies of them for this review.